The Remodel Continues

Day 4

First, a picture of yesterdays' final version. This includes new veneers and base shoes (I think that's what Jim said they're called) on the toekick.

The carpenters showed up bright and early today for what turned out to be a full day's work.

The first big job was leveling out the tops of the old counters, so the plywood has an even surface to sit on, so the granite has flat plywood to sit on ... you get the picture.  But it was definitely a time consuming job, as those old cabinets were particularly uneven.  No wonder when we spilled something on the counter, the liquid flowed away from the sink.

While this was going on, they discussed the fact that the border of the tile backsplash would run into the electrical outlets.  So, our resident electrician, also known as my awesome husband, relocated the plugs and switches on this wall.

Next job in the woodwork department was preparing the sink cabinet for the new farmhouse sink.  That required quite a bit of rework and reinforcement on the inner cabinets.  And, while they were at it, they replaced the bottom of the sink cabinet because that piece of wood was disgusting.  We just never got around to dealing with it before now. When they pulled up that board, they found a rat's nest.  Ewwww!  Thankfully it wasn't currently being used.

After all the basic structure was finished, some of the pretty stuff started going in. Yay! Thankfully, my bff has been such a help with the pretty stuff.  I can't wait to see how it all looks when it's finished.  But, in the meantime, the new apron front sink is in.

We really wanted the farmhouse look.  But, Jim did lots of research and found that the fireclay sink just isn't built to withstand the wear and tear that a homeschooling family of 8 can dish out.  It's not even built to hold a garbage disposal and I am not doing without a garbage disposal!  But, he continued his research and found that there is one Kohler cast iron sink that fit the bill (and the price range).  So, I still get my farmhouse sink. Yay!  And, it's big enough for an almost four year old to take a bath :)  

Back to the woodwork.  They also cut in the hole for the cooktop and added beadboard detail to the flat (aka boring) sides of the cabinets.  Can't wait to see this when it's painted. Oh, and Jim added a receptacle to this end of the counter so I will have a receptacle at each end of my new and exciting working counter.  Did I mention I'm excited about this new counter space?

I took the little guys out of the house today rather than try to deal with them in a construction zone.  We went to the park and met some new friends, then came home and had Shabbat dinner. I am thankful for my laundry room sink and counter (installed by my aforementioned awesome husband) which currently serves as a dish washing area. And, I'm looking forward to having a garbage disposal again. Amazing how we get so used to these conveniences. I'm also thankful for a working oven, Costco and Trader Joe's, which, when combined, keep my family well fed during the remodel.  

Day 5

And now, it's time for Shabbat.  All the work comes to a halt during this blessed day that God has us set aside for Him each week.  I'm ever so thankful for a day of rest.  And when Shabbat is over, we'll be back to work on the kitchen.

Kitchen Remodel

It began unexpectedly.  I decided that the crumbling grout in my kitchen counter was unacceptable.  I couldn't tolerate it any longer.  So, I decided to regrout.  But, the day Jim and I decided to start the process, he couldn't tolerate the poor job done on the tile in the first place. He didn't want to put the time into regrouting a counter that wasn't tiled right in the first place.

So, we discussed a new counter.  When we had a quote done, I didn't want to invest that much in a kitchen that I didn't really like.  I figured if I put that much money into it, I would feel bad changing it in the future.  It's always been a little small and doesn't have a real working counter.  The cupboards are pretty, but there aren't quite enough of them.

I cook ... a lot.  We make food from scratch daily and need some working space in the kitchen.  So, we thought of how we could expand the kitchen and still keep the old cabinets.  We did lots of research on counter tops, design, materials, cabinets, sinks, faucets, etc.  And, a dream kitchen started to formulate!

And then, the construction began. Well, technically, the destruction was first ...

Day 1


Start it off easy. I moved the coffee/tea counter to its new location.

Jim and the kids knocked the edge off the existing counter so we could have cabinets (that we ordered last week) installed.

Day 2


We had the new cabinets installed.  These will hold all of my baking tools and supplies and the top of this will be my working counter - 6.5 feet of working counter! So exciting!

This new space will be a slide-out trash can holder.  And this counter will be extended some, as well.  Oh, and I now have dividers in my tall cabinet. Yay!

Day 3


Busy day today.  Counters and backsplash were removed - this includes the sink and cooktop, which basically makes the kitchen non-functional. *gulp* (Take a deep breath, it won't be for long.)  New plywood was put on and the granite guys made a template for our new counter tops.  

