Fairy Houses...Everywhere!

Ladybird and Moonchild have been delightfully busy constructing a Fairy Village in our garden.

Daffodil Village

Log Cabin

Tea House

Fairy Rain Shelter
(an essential feature in any Oregon village)

Inspiration for this lovely fairy village comes from "Fairy Houses... Everywhere!" by Barry & Tracy Kane:

Status Report

The pace is picking up out at the house. After weeks of waiting for the moisture to dissipate from the sub-floor it was finally dry enough to lay the wood floors. We were so surprised today to find all the wood had been laid in the past two days! The tile has also been started and is looking very nice. Next week the cabinets are supposed to go in. The end is in sight!

Dining Room and Entry

Living Room

Adding to Clan Q

My brother and sister-in-law arrived in Ethiopia today! Please pray for them as they meet their 3 newest children tomorrow for the first time. This has been a long journey for their family, bringing these little ones home.

I'm sure there are some trying days ahead as they all get used to each other. I know it will be especially difficult for them when they have to say good-bye to their little girl, leaving her there for a few months yet until her paper work is finished and they can return to bring her home. But it is incredibly exciting for them to be picking up their 2 small sons!

I can't wait to meet these new little ones God is bringing to our family...more cousins to add to the count!!!

Good News

My Lavender Girl heard wonderful news this week! She received word of her acceptance to the Honors Program of our favorite home town university. Go Girl!!!!
Just standing on it's own this was good news. But it was extra good news for this Mama's heart, as I've watched my girl struggling to find some enthusiasm for the journey ahead, to wake and hear her say, "I'm excited to go to college, Mom!". I'm excited for her future. I'm excited to see her take this next step. I'm excited to see her excited. I'm just excited!

A View To Look Forward To

It may not look like progress....but it really is!

House Building Update

It's been a long time since my last post on the house progress and these pictures are old. I kept trying to post them back in December and couldn't get the pics to upload.
A fair amount of progress has been made since these were taken.

Entryway

The interior has been painted and then repainted after we saw the result of our poor color choice...it was very PINK. Now it's a nice neutral beige in the main part of the house and creamy white in the bedrooms.

Kitchen and Family Room

The kitchen cabinets have been ordered. The trim is going up around windows and doorways. We're looking at carpet and tile samples....there are so many choices. And I'm not a designer sort of person. I'll defer to my husband in that department.
The new projected finish date is April 1st. Just 9 more weeks, we can hold out that long. By the time we move it will be 1 year from our signing on the property.
Waiting is SO hard.

Flying Solo

This week has been long.

Much longer than I anticpated it being when my husband flew off to Texas last Sunday.

Come Wednesday, usually my favourite day of the week, I was happily anticipating his return Thursday night only to receive a very disappointing call. The project was going slowly and he would need to stay through Sunday. I would have cried had my new neighbor not shown up at my door right about then!

My husband's home coming each evening is the light at the end of my day. I've missed him sorely this week. Just as the lack of light in the winter affects my mood, so does the absence of my husband.

Soon, very soon he'll be heading home. Back where he belongs. I know the week has been long and tiring for him as well. The hours can't pass quickly enough. Soon my sunshine will be home.

Cousin Tally

January has been quite the month for our growing clan! Every once in awhile we have to sit down and re-tally the cousin count. And since we've added a new girl cousin, a cousin once removed, and hopefully we will be adding 2 little boy cousins next week, this is a good time to add them all up. Here's the official score: Q side of the family has 31 cousins and the G side has 37 cousins (these figures include my 6 on both sides) so my children have a grand total of 55 cousins! Incredible!!!

This past Friday we were able to enjoy some cuddle time with the littlest member of Clan Q.

Lavender Girl and Baby

New Mama, Grammy, and Baby

Welcome, Little One

My big sister is a grandma! The newest member of the clan arrived at 9:40 last night. I hear she has dark hair and a cute button nose. I can just picture it. As beautiful as her Mama I'm sure. It's all we can do to refrain from jumping into our car and driving up to see her for ourselves....but we'll make ourselves wait and give them all time to recover.

A New Side of Life

Representing EDS at Governor Kulongoski's Inaugural Ball.

Our Place of Quiet Rest

A few weeks prior to Christmas my very thoughtful husband came home with grand news. He had booked a cabin for the two night after Christmas. We shared a delightful family time...reading books, watching movies, playing games,munching, building Fairy Houses in the wilds......for two blissful nights and a day. It was heaven on earth!

