School's Out!

• I am completely done with the courses I was taking. It is nice to have my evenings and weekends back, no more homework! I finished the courses with a 90%, 91% and 96% so it went well and I learned a lot. I had last week off work and we went back to NS last weekend to fill in at the church we were ministering at last. It was so nice to see everyone again, hard to believe it had been a year since we were last back.

• The kitchen renovations are going well but slow. We now have all the cabinets installed but are still waiting for the door hinges and drawer slides so it is just open shelves right now. At least I can use the kitchen now! I bought a nice light fixture set off of Kijiji for $40! It was such a good deal, it came with a chandelier and two pendant lights and they will go perfect in the new kitchen.

• Jim is still going through the paperwork to getting his business set up and we still haven't started the renovations on the barn (to turn it into a workshop) but some baby steps have been taken. Jim has his website up and going (though still under construction) and the business name chosen. The website is www.theoldbrooklynwoodshop.com if you are interested in taking a look. Another area we are adding to the business is furniture refinishing. Jim has refinished many antiques over the years and it is always neat to re-purpose furniture to be used for many more years. I'm excited about finding great finds that we can refinish, give new life and sell. We have already collected, for free, a set of chairs that will look so nice when they are done and then Jim can make a table to go with them. It is all so exciting and scary at the same time! So much to learn about running a business that it sometimes makes my head spin but it will be worth it in the end, I hope!

• Back at work tomorrow until August where I have another week off planned. The boys love being home for the summer but they sure make quite the mess when they are home all day. They aren't so used to spending all day together but they seem to be now figuring it out, not driving each other crazy... as much.

• So far a busy summer. Hoping to be able to make some time to go the the beach, we still haven't made it out this year yet. There are always so many projects and cleaning to be done but I'm going to have to make it a priority. There are only so many weekends left of summer. I'll have lots of time in the winter when the weather is too miserable to go outside! I hope you are enjoying your summer so far and are doing a better job of making time to do some fun things with your family while the weather is nice!

Time Flies When You Are Busy!

Hello again! Wow, 9 months since my last post, crazy. Life has been so incredibly busy right now. I'm just finishing the courses I had to take for my job. I have one paper left and a few small assignments but have written my final exam already and will be so happy to be done with it all! The boys have finished school for the summer and graduated from grades 7, 3 and 2. Jim also graduated from his woodworking/cabinet making program. He did very well and even won first place in the PEI Skills Competition in his category. Now comes the hard part. He is trying to start his own business building custom cabinets, furniture and even wooden toys. This is not an easy task and there is much to learn about starting up and owning a small business so this is quite the adventure for us!

He is starting by doing our kitchen which once looked like this:

And at this point, looks like this:

And here is a sneak peak at some of the new cabinets starting to be installed:

I can't wait until it is all done. My sink still isn't hooked up but I can use the dishwasher. We took down a wall, closed in a doorway and replaced two windows, so it is quite a mess! After it is done I will show some before and after pictures and you won't believe the difference!

Here's a example of Jim's woodworking skills, a beautiful table he made me:

It is solid wood (VERY heavy) and gorgeous. I just love it, thanks honey!

Well, I guess that pretty much says it all, oh, except one more thing. The lease on our car was up so we took home this shiny new addition:

Ya, that's my new baby!

Well, here's to hoping a few more posts make their way here in the next couple weeks. Definitely expect more renovation pictures and new business adventures as we fumble our way through both!

The Busy Life

Life has been so busy as of late. I started a job that required me to work 2 twelve hour day shifts and then 2 twelve hour night shifts back to back and then four days off. I just barely made it through the two day shifts and realized it was a bit too much for me. I quit and they didn't make me finish off my week with the night shifts, whew! That was a Tuesday and by Friday I had a new job, one that is perfect for me! God's timing is amazing. I now work in a daycare with the infants. I have evenings and weekends free and I get to play with the cutest babies. Sounds great to me. I've always wanted to work with children so this is a great opportunity. I have to do some online training for certification so in November, the whole family will be in some form of school! Life is about to get busier.

We've also had a lot of sickness in the house lately. I think between all three boys they've already missed 7 days of school and they haven't finished the first month yet. Now it's my turn, I'm fighting a head cold. It was only a matter of time, all the babies at the daycare are sick and seem to always direct their coughing and sneezing right at my face! My baby turned 7 on the 23rd. It feels like forever ago he was a baby and yet it has gone so fast. We had to postpone his birthday party until next week because of me being sick and him throwing up this morning. Like I said, lots of sickness!

We are having a new septic system installed. We've been waiting for months but they have finally started the work so hopefully in a few days we'll have it done. I won't miss the open hole full of sewer water in our back yard, yes it's true. We haven't had time to do anymore renovations except to install a dishwasher. That was the best renovation yet!

That is all that has been happening this month and keeping me away from this blog. I hope this week is finding you all happy and much healthier than us! I'm off to take some nighttime cold pills and go to bed, night all!

More Pictures…For Now

  

It has been busy around here, getting ready for school and interviewing for jobs.  A new post is in the works but until then, here are a few pictures…for now.  I’m loving the flowers a friend started for me and I planted here.  I’ve been harvesting green beans out of the garden and now the tomatoes and potatoes are getting ready to be harvested next!  There are so many bright green moths (or butterflies?  I’m not sure) and I managed to catch a couple but this one was the most compliant for photographing!

Now That I Live In PEI, I Had To Try Making It!

