Not much going on..

-So last week we had our first case of pink eye. I picked Ethan up from school on Thursday and his eyes were red, swollen, and oozing. So off to the urgent care we went. His eye-drops have worked really well (they should for what we paid for them!) and thankfully no one else has gotten it! So that was exciting and put me in disinfecting mode! I washed everything in sight and used the Clorox sanitizing spray on everything I could!

-The kids have 4 more days of school before Thanksgiving break. We will be going to the farm for a few days. This Friday the 1st grade classes are having a Thanksgiving feast and the family is invited to come. Ethan came home today and was sad he has to be a pilgrim for the feast and not an Indian. Oh the dilemmas of first grade!

-I'm super excited to have my family come here for Christmas! I haven't seen some of them for a year, and I'm ready to love on my nephews and niece!!

-Our connection group is awesome!! We've had a blast getting to know the people in it and we are developing some really great friendships. We had everyone over for dinner this last Sunday just for fun and to hang out. One of the guys smoked a brisket, ribs, steak, and a duck for the meal. Umm... yum! It was fun to just relax. We celebrated a birthday for one of the kids. She turned 3. She and Kaitlyn have a lot of fun playing dress up together. It's not uncommon to have 2 Cinderellas running around the house. We get to spend Friday night babysitting another groups kids so they can go out, and then on Saturday they are babysitting for us. We're going to go to a couple's house and just play boardgames and eat pizza. Fun stuff!

- We finished raking our yard this week. We raked and bagged half our backyard and filled 42 bags. So we decided to burn the rest. It took Jarod and I all afternoon and evening to do the back and then another couple of hours to burn the leaves from the front. But the yard looks so nice now and we are done for the year!

- I love this time of year! Not b/c of shopping or presents (we really don't do much of either) but b/c of the excitement and get togethers. I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and the Christmas season!

A to Z...

Some people on facebook did this, and I thought it was pretty cool. So here is my list, alphabet style, of what I am thankful for (some are deeper than others :-) ):

A- All my family. The Graunke's with all of our quirks- I love you! The Anderson's who have adopted me as their own. I love you!
B- Bedhead. It always makes me smile when our kids get out of bed b/c of their crazy hair! I am thankful they have slept well and look so cute with their bedhair!
C- Church. For a place to go worship and to be around fellow Christians.
D- Dt. Mtn. Dew- It is just so yummy!
E- Everyday. I am learning to appreciate each day and whatever that day brings. I am trying to learn to relax and just enjoy each moment. Thank you Lord for helping me to learn this.
F- Friends. God has placed amazing people in my life. I am so thankful for having the kid of friends that can encourage, correct, make fun of, and love me.
G- Giggling. I love, love when my kids are giggling! I can't help but smile! I also love when someone makes me laugh- it just feels so good to laugh and enjoy life!
H- Hope of Heaven. I am so thankful that this world is not all there is. Come quickly, Lord!
I- Identity in Christ. I am God's child, created with love, and designed with a purpose. I am not defined by my age, my looks, my weight, or by my mistakes. I am His and I rejoice in that!
J- Jesus, my Lord. Thank you for changing my life 16 years ago! Thank you for loving me and setting me free!
K- Kids. I am so thankful for my children! They teach me so much about myself and about selfless love. They are my joy and I love them!!
L- Love. Love that see's past all the flaws. The kind of love God intended.
M- Music. Jarod has really helped me to love and enjoy music. It speaks to my soul, and gives me words to express how I feel in any given situation.
N- New beginnings. God's mercy is new every morning!
O- Opportunities to serve. I really do enjoy serving other people. God has given me some great opportunities to do this and I am so thankful!
P- Poking fun at Jarod. We have so much fun together! He makes me laugh and I love when I can catch him off guard with a good comeback or joke!
Q- Okay I have to put it- Quicktrip! A 32 oz. Dt. Mtn. Dew with cherry! Oh and they have the cheapest gas!
R- Radio. I listen to a lot of music so I am thankful for Christian radio. My kids, especially Kaitlyn, can sing with the songs after only hearing it once or twice. So they are learning to praise God with their music too.
S- Sunrises and sunsets. They are beautiful and are a masterpiece drawn by God. He is a beautiful artist.
T- Time by myself. As a mom of 3 and being a minister's wife, I don't get a lot of time alone. But I am thankful for those brief moments to stop and catch my breath!
U- Unexpected answers to prayer. Not unexpected that my prayers are answered but rather that they are answered sometimes in ways I don't expect.
V- Visits or visiting with family and friends. Especially now that we live in OK getting to see family and friends is a blessing! I enjoy each visit.
W- Weekends. I love the weekend! Especially with the kids in school, I really appreciate a couple days with our whole family home. It's a great time of play, relaxing, and sometimes getting a job done around the house. :-)
X- Xceptional (ha!) food. I love food! A good meal that has tons of flavor is always fine with me!
Y- Yard sales. It helps clothe our family!
Z- Zzzz's. :-) I am thankful for a good nights sleep and an occasional nap!

Let the demolition begin!

Jarod and I have begun our first home improvement project at this house! We are focusing on two rooms, and hopefully getting them done by Christmas when my family is coming. One room is the hall bathroom. It's a decent size but a good starting point. Here's a list of things to do in that room:

-scrape the popcorn ceiling (done yesterday)
-peel the paint off the wall. apparently the people before us peeled off some wallpaper and with that some sheet rock. They then proceeded to paint over that without mudding some spots and without primer. They used some paint that had sand in it too. So we have to peel the paint off the wall.(started today)
-mud the wall
-texture the wall
-texture the ceiling
-paint the trim and cabinets
-paint the ceiling
-prime the walls
-paint the walls
-new light fixture??
-new mirror??

A lot to do for such a little room, but it will look so nice when it is done! Not sure on the paint color yet.

The kitchen/dining area:
-scrape the popcorn ceiling (finished over the dining area but not the kitchen)
-remove lowered ceiling (demoed last night!!)
-put in recessed lighting
-sand off the paint with sand in it.
-patch the wall
-texture the kitchen walls and ceiling
-paint the trim and cabinets
-prime the wall and ceiling
-paint ceiling
-paint walls.

It's a lot of work but not high cost. Yet it will make a big difference! Just opening up the ceiling last night has made a huge difference. It added a foot of height to our kitchen. The color for the kitchen is a darker brick red color. It will go nicely with our living room color which will be an olive color. The trim color is an off white. I'm really excited, but I hope we can get most of it done before Christmas!

Tiger Cub

Sean was picked out of his class at school to be the tiger cub for the month. Each month they pick a character trait (this month was responsibility) and each teacher picks a kid that demonstrates that trait. Miss Walton picked Sean, so he got to go to a special assembly. Each tiger cub got to run out with spotlights and music and was awarded a certificate and a special back pack with treats in it. All the parents and the rest of the school come and cheer them on. It's a really neat deal, and we are so proud of Sean! Here is Seaners with his principal Mr. Lock: