Princess Perceptive

Christi and I had been out making some decisions for the house (a common theme these days!).  We arrived back home, and Graci, who had been babysitting, came up and nonchalantly said, "I think Elli's sick."  "Why do you think that?" I asked.  "Because she's just laying on the bed, and (almost as an afterthought) because she threw up all over the windowsill.

That's generally a good sign someone is under the weather.

And when poor Elli gets sick, it becomes like the old adage: "When Elli ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!"  She's been doubled up in pain on the couch all night.  And she's letting all of us know she's not doing too well.  Poor kid!

-Jeremy

The Power of a Parent

Tonight as I was tucking Jessica in she asked me, "Dad, would anyone ever rob our house?"  This was completely out of the blue and I was kind of taken aback.  I replied, "Well, it's very unlikely."  She said "Sometimes when something gets lost for a long time, I worry that somebody robbed us.  Or when you're gone for a long time, I get scared that somebody took you."  

"Jessica, nobody is going to rob us."

"So I shouldn't worry about it?"

"No."

Jessica (with a big smile on her face):  "OK!"  Then she rolled over and snuggled into her blankets.

What power we have as parents.  The power to calm fear or inspire fear.  The power of being completely trusted by our children.  What will I do with that power?  I read a great quote from Abe Lincoln today:  "Whatever you are, be a good one."  I love the simplicity of that advice.  Here's hoping I can be a good dad!

Jeremy

Pictures

The Lord answers prayers in His own timeline.  Sometimes that timeline is the same as ours, sometimes it is not.  Sometimes the timeline is about as quick as it can possibly be!  Last night I asked for your prayers to help us get two of the green utility pedestals removed.  Today, one of them was removed!  That quick!  WOW!  We still need prayers on the other one, but I actually received some good news on that one today as well.  We continue to feel SO blessed.

Here are a few pics of the house with drywall up.  It is unbelievably exciting!

Garage

Mud room

Pantry

Master Bedroom

Great Room

Bonus room and loft

View down the stairs from the loft

Elevator Shaft

We are so in love with this house!!!!!  Thank you!

Jeremy

Prayers Needed!

The drywall is mostly up!  We were gone all last week for a family reunion.  It was so much fun. (More on that in another post...)  While we were gone, the framers finished up, inspections were passed, and insulation went in.  They started drywall on Wednesday of last week and should be all done with mud and tape by the end of this week.  It's on a fast track!

However, we are really quite a bit behind the schedule we need to be on to finish by the Parade.  That's where the prayer request comes in.  We really need some miracles!  One specific miracle we need is some help with moving the green utility pedestals on our property.  Since this was originally two properties, the utility pedestals are now right in the middle of our property and right where we need to pour our driveway.  We are working with the utility companies to get them moved, but their timeline is not going to work for us to be finished by the parade.  So we need a miracle! 

I really believe this is going to happen.  I'm excited to see the doors that the Lord opens along the way.  Thanks to all of you for all of your support.  We are feeling SOOOOOO blessed!

Jeremy

Angels

"...when we speak of those who are instruments in the hand of God, we are reminded that not all angels are from the other side of the veil. Some of them we walk with and talk with—here, now, every day. Some of them reside in our own neighborhoods. Some of them gave birth to us, and in my case, one of them consented to marry me. Indeed heaven never seems closer than when we see the love of God manifested in the kindness and devotion of people so good and so pure that angelic is the only word that comes to mind."-- Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

One of the many blessings of Puzzle Them Home has been the privilege of meeting some of the kindest people on earth.   When we broke ground a couple of months ago, lots of sweet people showed up to support us.  One of these was a blog reader by the name of Jill.  She drove up from Payson with her cute little kids just to be there and show her support.  I had never met her, and it meant a lot to me that she would go to such great efforts to be here.  She told me that she had a brother, Steve, who had a moulding business who would like to be involved.  (Ok, I just found out when I put that link in that he has some awesome pics on his page of what I'm writing about...)  Several weeks ago he drove clear down from Syracuse to meet us and see if we could use his help.  He does stain grade moulding.  I'll admit, I didn't even know what that was!  But I soon learned that it meant the our moulding would be beautiful if we went with him!!  He offered to do all of the labor for free, and he told us that his sweet sister had offered to pay a substantial amount toward the cost of materials-- wow!  Because of this, we are able to put stain grade moulding in our main living area upstairs.  It will be beautiful and we feel so grateful!  

