What we've been up to lately

Sometimes I don't blog because I think I don't have anything "important" to say, but then I realize that some of my favorite blogs just help me keep in touch with friends who are far away. I like the stories about everyday life and the little things we do each day. So, even though I can't put any pictures up I thought I would share what has been consuming all my time lately. . .

We just finished two-weeks of swim lessons. The kids were all very pleased to have passed the test at the end of their class. Ethan is ready to learn competitive strokes and Elena is ready to go on to advanced beginner, but the teacher suggested that Joel repeat the beginner class to build his confidence even though he passed the test. Oh, the little brother blues that came after he received that news. I was only able to calm him down by informing him that he was "really" only supposed to be in the Polywog class for 4-6 year olds, but they allowed him to be in the beginners class because he's a good enough swimmer. That helped a little, but he still wanted to move up to the harder class :)

So, after swim lessons everyday we went home to work on projects. I have been scraping and scraping and scraping wall paper and painting. My room no longer looks like a victorian bed and breakfast and is almost done. The family room has no more wall paper and fresh paint! Two bathrooms have no more wall paper and fresh paint! The laundry room is reorganized, with a shelf removed and the washer and dryer stacked and fresh paint! And, we moved all of the furniture out of the main living areas of the house, plus grandma's room so that NEW FLOORS could replace the very dirty and stained, but quite plush WHITE carpet we used to have. And the day after all the floors were done we had a party for some friends from out of town! Crazy, I know , but totally worth it and motivating to get things back in place.

Now, I'm just taking a break and enjoying the fruits of all the hard work. I'm so thankful for the beautiful house we get to live in and the health and energy to FINALLY get those projects done. The next goal is to de-clutter our lives, so that I can actually keep the house clean when I go back to work and school starts again. We'll see. Right now, the kids are looking forward to camping and asking me everyday how long until we go. A few days ago, Joel tried to start packing, but I told him that it was just too soon. So anyway, that's mostly what we've been doing. I'll have to tell you about church and helping with VBS later :)