And They are Off....

ALL 4 KIDS GOING TO SCHOOL!!!  I thought the day would never come, back when I was buried in diaper duty! WOW!! Caden 6th, Macy 4th, Julia 2nd, and Noelle K! I could not be enjoying them more, I love their ages! It was a great Summer and I am sure it will be a fantastic school year!

Update

Welcome to Spring~ It is still chilly in Southern Iowa, but we are seeing the sun shine and having a warm- up once in awhile at least! We are enjoying the green grass and lots of birds chirp,chirping! I had a friend on Facebook ask me about our house and I realized maybe some of you were wondering. I do not have a new picture to post, but lots of exciting finishes are currently taking place. Hill Construction (Josh's Dads crew) is working on the outside siding, the siding is a fiber cement board primed gray, but will be painted White, so if I do post a picture and you see the gray house you'll know that is not the end result.  Lots of inside projects are in the works including- kitchen cabinets being installed, appliances being delivered this week!, hardwood floors being laid, bathroom flooring, there is officially a potty installed and in working order  woohoo!, thankfully all the painting and light fixtures are hung, it is looking like a house...soon to be a home! We are hoping for May 1st to be able to get moved and "function" in the house, it will not all be complete but we are tired of renting the trailer!!!

 Baseball/Softball season has sprung into our schedule. Josh is coaching Caden's team and also finding time to do the inside work listed above. I don't think he'll ever have a dull moment!

Business is also in full-Spring swing. Josh, Noelle, and I keep plugging away at this thing called 'small business'.  We have been so blessed, as Gods hand is constantly at work providing us with awesome customers, looks like it should be a good year! 

The kids are great. It has been a really good school year for them, they are growing more self-sufficient by the day! Caden and Macy are itching to hit home-runs this Summer.  Julia is a bouncy Quality Time seeker and always has a story from school about someone 'not liking' someone...oh boy!  Noelle goes to K-round up next week. Reminding me the day is coming that I don't have a child at my side all the time, it's been 11 years with a child at my side. I used to think I'd sit and eat bon-bons when they all were at school, I now see that the Lord has some other things in-store for me, besides the bon-bons! Lots to look forward to with Summer and Fall coming.  We are taking each day with thankful hearts.
 Thanks for reading and Bless You!!!!!!  I'll post some pictures soon....or you'll just need to come see our project for yourself!!!

She's 5!!!!!!!

Today is Noelle's 5th birthday! She has been waiting for an entire year to turn 5- it is finally the day! We had a couple of family celebrations over the weekend. She asked for a Sleeping Beauty cake with "NO PRINCE!". That is just fine with us to not have a prince around! Noelle is the sweetest girl you'll ever find. She is always thinking about others before herself and is still such a little thing, it is hard to accept that she will no longer be 4!

 

Every day she prays....." Thank you God for this good day."

It was a good day as we followed a snowplow in Northern Iowa to make it 2 hours late for her C-section! Noelle is our sidekick, she "works" at the Lumberyard and is a favorite to many customers. I think some come into the store just to see what she is doing! Noelle loves to dance, play barbies, color and cut, wrestle Caden, play dogs with Macy, and play house with Julia. She is very resilient and goes with the flow, no matter what her surroundings she makes the most of it. I just can't say it enough....what a sweetheart!!!

 

Thank you, God, for Noelle. You make everyday a good day!

 

 

The Wonder of Christmas.....

......the look says it all for a 4 year old!!

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Caden Turns 11 !!

We ended 2012, just as we have ended the past 10 years--with a birthday! Caden spent his birthday curled up by his Papa Trent watching a Packers football game.  He really wanted boats for his birthday, he had a special boat when he was 4 and asked us if he could have another boat.  We sailed his new boats in the hot tub after the football game. It was a chilly night with a brisk wind on December 30th!

What a special boy! He is such a special person! I just am constantly taking pictures with my heart -- he is such a neat guy and I am proud of him! Caden is having a great year as a 5th grader. He is learning to play the trumpet and is involved in wrestling this Winter. He LOVES to tell stories...and very often loses our attention :)  He is a fantastic big brother. He and Macy are buddies and Noelle is partial to him...JuJu on the other hand, kind of nerves him--but I tell them they are a lot alike! Caden really is the same as when he was 4-just bigger! I loved it that he asked for boats, they say to keep kids little as long as  you can and this was an example of his innocence to me. I know it is a short time, but hey--it the kid asks for a boat--give him a boat!!!!  This kids loves God and is often in tears over the question of someones salvation. He wants everyone to be in Heaven with him!
Happy Birthday, Buddy! You really are the best kid!!!

