Corban decorated the wardrobe. He was so thoughtful and careful, sitting at the table for a good 45 minutes after the other kids had abandoned it to go play.
Cair Paravel
Friday, December 25, 2009
Narnia
My wonderful friend Julie is amazing. She is tireless in her efforts to do fun things with her kids and she often generously includes my kids in the activities she plans. Making gingerbread houses from scratch is a colossal and time-consuming endeavor, but Julies makes it happen every year. When our children were decorating their houses last year before Christmas, one of the kids suggested doing Narnia this year. Julie made it happen. Her daughter designed Cair Paravel. Jakin designed the wardrobe and Julie designed the sledge. All the kids had different decorating assignments. They then added the lamp post, the four children, the White Witch, and Aslan on the broken stone table. I wish I had pictures that included the artists, but I didn't have my camera with me on the day we decorated (forgot it!). You'll have to imagine their smiling, proud faces surrounding their excellent work.
Corban decorated the wardrobe. He was so thoughtful and careful, sitting at the table for a good 45 minutes after the other kids had abandoned it to go play.
Cair Paravel
Corban decorated the wardrobe. He was so thoughtful and careful, sitting at the table for a good 45 minutes after the other kids had abandoned it to go play.
Cair Paravel
The house on December 22
Despite the very cold weather, good progress on the house continues.
This is the living room. Our stone mason will soon be bringing the chimney up from the basement into the living room. The tarp is covering that space.
This the the space for the kitchen and dining room table. Beyond the kitchen is the pantry and laundry/mudroom.
The scale of the house has increased dramatically. I must admit that when I first saw the rafters I was a bit shocked with the pitch of the roof. I know it will all look great proportionally as it comes together.
This is the living room. Our stone mason will soon be bringing the chimney up from the basement into the living room. The tarp is covering that space.
This the the space for the kitchen and dining room table. Beyond the kitchen is the pantry and laundry/mudroom.
The scale of the house has increased dramatically. I must admit that when I first saw the rafters I was a bit shocked with the pitch of the roof. I know it will all look great proportionally as it comes together.
Friday, December 11, 2009
The house on December 11
The first floor is getting all sealed in. Most of the sheathing (is that the right word? the problem is that every time I blog about the house, Jack is asleep on the couch so I can't ask him any technical questions...) is up. In fact, Jack and his guys are hoping to start putting the second floor deck on tomorrow.
Yep. It snowed last Friday night and then again this Wednesday. This probably won't be the last time Jack is shoveling snow off the deck.
Lauren will grow up in this house. Someday that will hopefully be a blessing to her. But, for now it's just not as exciting for her to go check out the progress on the house. And it was very cold today. She was happy to see her daddy though. And of course he gave her some bites of the pumpkin chocolate chip bread that I brought for Jack and the crew.
Annie, Corban and Jakin standing on what will be the screened-in porch. I was struck last week by the new perspective being up this high offers. It's cool to be able to see the brook in addition to being able to hear it. Can't wait to see the view from the second floor!
We have some interior walls. I walk through my future kitchen and living room in a dream-like state! I know I've said that this is so exciting. It's also weird. It's really happening.
Yep. It snowed last Friday night and then again this Wednesday. This probably won't be the last time Jack is shoveling snow off the deck.
Lauren will grow up in this house. Someday that will hopefully be a blessing to her. But, for now it's just not as exciting for her to go check out the progress on the house. And it was very cold today. She was happy to see her daddy though. And of course he gave her some bites of the pumpkin chocolate chip bread that I brought for Jack and the crew.
Annie, Corban and Jakin standing on what will be the screened-in porch. I was struck last week by the new perspective being up this high offers. It's cool to be able to see the brook in addition to being able to hear it. Can't wait to see the view from the second floor!
We have some interior walls. I walk through my future kitchen and living room in a dream-like state! I know I've said that this is so exciting. It's also weird. It's really happening.
The house on December 4
Framing is well underway.
Annie peeps out of Daddy's future office
The house is starting to take shape
This is the back of the house. Note the double walls. The gap between them will be filled with foam, making this a tight, efficient house. As my dad said today, "You're going to be able to heat that house with a candle." That's the idea.
