Please pray, again!

I've blogged before about my friends Scot and Kristin who have adopted the two children from Ghana. Kristin is there right now (and Scot was until last week) meeting the kids and getting the paperwork in order to bring the kids home. But, they've hit a snag.

I don't know a lot about bringing someone into the US, but apparently there are a lot of papers to fill out and of course they have to have a visa. There has been a hold up on the paperwork for Raymond and Delali's visa - on the part of the US Embassy.

Scot and Kristin are both frustrated. Kristin is in Ghana, alone, with their two new children, trying to find ways to pass the days without going crazy. Not because the new kids are bad, but life in a foreign country where you don't know anyone and don't know your way around much, can be chaos.

Please pray specifically for:
The paperwork situation to be resolved today
The visas to be issued quickly
No more hang-ups
Speedy and safe travel for Kristin, Raymond and Delali
Patience for Scot and the kids here in the US waiting for their wife and mom to return with their new siblings

Thanks for praying with me for them in the past, and I know that they would covet your prayers now. I'll keep you posted!

DONE...For now!

Today I installed the last of the eight windows I've been working on since July. It felt SO GOOD to get that last window in. The amount of time it took me to get the last window in was maybe 1/4 of what it was for the first window. I guess practice does make perfect :)

Now, I wonder what my next project will be.....

Window #3!

One of my favorite things to do is work on things around our house. I love that it's old, even though that means astronomical heating bills in the winter. And pipes that need to be worked on every couple of months. And doors that don't close right - or at all for that matter. And un-doing 100+ years of "re-decorating" that various owners have done. I waffle back and forth about making the house truly ours or restoring it to what it probably was in its prime. Paint the woodwork or strip it? Replace the windows or restore them?

I posted awhile ago about starting on the window restoration. It's a VERY involved process, but overall isn't hard. Just time consuming. When you have two little ones running around all summer, time is one of those luxuries you just don't get much of. Luckily, this summer, my kids played together better than they ever have before, and we developed a very healthy give and take relationship! I would take them to the playground or the lake for a couple of hours in the morning and then I would work on the windows for a couple of hours in the afternoon while they played on their own. I think it worked out pretty well!

Considering it takes about one month from start to finish to restore a window, I accomplished a huge amount in getting eight complete windows done while still enjoying summer with the kids. For all of you inquiring minds who are just dying to know - here's the process from start to finish:
Step 1 - removing the window. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? WRONG! When you have 123 years of paint on the window, trim and everything else around, sometimes removing the window was the hardest part! All that's involved is basically removing some of the interior trim around the window and the bottom one comes right out. The upper ones were a bit more of a hassle, but with a little (or a lot) persuasion and some taps with the hammer, out they came.

Step 2 - stripping the window of all paint and putty (otherwise known as glazing). If I hadn't stumbled upon a used Silent Paint Remover for sale, I would probably still be at this stage on the first window...The SPR is the BEST tool ever invented! It basically works like a heat gun, only using infrared heat. It softens the paint so that it can just be scraped right off. Usually one pass with the SPR and I was scraping right down to the bare wood! That was a wonderful sight considering I spent 4 months stripping the woodwork in the guest room. After the paint is all off, you have to chip away at the putty. Most of the time with the SPR, it would be soft enough to just scrape it out too, but sometimes it was pretty stubborn and took some real elbow grease - all with trying NOT to break the glass!

Step 3 - removing the glass. After all of the paint and putty has been scraped away, the trickiest part is finding the glazing points - little metal diamond shapes that actually hold the glass into the wood frames. Occasionally I missed on and cracked a piece or two of glass, but when you're removing 29 panes of glass, 2 or 3 broken ones isn't too bad :)

Step 4 - priming the frame. Enough said.

Step 5 - Reinstalling the glass. This is where some people reinstall the panes of glass, the glazing points and then apply new putty. But, after my first window (and a conversation with my dad!) I decided to check with the glass shop in town to see how much they would charge me just to reinstall the glass and the putty. Lucky me! The charge was only $2 per pane. Well worth the hours of work it saved me!