Happy New Year

Hello, Blog Readers! Wow! Here we are in a new year! Vacation flew by with the kids, we had some fantastic Christmas celebrations with family and played plenty of Wii on cold days.  I was almost sad to leave 2012, it was such a great year I wanted it to keep going :) A new year kind of brings a question mark with it...."hmmm...what will God do now?!".  As we enter our 4th year of small business, Josh and I are so thankful.God has been faithful and good to us. We had a smashing 2012 year....the best year ever in the books for Pulaski Lumber.  The business grew by ~25% last year, NO WONDER we are tired and both working all the time!  It has been oh so interesting!

I know some of you wanted to see updated house pictures, so here ya go. It is ready for porch roofs, siding, and electrical/ heating/cooling system and fireplace installation. It is exciting knowing it will be a few months when we get to move. 

Just keep Praising the Lord!

front

 back

A glimpse of our weekend....

The picture says a thousand words...and cheers!
This 'old' house went into a hole and up in flames!

In waiting....

This is our "pad"! Such a blessing! It is a year to remember!

Life as we know it, nice and cozy. No room for couches...this is what movie night looks like!
Such sisterly love going on as they sleep so close, actually...they fight alot, don't let them fool you!

And the House....

Some of you may be wondering....here ya go! The porches are getting poured this week, on the front and sides (where the boards are sticking out) are porches. Windows are ordered, roof is on, we are sitting good for the cold weather coming. I am amazed and perplexed and lovin' every minute of this process. The builder is still getting hugs!!

Thankful!

We had a thankful Thanksgiving Day and a thankful 35th birthday for Josh - all in the same day! It was nice for Josh to get the day off from work on his birthday. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Josh's Grandma's house and rested at home.  Thankful, Thankful, Thankful....so much to be thankful for!

UP,UP we go!

Oh Yes, I hug the Builder every chance I get!

Just Gotta Smile!

I am sure many of you are anxious to hear updates on our house building project. If I remember to take a picture...I will show you the progress. The 2nd story is going up today! hehe!! This pretty much shows a glimpse of our evenings lately. Josh brings home what the builder (Dad) needs from the Lumberyard for the next day and we pile on and go unload it! It has been such an amazing time--not easy, as we are packed in like sardeens in this trailer but I am treasuring this season!

Youth Cross Country

The season is well over, but I am finally getting some energy to post a picture :)  The kids participated in Youth Cross Country from Sept. until the end of October. It was great, because they could all participate and it got us out of the house....I mean the trailer! HA! The coach is a great friend of mine and was awesome with the kids. They trained 3 days a week and participated in 2 "races". It was so neat to see them gain confidence, and I quite often would take my running shoes and run with them.  Caden ran a 6:35 mile and got 2nd place at one race. The coach had them running 2.5 miles in training, which I (the runner in me) thought that was awesome for 5-6th graders. Macy also did amazing and ran up to 1.5m in training.  Such a neat experience! We all loved it!

Uncle David

This is my dad (on the left in orange) and his two brothers, Ron & David. This picture was taken a couple months ago when my Uncle David (middle) was days away from Hospice care. We celebrated his life this past weekend with an awesome family time and celebration of his life. As cancer took his body he gained peace from God, confessed and relied on Jesus as his Savior. Amen! I have to say, I only saw him once or twice a year but I will miss him in the corner of the room puffing his cigarette with a smile and a holler, "Hey Emmy!".  Praise the Lord, he rests in heaven!

Pulaski Corn Show Float

Our float won 1st place in the Pulaski Corn Show days parade!  We had fun!

Middle Schooler

A snapshot of our 5th grader on Wild, Wacky Day during Homecoming week. Yes, that is a hanger sticking out of his head! Caden is doing well in school, classes have always been easy for this kid. He is quite the social bug though, he always has been! It is funny how the school report never changes for him, same kid- just a different year!  He works hard and brings home good grades, however "Needs to Do Less Socializing" is always attached to his "A".  He says that "Middle school was made for me!".  I guess he seems to be enjoying himself, I am continually telling him to keep his hands/feet to himself and his mouth closed. What fun to be a boy in school all day!!  He is growing everyday and gives the biggest hugs! It will be an interesting year!

I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Wow! Such a neat experience! Josh and I traveled to Dayton, Ohio over this past weekend. My cousin and his family live and work on the Air Force Base. A few of my family members, have been planning for the past months to gather and run the "U.S Air Force Marathon". These pictures can only say a little of what an unforgettable weekend it was.

Paragliders dropping US flags in the sky. This happened while I was running, Josh says it was really, really neat!

Before the race...ready to go!

On the Runway with the Sun coming up!