As if that weren't enough, he emailed Jeremy a couple of weeks ago and said that he had been thinking more about our family and what he could do.  He had a little something up his sleeve.  Last week when we returned home from the pinewood derby, there were two absolutely amazing picnic tables sitting in our driveway.  He had handcrafted them himself.  We were stunned.  It was an unbelievable gift and was one of the most touching moments I have ever had.  He put so much thought into these tables.  The round one is obviously amazing and beautiful and can fit so many people.  The rectangular table is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.  It can be a normal picnic table, two benches (one reads "Green" and the other "family), or a bench and a half table in all kinds of configurations.  He had Cali in mind especially for this so that she could wheel her chair right up to the table and not have to transfer.  I know!  Thoughtful beyond words.

Our kids absolutely LOVE the tables.  Every time Sophi passes them she says, "Those tables are SO AWESOME, huh?!"  We have never had picnic tables.  Every time we have a birthday party or big gathering we are borrowing the neighbors-- it will be so much fun to have our own!!

 

From acts like this to cute little friends (thank you, Lauren, Logan and Erin!) who just set up a lemonade/duct tape bows stand to raise money for the home to generous, thoughtful online donations to donated and discounted goods and services to my sweet committee who works so hard in our behalf-- we are feeling the goodness and kindness of so many people right now.  Every contribution has been felt-- however small or large.   You have lightened burdens and gladdened hearts.  You have given us the strength to do the things that we feel we've been called to do but couldn't do on our own.   You are all angels.

 We love you!

 

 

And, just because-- I had to add these two of Sophi with her ice-cream cone.  Her new thing is giving "thumbs up."  (:  We'll all try to ignore the fact that her hair isn't done and her shorts are a little too short.  (;

 

--Christianne

Lexi

I love my job.  Being a sales rep has it's ups and downs like anything else, but overall, it's been a really good career.  One thing I usually don't like about my territory is that I have to go on overnight trips once or twice a month.  (I know, there are lots of jobs with lots more travel.  I don't feel sorry for myself-just Christi!)  But during the summer months, I tend to enjoy these trips.  When the kids are out of school, I take some of them along with me:)  Monday I had to drive about 3.5 hours to Cedar City, in the south of Utah.  I got to take a rather large group with me!  Lexi, Jesi, Graci, Xander and Cali all crowded into my company car (well mini-SUV) and off we went.

The kids know the drill:  If they will suffer patiently through a long drive and waiting in the car while I make some sales calls, they get to stay in a hotel, go out to dinner, go swimming and usually catch a movie while we're there.  They love it!  And I love being with them.  We checked into our hotel about 6pm.  We had eaten a late lunch, so we went straight to the swimming pool.  What a fun group to go swimming with.  I carted Cali, Lexi and Xander (and occasionally Jess) around the pool.  I threw Xander and Jesi into the water.  I caught the three younger ones as they would jump in from the side.  I had to be very careful with Lexi, who still can't quite get the grasp of jumping out instead of up!  A couple of times I had to grab her and pull her towards me to prevent her from falling straight down onto the edge of the pool.  Fun times!

We went back to our room and rushed like crazy to get bathed and ready and then headed off to the Historic Main Street Theater to watch The Croods.  The kids loved it, and I was quite entertained.  I love to go to movies with the kids, but I'm a bit of scrooge when it comes to treats in theaters.  I just can't get myself to pay four bucks for a soda or three for a candy bar.  So I made them starve.  They did have the movie as a diversion, though!

