Back to the Room Renovation, . . . .

Scott has a week of vacation (take it or lose it, so he's taking it!) this week, and he's focusing on this room renovation project. A previous owner somewhere along the way decided to lower and square off an archway, and I've been wanting that taken out for the past ten years or so! the plaster had cracked all around the seam, and a metal corner/edge piece had fallen long ago. Scott has been afraid of what we might find underneath. But yesterday he decided to drill a few holes, use a flashlight, and explore. After "exploring," he thought for a little while, and finally decided to "just do it." So he got his little jigsaw out, began cutting some nails, and used his hammer and crowbar for help along the way. As he began, he said, "I just hope the house doesn't fall down once I take this out!" We still have no clue as to why someone would ever want to lower the arch and square it off. Opening up that arch has visually opened up the two rooms. I am very much looking forward to completing the renovation of this room (and then we'll need to start on the living room . . . taking down that little addition marred the adjacent living room walls in some areas).

Thanks for Your Prayers . . . .

First of all, for those who read my previous post and have been praying, THANK YOU!!! They certainly are making a difference. On Sunday morning, I met with people in my small group which is part of the larger group, and I was met with hope and enthusiasm. (They thought that Saturday's meeting was GREAT! I told them I came home in tears!) That enveloping attitude from my friends, plus a day away from the object of many of my stresses has really helped to heal a lot of the unsettledness. As in any group, I know that feelings and sentiments can change, so I know that all is not "fixed," but my soul is more at rest with everything. One friend later told me that she sensed a whole new attitude (a good and hopeful one) in the larger group on Sunday. We'll see what the annual meeting brings in April. It might help if Scott is able to step away from his current position in leadership, which he is hoping to do with the re-organization of the council. With him being in his position, and with my job being what it is, we tend to shoulder a lot, and we get many phone calls at home which means we are wearing our "hats" constantly, even in our home. Sometimes the only "rest" I feel that we get is when we head to Maryland. We actually decided that we need to schedule another Saturday Maryland trip. We all need that! As you think of us, we would appreciate your continued prayers.

Lord, I don't know where all this is goin' . . . .

or how it all works out
Lead me to peace that passes understanding
Peace beyond all doubt (Newsboys--Adoration CD)

Ever been part of a group and get to a point where every meeting leaves you unsettled and restless and you ask yourself, "why am I part of this group, anyway?" We're there because every time in the past twenty+ years we've asked God that question, He's said, "You need to stay." (And even lately, when I ask that, He allows other people to point out different things that remind me of why we stay--even as lately as two weeks ago.) There are reasons to stay now, but I keep praying, because I am not at peace. It's either going to get better (people's attitudes will need to change) or else our family will be in for a change from this group that's supposed to be our support system (although I do realize that it may get a bit worse before it gets better if God tells us once again to stay). But I also rely on Scott's judgment. I thought today's meeting would ease this unsettled feeling in my soul, but I just came away more frustrated and unsettled. I just keep praying and praying for God's direction and timing. If any of those who read this want to help in some way, please pray!

Renovating an old room . . .

Well, it was time for a new phase in life. Time to move most of the toys (the ones that are left, anyway) to the basement, since Anna is starting to get in the "in between" stage---between a kid who likes to play with toys and a young lady who is more interested in books and music and movies. So it's time to renovate the "middle room" as we call it. So after the Christmas tree was put away, we moved all of the little stuff out, and started clearing the walls of the multiple layers of paint over the original wallpaper from 1939. Praise the Lord for good and dear friends. My friend Denise came up one day with her young daughter Teressa, and we worked on spraying the walls and scraping the paint and wallpaper. These old walls are in pretty bad shape. Lots and lots of cracks, and places where previous owners have patched (with not much finesse!). Scott has also been working to strip the paint off of the beautiful woodwork around the room. It's beautiful underneath, and we are excited that it's in decent enough shape that we can stain it instead of repainting it! Someday (year) we'll get carpet put down. For now, I bought an area rug from Overstock.com. The old wood floors need help, but they'll do for now.

One of the kids or Scott took a picture of this patch of sorts up on the wall. This looks pretty bad, although it was taken before we scrubbed down the walls, so already the walls look better than this picture. I'll try to post different pictures along the way . . . maybe I'll get one of Scott working on the rest of the woodwork. Its a LONG slow process, and I am reminded of what I used to say when we moved into this house . . . every project seems to take so much longer and so much more money than we originally anticipated. It's an adventure! (Although we're thinking now that brand new homes sure have an appeal! If we ever decide to move once the kids are out of school---we love living so close to the high school and we don't want to move from here right now!--I think we'll look into a brand new house if it's in our budget!)

I have plans for this room! Anna and I already found an ottoman in Marshalls that we loved, so we bought that and are using it in the living room for now. I have two chairs in mind that I plan to purchase, but we don't have room for them at the moment, so I'm waiting until we have the walls done (it will take awhile, but patience is a virtue!). We're looking forward to a "new room."

Before Christmas, I was thinking that we would do this middle room and move right on to the living room (which is connected to the "middle room" with a big archway in between). When it took so long to get all the wallpaper off that little middle room, I began thinking that maybe the living room should wait until next year (2009) after Christmas 2008! It needs the same work (original wallpaper & multiple layers of paint stripped, cracked walls spackled and repaired, and woodwork stripped of paint and original finish so that we can restain it). And it's a bigger room than the middle room! Maybe we should only tackle that in the winter/spring of 2009 if we think we can finish it before Abby graduates from high school next June.

Pictures from the Science Fair

Joel entered the school science fair last Saturday. Tied for second place, so he moves on the Regional competition. We're realistic in knowing that he probably won't get anywhere near the major prizes there . . . the winners in the last few years have projects that will change people's lives (a whole lot of people), and Joel's roller coaster projects won't necessarily change people's lives (not on a large scale, anyway!). But last year, he got a monetary award from an auxilliary group who wanted to encourage young engineering students. So we'll see.

We sent the camera with Abby and Anna when they took Joel over to the college to set up everything. They took some interesting pictures (although I had asked that they get some pictures of themselves/each other, too, which they did not!). I like this picture of Joel and his friend, Austin---it makes me smile. The girls took this from the second level of the Jordan Science Building (at Messiah College). It's a beautiful building with an impressive entry/atrium. That's where the science fair was held (the science teacher in charge of the school science fair is an alumni, so he has connections!). I also like this picture of Joel, Austin, and their friend Nate, even though it's a picture of their backs! They all look pretty spiffy, heading to into the Student Union for a round of pool! It's becoming a tradition for "down time" at the school science fair!