Dear Tooth Fairy....

What to do when you literally lose your tooth before you put it under your pillow? Write the tooth fairy a letter, of course....

Dear Tooth Fairy,
I'm sorry I lost my tooth. I hope you bring me money anyway.
Love me,
Jaelyn

Meant to be...

Yeah, it's Veggie Tales, but it's much deeper than that. Got to see it for yourself...

Ta Da....

Below are some pictures from our reflooring and painting project. But first of all let me take you back to what our kitchen looked like back in 2000....



So here's what our kitchen looked like after our original remodel...

All we really changed was the flooring, but it really makes the room show up more. The flooring is a little more gray than this photo shows though.


Here you see a little of the family room before....

During the tear apart....

After....

Dining room before (plus extra furniture from the family room)....

During....

After (sorry, this picture is a little yellow, but you get the idea)....

Mike tearing up the entryway....

Look at the ugly linoleum he found under the wood flooring he pulled up....early 80's for sure!

After.....

This was a full family affair.....Mike (master planner), Kellen (clean up crew), Josh (lead asst.), Toni (professional painter), Jaelyn (nail remover), and Kaia (second nail remover) worked, plus my parents came down to help with the final touches. Dad helped Mike with the transition pieces and other details, while Mom helped entertain the girls and wash/dust the many neglected knick knacks. Mom and I then rearranged everything for the walls, directing Dad where to hang them. We really appreciate the group effort, and it looks great, but I especially need to thank Mike for his many, many hours of planning, work, and sweat, despite many moments of frustration. Good thing he's a math teacher, as he had to apply many formulas to figure out how to match up all the flooring. Love you babe!

Closure...

Our first glimpses of Yung Yung were peek-a-boo sightings from around the corner...


As we followed him into the room, we met his very sick mother...


My heart has been heavy again as this week I learned of the passing of Yung Yung's mother. I posted just a bit about them while we were in China; a mother who brought her six year old son to the orphanage because she was dying and had no where else to turn. Sweet Yung Yung is now an orphan himself, as his mom passed away about a month ago. Please pray he is adjusting to life with the other children at the orphanage, and given an opportunity to mourn his loss. Please also pray the sweet photos he clung to of his mother (in healthier days) are something that are kept safe for him. And most importantly, pray this boy can be part of a family again!

I've Been Flushed!!!

Yesterday we came out of our house to find this in the yard...

The senior class delivers it to different yards as a fundraiser. For $10 you can send it on its merry way to some other unsuspecting person's yard, and for an additional $10 you can buy insurance so that it never finds its way back to yours! I decided to have a little photo session while I could:) I wonder where it is on its way to now????

Work Break....

Forgive me for not posting much lately, but we are in the midst of a major job. We have been removing the carpet in the house, painting, and putting in new flooring. It has been nearly two weeks of work, but we are nearing the end. I will post pictures when the job is done, but for now, here's a sneak peak of what we've been up to:


The only reprieve from work these days has been taking the girls to swimming lessons, which they love! It's been about two years since they last took lessons, and they have overcome a lot of fears, especially Jaelyn. She is even putting her head underwater in one of the photos below. The photos aren't the best inside the pool, but you can see that they are
having a good time.

Summer Boredom....

This is evidence of what happens when a 15 year old has too much time on their hands in the summer: