We're making progress

Here's a view of the kid's bathroom
The kid's bathroom as well
This is standing in the kitchen looking towards the family room (notice the absence of the hole in the floor)
Here's a view of the marble tile going on the counter tops in the kitchen and master bath
Here's a shot of the primed walls in the office
Pretty paint in the master bath (rowboat)
Another shot of the master bath
Here's the primed walls in the formal living room
This is a much better shot of what the color really looks like...
New cement poured in the back yard and catch basins (under the gravel)
More new cement and a wall with privacy fence (the starts of it, anyway!)
New cement pad to the right of the front door

Alright then..it looks like we've progressed enough to post some new pictures of the progress on our new house!=0) The backyard is essentially done enough (except landscaping and what not) that we won't have to worry about water getting to the foundation any longer. That means no sinking in the corners! There's been some painting progress as well.=0) We had the walls skim coated to look like plaster (and not be plaster!) to warm up the public spaces in the house and to be easy to correct any blemishes in the walls. I know a few of the pictures look really orange, but it's more a golden color (the sun was going down and we some have of the electricity turned off) the effect is a really warm and inviting space...and all the pictures with the yellow/orange walls are the same color, it's all in the lighting! =0) I love the color in the master bath! Serenity at it's best...and the master bedroom will be a similar color as well. The kid's bathroom looks like a toothpaste blue in the pics, but is really robin's egg blue (I promise!) and it looks great! Let me tell you how much I love the tile for the counter tops in the kitchen...it's great! The best thing is we got enough of it to tile kitchen counters and the master bath counter for $200 dollars out of the clearance bin at Lowe's! Can't beat that I say! Should be just a couple of weeks left to go and we can start the process of moving (eek!). The rest of the walls need to be painted, the flooring needs to be put down, the counters tiled, appliances brought in and, and, and...=0)

They grow up so fast...

Drake as a "Safety Patrol" crossing guard!
Adree modeling her choir attire!


Now that we've been in school for a little more than a month, the kids and Mom (taxi services anyway!) are well into the swing of things!=0) Drake as a fifth grader this year has joined the "Safety Patrol". The safety patrollers act as crossing guards in front of both the drop lot parking lot and the bus drop off lots, fly and retrieve the flags, act as playground monitors, monitor the halls, and provide a much needed service to the school. The members were even "sworn in" by the local police department! Drake absolutely loves it!=0) He is on duty every third week, but tends to volunteer on his weeks off because he enjoys it so much! This has been a great confidence building experience and he has been able to make a few friends also. He is always happy to go to school, happy to do his homework, happy to be helpful...etc.=0) It does my heart good to see that he is having a great year this year! Drake's teacher says he enjoys his creativity and is glad he is in his class this year. I am grateful that this man is patient! Good job sonny boy!=0)
Miss Adree joined the choir at the beginning of the year and absolutely loves it as well!=0) Never mind she has to get up early and be to school by 8am on Tuesdays, she is happy to do so! The choir has several performances scheduled this year and I will for sure take pictures to share with everyone! She missed the opportunity to ride in the rodeo parade this weekend because we went to visit Cara and family...oh well, though!=0) She is doing well in class and loves school because of the socialization, but hey...as long as she is doing the work too...right?=0)
Sethee monkey hasn't said much other than, "Fiwst gwade is a lotta wowk Mom!" I think he is enjoying himself though! His teachers say he is at the top of his class and is ready to read. As I'm listening to this I'm thinking of him reading Drake's book to me because Drake didn't want to read it to him. So, whatever! I know he is reading already...Seth's teacher also remarked to me that he is a great listener as well! I took that as he doesn't say much in class...=0) Out of the three of mine, Seth is probably the only one who is a little bit shy...not that you would know that at home! He is the crazy one! Ask his siblings! "Mom...Sethee is bouncing off of stuff again..." I'll hear or "Mom Sethee is really hyper, can you tell him to cut it out?" =0)
Now really where did the time go? I can remember them all as little ones...Drakee reading me things off of cartons at the grocery store at age 4, Adree telling the cashier, "that's my baby, his name is Seffee" at age 2 1/2, and Sethee being the happiest, most easy going baby ever. =0) I'll try not to blink...they just grow up so fast!=0)

Waxing poetic...or something!=0)

I've been thinking...Yes, as scary as though it might seem, I have been doing it just the same! I tend to do this sort of thing when I find myself in a empty house, as I have for the last 3 days. I should probably blame the Johnson in me for this, but I can go an entire week without leaving my house or speaking to anyone. I find myself perfectly happy to be alone with a book or housework or crafting or the computer, all with no one to talk to except the occasional Facebook friend. Of course if you are "chatting" with someone you aren't speaking them, well...verbalizing anyway! I lived by myself when I was 20 for about a year, I truly loved it..I could come and go as I pleased, speak to someone if I felt like it, stay home for days if I needed as well. When my ex-husband and I split up almost six years ago, I lived by myself for over a year then as well. Now don't get me wrong I love my family and friends and I am always happy to see them when I do, I just like the quiet that envelopes me when I am by myself as well.=0)
So, what does one think about...in the quiet of an empty house? Many, many things!
Dreams I have and wish I could follow
Things that need to be accomplished
Both today and tomorrow
Life as it is, both joy and sorrow
What's mine and what's yours
Things that I know, places to travel
Poetry of thine eyes, deep enough to swallow
Laughter we keep and save 'til we borrow
Safe for us now, beneath starlit skies
We live as we need, dreams to be followed...=0)

Before pics...

