Phil and Chelsea the DYI's are at it again. Lord Help Us!!

This weekend I have worked harder than I have in a long time. I have probably hauled 10 to 12 times my weight in lumber to the back yard. I was smart enough to wear my gloves to protect my hands but my body hurts in the weirdest places. The back of my thighs, my shoulders and my wrists hurt the worst.

I lifted walls, swung a hammer (like a girl, if you ask Phil, LOL!!) and was allowed to use the cordless saw. One thing I learned......I do not envy a Framer!!

As we worked, I would glance over at the kids as they played. Every once in a while I would run and get my camera and then it was hijacked by Katie. She does have her own camera but she liked using mine.

Jack constantly asking what we were doing and if he could help. He was a GREAT helper!!
 

I did not take this picture. Nice Job Katie!!
 

If you have a big empty box, Maddie will steal it from you. They are her favorite toys.
 

I love this girl!! With those blue eyes and freckles I could just gobble her up.

As soon as we took a break, they were on the floor of the shed dancing.

When I showed her how to do a cartwheel on a 2x4 she was bound and determined to do the same.

We stopped working about 3 today and cleaned up. We were able to get all four walls and the door of the shed up this weekend. We had to put a tarp up for the roof since there is a chance of rain this week. Hopefully next weekend we can finish the roof and the siding.

Maybe I can get an extra nap in before I have to carry more lumber to the back yard.

TTFN~

Another 1/4 of my whole world.........

 

Stewards have the responsibility to care for what has been entrusted to them. I am truly blessed with my oldest child, Kaitlynn. She makes me want to use every ounce of my being to be that good steward.

 

However, there are days as a parent I make mistakes with my children. I have learned apologizing does not always mean that I am wrong and Kaitlynn is right. It just means I value my relationship with Kaitlynn more than my own ego. The most important thing I always want Kaitlynn to remember is that I love her. Even on her worst day when she gets in the most trouble or says something that inevitably hurts my feelings, I love her.  

 

This year Kaitlynn will be ten years old. It is still hard to read, say or believe. For ten years I have been raising her and just look at her. She is beautiful. I wish I could kiss every freckle on her sweet face. She loves art. There are days she stuns me when she sees something that without her artistic eye, I would have totally missed it. She loves to play sports. She acts so girly but as soon as I get her in a sports uniform all bets are off. You better forget she is a girl, she will give you a run for your money. 

 

I.LOVE. the person she is becoming. I have no idea what GOD has in store for her but I can't wait to be a part of it. I pray every day I can continue to be that good steward.

 

Remember Punkin, I love you every second of every minute of every day.

 

 

 

 

TTFN~

1/4 of my whole world.......

You will be his first kiss

You will be his first love

You will be his first friend

 

You are his Momma

And he is your whole world

He is your little boy

 

When I first saw this I thought how lucky am I to have been blessed with a boy. These things are a gift just for me because I am his Momma. As each day passes, I see him maturing and slowly finding his own way. Most parents are sadden by this separation. I am sure one day I will be sad and miss him terribly since he will no longer be under my roof.

 

But I can not lie.......I am truly excited to watch him grow and change each day.

 

When he chooses to he has a huge heart and will do just about anything for anyone if you ask. I watch him at the bus stop watching over Madelynn to keep her safe. Math comes very for Jackson. When he gets something and his sisters do not he takes the time to teach them what he knows. He almost never flaunts that he is smarter than many children his age.

 

He is my whole world when it comes to little boys. I am one lucky Momma.

 

Thank You Jackson!!

 

TTFN~

Chelsea

 

Never, Ever Stop Fighting......

It has been so long since I posted anything, when I went to long in I forgot my password. Crazy!! Well what's crazier yet is my life lately. In the last two weeks, my ac went in both of our cars. It has been in the high 80's and 90's with humidity. I probably left 10 lbs on the trip to work. At least God was kind enough to let it go out after the kids camps were over.

Phil also spent a chunk of change buying car parts for the van to assemble himself to save us money. Remember he is a "motorhead",  it is what he went to school for, not to mention I LOVE his mechanical mind. The day before he had planned to put all of these parts on the ac compressor in the van goes out. The same day the dryer stops heating. It runs cold air but the heating element went out.

The list goes on about all the things that happened in the last too weeks. Monday evening was my breaking point. I yelled, cried and finally went to bed emotionally exhausted. Every Tuesday morning at work there is a group of us that meet for a 15 minute break and just pray for whatever is on our hearts that day.

I broke down.....I just asked God to take it all away and just fix it because I could not and was at the mercy of anyone who could help. I was no longer in control and God showed me He HEARD me LOUD and CLEAR.

My good friend's husband found the dryer part for $25.00, when I was about to pay $100.00; and then wouldn't even let us pay for the part. Thank You Roger!! Phil and Roger worked endlessly on the van because the parts that needed replacing reared their ugly head and gave them a run for their money. The AC still needs to be fixed but when we get the money in another week or so it will be an easy repair. Everything else is finished.

