Spring Break 2010 in the Smokies

Carley got to choose our destination, it being her last year. Of course we gave her a few options -- the world wasn't at her feet. We visited the Smokey Mountains of Tennesee three years ago with the Hales and had a fantastic time, so she opted to go there again. And we all were all excited to spend time on this trip with the Joneses!
The trip down was riveting for Kimball.

And I couldn't resist having Carley take this picture of Val.

He has an amazing ability to nap anywhere, and remarkably for a very short time to get the recharge he needs.

Our rented cabin was outside of Pigeon Forge very near Dolly Parton's "Dollywood", though we never actually saw the park. It must be nestled in the mountains well behind the entrance and parking lots, perhaps a good way to lure people in.
The weather was not ideal this trip, rather chilly and rainy for two of the four days. Nothing daunting, we had a wonderful time hiking around the cabin, preparing and eating meals, attending church and making new friends there, and searching for waterfalls.


I finally witnessed why they are named the Smokey Mountains.


First hiking day was Laurel Falls, finishing before another rainy episode.


The Workman's new home has a pool table, which fact played an important role in our Spring Break fun, it turns out. They invented and taught to our children a new pool game called "Run Around". The rules are simple but many. You go in order to use the white ball to hit the one colored ball; the colored ball has to stay in motion or the one it stopped before they got to hit it with the white ball gets a point against them. You only get 5 points before you're "out". You have to hit the colored ball from the "other side" of the table, or in other words be at least half a table length away from the ball in motion. You have to hit it from one of the short ends, not the long end, or even part way round. You have to hit it hard enough that the person coming after you has at least a chance at getting to it while it's still in motion ... There's more, but I can't remember them all. Well I have to say that those rainy times were not a problem with the pool table and very enthusiastic game players! And I believe the cardiovascular workout around the pool table rivaled that of the hikes. :o)

They taught the parents too.


A few sweet shots for the memory --







We headed out of Tennessee on Wednesday morning and drove to Lexington, KY. Again, a riveting trip.


But once there, we had some fun at the arboretum, picnicing and playing some lawn games.







And then a short visit to the grounds at Ashland Estate, home of Henry Clay.









What a fun, delightful trip!

Let's Celebrate Teeth

At the beginning part of 2009 my dentist asked me to go visit a periodontist specializing in implants as he had some concerns about my 21 year-old dental implants. I scheduled an appointment with Dr. Mason in Saginaw who told me that my implants were failing, that the bones were disappearing and that they needed to come out. He recommended replacing them, but putting in a significant amount of new bone first. After consulting Todd on the matter, the arrangements were made and by the beginning of March I started the process. This lovely picture of me was taken about four days after the surgery to extract the old dental implants. The swelling is better than it had been, and what hadn't shown up yet were the nice yellow bruises around my jawline and eyes. I was still just wiped out on the couch for nearly a week.

There were about 40 stitches in my gums, which are covered up by this plastic retainer which had some painted-in teeth to fill the now vacant spots. I wore the plastic retainer for the next 13 months! It was a very annoying blessing. I couldn't eat with it in, so eating in front of people was a little embarrassing.

Two more procdures followed at about 5 month intervals, adding new bone and putting in the new titanium implants. They weren't as bad as the first, but more intense than I had been led to believe.

The day finally arrived that another dentist, Dr. Mertz in Saginaw, could install the crowns onto the titanium posts. The whole family was excited with me. Grant, who is currently missing the same two teeth that I am, said we should take a picture before I get my new teeth. So this is us before he went to school that morning.



And this is just moments after the new teeth installation, in the Dentist's parking lot.



sigh. yea.

The Evolution of Our Kitchen

Here's a little story in pictures of our kitchen progress.
Todd started the day after Christmas by preparing to take the soffit out above the cupboards. Here's what it looked like before.


Now he's getting ready to go for it.



It was during the process of removing the soffits with Mike Hales' favorite tool, the Sawzall that we learned that it is named for what it does. It went right through the water pipes hidden behind the soffits like a hot knife through butter.
This is after that little episode. Fortunately it went through right near a joint and was quickly repaired.



Notice the single light in the middle-ish part of the kitchen. These pictures look remarkably bright and light. It is a bright day outside, and the white cupboards bring such a brightness to the room, actually a big seller of the house for me, all the brightness. But, when the sun went down and the kitchen light was the only source of light, it was frustratingly shadowy, so I made a request. I asked Todd to give me more light. May I take this opportunity to say, he delivered! Later pictures will bring that story.


Then Todd invited some very dear, and patient friends over to help put in the can lights and to work the electrical for several other uses. It was a long day, and I don't think I took a single picture. But this is how it looked when they were done.

Thank you shout out to Mike Hales, Daymon Leonhardt, David Hirschi and Paul Schramm.