At the end of the week, here's what it looks like
Annie peeps out of Daddy's future office
The house is starting to take shape
This is the back of the house. Note the double walls. The gap between them will be filled with foam, making this a tight, efficient house. As my dad said today, "You're going to be able to heat that house with a candle." That's the idea.
At the end of the week, here's what it looks like
The house on November 28
The deck is on. Ready to frame.
The boys spend a good bit of time at "the property" with their dad. Usually, the are just playing. But they often help. Jack loves seeing them run around. I love that they never get bored of this place that will someday be their home.
Jack's parents, Jim and Nettie, spent Thanksgiving with us. In addition to enjoying great time together, the visit gave Jim, the designer of the house, an opportunity to get his hands on the house. Jack calls his dad at least once every week with questions about the house. I know it was nice for Jack to have his dad on site to answer questions, not to mention having the chance to work together.
Since the weather has been relatively warm and dry, the stone mason started the veneer on the exterior of the house. All of the stone was harvested from our site. I'm ecstatic with how this feature is starting to look.
Jim gets to work on the house he calls, "The House That Jack Built"
The boys spend a good bit of time at "the property" with their dad. Usually, the are just playing. But they often help. Jack loves seeing them run around. I love that they never get bored of this place that will someday be their home.
Jack's parents, Jim and Nettie, spent Thanksgiving with us. In addition to enjoying great time together, the visit gave Jim, the designer of the house, an opportunity to get his hands on the house. Jack calls his dad at least once every week with questions about the house. I know it was nice for Jack to have his dad on site to answer questions, not to mention having the chance to work together.
Since the weather has been relatively warm and dry, the stone mason started the veneer on the exterior of the house. All of the stone was harvested from our site. I'm ecstatic with how this feature is starting to look.
Jim gets to work on the house he calls, "The House That Jack Built"
Lauren at 10 months
Our sweet girl cruises the house. She has long periods of happy play time, which is nice for a home schooling mom. Inevitably, she ends up playing with books or the toy drawer in the kitchen or pulling out all the hats and gloves out of the bin in which they are stored. If the gate isn't up, she will be up the steps in a moment. If she is not otherwise amused, she will find me and climb up my legs. She has a few "tricks" - "so big", clapping and she knows a few useful signs at the table. She still isn't sleeping through the night, but it's pretty close and since all four kids are doing well sleeping in one room, I can't complain. Lauren loves to play in her room with her big brothers and sister. This is such a fun time.
If the dishwasher is accessible, Lauren wants to stand. This works a lot better when the dishes are clean instead of dirty.
Lauren is finally starting to be interested in big girl food. I can sometimes feed her an entire meal out of the food we are eating, instead of pureed food. It's a nice development.
If the dishwasher is accessible, Lauren wants to stand. This works a lot better when the dishes are clean instead of dirty.
Lauren is finally starting to be interested in big girl food. I can sometimes feed her an entire meal out of the food we are eating, instead of pureed food. It's a nice development.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Visit with the Loeschers
Our friendship with the Tim and Christa Loescher dates back to 2001 when we packed up our 4-week old Jakin en route to staff our first Navigator summer training program in Colorado Springs. That summer, as Jack and Tim worked grounds crew and Christa and I mommied together, a friendship was forged. We moved to New England in large part to be near Tim and Christa. Our two families lived under the same roof (Loescher's) when we staffed our next training program in Burlington, Vermont in 2004. By then there were four kids. And now, although we have moved on from Navigator staff, the Loeschers are still among our very dearest friends.
They came to visit this weekend. It was a wonderful, amazingly restful weekend. Even though it rained much of the day on Saturday, Jakin and Peter played soccer outside for about five hours. Corban, Elise, Teddy and Annie all paired off in different combinations throughout the day and Lauren was remarkably pleasant. Because the kids were happy to be together all day and because Christa brought dinner, the adults had time to just sit and read and talk and rest and laugh. I can't remember when I've had such a relaxing day. It was such a good time.
Summer 04 on the gondola at Mount Mansfield in Stowe, VT
Fall 09 - Now there are 7 kids!
Peter was Jakin's first friend and although he rarely sees Peter, Jakin considers him one of his best friends. I wish I had a digital picture of the two of them together in 2001.
In all the years of our friendship, I think this is the first picture of both of our families together.
