SO much to do!

In case you didn't know, we are in! We've "lived" in our house for 2 weeks now. Since then we've had almost constant snow! I was just tellling the kids on the way to the bus this morning that I had prayed for it not to snow until we moved in and it it started snowing immediately after we did. It's like God was just holding back the snow, waiting on us. Thank you, Lord! :)

I am so happy to be here. No more driving 2+ hours every day (which is so good, considering the roads have become horrible). Plus, no more stress of my kids tearing up someone else's house, no more "have" to get the kitchen cleaned now -- it can wait if it needs too!

When we moved in, we had one toilet in the basement. After 2 days, we also had a shower in the basement. Now the 1/2 bath is complete, with doors, so it's nice to have privacy. We also have 2 more working showers and one working bath upstairs. Still no rails on the stairs, and thus, no carpet there either. This last weekend Matt got one garage door opener on, so this morning I was able to leave the house in a warm vehicle, yeah! He also got my pantry shelves in, which is so wonderful! Lots of lights, outlets, and switches have been installed since we've been here, but there are still many remaining to be done. All of our clothes are still on the floor, which is starting to get old. Many doors still have to get put back on the hinges since they were removed for painting. I think I can go on and on, but you get the idea there -- lots of things to get finished in the house in order to switch from contruction loan to mortgage.

So, on top of my regular chores which have to be done every day (feeding the family, laundering their clothes, doing their dishes), there are many things that I need to be helping with while Matt is off getting some bacon. Things such as screwing on outlet covers, painting banisters, and sealing grout. But the things I really want to do are make curtains and put up curtain rods, make the kids hats that I bought material for long ago, make a slipcover for our ugly chair that no longer matches the living room, decorate the Christmas tree which we decided not to put away just to get out again in a few weeks but is just standing bare in the corner. There is also much remaining to get put away and organized, but must wait because their homes are not ready yet. :)

Another comment made by one of the kids this morning was, "I can't wait until Christmas." My response to that is: maybe by then we can enjoy some relaxing time doing what we want! I would love to snuggle with my man on the couch and watch a movie, work on a puzzle (a favorite Christmas tradition), do some scrapbooking (about 4 years behind now, I think.), read a good novel, play a boardgame with the kids, and bake, bake, bake!

For now, I am looking forward to hopefully having some "normal" days in my near future. These days would look like this: quiet time, exercising, showering, doing something to my hair and face while looking in a mirror, cooking and eating bacon, getting the kids off to school, tidying the kitchen and planning dinner, MOPS work, interacting with the little ones.....you get the idea!

Enjoy these pics of our half bath and the before and after of the pantry/mud room.

dump truck Ollie

Why are boys immediately attracted to mud? After going several weeks without shoes, I had finally found some to fit Ollie's fat feet and he found this mud the next day. One of my least favorite things about building a house -- the muddy season.

Fall Photo Shoot Take 2

I had Matt with me this time and not a single picture where all four are looking! So frustrating! I just want one pic to replace the one of Carson and Tana over the fireplace...

Fall Photo Shoot Take 1

Beautiful Alaska

Mt. Redoubt as viewed in the evening from our bonus room window.

The mountains to the south as viewed from the other bonus room window.

The Turnagin Arm drive is so beautiful some days! I drove by myself to Anchorage to lead a state MOPS meeting and I had to attempt to capture some of the beauty by opening the window a little and holding the camera and shooting. Without looking of course!

House Progress

We are planning to move into our house next weekend! By then all the flooring should be installed and we should have a completely functional kitchen and at least one functional bathroom. Everything else that is not done we will do while in residence. I CAN'T WAIT!

Cute Kids

Ollie in his babylegs on the road by our house.

Hallie in her new princess dress from Grandma. We had a tea party every day for a couple of weeks.