Then it was my turn to help a little bit. With the help of sweet friends, I painted the kitchen and hallways. Here's Miss Steady-Hand Suzanne Leonhardt with her son "Love-I" (Levi) the day we painted the kitchen.


Time to tear out the floors and cupboards.





Time to start putting in the floors, but the day that was supposed to happen, this is where Todd was, very sick!


So a couple of days later...

We learned we had to tear out the subfloor and replace it as well. The reason for that was that wood floors should have plywood, not partical board under them due to the threat of moisture getting in there and them basically exploding the floor out. This added a few days that we hadn't planned, and a lot of effort.

Then we finally got to the beautiful stuff. I wish I had a picture of the big group of men who came over all day Friday and Friday night, the men who came back on Saturday and continued to help evenings throughout the next week. What a blessing they are to us!

Thank you shout out to Mike Hales (resident expert!) Bishop Workman (who just must not have had enough to do at work and Church!), Monte Searle, Paul Larsen, Val Jones,

In the nick of time the floors were ready in the kitchen for our Amish friends to bring in the newly constructed custom cupboards. Irvin Bylar (center) was our builder, and I cannot remember the names of the young men who are on his team, but they came in on a Tuesday morning at 8:00 a.m. and worked all day,


leaving us with beautiful new cupboards by 4:00 p.m.



A WONDERFULLY NOISY DAY
Now here is an eventful day I wanted to document. It was a Saturday in early March, as I recall, and the activity in the home was unbelievable. At one given time we had Todd putting the final pieces of the floor in the front hall, using a very big and noisy air compressor that kept kicking on, and every time he would hit a nail it would blast a big bang.



He would run from doing that out to the garage where he would use the saw to cut a piece of flooring to fit a small space. That was a very noisey saw.


In the living room (right next to the noisy front hall) Carley was taking a voice lesson with our sweet friend Julie Schindler. They were working on some great, loud, peppy songs, so lots of fun sound coming from there.



In the basement Brigham was practicing with his friends from his percussion group "Resonators" for a talent show, so the three of them are banging away on their snair drums.



And behind them Grant is playing on the Wii, I'm sure full volume.



I noticed all of this as I was sitting in the family room folding laundry, and loving the activity and productivity and noise going on all over the place!


Granted, I wouldn't want it to last all day, but what a joyful and hilarious hour!

We enjoyed (okay, endured) three weeks without a kitchen sink or countertops. And then the quartz countertop installers came.


Just one last step remains in this project: the tile backsplash. But we just ran out of steam. So I hired it out. It should be in next week or so, and I will blog a picture of the new kitchen then.

I can honestly say that I have much more appreciation for every feature, nook and corner of this kitchen than if someone else would have come and done it for us. I absolutely love it, and am so grateful that we could do this!!! I am especially humbled and grateful for such good, true, hard working friends and the huge support we have had for the past four months!

My Daughter is a Grown Up

Carley turned 18 last week. She's made a conscience decision that now she has to be a grown-up, and it hasn't been all fun for her. If you asked her, I think she would tell you that she chooses to stay a little girl. But with her predictable maturity and pragmatism, she knows what she needs to do. And she is rising to the occassion. She is such a blessing to our family!



She wanted a cheesecake for her birthday dessert, and gave me three choices of flavors, and I chose to try a peanut butter one. In a word: Rich.




I suspect that this was an assignment in Spanish for Kimball, but still sweet that he gave his sister this valentine.

Kitchen Renovation Begins

We decided months ago that it was time to update our kitchen, to be more beautiful, and my favorite reason, more functional! We learned that our Amish-made cabinets will be done in a couple of weeks, so intensity begins as we make sure the wiring is how it needs to be, the venting, and the preparations for the new floors, including painting the walls. The ceiling was finished last week, with new lights and new paint. Please note that anytime the word "we" happens in connection with real work on this project, it can be substituted for "Todd", or "My Sweetie". He is owning this project, and with the generous help of friends, is taking it in small pieces and getting the job done. The only outside, paid help he will get is from Erwin, the Amish cabinet maker who will also install.

I'm anxious to post a few pictures and update the progress!!

These picture of the demolition of the soffits were actually taken several weeks ago, just after Christmas. That's when we learned that there are pipes hidden in the soffits and that a Sawzall really will saw All, even water pipes!


This picture shows the new canned lights. We still need to choose pendants.

A Real Friend.

Yesterday a friend and I went for a drive. We had a destination and a purpose. We were productive with the errand we ran. But more imporant to me, by far, was the counsel, validation and direction I received from a friend who listened intently and spoke with love. For living such a small life, how can I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders? My challenges must seem pathetic to many, yet they challenge and frustrate me. I know I have it GREAT ... my life is so blessed. But a real friend doesn't brush past that fact and tell you that you have nothing to complain about. I learned yesterday that a real friend sees when you have a need for change and offers encouragement in making the change.