Christmas Craziness

King Jabberwocky


Moonchild, the Queen of Camo!

I Love You This Much!

Ladybird and Daddy

Praise for Powell's City of Books

The topic of choice for family blogging appears to be our trip to this wonderland and I wouldn't want to leave my own gushing gone unspoken!

My first thoughts upon entering this glorious book land were a bit overwhelming, maybe awstruck. How does one find ones way around such a managerie of books? Not to mention how does one afford all that one suddenly "needs" to possess? Might I offer a bit of advice to the future Powell's shopper? Come with a specific list and specific amount you are willing to spend!!!!

I was actually what my son referred to as a very responsible book shopper. I can pat myself on the back I suppose. I purchased my annual "marked down in January calendar"....with folk artwork by Linda Nelson Stock, my calendar of choice for the past 3 years, and a small planner for my purse. I browsed several items in the Christian fiction and decided to keep borrowing that genre from the library. Then found my way to the children's literature...oh my, that's where my will power breaks down. I can much more easily rationalize spending money in this department...it's for my children. We need a wonderful new read to kick off the year. In fact, we need several new reads to get us going!

So into my hand basket went the following:
Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher ( her previous book, Shadow Spinner, is a family favorite)
Nanny McPhee: The Collected Tales of Nurse Matilda by Christianna Brand ( to make me feel good about my large well-behaved family)
The Boy's King Arthur edited by Sydeny Lanier and illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
David Balfour by Robert Louis Stevenson and also illustrated by N.C Wyeth

We began Alphabet of Dreams this morning and Susan Fletcher has not disappointed us!

Now back to school I must go.

Wishing You A Merry Christmas

Happy Saint Lucia's Day

Ladybird, our St. Lucia Queen.

The Fear Not Factor

Ladybird and Moonchild sing for their Lord!

I'm Still Here!

Really, truly I am. It's just that once again, living life has taken precedence over blogging about it.

So, what's been happening in this learning life?

I learned that two days of snow is enough for me! It's pretty while it's coming down. It's fun, if there is enough to sled and build a snowman. But....when it begins to thaw it.makes.a.mess!!! And so, I'm grateful to live in the place that is only occasionally blessed with white precipitation.

I cheered for my Autumn Rain as she battled through final's week and made it through with flying colors (the grades aren't in, but I have no doubts about how she did). And I laughed when I greeted her Saturday morning and asked how it felt to do be done and her reply was a feeble "Sad, I have no classes for a month!". What a wonderful and nutty scholar I've raised!

I helped my younger daughters hostess what was supposed to be a Flower Fairy Tea Party for a few little friends....only after weeks of waiting and planning, the revered "How to Host a Flower Fairy Tea Party" book disappeared! So I wiped away sad little tears and we enjoyed a marvelous Christmas tea instead. And I'm sure the book will show up when we pack and we'll enjoy the Flower Fairy Tea in our new home next year. So, now we have something to look forward to.

And yesterday I cried while watching those same young daughters sing their hearts out for their coming Lord. My Ladybird did an incredible job singing a solo as Mary and was the sweetest looking Mary ever to grace the stage, truly, I do not lie! And also, my shy little Moonchild, who didn't even want to be in the program, was the most animated and glowing angel in the choir. It was a delightful show to be sure. Just wish you all could have seen it.

Now it's Monday, early this morning I kissed my Autumn Rain goodbye and sent her off to see her cousins. The rest of us began our last week of school before Christmas break is upon us. How I wish to just set it all aside and begin the break now...but I daren't take extra time off now. I need to save it for moving time.

Winter Wonderland

Snow! Snow! While we swam early this morning our world turned white.

Yesterday we cut our Christmas tree in the rain, it was the quickest our famiy has ever chosen a tree! Now the tree is trimmed and the snowy backdrop through the window is just perfect. I have never had a Christmas tree and snow at the same time (at least that I can recall)...it is a welcome novelty.

The downside is that my daughter still needed to go to school and she has never driven in the snow. So this Mama is worried and my imagination is working overtime.

Siding

Every week brings new and exciting changes to our new home. The siding is about 70% finished, and I send a hearty thanks out to the poor siders working in the downpours of the past few weeks.

The electrical wiring is complete and the audio wiring is in progress. Oh yes, and doors! I think that once the house is all seeled up it'll be ready for the plasterboard. Do I dare move the count forward to three months, we've been stalled at four months for so long now?