After the show we went to Winger's for dinner.  The kids love to eat there because the free appetizer is popcorn, so at least they got their popcorn fix!  We ate lots of wings (except Jesi, our little miss picky.  She had a kids meal waffle.)  After dinner we crashed in the hotel.  Springhill Suites is my favorite place to stay when I travel.  We had a room with two double beds plus a pull-out sofa.  Christi often talks about how great it is to nap with Lexi, so I figured she would be a good choice to have in my bed.  Boy was I wrong!  That little twit twisted and squirmed and even snored all night long!  I'd be surprised if I got more than four hours of sleep.  She got a big smile on her face when I teased her about it in the morning.

It was a fun trip.  I'm grateful to have opportunities like these to bond with the kids.  As we watched the movie, I had an overwhelming emotional experience.  I was sitting next to Lex.  Part of the time she would just sit there.  Sometimes she would laugh when the rest of the audience laughed.  At times I would hold her hand.  Occasionally I would try to explain to her what was going on.  During one of the times when I was explaining the action to her, the following occurred:  The Crood family had been walking through a forest with a young man to guide them.  He decided to show them something they had never seen.  They all climbed to the treetops and popped their heads out into the open sky.  As they did so, they were able to see the night sky full of stars for the first time.  I said to Lexi, "they are looking at the beautiful stars!"  As I said this, I was suddenly overcome with emotion as I realized that this is something Lexi herself will never experience, at least in this life.  Tears streamed down my face as I thought of the many moving, even spiritual experiences I have had while looking at a sky filled with stars.  Oh my sweet Lex, what you are missing.  And that is just one, solitary scene that you cannot see.  You will never be able to experience the beauty of the world through your eyes.  My heart aches for you.

And yet...as I am writing this, a little whisper has come into my heart.  It has let me know that Lexi's lack of eyesight will enable her to experience things I will never experience.  Her appreciation of the sounds she hears is surely far superior to mine.  Her ability to trust in those around her is surely far advanced compared to someone who learns to trust so much in their own vision.  And I would guess that her ability to feel and listen to the Spirit is far greater than the ability of most of us who are so distracted, intentionally or unintentionally, by the visual stimuli that constantly bombard us.  Last, but certainly not least, I believe that she will receive some special blessings in heaven which will more than compensate for any opportunities lost in this life.

I love my Lexi.  She is a tremendous example of facing catastrophic challenges with the utmost grace. What a privilege it is to call her my daughter.

Jeremy

Puzzle Them Home

It's been awhile!  I have so much to write about that it is an overwhelming task that I keep putting off.  I guess I'll just have to zero in on one thing-- how about the UNBELIEVABLY OFF-THE-CHARTS INCREDIBLE  HOUSE THAT IS OURS?!!!!!!  Oh my goodness, the thing is AMAZING!  I still am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that it is our home.  Every day, I fluctuate between feelings of excitement, gratitude, guilt, happiness, sheepishness, and a joy I can't describe as I contemplate what this will mean to each of our children.  We are having SO MUCH FUN with this whole process.  Nearly every day, there's something to do pertaining to the house-- a meeting, planning session, trips to pick out stone, stucco, flooring, cabinets, lighting, countertops, etc...  That on top of an already busy end-of-school-year with nine cute kiddos has kept us super busy-- but in the best possible way.

We love to take trips to "the house" and are over there every day-- often more than once.  It's kind of like Christmas every day, seeing what new things have been done and just basking in the awesomeness of the whole thing!  I am glad to say that every time I go over there, I love it more and more.  (:  It is seriously breathtakingly beautiful-- a dream home in every way.  As I said, I still can't believe that it's ours.  I want every one of you who have been part of this in any way that we are so incredibly GRATEFUL.  Don't ever doubt it.  I know that I will never be able to convey the depth of it to you...

We are getting a bit nervous for our incredible builder, Bret Wright of Huish Construction.  He has had some setbacks that are not his fault and getting this home done in time for the Parade is going to take some miracles! He is working his tail off and could still use help.   If you are aware of anyone wanting to contribute in the areas of landscaping, painting, staging, sheetrocking-- please let us know. 