That's it for today. :)

Seasons of Life

I’m entering a new season in life.  I took a shower by myself today with no interruptions.  Well, actually, that’s not true.  I had one kid come in and ask me a question while I was showering.  That’s pretty impressive, actually.  I’m used to answering several questions and refereeing several fights while I’m in the shower.  It’s just part of being a mom.  But, the interruptions are becoming fewer and farther between.  Apparently, it goes along with the kids growing up. 

My oldest is out of the house. My youngest is 3 and rather independent.  And, for the first time in 21 years, I have a 3 year old and no baby. So, I was thinking about the things I can do now that the kids are growing up.  I can get an hour-long workout in the garage without complete chaos breaking loose in the house.  I can run to the store by myself without someone crying at the door, “Mommy, don’t go!”  I can get an evening of quiet time at The Coffee Bean.  I can go out to lunch with my husband or a friend with no phone calls.  I can even stay upstairs when I wake up in the morning and start my day with prayer and Bible study. I’m learning to enjoy the simple pleasures of my season.

No Halloween

So, what do you do for Halloween when you know its evil origins and you don’t want anything to do with it? I won’t go over the facts of this being Satan’s holy day.  If you don’t know about that, and you’re interested, you can look in any encyclopedia or look it up on the internet.  So, I’ll just discuss what we do on October 31. 

We don’t want anything to do with Halloween as the evil of the holiday is so overwhelming.  So, we don’t carve pumpkins in any way.  We don’t dress up; although, the kids dress up many other days. We don’t go to harvest festivals or trunk-or-treats at local churches as we feel this is a compromise we don’t want to participate in.

We used to turn off all the lights in the house and hide in a back room and watch a movie on that evening.  The doorbell still rang many times and we started to feel like we were being imprisoned in the back room and joining the darkness.

Several years ago, we started a new tradition.  We turn on our porch light and the lights in our living area. This way, we fight the darkness physically. Then, we play praise music really loud and sing and dance praises to Yahweh.  This way, we fight the darkness spiritually.  And, we’re doing something we love to do.  We have a time of prayer for all the evil that goes on this day. We also put a banner on our door that says we don’t celebrate Halloween. For instance, last year’s banner said:

·         Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.” – John 8:12

·         What fellowship has light with darkness? – 2 Cor 6:14

·         Halloween is playing with darkness.

We rarely have anyone knock on our door when we have the banner up.  So, we can enjoy a time of praise & worship and not have to think about Halloween. 

Back to Reality

So, Sukkot is over.  We're back home and back to the real world.  I'm slowly conquering Mt Washmore and getting everything unpacked and put away.  And we're still remembering the thrill of Sukkot.  Even through the trials, we had a blessed time.  We're praise dancing daily.  Enjoying Bible time and remembering great times with friends.

We even started school again today.  Just the basics - Bible study lesson, memory verses, Bible chapter, math, reading, language and writing.  Time to get back into Tapestry of Grace, do some science and make sure the big girls are accomplishing what they need to for high school.

Expectations and Echad

Life is full of expectations.  Sometimes expectations aren’t very high, such as when we expect our son to take out the trash.  But, other times, expectations are built up for something for weeks, even months.  Then, when those expectations aren’t met, we meet with disappointment.  And, we have to make a choice of how we will respond to that disappointment.

So, our major disappointment this year is connected with our Sukkot celebration.  We anticipate this for weeks and months.  A time to praise and worship Yah and spend time with Him and people we love.  A time for fellowship and dancing and singing and learning.  And, initially, all those expectations were fulfilled.  But, very soon after Sukkot started, sickness hit the camp and started working its way quickly through.  People were down and out with a stomach bug.  First 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and very quickly dozens. 

So, now many people are confined to their tents and feeling miserable.  One of the first thoughts is, “I’m going home.”  After all, who wants to be sick in a tent – oh spoiled people that we are.  I will admit, when I had 3 kids with this bug coming out both ends, we did pack up and go to a hotel for the night (poor hotel maid).  And, when I and my littlest one were sick, I was tempted to go back to said hotel.  But the thought of going home was never really a serious thought.  After all, who wants to end Sukkot this way?  Do I really want to pack up camp and drive home 4 hours with sick kids? Then we would be home and everyone else would still be here praising and worshipping and celebrating .

