Friday's Freak Out

I just finished packing for Minneapolis and I spent most of the day spinning my wheels. So many minute tasks that should have taken minutes but ended up taking me forever ....and why is it that the dryer takes SO much longer than the washer! Ughhhhh! We will be leaving first thing in the morning and will be gone for a week. I have to say I am looking forward to escaping the mess from the construction going on in our house. Images of the Mall of America are swirling in my head! I think a little retail therapy is just what the doctor ordered! Have a great Weekend!

Summer Fun

This past week we took Dylan and friends (Spencer and Olivia)to the local water park for some sun and swimming. They were so excited for their first trip to the pool! It was a beautiful sunny hot day...perfect! I love taking them there it is so relaxing to lay out...read a book and just do nothing for a couple of hours! Ahhhh....to be a kid again.

Before and After

Patience

It's been a week now since the water disaster in our home. We have made some progress but it's sure turning out to be a slower process than we would like. A water restoration company came in and dried everything out...they had their dehumidifiers and fans running for a week straight. They completely gutted the kitchen. All our appliances need to be replaced, along with our kitchen cabinets, counter tops, flooring, tiling, new carpeting throughout the house, new bathroom...etc.... The insurance adjuster came out yesterday and was here for 3 hours surveying the damage. We have picked our contractor and as soon as the Insurance company has their quote and approves everything we can get going on getting our home back to normal. The contractor said he would start after the 4th of July and it would be about a month of daily construction work. Let me also say that eating out every night is not helping my diet out at all!!! Keep praying!

When it rains it pours....literally

If you hadn't already heard Dana and I came home from a long weekend at the cottage to quite a big surprise! It was late Sunday (Fathers Day) we had a fantastic day and stopped for a Fathers Day dinner with my family. It was pretty late when we finally drove into the driveway. We all piled out and each grabbed a piece of luggage from the trunk and headed for the front door. As Dana unlocked the door Dylan rushed in and before we stepped in we heard "Dad...did someone leave the water running?...I hear water running" My first thought was he was hearing the sound of the toilet running or something....nope....no such luck! We headed towards the sound of rushing water....*hearts pounding...praying that it wasn't what we were imagining* ....it was worse. Our entire ceiling in our kitchen was laying on the kitchen floor. We stood there for a second trying to soak in (pardon the pun) what we were seeing. We snapped to reality and realized water is still gushing so upstairs Dana ran to find where this was coming from. A tubing that connects from the water pipe to the toilet had sprung loose and was spraying water everywhere, like an out of control water hose. After, we surveyed the damage and noticed that water had saturated the upstairs...down the stairway....onto the living room ceiling...the dining room.... basement...and the worst of all the kitchen! So here I am tonight sitting here with the sounds of industrial strength dehumidifiers roaring and about 8 turbo charged fans... I feel like I am in a wind tunnel! We have been told nothing in the kitchen is salvageable and we are waiting to see if the wood floors will be able to be saved. The bathroom Dana has been working on for months is totaled. While we are glad to get a new kitchen the prospect of the upcoming months of restoration is daunting. Keep us in your prayers!

Family

I just got home from the gym and I am so glad I decided to go this morning. You know half the battle for me is just getting up and lacing up my tennis shoes after that I'm good to go. Your mind can make so many justifications when your all warm and cozy in your bed. Like... "Oh I'll work out later" or "I'll just skip it today" . It is so nice to have it over with and get on with my day...I wish I could remember this feeling every day at 7am. Well...we are all packed and ready for our trip to the cottage. Dana actually took a day off and we will have a nice 3 day weekend! We are helping my parents shingle the roof of their new pole barn so it will go by pretty fast I'm sure. We have had several parties the past few weekends. We went to my brothers for a "Roofing Party" and before that we had a "pole barn building" party! You know to most that doesn't sound too fun but anytime you can have all your family around and work together to help one another it's a great thing! The best part is that come September WE are having a "house siding" party and my family will be right there to lend us a hand! I love my family!

Have a Great Weekend!

Stacey

Our Memories

Together....

Wow...I can't believe it's been 17 years since we started our journey together! It was so scary, we had struggles and trials to overcome but we did it! We were so young and naive when we first were married (yet we thought we had life figured out). We were 18 married with a baby on the way...not the best way to start off. We made our share of wrong turns....mistakes were made....lessons were learned..... and we grew together through all of it. We had times where we looked at each other and thought WHOA... who are you? We kept on changing and found that our love was the glue that held us together even when we were not at our best! I love you!

Getting Older...

I can't believe how fast time flies by! Where do the years go? I still feel like I should be in my early twenties... however I will be 35 in July! Looking at pictures of the kids today and I can't believe how fast they have grown! We are about to have not one but 2 teenagers...how is that possible? When your young your parents are always telling you to stop and enjoy your childhood..."don't rush to grow up..." they would say. We of course thought they knew nothing and kept rushing to the next birthday. We all need to stop and enjoy all the little moments in life and stop rushing to the next.