The Barn

The barn slab has been poured!

The beams are going up.

It's starting to look like a building.

The walls are up!

A view from the back.

The front of the barn. You can just see our camper to the side. We lived in that for almost a month while we were waiting on the barn to be finished.

The barn's "front door." It feels a little more like home with a welcome mat and some potted plants.

Beginning Pictures

Welcome to our little spot in the country.

Our driveway - it's nice to have caliche put down.

This will be the house site. We've cleared some cactus, but that is about it at this point.

 

 

Here is the barn site. We'll start it soon!

The cleared cactus has to go somewhere for now. And, yes, I got to use the tractor to help clear all this junk and push it out of the way. Jim just might have lost his job of using the John Deere. It was more enjoyable than I thought it would be.

The nice thing about clearing out the mesquite to make room for our house and barn is that we are getting a good supply of firewood.

Aah, yes...the Ditch Witch. We rented this to dig the ditches for our electric and water lines. Jim rather enjoyed using this piece of machinery.

One of the resulting ditches

Getting ready to put the pipe together for the electric line.

Finished

 

 

Woohoo! We have a water meter! It's the little things, ya know.

The sap on the trees looked neat, so, of course, I had to take a picture.

The kids relaxing on the kayak that Troy bought at the Knight's garage sale.

Hopefully, the upper tank will fill up soon and the kids can test out that kayak.

Well...we are under way out on the farm. Land has been cleared and we are gearing up to make the move. We can't wait!

About to be...on the Farm!

A couple of years ago we bought a bit of land just outside town with the hope of building a house on it one day. Well...that day has arrived! We put our current house on the market in June with the expectation of it taking a while to sell due to the current housing market. It was on the market for about 6 weeks. The sale will be final in September. Things are moving forward a bit faster than we expected, but we're not complaining! We have not, however, started to build our house yet. That will not get under way until the sale of our current house is final. We have, though, begun work on "the barn," aka a glorified shed. This barn will be our residence while we build our house. Yes - the barn will have a bathroom and a kitchenette. It will not have heat and air, but it will be well insulated! If the heat gets to be too much, we can always take refuge in our camper for a while. We decided that since most rentals around here require a year lease and are more expensive than our mortgage payment, we would rather live in the barn and  have that money go toward the new house. It will also allow us to keep most of our furniture in the barn instead of renting a storage unit. The only exception is our piano, but that will temporarily reside at my brother's home. So, I am getting used to the idea of living in one large room with my five favorite people for a few months. I'm sure there will be challenges, but I'm actually looking forward to it.

This blog has been pretty silent for a while, but I'm hoping to keep up with it again and document our transition from city people to country folks. And, of course, provide a record and pictures of our house building project. So here we go...we're about to truly be on Old MacDonald's Farm!

Irony

Woah...

...this tummy bug has stunk! Reese started it all and it has now run through 5 of the 6 of us. Mother's Day arrived, and my whole family came over to join us for lunch. Well, Troy  (who felt fine earlier in the morning) didn't want to eat lunch, and just went to bed instead. Jim didn't feel well, either. As I started to eat the yummy brownie and ice cream that my sister-in-law had brought for dessert, I got that feeling that my turn was coming. I ate the dessert anyway. It was good.

Shortly after everyone left, Troy made a dash for the bathroom. As I was helping him clean up afterward, I made the comment that he might have to move over pretty quickly because my stomach was not feeling too good. He got a very Jim-like grin on his face, and said, "Happy Mother's Day." We both cracked up. I love that he has his father's sense of humor.

Jim and I were both sick that night. Paige woke up sick the next morning. Trent never threw up, but he also didn't want to eat at all yesterday, which, if you know Trent, is very unusual. Thankfully, we all woke up feeling much better this morning. I'm not sure if I'm willing to say that Trent is out of the woods yet, but I'm hoping he just got a light case of it.

We don't have this happen very often in our house, especially not to all of us. I am so thankful that my kids can fend for themselves now when I'm not feeling good! In fact, those who were feeling better did a good job of helping the others who didn't. That made this mom proud. Of course, now that everyone is better, I get to deal with the not-so-fun aftermath of too much time spent watching videos and Mythbusters, but, hey...it got us through the tummy bug of 2011...I won't complain too much. At least we learned some physics and Annie songs while we were sick.

Tummy Bug

Ugh...we don't often see the tummy bug here at this house, but it has hit . Little Bit threw up 4 times today. It started around 3 am and lasted until about 10 am. She was throwing up and running a low fever, yet between trips to the bathroom she was still singing at the top of her lungs. Annie songs, in particular. "It's a Hard-Knock Life" was the favorite choice today. Appropriate. Quite the performer even when under the weather. She had some crackers and Sprite for lunch and then crashed on the couch for a couple hours this afternoon. She is in good spirits this evening, but still feels warm. Hopefully, the throwing up is over. Now...how do I keep everyone else from getting this bug?

