Happy

We have had our kitchen back for two full days now.  Meaning we have all modern conveniences up and running.  I can't even describe how happy that makes me.  Last night I happily made a home cooked meal and tonight we had friends over and Mike and I just made some fun and yummy dishes.  Is it sick that I am having this much fun ?

Its not just my kitchen contributing to my over all joy there are other factors such as feeling well, this time of the year, and trying to stay close with the Lord.  All of these together with a kitchen  makes me so happy to be alive and strive to be better.  I wish these good feelings could always last but I know trials will inevitably come again. In the mean time I'm going to try and milk this moment for everything its worth. 

I am happy!!!

Garden Highlights of 2011

 

Gardening is so hard, rewarding, incredible, exhausting, frustrating and fulfilling all in one.  This year has been the best year for me ever at growing things.  Finally, persistence has paid off!  I still had plenty of failures but the small wins out weighted the losses. 

 I even made furrows and tried my hand at corn again.  It was successful in the fact that I actually was able to harvest some corn. I bet if I watered it more next year I will get that one down.  It was not as successful as I wanted but still a good second attempt.

 Here I started some pumpkins, honeydews, watermelons, beans, winter squash and cucumbers.  They were incredible...and still are. 

 This is what things looked like at the height of the growing season. 

 Here is one picking.  Mike has been super helpful.  He had to step up because when I didn't feel well I checked out of the garden completely.  So thanks to him we still have one.  It has really been fun doing it together.  We will go out in the mornings on the weekend and just pick.  I can't explain how fun it is to reap a good harvest.  Not to mention the awe I have for Heavenly Father...He is amazing!

 This is one of our watermelons on the scale weighing in at 25 pounds!  We were really happy to find that we can grow watermelons.  Man, they sure take up a lot of room though!

 These were crimson watermelons and they were super sweet.  The kids loved them! 

 Mike and I canned some of our tomatoes together.  It was so much easier than I thought it would be!  We have probably got at least 40 quarts off our tomato plants so far.  We have an incredible neighbor who cans the tomatoes we bring her and then she halves them with us. 

On the subject of canning I finally was able to not only do some but do lots of it.  In our 4-H group we did peaches and pears.  Those were lots of work but I love seeing those beautiful jars filled downstairs instead of empty. 

Final story...that is Carson way off in the back ground riding Chance.  Just minutes after this picture was taken the poor little guy got bucked off.  He is such a little trooper. I guess he got right back on but was definitely shook up. 

This summer growing season has been great.  Lots learned and I totally look forward to next year. Now that Mike has caught the gardening bug it won't be such a hard sell to get him to make me more raised beds. 

Things to note..

 This gorgeous place is Park City.   Mike surprised us all with a weekend getaway back in August.  It was so beautiful there.  If I remember correctly it was the weekend before the kids started school. 

 Here is what the view looked like from our bedroom...we had a hot tub on our deck!  Unfortunately, I was not the funnest vacationer to be around I was still feeling horrible so all I wanted to do was lie in bed and watch TV. 

And that is what I did!

 Here is my little baby girl turning 3!  She loves everything Dora and everything girly!   I absolutely love it and enjoy her beyond words. 

 Now that I have a clear head again and the sickness is gone I am fully enjoying my kids again.  They are the best and they have to put up with so much from me.  I am so glad they are forgiving else I would be in trouble. 

 Morgan and Cole drawing together on her new Dora table.

She got her Dora cake so she was set! 

Kitchen Mess

This story starts back on August 18^th.  I had started the dishwasher and awhile later noticed mass amounts of water coming from it and flowing onto the floor. My first thought was, “dang, I am going to have to call an appliance guy and pay $75 for him just coming to look at it.”  If I only knew then what that water leak was going to turn into that would have been the least of my worries. 

It turned out we had had a leak for awhile and mold was growing….yuck!   (Let me remind the reader that I am pregnant!)  So that first day I cried and wondered how much this was going to put us out and why everything bad that could happen seems to happen to me….you know, the pity talk we all have with ourselves at times.  Then when I thought I would give into my despair, please also keep in mind that I am just starting to feel human again…coming out of the morning sickness thing at this time, Mike tells me I should look into our insurance to see if this is covered.    Hallelujah, it was!  One minor detail we have our deductible is set at $2,500.  O-well, it’s better than bearing this cost alone….and we are lowering that after this ordeal is over until we have adequate savings in place.   

So now onto the photos of the last 56 days of our lives. 

Where the water damaged happened.

First phase of drying it out with jet like sounding fans!  Notice no containment area around to catch the mold spores!

Second attempt at drying out with a new company that knew what they were doing.

What it looked like inside the containment area.  Did I mention what a joy it was trying to keep the kids off this plastic?!!

Kitchen totally and utterly gone!

Just an old picture of what the kitchen used to look like.

Another shot of what the kitchen looked like from a different angle.

This is what it looks like today.  Still not done but O so close!

I am amazed at how beautiful this kitchen is now, and more importantly how much more functional it is!   So here is a disaster turned into a major blessing.  I am glad this process is almost over because I can’t say enough how sick I am of eating out, how tired I am of doing dishes in the bathroom sink, and having people in and out all the time.  But if I had to do it again to get these results …I would! 

I can't wait to start baking and eating home cooked meals!