This is the kid's bathroom, decent sized and storage...yay!
This is Adree's bedroom, once the paint color is lightened up it won't feel so dark
This is the boy's room and the only room in the house that won't get painted, well, the laundry room won't either...=0)
Lee's office (no need for a formal dining room in this house, there is plenty of space!)
Standing in the kitchen looking toward the kid's bedrooms
Decent sized backyard for the kids (adults too!)
Patio off the Master Bedroom
Large patio off of the kitchen
Jetted tub with a view in the Master bath
Another angle of the Master Bath
Master Bedroom
Looking toward the garage door, 1/2 bath on the right, Master Suite on the left (See what I mean about the terrible paint?...ick!)
Formal Living Room
Down the hall to the Kitchen (on the left), Lee's Office (on the right), the kid's bedrooms, bathroom, and laundry room straight ahead...
The Entry...nice double doors, and the Guest Bedroom on the right
Great sized Kitchen, enough space to keep Mr. Gluten-free's stuff all separated!=0)
Standing in the kitchen looking toward the hole in the floor...I mean the Family Room!=0)
Rehanging the floor and securing it well so, no more sinking feeling in the corner!=0)

So, here's an idea of what it looks like now and I can't wait till we get it all fixed and gussied up! It's going to be a great family home! So cool!=0)

The end is just another beginning in disguise

Over the weekend we had some exciting developments! We closed on our house!=0) Of course, closing on the house meant the beginning of several weeks of frantic work beginning. First thing Monday morning, Lee had his hired help in the house and tearing up floor boards to fix the sinking floor in the corner of the family room. The house is built on blue clay (very common for the area) which has a tendency to expand over time if not kept dry. Not a problem, as long as, you are willing to build your house in a pier system. A pier system would kinda be like a house you would find on the coast that is built on stilts, the only difference being it would be set deep under ground so that your house is at ground level. The house is on one of these pier systems, the only problem is that one of the previous owners did not realize that you have to take precautions with the soil and did not make sure to keep water off of the foundation. The result being the corner of the family room sank a bit and the floor boards need to rehung and leveled and the yard needs to be landscaped with catch basins and skirting around the foundation to keep the water off the foundation and prevent any further movement.
Along with some structural work that is being accomplished, the entire house has to be painted and a good portion of it will be re floored as well. The house has some of the most ugly faux-painting I have ever seen in my life, dark brown and tan and not done well either! The walls seem to close in on you, but once we get done it will a much more appealing colors of light green for the master suite (Ocean Bath and Rowboat), a golden orange/yellow (Rift) for the family room and most of Lee's office and the window wall in the formal living room. The halls, the entry and the rest of the formal living room will be lighter version of the orange/yellow (a lot lighter) the color being Monologue.=0) Adree's room is a grayish purple and it will be painted a light yellow/green (Lemon Thyme) and the kids bathroom will be painted a light robin's egg blue (Robin). I know it's hard to tell on colors without pictures, but as soon as we get it all done we, I will post pictures! I will also post pictures of the before stuff too as soon as I get Lee to upload them from his camera. My computer doesn't have enough R.A.M. to support his silly camera. Why he didn't just take my camera with him so, I could do this all at once is beyond me!
Stay tuned for pictures and we'll keep on plugging along so that we can enjoy our new house together! Yippee! =0)

Happy Birthday Adree Doll =0)

Adree age 7 Pioneer Park=0)
Adree this summer =0)

Fall 2008 Pioneer park
Adree summer 2007
Adree with her brothers and cousin 2005
Grandma sent this picture, with her doing a head stand, in her birthday card from July 2005
Adree summer 2006
Adree in January 2003
Adree as "Magenta" for Halloween 2001
Adree eating sand at the beach...=0)
Adree sucking her thumb at 6 weeks old=0)