Step 6 - waiting. Yes, this is an actual step :) Once the new putty is in, it can't be painted until it has skinned over. This actually takes about 3 weeks in mild humidity. July in Minnesota is not typically mildly humid :) This summer I got lucky and didn't have to wait much past the 3 weeks to continue working.

Step 7 - prime and paint!

Step 8 - Reinstall the window! YAY! I was so excited when the time came to install the first restored window! It took me ALL DAY, but I finally got it in. Putting new rope through the pulleys so that the window weights actually work is the worst part of the job. It takes quite awhile and has to be done so the weights hang and balance the windows when they're opened or closed. It keeps us from having to have prop rods in EVERY SINGLE WINDOW! The most important part of this whole process is installing weatherstripping! That's right! We survived a cold Minnesota winter with no weatherstripping around our windows! We're anxious to see what a difference it makes - especially in Britney's office which was one of the draftiest rooms.

So, if you're still reading, congratulations! You now know how to restore any old or new wooden windows that are in need of a little TLC. Now, when are you coming to help me?? I only have 32 more windows to go! By the way - I chose the red for the windows to go with our red gingerbread roof that I HATE! But, at least the red windows make me think the house is now smiling a little :)

First Day of Preschool!

Today was Carter's first day of preschool. Ever since Ashlyn started preschool in 2006, he's asked every day that she's gone to school if he could go too. Well, wouldn't ya know that the day finally comes for Carter to go and the first thing out of his mouth this morning was, "I don't want to go to school. I want to go play at Jacob's house." UGH! I could've screamed! But, I wouldn't expect anything less from the Little Tonado.

His excitement came back after breakfast and he was ready to go before his slow-poke sister. She was having a sub this morning and didn't want to go until her teacher came back. Anyway, we got to school, walked Ashlyn to her locker and then took Carter to his class. He walked right in, without a kiss, hug or goodbye.

It sure it quiet in our house right now, but so far this morning, I've gotten a walk in and am starting on installing another restored window. We'll see how much I get done without 100 interruptions. And maybe I'll even have time to post later about how Carter liked his first day!

Pictures here.

First Day of First Grade

Summer is officially over. The weather suddenly turned cooler yesterday and school started today for Ashlyn. She was so much more confident this year than last year. We had to wait a little while for her class to come to the classroom - the kids wait in the lunchroom until 8:00, but since it was the first day, things were running a little behind. She didn't want to be the first one in her class, so we went to the lunchroom for her to get in line with her friend Ciarra. After that, she walked right into her class and didn't even need a hug or kiss or a big goodbye. Much different from last year when we had to do 3 or 4 kisses and hugs EVERY DAY! I'm so proud of her. She had a great day and can't wait to go back tomorrow!

1885

One of the things that has plagued me since we moved was not being able to find out much on the history of our house. I've searched online, the newspaper articles at the library, asked around town, etc., but no one knew much about it before the 1940s.

I was at an auction on Monday here in town and one of the items up for bid was a centennial book. It is a pretty detailed account of the town's first 100 year history, almost from the day the first settlers arrived in Adrian.

I bid on the book and won it for $4. I immediately started scanning it for any mention of A. M. Becker, the man who built our house. I found him on page 5 and realized he was a pretty big deal in the settling of Adrian. He had a large mercantile and expanded it several times in the first few years. He was also known as one of the wealthiest men in Nobles County.

But then I hit the jackpot! While I was reading about another expansion he made on the store in 1885, there was one sentenced tucked in there that was the key I had been looking for for over a year!

"In 1885, he also built a beautiful home on Church Street (6th street used to be called Church) costing $6,500."

I almost fell out of my chair and now have an even deeper appreciation for the history of this house and a desire to restore it so that it will be around another 123 years! Now if only I could find a picture...

101st Post

So, a friend told me that according to "blogdom" you're supposed to post 100 things about yourself on your 100th post. Well, my 100th post was about Carter building an outdoor bathroom with his friend and then peeing in it, so I guess the 101st post will have to do.

This may take awhile...