Air Force Base Museums. Our legs (I speak for myself anyway!) were too tired to walk through these museums! Bummer, such a cool place! The kids would've loved it!

After 26.2 miles! It was a hilly course, I don't know that I want to run this course again! I finished 4:24 and Rich finished 4:27, regretfully we got separated and did not run together! Steph ran the 10K-her first race EVER, YAH Steph!

I saw a sign on my 4 hour run, "The World Learns to Fly Here!"...I love that! Such a cool place and I came home with a greater appreciation of America! Each plane on display had a "story". What war it was flown and such.

Cool signs for our Aunts, made by a family member.  I love that big, honkin' medal! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. FYI- I was not saying that at mile 21! A banana actually saved my life, to tell you the truth!  A banana and an old man! An older man, his 16th marathon showed up at my side. He says to me, "This is your race, bear down and do the thing!"  Randomly, he would say to me between miles 21 and 26,   "I'm still here."  "You've got this!"  "Get into your gut and run your own race.".....I will never see this guy again, but he was the reason my legs did not cave!  I have taken this advice to my Aunts battling Cancer or anyone for that matter going through a trial.   "God is with you. This is your race, bear down and do the thing!".  This is probably not my last marathon, nothing on the schedule because I'm pretty sure at this point I can not swing more training time and such for my family to adjust to. However, I am forever changed!!

 

9 year old Puppy Lover!

 Check out this neat cake! Wow, Thanks Grandma Karla! It turned out awesome! Macy loved it!

 Meet "Buddy"! This was Macy's birthday surprise! A Yellow Lab Puppy! We gave him to her a week early and planned a "Puppy birthday party".  She received lots of puppy accessories as gifts.  I think the Puppy is set with bones, chew toys and such -- however, it still does not stay away from shoes! For some reason, our shoes are just too tempting for him! Such a cute little Buddy to join our family!! His paws are huge!

We also celebrated with our friends the "Kuntz" girls! It is always a girl party to have 4 extra blonde girls around for pizza!

Macy is such a neat girl!  She absolutely loves to read! She is a fantastic reader, writer, and an avid dog lover! She is a T-shirt and jeans girl and is often found in a tree with no shoes! We love watching her grow and seeing how God uniquely created her in special ways.  Her face has not changed since birth, still the little rose bud lips, squinty eyes, and perfect nose!  Praying for another blessed year with Macy at our side!!

The Cutest Little Pre-K Girl

A VERY anxious Noelle started Pre-School this week! She is anxious to have a taste of this thing called "school" like her brother and sisters!  I had actually decided to not enroll her in any Pre-K program.  She is with Josh and I at work during the day, and with only one more year with her at home we didn't really want to give her up. However, a super friend who is a teacher resigned her position at the school this year in order to be at home. She decided to teach a bible based Pre-school at her home with 6 little kids.  This opportunity for Noelle just came knocking on our door in late August.  PERFECT! It is perfect for Noelle!!

Oh My Goodness!

 What a ride it has been! Many of you have been following my "Old House" story. Well, there has been quite a change in events. It has been a whirlwind leaving us with our hands out and our heads looking up! Our plan...NO, but humbled by Gods plan. HE never fails...HE always lets us know that he is in charge. 

July 4th Josh ripped up some rotten flooring in the old house. We put a halt on the whole project. Our concrete contractor suggested replacing two whole basement walls. We were prepared to do some patching/straightening with the remodel, but replacing two basement walls was not what we wanted to do to a 100 year old house!

The next week, we were given a 30 day notice. Our Grandma's house that we had been renting -- well, the new buyers wanted us OUT! For a family of 6, maybe you can imagine the stress! A house project on halt and a 30 day notice! NICE! We quickly ironed out the only option we had for housing-a single wide trailer - it does have 3 bedrooms at least! - the best part (that we could not have planned out ourselves) is that the mobile home for rent is around the corner from our property with the old house. So we could move all our stuff into the shed for storage and live (camp, basically!) in this trailer for rent.  "OK-this is not what we'd pick, but it is what is in front of us, so we must procede!"....these were our thoughts.  Whew!

While preparing our move date to be mid-August before school starts- the Lumberyard happens to know some contractors- one happens to be "the best"...Josh's dad! So, we picked a house...Josh drew it on graph paper...and Josh's dad started the project. Really, a whirlwind! So Friday August 17th the basement was dug, Saturday the 18th we moved to a little mobile home....and we stand in awe!
Absolute awe of Gods hand!

Yes, I was screaming while taking the picture below! Screaming!

 "This old house" will be coming down. Buried and Burned.

God is doing a new thing. "See I am doing a new thing! Now is springs up...!"  Is. 42:19

We stand "Amazed and perplexed..." Acts 2:12