Okay, where on earth did the time go? I can't hardly believe that my little girl is nine today! I thought I'd share some pics of her growing so far and share a few things about Miss Adree.=0)
Adree Elizabeth was born on August 25th in the early afternoon in Page, just like her Mom.=0)
The second of my three, Adree was a go getter from the time she was very young. Just 16 months younger than her brother Drake, I really had two babies at once. Really people wonder how you do such a thing, but they were always such good babies, it really wasn't that difficult! With two that close in age, you don't have to worry about jealousy, and they were always into the same things so, they always had each other as playmates.
I remember taking Drake to the park before Adree was even old enough to walk and Adree was not going to sit in carrier and watch him play. She yelled until Mom picked her up and followed back behind Drake as he played so Adree wouldn't feel left out. Adree would watch Drake as he walked around and you could tell she just couldn't wait until she could move around too!=0)
Adree started talking as soon as she was able to sit up on her own, at about 6/7 months. I remember Adree sitting behind her Dad, who was working on the computer, and saying dadda dadda dadda...until he would turn around to look at her. She would grin ear to ear, "Daddy your little girl is calling you..." I would say and sure enough as soon as he turned around she would grin. Little stinker!
Adree smiled at just over a week old and learned to ride he bike without training wheels at age 4. Adree is the youngest student in her grade (she just started 4th), but you would never know it! She is not happy to just sit and watch time pass her by! Adree joined the church this year and gets herself up and ready to go by herself on Sundays. She also joined the choir at school and is perfectly happy to get herself up and ready to be at practice on Tuesday's at 8am. Even though this meant she didn't have time to open her birthday presents before school today!
Adree never met a stranger, I can't take her anyplace here in town where she doesn't know someone! Active and driven, responsible and sunny, Adree you are the best daughter I could have ever asked for! I couldn't have gotten any luckier to have you if I had had the opportunity to choose you myself. Happy Birthday Adee Doll! Mommy, Lee, Drake, and Seth love you so very much! May your birthday wishes come true! =0)

...and so I've learned=0)

Me today























Me at nineteen


Earlier this week I was training a new employee and one of my regular customers leaned over the counter to tell me, "Now if you want anyone to think you are a day over 19, you'll have to cut your hair again..." This is something I hear frequently well, not about the hair, but something similar to this. I usually have someone asking me if I am still in school or telling me "you are too young, you wouldn't know." I know at some point I will enjoy everyone thinking I'm at least 10 years younger than I really am. For now it's kind of annoying, I've lived a lot of life since 19 and I would just like a little credit for what I've experienced. Here's a few things I've learned in this journey we all call life:

1. If your boyfriend/partner/significant other treats you like crap he is abusive. I unfortunately know this from first hand. Please watch for the warning signs and don't find yourself in this situation. If he treats his family with disrespect, don't be with him. My ex-husband was so mean to his Mom...yelled at her, took advantage of her, never spoke to her with respect. I wish I had known to pay more attention to this before hand. Everything wrong in his life is the fault of someone else. He couldn't hold a job because of the boss, or because of the co-workers, never because he couldn't get it together enough to work it out. If he ever raises a hand to you or is rough with you or calls you names , leave. I've been called every name in the book (none of them nice), I've been thrown, kicked, punched, hair pulled out of my head, made to feel absolutely worthless, I've also survived. The day I realized I deserved to be treated with respect and knew that I didn't need him to live my life, was the day I gained my freedom.

2. Raising kids is so much easier if you don't stress over little things. I have three and have spent the last 4 years as a single Mom. Yes, I have Lee who is every bit as helpful as a man who has never had any kids, but I've learned what is truly important. If your house isn't spotless, who cares!=0) I work, I come home, I help out with homework, make dinner, put kids to bed and wind down to start again tomorrow...taking the kids to school, getting ready for work...sometimes my house is only cleaned on the weekends. Sometimes we pick through piles of laundry through the whole week before it gets put away on my days off. My kids are happy though and well adjusted and every spare minute we have isn't spent trying to catch up on housework. =0) Let your kids be themselves. If that involves wearing a set of chinchilla ears to school sometimes then so be it. If your daughter insists that she needs to wear polka dots and stripes at the same time then let her. Hey, as long as they have the same colors in them, then go for it I say!=0) If your kids won't eat anything except cold cereal, pizza, pb and j, oh well! This is why someone invented the multi-vitamin! Have them try new things, but don't stress if they don't like it or won't eat it.=0)

3. Not everyone is going to like you or what you have to say. You know I'm opinionated, you know I only am if I know what I'm talking about. You are not going to hurt my feelings if you don't like me or what I have to say. This is where having some self confidence is quite useful.=0) As long as I am trying my best to be the best kind of me there is, I no longer let myself beat myself up over stuff that can't be helped or that I messed up on. I'm happy, I have so many good things going for me and I can handle anything that comes my way. (Hopefully)=0)

4. I have the very best parents ever! Always understanding and willing to help me out, I couldn't have asked for better parents, ever! I wished I had listened to them closer when I was younger, I probably could have saved myself a lot of grief if I had taken there advice more often. They support me and are not judgmental. They helped me escape an abusive marriage and regain the custody of my kids and then helped me out with rent and a car until I was able to get on my feet again. Mom and Dad you rock! I love you so much!=0)

Now that 12 years have passed since I was actually nineteen, I know that I've lived so much life since then. Knowing that whatever I've faced has strengthened my character and no matter how much I protest, I'm always going to look much younger than I am. I know better though, even if I don't look any older, people are going to think what they will and so, I've learned...=0)