So, we have chosen to stay here and see what God has in store for us; to worship Him in spite of the trials and family members succumbing to illness one by one.  But I think the real test is in our attitude.  How do I choose to respond to this disappointment?  Apparently God has something else in store for us than we had originally planned.  Even though our plans were made in obedience and we thought they were so right and so good, He had other plans.  

As I sat here in our tent tonight, listening to the praise and worship and celebration going on in the main tent.  I was disappointed. I won’t pretend I wasn’t.  I so wanted to be there praising and worshipping with everyone.  So, I did sing the songs, but I knew I was missing out on some awesome dancing.  However. going into a tent full of people when I know I’m sick isn’t loving my brother. So, I get a chance to spend some quiet time thinking about the blessings of being here in spite of the hardship. 

Of course, the illness, as minor as it is, isn’t too serious.  That’s one blessing.  Everyone seems to be getting over it rather quickly.  As I spend time on my own, I have more time to contemplate what He’s done for me – as long as I’m not wallowing in my own self pity. 

We are still fulfilling the theme of Sukkot – “Echad: that we may be one”.  We are helping each other through this.  Everyone shares what health remedies they have.  Some get food for others.  As one leaves for the market, they check who else needs anything. The kitchen makes special food for the sick. Cleaning crews 30 strong go through camp disinfecting all the surfaces they can.  And, while they’re cleaning, others are dancing in worship.  So we are battling it physically and spiritually.   

We’re all still here, together, worshipping Him as best we can under the circumstances. We won’t give in to the enemy.  He wants to ruin our Echad.  But, we won’t let him.  We have God on our side and we won’t miss our appointed time with Him.  

Summary of our Family Traditions

Someone on one of our email lists asked about family traditions.  This is what I shared:

Our favorite family traditions all revolve around God’s feasts listed in Leviticus 23.  We find so much joy and fulfillment in celebrating the days that God has set aside to meet with us.  Each one is truly a treasure.  And, as each day finishes, we look forward to the next with great anticipation.  Right now we are in the midst of the fall holy day season.  We recently celebrated the Feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement.  Now, on this Sabbath, we are anticipating Sukkot!!

Our celebrations always include lots of praise & worship and circle dancing.  And, we enjoy learning from one another as we study God’s word.  Food is always present at our celebrations – except on the Day of Atonement, which is a day of fasting. 

We are thankful for the weekly Sabbath (Lev 23:3), which the kids usually start asking about on Sunday.  Only 6 more days!! The Sabbath begins on Friday night with a special meal, then dancing and singing and dh blesses each of the children.  The next morning we enjoy family time before we host a home fellowship, which includes more dancing, singing, teaching and food.  Just as we spend extra time with our heavenly Father on Shabbat, our little ones get to spend extra time with their earthly father because he doesn’t work on Shabbat.  So, he is home to spend time with them.

Each year we celebrate the annual Feasts listed in Leviticus 23. The first is Passover and our year begins with a great celebration! This observance begins with a more solemn tone as we remember that Yeshua (Christ) died for our sins.  And, it ends with a celebration of our salvation because Yeshua died for our sins.  And, we finish up the celebration with lots of food.  J  This begins the week of unleavened bread.  We have put all leaven out of our house and we eat unleavened bread every day.  This is a reminder of how difficult it is to remove all the sin from our lives.  God gives great object lessons.  We see that if we spend more time at home (come out of this world) then it is easier to avoid the sin (leaven) because we have removed it from our home.  But, if we spend much time away from home (in the world) it is easier to sin without thinking about it (remembering just after we eat that piece of bread).  And, since we are commanded to eat unleavened bread during this time, we can see that when we put sin (leavening) out of our lives, we need to replace it with righteousness (Yeshua - unleavened bread) so that spot doesn’t get filled back up with sin.

Then we continue through the Feast of the Pentecost – remembering the day when the early church first received the Holy Spirit (Acts 2).  And, after a short break, we come to the Autumn Feasts.  The Feast of Trumpets (or Yom Teruah) is the first of these celebrations.  We aren’t sure yet what the fulfillment is of the Autumn Feasts.   But, we enjoy celebrating and doing just as the Bible says.  On Yom Teruah we make a loud noise.  On Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), we fast and realize how weak we really are and how much we need Him.  Then, the season finishes up with Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles).  Eight days of living in tents.  Celebrating God and Yeshua and what they have done for us as we live with other believers for eight days.  We leave the outside world and enjoy a tiny taste of the Kingdom. 

