2007 is a year of milestones so far.  Glen turned 40 in January, we celebrated our 20th anniversary in February and this month I will turn 40.... and I find I am looking forward to it!  Life just keeps getting better. Not easier, but better.

Glen is my best friend and I find myself more in love with him as each year passes.  He is not the the romantic type but I see his love for me on a daily basis and we are closer than ever.  Our walk with Christ has grown and strengthened both individually and as a couple.  During our lowest times, we try to find the blessings in our circumstances and give thanks for the daily gifts.

I also wanted to post some updated pics.  We are 99% complete.  We are waiting on electricity downstairs, but for now we make do with extension cords.

 This is Austin's room. Daddy still has to make a loft bed and put up shelves.

Going down into the basement.

Left side of family room.  The cubby under the stairs is Tedy's hideaway.  There is a hidden door below the cubby for storing all my Christmas decorations.

Right Side of family room.  Daddy's new tv makes a great movie theater for the kids.

Looking into the classroom.  They each have a small folding table that can be used close to the ground with beanbags or higher up with folding chairs that are just the right size for the kids.  All the green and black walls are magnetic chalkboards.  The built in box to the left is filled with scrap wood that the kids can spend hours playing with.

Looking out from the classroom.  We have used every spare inch of space for storage (and could still use more) but now all our "educational" resources and supplies are in one space!

My washroom.  I now look forward to laundry!

Glen's hide-away game-fridge. This is at the bottom of the stairs going left.  Behind Glen are the storage shelves at the end of the hallway with the entrance to the laundry room to the left of the shelves.

 

And to think my DH has never done construction work!  God is good.

On February 6, Libby and 2 of her friends went to have their hair cut to donate the hair to Locks of Love.  Here are some pics of before and after.  SM gave 17", Libby gave 10", and CM gave 15"!

 

Glen had his hand surgery on Tuesday and it appears to be a big success.  He has had nearly zero pain or discomfort and his hand feels better than it has in years.  Thanks for all the prayers out there.

Because he was unable to complete the basement before surgery and will not have much use of his hand for several weeks, he showed me what he has done so far.  Remember, it started out just finishing off a family room.  When I went down I was nearly brought to tears.  Our unfinished basement now has a rough-finished furnace room, finished laundry room, hallway, family room AND a school room for the kids!

We still have shelving and flooring to put down and I will post the finished product once done.  The walls are covered with magnetic chalk-board paint so the kids can play directly on the walls!  I just was so proud of what he has done I had to share it.

I will also post pics of the family room once done.  That still needs staining and finished flooring put down.  I am just so excited over the whole project! 

Well, I have been wading through piles and boxes, resorting and packing, thinning out and tossing everything that was brought out of the basement.  For such a small house, I bet we have hauled off a tractor trailer load of 'stuff'.  The Christmas tree has come down and boxes now stand in its place; floor to ceiling!  Other than the folded up total-gym, my kitchen has pretty much been returned to normal.

Glen is still dilligently plugging away at the basement and will not so much as give a hint as to where the project stands.  All I hear is, "It's getting closer."  I know he would like to be complete with furniture moved by this Sunday's football game!

Libby is catching on to her Bible copywork.  We had another disagreement this morning on a personal issue and when she began her copywork of the assigned verses she commented that it had to do with our "debate" this morning.  I told her if she would not take my word for it, maybe she would listen to God's word.  She did not say anything but I know she has been mulling this one over.

  I had a long discussion with my sister yesterday where she is struggling with family, friends, and even her husband who is second guessing her homeschooling their children.   The sad thing  is that all their reasoning & logic revolve around worldly thinking.  They have a 14 dau (the oldest of 9 children) that is smart and articulate, yet they worry that she is not like other teenagers!  I pray our daughters turn out as well as she is and not like other teens.

I have been keeping a notebook of homeschooling information, motivations, scriptures, etc which is currently on loan to a friend.  I pulled some of the articles and scriptures from my computer and sent them to her in the hopes that the information would help with the dilema before they put her in public school.  All we can do is pray and trust that God's will be done.  I just feel all the more blessed that I have a husband so firmly behind me now, though it may not have always been so. 

Here is how the holidays went.

We all went north to spend Christmas with my family but due to and incoming storm, Glen had to return home Christmas night.  The plan was to return for New Years then we would all come home together. BUT...  Glen had started finishing the basement and got on a roll and did not want us coming back until it was finished!  When I left at Christmas he had just began the framing.  He finally came back to pick us up this past Friday.  I do believe that if Libby did not have a basketball game on Saturday, we would still be there!

However, the basement is nearly done but I am not to see it until it is 100%.  In the meantime, everything from the basement has been moved to our first floor so when I walked into the house there is just a narrow path to the opposite end of the house!  I have spent the last day and a half just sorting and organizing piles.  God grant me patience to put up with this for just a few more days.

This is Austin's room. As you can see, you cannot even get into his room!

We also have brought back a cat which Glen agreed to in a weak moment when dealing with mice in the house during our absence.  My sister had a stray (one of several) that needed a home.  Penny is a grey and white kitten of aound 7-8 months old.  Glen resolved the mice problem before we returned home but he had already given the okay.

Yesterday, I took a close look at Penny and find that Penny is not a she but a HE.  After a good laugh with the kids this morning and a call to my sister on anatomy (she too, is a homeschooler), we have now renamed Penny to Teddy in honor of Teddy Bruschi of the New England Patriots.

So... tomorrow we will try to find a semi-clean corner and get caught up on our History and maybe some reading.