They came to visit this weekend. It was a wonderful, amazingly restful weekend. Even though it rained much of the day on Saturday, Jakin and Peter played soccer outside for about five hours. Corban, Elise, Teddy and Annie all paired off in different combinations throughout the day and Lauren was remarkably pleasant. Because the kids were happy to be together all day and because Christa brought dinner, the adults had time to just sit and read and talk and rest and laugh. I can't remember when I've had such a relaxing day. It was such a good time.
Summer 04 on the gondola at Mount Mansfield in Stowe, VT
Fall 09 - Now there are 7 kids!
Peter was Jakin's first friend and although he rarely sees Peter, Jakin considers him one of his best friends. I wish I had a digital picture of the two of them together in 2001.
In all the years of our friendship, I think this is the first picture of both of our families together.
Basement floor
Our basement floor was poured today. The first picture shows the tubing for radiant heat. The second picture shows the poured floor. Go to the next post to see how we celebrated this step.
Scratching our names
The kids and I had an unusually busy day, but we squeezed in a quick trip to the house as a family to scratch our names into the concrete of the newly poured basement floor. The original plan involved hand prints as well, but we were too late for that. The concrete was already too hard. But, our names are in! It must really be our house.
The picture doesn't show our work very well, but I took this picture to show that in addition to our names and the date, Jack carved "Deus Caritas Est".
The picture doesn't show our work very well, but I took this picture to show that in addition to our names and the date, Jack carved "Deus Caritas Est".
Friday, November 6, 2009
Lauren at 9 months
Does Lauren still fuss a lot? Why, yes she does. Does she sleep well at night? Nope. Last night she woke up and ate at 1 AND 5 and then thought it was time to stay awake at 5. If you're keeping track, that's two more wake ups than I think a 9-month old should be experiencing. But, she's still really cute and sweet. She loves her siblings and she has the sweetest new trick. She waves at us!
I found Lauren like this one night when I went to check on her before I went to bed.
She stands all the time now.
Lauren got up the steps all by herself for the first time last week.
Lauren's days are never dull with all these siblings around
She's messy, but she's cute!
I found Lauren like this one night when I went to check on her before I went to bed.
She stands all the time now.
Lauren got up the steps all by herself for the first time last week.
Lauren's days are never dull with all these siblings around
She's messy, but she's cute!
Uncle Ed is here!
My brother Ed is visiting from St. Louis this week. He has helped with the house. He's helped with the kids. He's a good guy to have around.
Lauren has been a little bit sick, and consequently, a bit fussy this week. Look. She loves Uncle Ed! I keep saying he's probably going to be happy to get back to his happy Thomas boy tomorrow.
Lauren has been a little bit sick, and consequently, a bit fussy this week. Look. She loves Uncle Ed! I keep saying he's probably going to be happy to get back to his happy Thomas boy tomorrow.
Happy Halloween 09
During her early October visit, my mom undertook the task of outfitting the kids for Halloween. A Batman, a Wolverine and a Pretty Pink Princess were the result. Grammy Miller was delighted to send the sweet little bee costume for Lauren. Thank you both! Halloween costumes have never been my thing, so I'm helpful for all the help I can get.
Sweet little bee. She didn't want to leave her hat on.
Our Halloween crew
The three pink princesses - Lainey, Annie and Isabella
Sweet little bee. She didn't want to leave her hat on.
Our Halloween crew
The three pink princesses - Lainey, Annie and Isabella
Dirt Fest
"Going to the property" means many things: the excitement of seeing the house change and progress daily, the fun of seeing Jack at work, the joy of being outside in beautiful place. It also means "Time To Get Dirty". Big piles of rock and dirt are a wonderland for my kids and their friends, an irresistible playground. Dirty kids with dirty clothes are inevitable. So when my washer broke it was less than ideal timing! The kids were instructed to wear the same clothes to the property every time they went. We made it - nine days without a washer - but since being delivered three days ago, the washer has seen almost constant use.
Dirty butts
Annie and her friend Talia on top of a dirt and rock pile
end of week 1: pouring the footings as the kids look on
Grammy says she wants pictures of the kids. Grampa says he wants pictures of the house. Pictures of the kids AND the house will make them both happy!
Dirty butts
Annie and her friend Talia on top of a dirt and rock pile
end of week 1: pouring the footings as the kids look on
Grammy says she wants pictures of the kids. Grampa says he wants pictures of the house. Pictures of the kids AND the house will make them both happy!
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