After Sukkot, there are about 6 months until Passover.  During this long break, we are thankful for the weekly Sabbath to consistently return our focus to Him.

If you’re interested in more details of how we celebrate these days, see specific posts on my blog.

Goals for the Week

1. Finish preparing garden beds.  The kids and I made lots of progress today.  4 out of 5 beds are finished and they have chosen what they want to plant.
2. Finish weeding the parkway in the front yard.  Most of the yard is finished, but I have to keep up with the maintenance or it gets out of hand.
3. Take 6 kids to the dentist.
4. Sew a skirt.  I've had the fabric sitting around for a couple of months.  I guess I should sew already.
5. Buy plant for the front yard.  It's really looking nice.  I need to get some annuals to put in for more color.

Bread, Bread, Bread!

One of the things we've done to decrease our food budget is to make homemade bread instead of buying it at the store.  It is significantly cheaper and significantly more nutritious since I make it with freshly ground wheat and usually some other grains.  And, the kids love it! Actually, that's the problem :)  They eat bread for breakfast, lunch, with dinner and for snacks.  Last Friday I made 8 loaves of rosemary bread.  The loaves were smaller than usual, but still, there were 8 of them. By Saturday, they were gone.  Sunday, I made 6 dozen rolls.  By Monday, they were gone. (Of course, we had 12 people in the house all weekend, but still!) Monday, I made 4 loaves of bread. By Tuesday, they were gone.  Guess what I'm doing today :)

Goals for the Week

A friend of mine put her goals for the week on her blog, so I thought I’d follow suit.

1.    1.    Put away snow clothes from our snow vacation.  They’re all washed.  Now they need to be sorted into their containers and put back up into the attic.

2.   2. Weed front yard.  I got way behind on weeding during the chilly and rainy winter months.  But I am finally getting caught up.  My mom helped me for hours yesterday, so that was good.  Today I finished that area.  I have some more to do, but the yard is looking great!

3.   3. Prep garden beds.  I won’t complete those this week, but it’s time to start getting the beds ready for planting.  I have to add some layers of soil, manure, etc.  And, I have to replace drip hoses that have leaks.

4.   4.  Prep for home fellowship.  We will be having a home fellowship again this week and I have to get the house ready.  I also have to prepare food for the potluck.

5.   5.    Put out spring decorations.  I’m done with winter.  It’s time to put out the lamb decorations to remind us of Passover.

A Time to Play

It's amazing how much a little break from regular life can do for your outlook.  We were blessed to spend almost a week at a vacation cabin in the snow.  We have no responsibilities here.  We've left them all behind.  It's just a chance to spend time with family.  We play in the snow, play board games, play Wii, eat together and generally just enjoy life.

The kids love it.  Everyone wants to play with mom and dad when we have no other pressing business.  And, we love it because, it helps to take our minds off the stresses and trials of every day life. We will have to go back to reality, but for now, this is a pleasant diversion.

Time for More Weight Loss

So, I’m off to a good start.  Yesterday was a total day off because Sabbath always is.  But, starting today I’m transitioning back into strictly healthy eating. I had my green drink – with oranges from my tree and chard from my garden (thanks, Mom – those chard plants are the best ever!)  and I did a 1 hour elliptical workout.   Yay!  Tomorrow I start a 3 day juice cleanse.   Jim is going to do it with me, too. 

Then after that it’s a strict Eat to Live diet for a while.  I lost 40 pounds last year and kept them off.  This year I’d like to lose 50 and keep them off.  I’m thinking if I lose 50, I might be at a good place.  But, we’ll see how I feel when I get there.  

I know when I did this last year I felt really good.  Not just the weight loss, but health in general.  It’s amazing to me how hard it is to eat healthy when there is junk around.  Even though I know I’ll feel better if I don’t eat it, I eat it anyway.  So, I’ll try to document this time how I’m feeling when I’m eating better. 

The nice thing is that doing ETL last year really changed my eating habits.  When I’m not eating strict ETL, I still eat totally different than I did in 2009.  Lots and lots of veggies, plus fruits, grains, nuts and seeds.  When I’ve gone a couple of days without many veggies (due to busy-ness or junk food availability) I start to really crave some seriously healthy food.   So, I’m back at it...