Things Are Happening...Just Slowly!

Hope to update more soon. I'm finishing off the bathroom which involves caulking the trim, painting the walls, sealing all the grout, painting the trip, repainting the bathroom mirror/cabinet, and fixing the scratches made in Matt's beautiful doors.

Why NOT to give your child your phone...

You might open it up and see something like this!

Still Going...

As we predicted there have been multiple problems with just about every pipe in our bathroom.

Today they finished up pipes below the toilet and fixed the joists that they had to cut out. Now our toilet won't fall through the kitchen ceiling....a good thing!

Everything is grouted and the dry wall experts have come in and finished the walls. We had a sink which Matt sent back because it was too big. Unfortunately, they are out of stock of the smaller size...so now we're waiting...

The guys working on the house are neat bunch of guys that live around here and very involved in the neighborhood. We're blessed to be working with them!

Sledding...

 Brookside Hill is a very popular place to go sledding. It's a pretty major hill that has a steep incline. You get a workout just trying to get up it. We were the only ones there this morning...The early bird gets the worm!!

 I definitely enjoyed the tube more...it makes the sharp angle at the bottom less painful :)

There is a definite thrill going down this hill. Here's two different views. (I didn't wipe out...There's just a lot of flying snow!!)

Ranger

Ranger is still doing well. He's definitely getting used to us and our routines. His greatest love is lettuce. He could eat a pound of it in about a minute. He also likes belly rubs and is getting much better at coming when called.

Kids Are Weird!

Ana is still finger knitting. She has around 300 feet which she has formed into this "octopus" which she mounted on a pole. Currently, she is torturing Mitike with it. How do they think of these things?

Bathroom Update...

 Well, we've made some more progress. Unfortunately, because of the poor weather on Friday, not much work got done. I'm excited to see what happens on Monday!

Moving...slowly

Our tile guy got called away today to help with another project. He did get started though!! No, we aren't painting things red...that is the sealant that goes on top of the cement board. I did choose fairly large subway tiles to lessen the amount of grout. They also made a special frame for the window so that it will be completely water tight. What can't be seen is that they also replaced the toilet elbow...so once the floor tile is laid, the toilet will be able to be used again. Hooray...the basement bathroom is pretty cold in the winter 😰

More Progress!

The crew was here again today. They finished the drywall and cement board. They also began taping and mudding. Tomorrow the tile guy will begin working on the shower! I'm very excited to see my subway tiles going up!

Ranger is checking out the work too! This picture shows how big he is!!

The Modern Educator

I love this quote! So often we as teachers want to "fix" our students by hacking away day after day. What we really need to be doing is watering like crazy. 

Let's go help our students grow!!

Bible Quizzing

Today was our first quiz meet of the new year. Our team placed third. Ana and Ming Hong had two perfect rounds!! Both the Littles did really well too. Way to go Shepherd Quiz team!

Bathoom Renovation Has Begun

About two days ago our contractor contacted us. He let us know that they only had outside jobs currently. As it has been as low as -25, they were unable to work and wanted to move up our bathroom. We hashed out an agreement and they showed up the next morning. We quickly worked to take everything out and get ready.

As you can see it hadn't been updated for about 40-45 years! It was due for a makeover, but the real reason we were doing it is that the hundred year old pipes are giving out. As our bathroom is on the second floor...this poses a serious problem!

I got a call/text during the day. Unfortunately the sink pipe was so corroded that when they touched it, it fell apart. Even though the water was off, there was still water in the pipe which ran down the floor into the light fixture in the ceiling of the kitchen. Yikes!! 

Here's what I saw when I got home...lots of progress! They let me know that it needed insulated. So, since we had some insulation, I decided to do it myself.

Ranger kept me company while I worked. (He's becoming my shadow.)

 

Hooray insulation...which will hopefully lead to a much warmer bathroom.

New To Us!

In early December our first german shepherd died rather suddenly. Her large intestine just stopped working. She was a great dog, obedient, loyal, a great running partner, calm...

We fostered another german shepherd who was much smaller, but it bit Matt and hated our basset hound. So, she had to go back. That rescue also didn't have any other dogs that were compatible with other pets.

When I was looking online I spotted a german shepherd south of us in Franklin and applied. I was told that we were second in line, and that the other family looked promising. So, I didn't give it much thought. Then, on Christmas Eve we were told that the other family fell through and we went to meet him.

After our visit, we decided to give it a try. He gets along with our other dog fairly well. (except he likes to wake her up--to play--which annoys her greatly!!) He's definitely much more active and likes to be around people more. He also doesn't like cats. (Our neighbor feeds over 30!!) He has some funny quirks like he crosses his legs when he lays down and likes to kick around a soccer ball. 

I'm working on good leash walking right now and he's learning very quickly. With that all said, hopefully he'll stick around for a while!

A Great Way To Start The Year!

Today we got to celebrate my grandma's 91st birthday! When she was born the doctor looked up and wasn't sure if she was born on Dec. 31st or Jan. 1st. He made her a New Year's Baby.

My grandma taught me a lot of crafty things and wrote me weekly while I lived in Singapore! I've never heard her say anything unkind. Happy Birthday to the best grandma!