Love to Read

One thing I have really enjoyed watching around here is the kids developing a love for reading. As I write this, all of them are curled up with a good book. It's so fun to see that they love reading as much as I do! I hope it continues all their lives. Currently, the boys are very into the Harry Potter series. Paige is reading Number the Stars (we finished it as a read-aloud not long ago and she wanted to read it on her own afterward), and Reese is perusing our blog book, especially the pages that have pictures of her. It's been a fun experience (most of the time) to be able to teach all my guys how to read. Thankfully, they love it, and I look forward to many more years of curling up with good books with them!

It's Been a While.....

So...I've taken a bit of a blogging break. A 3 1/2 year blogging break. Oops. I enjoyed blogging back in 2007, but found that my life was a tad crazy and blogging had to go. However, I have since printed out a hard-copy book of my earlier blog experience, and guess what? The kids absolutely LOVE looking at it and reading it. It is serving exactly the purpose I wanted it to back when I first started my blog...a place to record our daily lives so that we could look back and remember later. With that being said, I'm going to give it another go. It might not be as often or have as many pictures, but I do want to try and preserve the memories of these quickly passing days. So...here's to try #2!

Goodbye, 2007!

It has been a full year! Between the business and the kids, we stayed pretty busy. However, we are thankful for all that God has blessed with us with, and pray that 2008 will continue to be full of family, friends, and work. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

What a fun Christmas! From stockings to bikes to dollhouses, this day was full! Mama and Papa came up to the house to join us this morning. They got to watch the kids open their presents and then joined us for breakfast. The kids took a break from their new toys to help with food preparation. Then it was back to the new stuff. The girls got a large dollhouse and the boys got new bikes. (We may own a bike store, but bikes still remain big occasion gifts!) All of them got some fun backpacks with sleeping bags from Gary and Cheryl. Then there were the random items in the stockings - some DVDs, periscopes, twirly ribbons, etc. After the morning of opening gifts, we just relaxed the rest of the day at home. It was so nice to have Christmas at our house and have the grandparents come over and join in.

Christmas Eve 2007

We have a tradition over here of opening one family gift on Christmas Eve. The gift is always a game that we can play as a family that night.

This year the game was Zitternix. Basically, there are wooden sticks painted in three different colors that are held up by a wooden ring in a delicate balance. Each player takes a turn rolling the dice to see which color stick they have to pull out without upsetting the whole bundle. Different colors are worth different points and whoever has the most points when the bundle comes crashing down wins.

We all got tickled watching this game progress, because for some reason Reese could grab whatever stick she wanted, yank it out, and nothing would happen to the bundle of sticks left behind. The others, however, had to watch the bundle sway, move, and come tumbling down.

Happy 8th Birthday, Troy!

Oh my goodness - my first baby is 8! I can hardly believe it! I remember very well Christmas time eight years ago. I was in the hospital being induced when Troy was not really ready to make his appearance. (He was already 2 days past his due date.) Thankfully, the doctor said it was time, because since he weighed in at 9lbs 2oz, I don't think I would have wanted to wait any longer! The hospital sent him home in a Christmas stocking. My mom provided a stocking for him as well, but he was too big to fit in it! We still hang both those stockings up every Christmas season.

Troy was such an easy baby and he has really been pretty laid-back and easy-going ever since (much like his father). Occasionally, he has those moments of "first-born-itis"...you know - he knows just how things go, we need to play by his rules, etc., but overall he is a sweet, caring boy. Let's see...in the last year, Troy has learned to ride his bike without training wheels, he has gone on the off-road trails with Jim, has run in his first "race", has ridden in his first road bike "race" with Kelly, has lost four teeth, and has gotten quite good at tackling (a little too good) his brother. He is also becoming quite the artist, loves to read, and loves learning about history and science. Math is his least favorite school subject, but he has improved immensely in it this last year. Troy also taught Trent how to read back in the early spring and surprised Kelly with that! Troy loves camping and still prefers the color blue over all the others. He loves hamburgers on the grill and pepperoni pizza. He is actually pretty adventurous when it comes to food and he is my one that I know will try something new on his plate.

Troy brought us into a whole new stage of life, and I can honestly say that our life is so much better with him in it. Troy, we pray that you grow to be a strong man of God and a man of integrity. You have been a terrific son these last eight years. We are excited to see what the future holds for you!

We love you, Troy!

Troy Through the Years

Baby Troy

6 months old

1 year old

2 years old

3 years old

4 years old

5 years old

6 years old

7 years old



8 years old

Snow Pictures

We had a bunch of snow on Thanksgiving, so of course we got the camera out to document this rare event. All that white stuff is unusual around here, so anytime we get it we spend a lot of time playing in it. Now that we are back to temps nearing 70 (which is also unusual this time of year), I thought I would post a bunch of snow pictures just to have it feel a little bit more like winter!

It began to snow while we were at my parents' house so of course the kids had to go out and play!

Hannah (my niece) and the boys are enjoying the snow.

Reese likes the white stuff.