The dryer part arrived Friday afternoon. Once the van was put back together, about 11:30 pm the dryer part was put on and a glorious heatwave was coming from my dryer and clothes were tumbling around and around. I have been doing laundry non stop for 24 hours. On top of our regular laundry, Jack had a few bed wetting mishaps, I had towels screaming to be cleaned and it was tax free weekend on school supplies including clothes. I had two loads of new clothes to was too.

But today was the icing on the cake. Today was the day my cup runneth over.

This morning we had soccer evaluations. I did not have all the money today because the school clothes and the car were more important. My children do not understand that concept. I went to the evaluations and talked to someone in charge. I told her I only had half the money. In her best smile the woman said, "We never turn anyone away just pay the balance before the end of the season." I almost fell on the floor. I just needed two weeks not 12 weeks.

While at the evaluations I sat and watched the kids stand in each line and give it their best effort. Jack and Katie because of their ages had to stand in a different line than Maddie. Yes, Maddie is going to play soccer. When I saw Maddie standing in a line without her siblings and I saw all the other parents standing with their child I walked over to her. I asked her if I could stand here with her. She told me, "No Mommy, I can do it myself. You can sit over there."

All the Parents standing around just looked at me with dropped jaws. I said, "Ok, I love you."

I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry because she did it!!! She is living and thriving even though she almost died. We made it to the day where she feels just like everyone else even though she knows she's not. She has more specialist's than most of the kids in her school. But today she looked, breathed, laughed and ran just like all the other kids.

Well not quite........

When the evaluations were over, I looked and all three of their results before I turned them in. Maddie ran the fastest 10 yard and 20 yard sprints and scored the highest on the goal kicking. Katie scored the highest dribbling around the cones and Jack scored the highest on the free dribbling.

I truly had no words for this........

So all though we still have a ways to go to get things back to normal, we don't need normal it is SO overrated. We have EXTRAORDINARY!!! 

This is my PSA reminding all of you to never give up and never ever stop fighting.

TTFN~

School mates

People come and go in our lives everyday. The best friends are the ones that you share an inseparable bond with. Sometimes these friends get lost for a while but somehow always manage to circle back around in your life. You know they are real friends because you can talk to them today as if you talk to them everyday even though it may be years since your last conversation.

In the last two years one of those lost friends found their way back to me and we talked as if we talked everyday. He trusted me enough to fill me in on the missing years. He trusted me with both the good and the bad, knowing I would never judge him. I felt as if this friend gave me a gift because he had no fear to share the truth.

Sadly, Saturday the Lord decided it was time for him to come home. It was like one minute he was here and the next he was gone.

In recent weeks I had reached out to him but had not heard from him. There was a part of me that worried when he did not respond but I trusted when he was ready he would circle round again. That never happened.

When people die their friends and family wish for one more day with them. When people die suddenly the longing for one more day is much greater.

If I had one more day with Brandon I would want to meet him at the park with my dog and let him meet her. We would talk about his wanting to help others with service dogs. It would probably turn to something silly, like crazy things our dogs did and we would be laughing.

If I had one more day with Brandon I would want him to make me his favorite meal. He loved to cook and was quite good at it. It seemed to be something that brought him peace.

If I had one more day with Brandon I would want to go to his favorite club and listen to him play. Music was something he could get lost in and the rest of the world didn't matter.

Today, there will be a celebration of Brandon's life. I will miss talking to my friend, I will treasure the gift of trust he gave me but, most of all I will miss listening to him laugh. I am so glad he will finally be at peace.

RIP Brandon

Love ~ from my 9 year old.......

About once a month I really get on the kids about cleaning their rooms. Once they tell me they are clean I then go through them with my "Mama-sense" (my spidy sense, LOL!!). It is crazy the things I find everything from food, this mornings dirty pj's, last weeks stinky socks, my craft scissors, you name it I find it. I am rarely surprised at what I find but it doesn't mean I still don't shake my head.

Today I decided to do my monthly check. I was truly shocked at what I found. In the girls room there was tons of trash. Waded up paper, ripped pictures and pages, as I looked through the papers before I threw it in the trash I found a poem that Kaitlynn and written May 2013. Last year she received some blank journals for a gift from First Communion. Lately she has been sketching and writing in the journals and this is one of the pages she left on her bedroom floor.

She doesn't know I am posting it but I though it was sweet.

Love

 

Love is a heart

Love is something sweet

Love is something everyone has in their hearts and minds

Love is special

Love is a heart

Kaitlynn May Addler 2013

TTFN~

Today's the Day!! Today's the Day!!!

This morning about 10:30 Madelynn will be graduating from Pre-School. I am sure there will be a part of me that will be sad and want to cry but, I am very excited for her. She will have reached a peak in the mountain of life at one time I didn't think was possible. So to celebrate her achievement I thought I would share a little photographic journey.

 

For each of these pictures I could share something the photo does not tell you. But instead I thought you could just enjoy the journey.

 

Congratulations Madelynn!! Mommy and Daddy are more than thrilled to share this milestone with you. Each day you amaze us at all of your accomplishments. We love your personality and EVERYTHING that comes with it. Thank you for showing us our life would not be complete with out you. Mommy and Daddy love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond, forever and ever.

 

TTFN~