Wtih our tax refund, we bought a new boiler and hot water heater, and my sweet husband installed them.  It took about a month and I don't have any idea how many trips to Home Depot and Lowe's, but HURRAY! it's done! and now we have hot water.

You know, hot water is really a nice thing to have.  It's really easy to get used to. Before we put in the new boiler, we had kind of warmish water, maybe 3-5 gallons, then it went cold.  And you know, honestly, it was okay. If you wanted to take a bath, you just heated water on the stove. I have a dishwasher and two washing machines, so it wasn't like I really needed a lot of hot water. However, I am amazed by how shocked people act when they hear we went without really hot water for 8 months.   Personally, I think it was a really good thing.  I don't want my kids (or myself) to always take conveniences and luxuries for granted. 

But I am glad to have hot water now. 

We also bought a new dinette (sort of).  So now we can seat 10 around our two 6' folding tables (pushed together) or 12 with them pulled apart (but then we have to serve buffet stype). We also got 10 stacking chairs and I am happy to have them, they look nicer and are more comfortable than what we had before. Unfortunately, the tables take up half the living room, but they can be folded up when not in use, so I guess that's okay.

Although I have been pregnant, what, something like five and a half years out of the last 14, I am not pregnant now. My baby is eight months old, and I would really like to not be pregnant for another, say, four months. Maybe even longer. 

The next baby will make 8, which is where you absolutely have to get a real van (we're driving a Suburban now), and I've been dreading this for a really long time.

Also, we have to do something about the kichen table situation, we're pulling a high chair up to a table that seats 8. But we have no room for a larger table, unless we give up our living room. And I don't want to eat in shifts (as my sweet husband suggests).

So, I'm not ready for number eight yet.

My husband and I have been married since June, 1985.  We now have seven children, five girls and two boys.  We live in a fixer- upper house and work on things as we have money/time (which, of course, we don't have a whole lot of either!)

When we moved in (eight months ago), there was duct tape patching the avacado green, teal and gold linoleum kitchen floor and peeling (bright pink) rose wallpaper to, I guess, complement the brown built in oven that doesn't consistently work. I was also 38 weeks pregnant.

So, for the last eight months, we have been enjoying a sweet baby boy, laying flooring, and putting in a new boiler (hot running water is really a nice thing.  Easy to get used to, you know?).

I ripped down the wallpaper right after we moved in, I just couldn't stand it. So for a while, we had a bare wall.  We taped and textured it a couple of months ago. Now, we have a big hole in the drywall in the livingroom, which really needs patched.(More tape and texture work).

For school (do we have time to do school?) we use Christian Cottage, Apologia, Modern Curriculum Press, and Saxon.  And lots of other stuff!