A Midwest Visitor

I was telling my Mom as I drove her to the airport this afternoon, I like following the signs to the "Arrivals" and not the "Departures". My Mom's departure, although not fraught with the anticipation of the arrival and adventure, left behind such beautiful work and memories. It was so good for my soul to work along side my Mom for a week.

Originally the plan was to work on the basement, but with summer-like days, we ditched the dungeon and headed outside. My yard has never looked so good! We cleaned up all the winter yuck and planted flowers. I've never planted anything here. We are usually trying to kill things in the yard. We also burned yard waste for 6 hours. I'm not talking a small campfire burning for 6 hours, I'm talking about a boulder-cracking-bonfire-whose-embers-were-still-hot-two-days-later fire.

After the warm weather departed, we moved inside. The house had a layer of dust over everything, and within a day it was shining. I'm talking sparkling and glittering. There are no finger prints on any walls or windows, you could eat dinner off the floor under the fridge, and drink out of my light fixtures....spring cleaning at it's finest. I'm glad our house is cottage size.

You may be asking how did we get all that done with three small kids? Well, Grandma and Grandpa brought the entertainment too (more on that to come). I have never seen such dark dirt rings in the bathtub like I did this last week...I love that.

Thank you Mom and Dad.

Basement Room Progress

This will not be the most interesting post.
It is mostly for journaling purposes.
Thanks to the mad skillz of this guy (not Paul Revere), the basement is coming right along.
Here is the photo journey so far.

Tool buying.
When we were engaged, Christian and I went to register at Sears.
We started in the kitchen section when I excused myself to the restroom and left Christian in charge of the scanner/registering.
When I returned to the kitchen section, Christian was no where to be found.
I looked all over and finally found him in the tools section, scanning away.
I laughed at the time, but now I say...
He is a smart man!
Maybe you should register when you buy a house.
Anyways, we have accumulated many a power tool.

Window

Framing

Electrical

Insulation

Drywall

And there she sits.
Next up:

Heating
Ceiling
Flooring

Good 'Ol Family

We've had visitors.

Bob and Tasha (Christian's sister) were here last week!
There is nothing I love more than being around family.
We just miss them all when we are apart and revel in the times we get to spend together.
It's too bad visits can't be more frequent, but we'll take what we can get.

So, I'll be honest, we were trying our hardest to woo Bob and Tasha into moving out here.
The wooing line-up included:

The Freedom Trail (including a coincidental re-enactment of the Boston massacre)
Dinner at the North End
Old North Bridge
Walden Pond
Battle Trail
Rockport
Boston Tea Party Site
Parker's Maple Barn and Sugar Shack


Thanks for coming guys.
We miss you.
Come again soon please!

A Taste of Spring

This morning I had to choose between good, better, and best.
Here are the facts:
It was supposed to be 670
I had a good lesson on the rain forest planned

Being the responsible adult, and the ultimate decision maker, I ditched the lesson and headed straight to the park.

It was so bright and our pale skin gleamed in the sunlight as if it were smiling while soaking up all the Vitamin D.

A day of fresh air while running and riding bikes did our cooped up lungs some good.



We got the kite up with only one entanglement.

How can you not smile going down this?
I think Anna went like 20 times.

As we were driving home, with the windows down, the radio up, and the kids dancing in their seats, I reflected on my decision.

I think I made the "Best" decision today.

Moving On

Well folks, the window is in.

It was a loud process...cutting the foundation.

And now on to the framing, electrical, and plumbing.

More on Ron Paul

(This is a picture of my brother-in-law introducing Ron Paul in Idaho)

My sister-in-law sent us a link to a chart comparing the voting history/platforms between Mitt Romney and Ron Paul. The issues presented also include quotes from Latter-day prophets and apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the church's stance. I found it very interesting and was glad someone took the time to compile it. Anyways, I think they did a good job presenting the material in an easy-to-follow format and it is worth looking at.

Prophetic Counsel, Mitt Romney, and Ron Paul

Now I am just going to say a little more on this. The one thing I hear all the time when people find out I'm a Ron Paul fan is,

"He is wacky, out of touch, and extreme!"

At this point I want to ask them,

"Have you read and studied The Constitution of the United States? Do you believe that document was inspired and is the foundation of such a great nation? Have you looked at Ron Paul's consistent voting record that always upholds The Constitution? Do you know he refuses to meet with lobbyists and always votes on principle? Have you noticed no one can attack him and that he just speaks refreshing, direct, truth?"

Well, those are some of the first questions I want to ask. But there is more.

And as for Mitt Romney, I feel no obligation to vote for him because we share the same faith. I do believe he is a good person. I don't know him personally, but if I were a betting woman, I would wager that way. But "good" is not the only quality I'm looking for in a president. I believe Ron Paul is good, and as my friend once said,

"He is the only candidate who has ever read The Constitution."

Ok, now we can get back to the pictures and antics of my kids.