1. My middle name was Jeannette after my weird aunt. I HATED it!
2. I have 3 sisters.
3. I became a Christian at 5 on my big wheel in the driveway.
4. I don't think I realized the freedom we have in Christ until I was in my 20s.
5. I had a really long awkward phase from oh about 8 to 15.
6. My favorite color is red
7. I hate the color yellow
8. I love living in a small town
9. I still really want my own horse
10. I am scared to death of things that jump (frogs, crickets, spiders, etc.)
11. I also have an irrational fear of fire
12. My favorite tool is my silent paint remover
13. I love doing manual labor on my old house
14. I love that my husband doesn't get mad at my 1001 projects!
15. I love that my kids play so well together (most days!)
16. I even love that Carter is the tornado.
17. My favorite times were spent at Berry
18. My favorite place to be is by the water - either lake or ocean
19. I want to learn to water ski
20. I also want to learn to snow ski
21. I wish I could sing
22. I wish I could play the piano
23. I've also always wanted to learn how to play the banjo.
24. My favorite restaurant is a hole in the wall Mexican place in Okoboji, Iowa
25. I miss my family so much!
26. I think I was born about 70 years too late
27. I love to go to auctions! It's my new addiction
28. I also love to go to yard sales
29. I hate flies (there's one flying around me right now)
30. My very favorite song is Everlasting God (Lincoln Brewster's version)
31. I still like country music
32. I used to want to be a lawyer when I grew up
33. I have always wanted to live in Manhattan for a year
34. I love change
35. I love that my husband understands that I thrive on change :)
36. I think Facebook is one of the best creations for getting in touch with long lost friends!
37. I love to walk barefoot outside
38. I love romantic movies and hate watching ones that are too serious or sad
39. I still daydream
40. I hate to do laundry
41. I love to eat ice cream
42. I love buying gifts for other people
43. I love to travel
44. I still keep in touch with the President of the Girl Haters Club from 1st grade. He finally got married last year!
45. I love the ocean
46. I want to learn how to sail
47. I hate my dog
48. I love fresh sweet corn - the stuff in the stores doesn't compare anymore!
49. I love that I can look at a place I swore I would never visit again in the winter, much less live there, and see God's beauty in it in all seasons
50. I love that I can walk Ashlyn to school every morning
51. I love the smile on her face when I pick her up every afternoon
52. I am too impatient
53. I actually find myself wanting a minivan
54. I wonder when I got old enough to want a minivan
55. I still think of myself as being 24
56. I have some of the best friends in the world
57. I will never never never go caving again.
58. I have a fear of small places :)
59. My favorite place in the whole world is Coronado Island near San Diego
60. I've only been out of the US once - on a cruise to Jamaica and the Caymans
61. I will never go to Jamaica again
62. I love weddings
63. I love to read headstones in graveyards
64. I actually like long road trips
65. My favorite things to wear are jeans and t-shirts
66. I also like to get dressed up every once in awhile.
67. I love to dance
68. I hate being late
69. I love chocolate
70. I love to buy fun shoes!
71. I know how to drive a stick shift
72. I didn't learn to drive a stick shift until I was 21
73. I HATED high school - with a passion
74. I miss my dog Hunter so much
75. I love old photographs
76. I love that my sisters and I are all friends
77. I miss Chick-Fil-A and Waffle House more than any other restaurants
78. I want to learn how to drive a tractor
79. My favorite thing to ride on the playground is the see-saw
80. I love roller coasters. The best one is Everest at Animal Kingdom - hands down!
81. I wish I knew more about my grandparents and great grandparents.
82. I love Christmas
83. I don't like talking on the phone
84. I have only owned 2 cars
85. I love costume parties!
86. I want to have a garden
87. I am a morning person
88. I am addicted to Coca-Cola
89. I also love sweet tea and am so glad that somewhere here finally has it! (The ONLY good reason to go to McDonald's!)
90. My favorite flowers gardenias and gerbera daisies
91. I love to shop for bargains
92. I want to have my own shop or cafe one day
93. I have only ever lived in 2 states
94. I have never broken a bone
95. I love hearing my kids sing worship songs at the top of their lungs with the music blaring
96. I actually don't mind shoveling snow
97. I love bubble baths
98. I have never been camping, fishing or anything else too outdoors-y
99. I love re-connecting with old friends
100. I want to run a marathon one day


Whew - I'm glad that's done. I hope you didn't get too bored.