A Few Of My Favourite Pictures From Today:

Someone make them stop growing.......please?

Yummmmmm….

 

 

I spent the morning at the raspberry u-pick.  The biting black flies got to pick too, as much blood as they wanted.  My arms look like pin cushions but it was so worth it.  Aren’t they mouth watering?

 

 

Now to figure out what to do with them.  Make them into jam, do some baking or eat them as is.  Maybe a bit of all three!!

 

A Diamond In The Rough

There is so much work that goes into fixing up a century home. When I look around and think about it, it is almost overwhelming. But there are so many neat things about owning a century home. Here are a few that we have found in our place:

Neat old wood floors that look like this:

But can be turned into this:

And even this:
From neat old door knobs (which are all over the house and use those cool old keys):


To pretty antique light fixtures:

We were lucky enough to acquire some antique furniture with the house (along with a lot of not-so-wanted items, more on that later). There are several antique stores around and it is fun to look and find things that fit with our old home.

We saw this and just knew it had to be ours (this used to be a pig farm):

Isn't it cute? It's a little worse for wear with a fair amount of rust but I just love it and think it fits right in here!

There are so many gems to be found, I look forward to sharing more, as I find them!

The Renovatons Begin!

Currently, my days are filled with this:

Lots more stripping of wallpaper to go but above is one section that is re-papered. That had to be done to install the heat pump that also provides AC in the summer, much needed AC! No lazy summer days here although we did manage to spend one day at the beach. More house pictures to come!

I know it is time for an update but....

I'm going to be redesigning this space first. It will be going through some changes and will have some kinks to be worked out (kind of like me these days). Just ignore all the craziness for the next few days and hopefully soon this blog will be ready to go again! Let the fun begin!

Big Changes!!

There are some big changes going on in my life at the moment. My husband has resigned as pastor and I am finishing my last week at work. We are moving to PEI to start a new chapter in our lives. My husband will be going to school for a year as a cabinet maker. This also means big changes to this blog! I would like to get back to blogging more regularly and will have lots of blog fodder coming I'm sure! We are moving into an old house that we are renovating that has over 3 acres of land. I plan to have a big garden and maybe even some animals at some point and all my adventures or misadventures, as most likely will be the case, will be recorded here! I'll soon be posting some pics of the house and what we've done so far. This house will be beautiful but I'm telling you there will be a lot of sore muscles in my future as it needs a lot of work!! I think this blog needs a makeover!

Just Checking In

*I'm sitting here trying to think of what to write. I don't have anything interesting to say or I don't think what I have to say is very interesting, one or the other!

*We are looking forward to spring break in a couple weeks. We are heading over to PEI to visit friends and family and the boys are counting down the days.

*We've had such an amazing winter over here that it already feels like spring is on it's way.

*Things are busy with me working full time. I've started with Sunday school again and still lead worship. My husband has been preaching some challenging sermons and once and while I'm lucky enough to catch one!

*The boys are growing like weeds. They are now 11, 8 and 6, where does the time go? Our kitten is now 11 months old and getting quite the round tummy (not a surprise since she eats more than the 6yr old cat).

*We've barely been sick this winter which is amazing. Everyone is well and seems happy! Not much else to report but like they say, sometimes no news is good news.

*We are thankful to God for our many blessings and look forward to all He is going to do in this new year!

The Guide for Every Pastor's Wife by Lisa McKay

I'm so excited to read this book, I have entered for a free copy and you can too. It would make a great gift for your Pastor's wife!

Into the Sunset

I was posting some pics for The Pioneer Woman's photography assigment and thought I'd share them here too. Doesn't everyone love a sunset? I sure do and I have about a million of them stored on my computer. Enjoy!

What I Wish...

1. ....is that you all had a great Christmas with friends and family and made a ton of warm memories to take into the new year (I sure did).

2. ....is that you have a lot of hope and excitement as you look ahead into 2010 (I sure do).

3. ....that I could be a stay at home mom again, so we could have more days with this:

Homemade soup, homemade biscuits and cookies!

Notice a theme with this pictures? Everything is HOMEMADE! Working full time just doesn't give me the time to cook like this as much as I'd like to, although I try. The consensus was that it was all good!

Well mostly...

Just so you know, those cookies (Mexican wedding cakes or Russian tea cakes, whatever you call them) cook a lot faster if you don't turn the oven off after making the biscuits but think you left it on, and after 15-20 mins think your oven is broken only to finally realize you turned the oven off. Just sayin'

I also got to lay on the bed with the boys and watch a movie (Santa Buddies). I enjoyed this time at home I've had this past week (next holiday isn't until Easter? Really?). I realize how much I'm missing being at work but I do know how valuable my time at home is and my resolution is to make the most of that time, along with the usual ones (lose weight, eat better, exercise...you get the idea!)

Do you have a resolution for 2010?

It had to come sometime!

Winter that is!

We did have one fluke warm day with rain that melted some snow but now it is back to cold and windy. I miss the carefree days where the boys just needed to grab a coat and their bag for school. Now it is a 12 minute production, trying to get all the snow gear on!

Even a winter hater like me has to admit, the first snow can be so beautiful!



Everything is bright and snow white clean and isn't that the reason for the season? The baby Jesus being born so that he could later pay the price that makes us clean again?

We got our tree up early this year because we won't be home for Christmas. As you can see, my 8 month old kitten has had a ball with the string of beads. I've given up, they are half hanging off now!

I hope you all have a great Christmas with lots of love and laughter and maybe even a little something special under the tree!