Because it's somewhat unclear on the Puzzle Them Home page, I want to explain a little bit better how this house is coming to fruition.  Last week, our construction loan finally came through.  It took a long time because it was a bit of an unconventional loan.  Citywide has been amazing.  They learned about the project and have worked so hard to make this happen for us.  They have waved thousands of dollars in fees, plus, they have allowed us to use pledges of free or discounted labor/materials as down payment for the loan.  In other words, because of the incredibly generous, good people out there who are helping with the building of the home, we were able to qualify for the loan.  That combined with the just over $30,000 in cash contributions  has allowed us to build the kind of home that will meet and exceed the needs of our family.   Our Father in Heaven has given us great financial blessings over the last couple of years.  We have seen miracles happen that have allowed us to qualify for this kind of a home.  I am so VERY aware of these blessings-- and I know that there are so many out there struggling financially right now-- many of whom have contributed to this project.  Like I said, it is very humbling.  We are very grateful.  It will lighten our burdens in so many ways to have this home, and we are committed to continue to strive to lighten the burdens of those around us.

This whole thing is nothing short of a miracle.  It has reminded me of the great love that God has for each of His children.  The love He has for me.  I feel so blessed that my children will grow up in a home such as this, but I'm aware that most children will not. 

I KNOW of His love for each one of them, and I have faith that His watchful eye is over them.  I KNOW that mansions await in heaven... I am so grateful for that knowledge so that I might enjoy this blessing with a little bit lighter heart.

We have met so many wonderful people along the way.  I have one especially neat story to tell concerning a brother of one of our blog readers-- but I'm waiting for pictures to put with it!  You will die-- it is so cool!

In a couple of days we will be taking a new family picture for our puzzle!!  This is the puzzle that will hang in the living room during the Parade of Homes (and of course afterward) with the names of all those who have contributed IN ANY WAY printed along the edge of the mat.  The names won't be printed for a few more weeks, but we don't want to leave anyone out-- I am so paranoid about that-- so I thought I would list the names that I have right now.  I have deliberately left out a couple of names that will give surprises away to my kids.   I am SURE I have missed others, because there are so many involved and keeping track is very hard!  In fact, I can think of some people now that have helped and I just can't think of their names...  If you know of someone missing (including YOURSELF) I would just DIE if you didn't tell me!  You can comment here or send me an email (christi405@yahoo.com).  With so many people helping, I don't want anyone to fall through the cracks.  And I want to be able to look at that puzzle for the rest of my life and just bless your sweet names!!!  (:  Oh, and if you are listed individually but want your family/spouse listed, or if your name is spelled wrong or ANYTHING else-- please let me know!  If your business is listed because you discounted or donated materials and you want individuals listed as well, please tell us!  I will update this list on our blog every week until we print it so that we can get everything right!  Obviously, donations received after today will be added to the list.  Also, we received a few anonymous donations.  Whoever you are out there, you have made us look at everyone in a more Christlike light-- it is humbling to realize that anyone we associate with could be that anonymous giver.  (:

Here is the list:

