The school year is over...for Laura!

This weekend we celebrated Sophie's 11th birthday! She had a wonderful birthday with our family and friends. We had movies, red beans and rice, a day of cooking with Stiliani, a day of fun with Annie and Rosie, and fun with cousins. We are very lucky! 11!!! Whew!

Today I "celebrated" the worst year of my 24 years teaching. No details, it was just the worst ever. The good news is, it's over.

The house is coming along great! Stacy and Rodney are killing themselves so we can move in this weekend. No pictures...still, but lots to tell. Kitchen cabinets are in, the bathrooms are almost done, and floors are being refinished this week.

On Saturday, we hope to open the POD and get the two bedrooms set up. There will still be things to do, but nothing to keep us out of the house.

Pictures to follow! Look to the blog for pics in the coming weeks!

Also, sometime near the END OF JULY when all our summer fun is waning, we will have a party! You will get invited by email, not blog!

Hope all is well! We want everyone that reads this to be so grateful for all that you have. Love, love, love your pain in the neck kids, husbands, wives, friends, strangers...life is precious. Always be grateful and cherish every moment---even the not-so-fun ones.

Lynn and I feel so blessed to have a house to renovate---to have a daughter to fuss at about not doing homework---a partner that drives us crazy (OK, that's just Lynn). And I am so grateful for all of it!

XOXOXO

Lights!! Cabinets!!! Toilets!!!!

Stacy and Rodney have been working very hard to get us back home. We had excitement today with KITCHEN CABINETS BEING INSTALLED!!!

We've also had toilets, sinks, light fixtures, and many other exciting things being done!

We are not including pictures (sorry), but we do not want to ruin the surprise of the finished product!

We are all having stress for different reasons and we are lucky because we have a home to renovate, a family to aggravate and impose upon, friends to vent to, and a job to complain about!!!

Serenity now!

XOXOXOXO

Every hour counts!

Just three more weeks. After 6 1/2 months, three weeks shouldn't seem like a lifetime, but actually, every hour feels like a month.

Not hopefully, definitely, we will be home soon.

FInal touches are being worked on. Kitchen cabinets will be installed on the 18th and counter-tops to follow.

The bathrooms are getting finished and the floors are in the works.

We are ready!

XOXO

May is move in month!

This month we will be moving back home!

Sophie is having her 11th birthday and all she wants is to move into her "new" old house! She is also leaving for away summer camp for 2 weeks. Most of what she needs is packed away in the POD at Bell St. It's so hard for her to understand how March has turned into May.

I begin 2 summer jobs the first week in June and all of my stuff is in the POD! And Lynn has been paying hundreds of dollars for equipment that was due to be sent back to the rehab place in Mid-March.

Our twice-extended lease on the guest house is up.

We are homesick, that's the only way to say it. Stacy and Rodney are working very hard to help us get home.

The next blog post will be to announce that we are back in our house with pictures...

We need you to pray, light candles, howl at the moon-whatever you do to have godspeed in our way back home!

Laura