Basement Bathroom underway

Here's the bathroom we are currently adding to the basement; where Amanda's room is.  Our first order of business was to cut into the basement foundation for the drainage.  Then, we hired my brother Robert to stud in the walls and run the plumbing.

 David put in the insulation and ran the wiring.

Jim, David's dad, was very gracious and faithful to tape, mud and sand.  He did a GREAT job!

 The vanity is going to be on the left and cabinets will be where the holes are.  We had to leave that area accessible in order to access water shut-off, meter, and  main drain pipe.

 Walls primed.

We went with stick-down tile.  It was super fun to put down and fairly easy!  The open space ahead is where the vanity is going.

This empty cove is for the toilet. The shower is on the right side of the wall and the access panel (concealed with beadboard) is on the left.

The kids and Buddy preparing for one of their first trips down in the woods.

The kids and Buddy enjoying popsicles on the deck of our new home.

We were eating so many of our meals out on the deck that David decided to build a picnic table. He did a great job!

Our first painting project. This is mine and David's room. Before: There was a greenish border on top and the white wall with the door wasn't here when we bought the house.  Robert put it up and Jim sheetrocked and mudded it while we were at the beach.

The pictures don't show very well the popcorn with glitter ceilings.  Thankfully that scraped off very easily.

After: We have a new fan and have been given carpet that we'll be installing before to long.  I'll post those pics later.  David calls this our "blue jean teddy bear" room. :)  It's a lot easier to look at anyway. :)

September Days

The reason for the sudden posts is I'd been trying to post them for a while but it wouldn't work. I discovered the problem and were back on. I'm hoping to put some pictures of our new house on here and then keep them updated as we do projects. The Lord has been incredibly kind to bless us with this house!! It's so wonderful, so peaceful, so fun, so perfect for our family!! We eat out on the deck just as much as we eat inside. The kids, who have wanted a dog as long as I can remember, finally got one (Buddy). We praise God for doing exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think!!

Up next: Hopefully I'll post pictures from our trip to Myrtle Beach. :)

A Visit to the Country

The Wulff family was kind enough to have us over for dinner, calf feeding and welding lessons (something I'd wanted to do since I was a kid as I grew up around welding all my life). It was GREAT fun!

Moving

Well, for the four of you who persevere and continue to follow this blog despite how boring it is... It looks like we'll be moving. For a while, we've desired to move to the country. In April, we found a house on a 3 acre wooded lot just past the church. After much waiting, prayer and learning to be content where we are, the Lord provided a buyer for our home. The plan is to close on July 29th. Our new address will be 19717 White Oak Trl., Kirksville.
We will no longer have our sbcglobal.net account and so have opened another e-mail address. Our new address is: david_deann@yahoo.com
I'm sure we'll be posting pictures here and there of the new home and eventual remodels. Until then, it's time to PACK!

It's been a long time

Well, it's been a long time since I last posted... so here I am. A brief update on everyone: the kids are all growing by leaps and bounds; we're thankful for their physical health but pray more so for their spiritual health! Amanda is growing by leaps and bounds not physically but spiritually and WHAT a blessing it's been!! She's such a HUGE help to me around the house and with the kids and it's been precious to see all that the Lord has been teaching her and how He's been conforming her into His image. We're very thankful for her and for the miracle God has done and is doing in her!
David and I are doing well. I've been reading a book on Holiness and my longing and prayer is to be more holy; that God's light would shine in my heart exposing every small and large bit of darkness, that those things would be cleaned out to make more room for God to come in. Oh to be cleansed and filled with Him more and more!!
During the holidays, we all made a trip down to Texas that was very wonderful and relaxing! On the way home we listened to an incredible, life-changing message. The main reason I wanted to post on this blog was to put this out for those who haven't listened to it... I highly recommend taking time out to hear it!
Maybe I'll post more soon with pictures for all to see.
Here's the link to the sermon: http://www.ibclouisville.org/old/sermon/08-21-2010/we-affect-unseen-and-unseen-affects-us
May God bless each of you; may He be exalted and may we run HARD in this short, purposeful, enemy opposed race!

Testimony

There is a young lady in our church who was recently converted. She shared her testimony on Sunday; it was SUCH a blessing!! I highly recommend listening to it! Just click http://www.sermon.net/lakeroad It's titled "God's great work in my life".
When once she was avoiding people, she's now constantly glowing with a smile. Praise the LORD!

Past few Months

A crew from Kirksville and Columbia went to Arkansas Family camp together. It was a wonderful time of fellowship!! We stopped in Mammoth Spring, AR to stretch our legs and enjoy the scenery.

Meghan decided to do Allison's hair... and toes, and ears. Allison enjoyed every minute of it!

Meghan doing Allison's hair again. This time taking advantage of the stickiness from the meal and her hands.

Ryan's first time of fishing. He caught a baby pirch.

Kaitlyn's first time of fishing too. Her pirch was a little bigger.

Amanda started a new job at an optometric office, something she has desired for a while. She also just turned 18. It's been a big year for her.

Be Still

"Be Still, My Soul"by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697-?Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;Leave to thy God to order and provide;In every change He faithful will remain.Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, FriendThrough thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertakeTo guide the future as He has the past.Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;All now mysterious shall be bright at last.Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still knowHis voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends departAnd all is darkened in the vale of tears;Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repayFrom His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening onWhen we shall be forever with the Lord,When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Celebrating a year of life!

It was a year ago, today, that little Allison was born. Time has gone by so fast!! What a joy she has brought to our family; we praise God for her!
An update on her health: several months ago, the doctor wanted to do an CT scan on her chest to see what was going on. She coughed when crying and grunted when I held her a certain way, unlike the other kids. The tests revealed that she does have a cyst, but it's not in her lung tissue - which is a tremendous blessing! It seems to be about the same size as when they first discovered it. The doctors said that as long as she grows and is showing no symptoms (which she shows absolutely none now) and as long as the cyst stays the same, nothing needs to be done and she should be fine.
She's been the most laid back of all our children and is quite patient with her siblings who love to hold her, carry her, feed her, "help" her. They have been a tremendous help to me!
We do continue to thank God for filling our quiver and for blessing us beyond measure! To Him be ALL the praise and glory!!

Finally an update

Grammy (Deann's mom) decided to move up to Missouri. Yay!! It's been such a joy to have her here! She is full of many talents. She made Kaitlyn's apron and bonnet and then made Kaitlyn's birthday cake.

Allison in her little bonett.

Meghan made this hat for Allison for Christmas.

This gives you an idea of how much snow we got. I've never seen this much snow in my life! We had shoveled the driveway twice before the final shovel and it still was the hardest time of shoveling in all my 10 years of living here!

Kailtyn and Ryan were playing Noah's ark.

Meghan was a shepardess for school...

then she was a sports fan.

Grammy thoroughly enjoying her grandaughter and little Sophie (the white dog) all together. (and they were enjoying her too)

Grammy and the kids made this snowman. She's been enjoying all the snow we've been getting up here! We knew those broken glasses would come in handy somewhere!

Allison LOVES splashing in the bathtub!

Kaitlyn made Allison a baker's hat.

Each of these baskets is attached by a jump rope. The train, that traveled round and round the house, kept the little ones entertained for a long time!

Dress up time with Amanda.