364/365

I can't believe that I only have one more day of this year long project left.

Sadly I don't have any pictures of the kids because they are with my mom but I do have a lot of pictures of what all is going on out at the house! 

There was a lot going on today out there. 

The dirt guys were out and got rid of the huge piles of dirt that were sitting on both sides of the house.

(The kids are going to be so sad when they see this.)

Jacob got the insulation put up in the workshop and the sheetrock was delivered. 

They built up the dirt all around the foundation and dug a test hole for the septic system as well! 

Jacob also started insulating some of the interior walls to make them more sound proof. 

I put on the first coat of sealer on the concrete and LOVE the way it looked.

(Again...the pictures are WAY more orange than it really looks in person.)

I am so happy with how it turned out. 

I think it is going to have the perfect rustic feel to it and we saved a lot of money by going this route and doing it ourselves!  Yay! 

I also got down in the basement and cleaned it out really good. 

It needed it!  We haven't cleaned down there at all and it was a disaster area.  After I got everything cleaned out I sprayed down all of the walls and baseboards with bug spray to help prevent us from having so many bugs once we move in.   

Overall it was a really productive day!  We were out at the house by 8:30 and worked until a little after 6.  We have another busy day tomorrow and Sunday before we have to get out of the way and let the professionals do their work.  Our plan is to be out at the house at 7 AM.  It is currently 1:14 AM.  I must be crazy but at least I am finally all caught up!

And now I am off to bed!

363/365

Today we started staining the bathroom floors. 

I am not going to lie and say that I wasn't just a little panicked when I saw how they were turning out after we put the first of 2 coats of stain on.

(The pictures make it look a lot more orange than it really is.  The color is more of a dark brown.) 

After the second coat of stain it was looking a little better. 

We spent a lot of time working on the floors and getting things really cleaned up out at the house. 

The kids were happy to be heading to my mom's house for a few days.  They are kind of over hanging out at the house working. 

They were thrilled when we headed out to meet up with her.

In fact they sat by the front door for almost 30 minutes while I finished gathering their things.

After I got back from dropping them off, Jacob and I headed to Abilene to pick up supplies and go out to eat.  It was a nice to get away for a little date.  (Even though it did include a trip to Home Depot and Lowes!)

362/365

Today we spent most of the day out at the house cleaning things up and getting the bathroom floors ready to stain. 

When we got home the kids were so excited to make some art projects with their new art easel. 

That art easel and art sets with paint, markers, colors and stickers has been one of their favorite gifts so far.

That makes me pretty happy!

361/365

We are HOME...and FREEZING!

Might as well break out the new snuggies the kids got for Christmas!

(They asked for them...BTW!) 

It was 50 in the house when we got home and only warmed up to 60 degrees in the house by the morning with 3 space heaters running. 

It was a COLD night!  Thankfully we have had a pretty mild Winter because when this house gets cold it is hard to warm up!

260/365

I am going to blame my lack of pictures of this day on the fact that it was the day after Christmas AND Luke's birthday and I still had a major headache!  It was a busy fun day of 4 wheeler riding, playing with toys and sleepovers.

Jaci and Gracie had a sleepover at Grand and Grandmamas and the boys and Luke had a sleepover up at Craig and Amy's house.  By the time I though to get a picture of the boys it was way too late so all you get are these 2 cuties!

359/365

Christmas morning...5 AM!

I am pretty sure Jackson didn't sleep that night and as a result had everyone up super early!

He first woke up at 4 but Jacob's parent's held him off until 5. 

He couldn't wait to see what all he had received! 

Tyler wasn't quite awake and it took him awhile to get into the swing of things. 

Jaci was sleepy as well but loved her oven!

Even though it has an oven door that won't stay on!  (I think the elf who made it didn't quite have the design down!) 

All of the grandkids with their letter pictures. 

Opening their gift from Grand and Grandmama. 

Jaci is such a poser.  LOL! 

Jackson with his Nerf bow. 

After presents the kids all did karaoke and told stories. 

Tyler was singing Happy Birthday Jesus. 

The kids always have a lot of fun singing and being the center of attention. 

It was a good Christmas.  I love seeing it through the eyes of the kids.  It is pretty awesome!

358/365

Christmas Eve at Grandma's house!

Santa's helper dropped by to deliver a few presents for the kids. 

They were excited to see him and get their gifts. 

It was cute to see the little kids get so excited! 

 

Jaci even offered him a few pretzels that we made! 

After opening their gifts the kids all took turns trying to break open the pinata. 

The first time around they had to use a blindfold but the second time they got to swing without the blindfold. 

I love this one of Jackson!  Clearly the pinata was busting open and candy was going everywhere!  Check out everyone in the background! 

After we got back to Gand and Grandmama's house the kids hung up their stockings and set out pretzels and milk for Santa and water and lettuce for the reindeer.

It was a late night for Santa...I think I heard him around 1AM.  (Yawn!)

357/365

Today we made a road trip to Grand and Grandmama's house...

Jackson and Luke were so excited to see each other!

The kids were happy to be there and were so excited for Christmas coming up!

I was so happy to be there because I got quite possibly the worst headache of my life the morning we were getting ready to leave and didn't get rid of it for 6 days!  Let's just say the drive in to Henderson was a rough one for me!

I haven't disappeared...

My laptop is just broken!

I somehow managed to break it while on vacation.  I will try to get everything uploaded to our desktop tomorrow so that I can get back to my daily updates, but we are really busy trying to get our floors stained so I don't have much time to mess with things.  I will get an update posted at some point in the near future (hopefully tomorrow).

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!

356/365

Today the kids and I spent the day getting ready to do our Christmas here tonight. 

We cleaned up the house, did laundry and then made almond covered pretzels.  The kids were a big help and although they aren't the prettiest pretzels, they taste the same and the kids had a great time! 

We also took care of a few things out at the new house.  While out there Jaci ran into a tree and scraped and bruised up her head.  I honestly don't know how she does it sometimes.  She is just too clumsy!  Do you remember when she was chasing bubbles and ran into a tree and broke her nose?  She really does need to wear a helmet around to keep her safe.  LOL! 

The kids were so excited to do our Christmas tonight.  We scaled back a lot this year but they still loved everything. 

 The big hit of the night was a mechanical John Deere bank that I got Tyler.  He didn't care about anything else other than his bank.  The other kids loved it too and spend most of the evening putting money into it. 

After the regular presents we gave them their big gift.  I found a used Rock Band for Wii for them and they loved playing it even though it is a bit above their skill level.  We all had a great time playing it.

The next couple of days are going to be really crazy and I most likely will not be posting over the holidays.  As usual, I will go back and catch on my posts when things return to normal!

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!