Electricity

Our electricity is supposed to be worked on in the new room tomorrow. Not sure if it will be done but it should be a good start! Paul is looking for a person with a Bobcat to do the remainder of the dirt work and then we can proceed with drywall etc. I am looking forward to continuing the photo journey of the addition being built!! The weather is so beautiful!!

getting started on the addition once again

Paul got the new building permit today and did inventory to see what to purchase. He should be making some progress this week!! He seems very diligent and easy to work with! My car is in the shop and I am to get a rental tonight. Needs a new radiator which is covered under warranty, Thank-God! Not much else going on.

Wild Friday

We woke up and needed to get water off of our kitchen floor because heavy rain had come in through the framing of the new room. Mark used the Shop Vac about 4:30 before going to work. Around 5 tonight, we were in the basement with tornado sirens going off. Thank-God we did not have any in this area. After that cleared, we met with Paul and the man who will do the electricity and we have a contract!!! We feel really good about Paul and that he is a man of integrity. He came by earlier today and looked at the water situation and said that the grading he is to do, should alleviate the problem when combined with the new cement that will be poured for a ramp. Mark brought home pallets from work and placed the remaining material on pallets. Were a little tired.

Drywall

Our friends, the Kunckles, are helping us prepare this side of the wall for painting. Lola had me to give it a try but I am not good at it. We meet with Paul Cochram (former worship leader at CCC) tomorrow night and the guy that will assist him with the electricity. If everything goes o.k.. We will sign a contract with Paul and he will get busy on the room soon. Mark took this picture of Dusty who has figured out how to jump in my chair at the table. While it is good for a picture pose, we will discourage it. He is all puppy!!

Mark, the Chef

We like smoked meat and Mark's mom and Ike have an electric smoker and have been great to smoke meat for us. We decided it was time to have a smoker of our own and the end of the summer was a good time to get one. We returned the non-electric one we had without using it because an electric one seemed much simpler. There were some sirloin tips at the one day meat sale at Green Hills Saturday and so we tried the smoker for the first time. Mark smoked onion and green peppers also. We were happier with the veggies than the meat but we are still learning. We got a written contract from Paul (if we choose to hire him) on Friday and we had a day of contractors coming to look at the room and get estimates to us soon. Hope we at least have a contractor hired this week but don't want to rush into any mistakes. Please pray for our decisions. The second picture is of the puppy sleeping on my lap tonight.

A break

It has been a busy week. Taking care of the puppy and the other two, running errands in the heat, calling contractors plus daily routine. Tomorrow a friend of mine from school in Chillicothe is coming up to swim with her kids and I at the aquatics center. I will keep "little man" in his big cage and enjoy a day of fun (I hope). I jokingly told Mark to find a fill in for me tomorrow (LOL).

meeting with contractors

We had Paul Cockram over to give us an estimate to finish the room. Paul was recently the worship leader at church but no longer is and is going back into home improvement. While waiting on his estimate, we have a couple others scheduled to come and give estimates this afternoon. Please pray for God to send the right person who will be diligent and fair and can finish our room within our budget. I try not to focus on the fact that every day the room is just sitting unfinished but that God is in control and he will make a way and to remember that the room is just a temporary place that will be destroyed with the rest of the world some day. There is a great deal of change taking place at church right now and I just want God to be in control. I realize that the time we spend discussing the issues would be better spent in talking to God about it!

Dusty groomed

http://s193.photobucket.com/albums/z197/markkim90/?action=share&pic=399de063.pbw

Dusty groomed

It is to be a another very hot week. I am taking care of Dusty (and the girls), cleaning, enjoying the Christian book It is all about Him and trying to find contractors to give estimates for the room. Note that none of these are outside activities. Above is a link to a sideshow of Dusty at Petco. PhotoBucket wouldn't let me transfer the slide show but I have only done it one other time so I probably messed up. I am having trouble taking pictures of him because he moves so fast but did my best to take one of him with his hair cut. He is a good puppy!

changing contractors

We made the decision today that we needed to find a different person to finish the room. Praise God that it was not any major confrontation and J.R. was respectful and apologized that it did not work out. We will begin a search for the contractor to finish the project. We are supposed to get an estimate on Monday evening, we think. Please pray for us to stay within budget as the electricity will need to be done as well as drywall, insulation, siding (partially) and some cement work. Dusty gets a haircut tomorrow and I hope to post pictures of him!!

"Firsts"

I gave Dusty his first bath today and he is going to the vet for a wellness check. We probably would not have done it on such a hot day but the pet store gave us a coupon for a free health check and it has to be used by Friday. He is schedled for his first puppy cut on Sunday. Lacie has been running around without the leash since we built the room addition and staying pretty close to the door but today she got out the gate and into the neighbors yard. We had quite a time. She will be on a leash from now on! I think she thought the puppy was just here for a visit. We try to give her extra attention but she appears a little jealous. J.R. said it was too muddy to work on siding and it is very muddy. It is also very hot.

a little better picture

We were having trouble with the camera blurring but my sister-in-law did take this of the four of us on Saturday evening after we brought Dusty home. It is clearer of the little man than Lacie. Went to volunteer at UCP and then to a drive through errand before noon to try to beat the heat. Not as hectic as yesterday. J.R. did work on the siding today some and we thought the electrician might be here tonight but that is not going to happen. Perhaps it is best not to have the electricity off tonight anyway, due to the extreme heat.

Our lille OOPs (but we love him)

We really had not planned on another puppy. We had talked a little about getting one so that Lacie (who will be 3 this month) could have a playmate. We had not talked a lot about it but a little and basically we were not sold on the idea. Lexie, the Sheltie just eats and sleeps and really has no interaction with Lacie much. Well, for some time now, Critter's has had a sign that said Toy Poodles for sale and Saturday we finally went in to browse. That is when the OOPs comes into play. They had the cutest little male tiny toy poodle and we got to hold him. (I think that was a sales tactic, but it worked). We did not get him immediately but went back just before closing time on Saturday and now we have Dusty. He is four months old and Lacie is having the time of her life and I think Dusty is having fun too. I am very busy between putting a puppy out every hour and dealing with other tasks. It is nap time right now and this is the first time I have had much of a break. He has a personality similar to our previous male poodle who was very cuddly and people oriented. No there will not be puppies as Lacie was spade as a puppy!! The siding was worked on for the addition on Saturday but it rained today so no one is working. So, I introduce Dusty Dewayne Hubbard (above).

Funny/onry little poodle

We had such a time trying to replace the ball we bought for Lacie before we even brought her home from the kennel, that she wore out after playing catch with it for over two years. We finally found a rubber one awhile back here at Weslake's and the texture and size were perfect. We had tried others to no avail. We decided to go back and get a couple of extra to put away. Lacie did not even see them but figured it out (from smell we think) and barked and begged for them so we gave in and let her have one of the two. Mark then put the the third in his top drawer this past weekend. Lacie remembered that is was there and she threw a fit yesterday and barked at the drawer. She hardly never has potty accidents but had one yesterday we think in protest for not getting her way!! We think two is plenty. She is so smart! She is also strong willed! She got in trouble with us yesterday! Mark and I plan to go to the hospital when he gets off at 2:30 as Ike is to have his stints at 2 or 3 and closer to 3 this afternoon, I have a little get together tonight with ladies I used to work with and I am excited about that.

Ike update

Ike had the cardiac catheter and they found that his bypasses are fine but there is some blockage somewhere else. Tomorrow or Friday he will have two stints put in his heart. I am going to try to nap even though the contractor is working.