So does Paige! Yes - her coat is totally unzipped. Paige is my hot-natured one and rarely gets cold. She's the one who is in a t-shirt for pajamas, no socks and no covers when it is 30 degrees.

Zeke had fun running around in the snow, too!

Yes - even in the snow, football is still the game of choice.

Troy is getting ready for a pass.

Paige finally zipped up, but did not want to come in!

Reese was having fun, but was the first one to join Daddy inside by the fire. Not having mittens that fit right could have had something to do with that. The hot chocolate that was waiting inside might have had something to do with it, too.

Tackling in the snow...does it get any better than that?

Maybe we'll get some more snow this winter - we sure enjoyed it over Thanksgiving!

Happy 39th Birthday, Jim!

WooHoo - 39 years old! One last year in the thirties decade. :) Instead of recapping Jim's last year (since he would do a better job of that himself) I'm going to share 39 things I love about my husband. Cheesy, yes, but fun to write!

1. His faith in God is important to him.
2. He is himself and doesn't care what others think of him.
3. He makes the effort to be a great husband.
4. He is a terrific Dad.
5. He loves the outdoors.
6. He makes me laugh.
7. He is willing to be silly with his kids.
8. He has dark hair (well...he used to), but a red beard.
9. He wears shorts year-round (because you have to wear shorts at a bike store!).
10. He is motivated and self-disciplined enough to be his own boss.
11. He is good at being his own boss.
12. He helps people who need it and never says a word about it.
13. He gives thoughtful gifts.
14. He gives me a break from the house and kids when I need it and doesn't complain about it.
15. He doesn't snore.
16. He is competitive.
17. He is not too competitive.
18. He knows how to fix the toilet (and lots of other things around the house).
19. He does not complain.
20. He takes me to a musical occasionally (if you know Jim, this is a HUGE sacrifice).
21. He'll dance with me even though he hates dancing.
22. He likes sports.
23. He'll ride the off-road trails with me even when I know he wants to go faster.
24. He'll eat whatever I cook.
25. He'll cook.
26. He puts the dishes away just to be nice.
27. He takes good pictures.
28. He reads to the kids.
29. He lets the kids help with projects.
30. He takes the time to teach the kids what he is doing when they help him with projects.
31. He keeps his word.
32. He is honest.
33. He tells me he loves me.
34. He leaves notes for me.
35. He plays with the kids even when he is tired at the end of the day.
36. He takes out the trash.
37. He'll clean the kitty litter and pick up the dog poop because he knows I hate those jobs.
38. He takes one kid out each week for a night out with daddy.
39. He chooses to love me and our children every day.

I love you, Jim! Happy 39th birthday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Turkey Day! And it's snowing - big, beautiful flakes that we don't get to see in this neck of the woods very often. Everything is totally covered in that gorgeous, clean, pure blanket of white. What a beautiful sight.

Let me recap our Thanksgiving Day. We started our Thanksgiving this year by getting up early and heading over to the park by our house to participate in our city's Turkey Trot. They have a 5k run and a 1 mile fun run. This year I got to do the 5k (Jim did it last time) and Jim took the kids on the fun run. A lot of people showed up and many of them did not register until that morning. This meant that the run started about 30 minutes late. By the time we got going I think we were all frozen stiff. (Remember - it snowed.) It was not actually snowing yet, but the air and wind were cold - especially the good ol' Texas wind. The fun run started first so I got to see the rest of my crew run by. True to personalities, Troy ran the whole way next to Jim, who was pushing the girls in a jogger. (They had the warmest seat in the house!) Trent took off after the word go and was not seen by Jim again until the finish line where Trent was waiting. The boys both did a great job! They'll be doing the 5k before we know it! I ran a lot of the race with a friend of mine and had a nice time running, talking, and finally warming up. I could feel my toes again after a few minutes of running. Even though it was cold, we plan on making this a Thanksgiving tradition, so next year Jim will do the 5k and give the fast guys a run for the money and I'll get to run with (probably behind) the foursome.

After the Turkey Trot we had a nice breakfast and a leisurely morning. We then packed up and headed to my parents' house for turkey dinner. On the way there, it started to snow. Around 12:30 or 1:00, we were all enjoying Mom's delicious food and noticed that the huge flakes were actually sticking to the ground! By the time we left to head home around 3 there was a good bit of snow on the ground. Of course, all the kids wanted to play so we sent them out in it before loading up in the car. Paige and my niece, Kyla only had crocs for their feet, but it didn't seem to deter them in enjoying their romp in the white stuff.

After we got home, the Cowboy game came on (of course). At halftime the kids wanted to go out in the snow again so they got bundled up and out they went. Cherisse, Hannah and Kyla came over and joined us. They played football, made snow angels, snow balls, and a snowman. What fun! Once it was dark, the troops headed indoors for hot chocolate and dinner. The Flanagans headed home and we relaxed the rest of the evening. What a fun Thanksgiving!

God has blessed us with so many things, but this year I really am thankful for my great family and the chance to spend time with everyone and just enjoy being together.