Bret Wright and family
Huish Construction
Danny and Chrissy Probst
Rick and Julianne Rawlins
Brad and Lauren Hardcastle
Sorensen Legacy Foundation
Children and the Earth
Jackie Jones
Laneel Perry
Tami Huber
Erin Weist
Chris and Jenn Johnson
Kirk and Megan Voss
Honeyville Farms
Jamie Walker
Walker Home Design
Firelizard
Adrian Tidd
American Standard
Jacob and Monica Burby family
Photoumbra
The Sunshine Foundation
Marathon Moulding
Steve and Jamie Brown
Ethan, Erin, Emily, David, Annika, and Isaac Olson
Photofly
Gary and Denise Christiansen
Lauren, Logan, and Erin Christiansen
T.J. Thorne
John Weichers
Chadwick Lighting and Design
Angie Mann
Sami Davis
Dawson and Carson
Antje Lee
Blackburn family
Amber Brosig
Jodi Frkovich
Elizabeth Liljenquist
Dan and Brooke Liljenquist
Allen and Rosemary Green
Lance Purser
Creative Spaces Landscaping
Great Harvest Bread
Rose Canyon Stake Young Single Adults
Clyde Smith
TotoUSA
The Sunshine Foundation
Jeff and Kristen Perry family
Aston Enterprises
Reid's Concrete Services
JC Jones Construction
Burton Lumber
Beehive State Builders
The Nest on Main
Vanessa Stevens
Densley Plumbing
Quicksilver Construction
Western Air
Hansen Insulation
Dave and Elaine Kruckenberg
Finish Guys
Carpet Diem
PoBoyz Karpet
Hearth and Home
The Cabinet Gallery
RC Willey
Victor Rathaar
Munchkin Radio
Amber Creek Counseling
Missy Jessop
Emily Johnson
Donna Straight
Jennifer Green
Tiffany Wade
Naomi Osuna
Craig Wales
Jeremy and Leslie Larson
Hong Carter
Colleen Smith
Shandie Evans
Hilary Johnson
Matt Curtis
Virginia Vaeth
Angela Stephens
Cameron Nelson
Stephen Rawlins
Wayne Storey
Nicholas Nelson
Michael and Tonja Yost
Dean and LaRita Nelson
Chris and Becky Wilson family
Danny and Breanna Nelson
Matthew and Megan Nelson
Mikelle Stephenson
The Jewelry Jar
Lynda Wilson
Maegan Davis
Carmen Smith
Steven Dalton
Tiffiny Perry
Nixon, Brynley and Landon Winzeler
Catherine Kipp
DJ Gibb
Kylie Read
Kevin Brinkerhoff
Mark and Jean Vanderkooi
David and Sydney Young
Markus Schellenberg
Jenny Hunter
Allyson Jacobs
Michael and Kerry Dorius
Adam and Jill Kynaston
Katie Auger
Jon Risley
Ray and Jolene Simon
Patricia Norwood
Kimberly Jackson
Yuexia Zhu
Princess Rose Petal
Princess Butterfly
Selda Einsiedel
Sandi Sabin
Katherine Singleton
Ashley Flora
Jason and Kara McKendrick
Ramach and Raumrty Kompella
Dominic Fawcett
Gregory Lee
Chad Smith
Duane and Linda Elmer
Todd Cheney
Michelle Wickham
Wayne Wright
Jodie Ann Wright
The Children's Circus
Kaye Holman
Steven Wasserbaech
Ed McLughlin
Kristen Landsgaard
Stewart Behling
Mark Baker
Jocelyn Egbert
Robert Merrell
Sarah Gray
Eggers Family
Steven Wise
Brian J Thorsen
J & C Spectrum LLC
Charles Harrell
Tony Pearce
Marty and Linda Utley
David Wallentine
Rosalie Warnock
Debbie Perez
Chris Parker family
Debra Miller
Ted and Linnita Proctor
LM Post
Camille Cox
Emily McClelland
Kristin Bishop
Larry Clark
Brynn Steimle
Suncrest Software Solutions
Justin Honold
Shauna Cox
Woody and Betty Whitlock
Ashlee Swensen
Julian Wolfson
Gayla Schmidt
L. Scott Leishman
R. Steve Davis
Lowell Leishman
Nancy Kidder
Leslie Rupper
Lois Rosier
Savannah and Christopher Rosier
Leslie Peay
Lora Hardman
Julie Markham
Boyd and Shelly Stewart
David Larsen
YourHCG.com
Jason Fabert
Wendy Stubbs
Brent Davis
Tamara Jo Taylor
Gary Brown
Josh Gorringe
Lynn Nunes
Philip A. Harding
Jenny Reed
Julie Dennis
Laura Parker
Michael and Brittany Houck
Lowell Snow
Lori Brubaker
Dawn Yocus
Laila Gridley
Emily Gilgen
Carol Sampson
Nancy Bates
Kathy Kratchmer
Elizabethe Hawes
Gwen Rich
Kathleen Hewlett
Bills Family
Jenny Morris
Jan Douglas
Dustin Butler
Jacob Carley
Suzanne Newbold
Leslie Bonham
Charmaine Gaudet
Elissa Looney
Laura Johnson
Janice McAllister
Amy Haran
Tracie Dakters
Dennis Dooley
Barry Nelson
Elyse Walker
Julie Seamons
Gigi Fioresi
Steve Critchfield
Mark Miner
Jennifer Brinkerhoff
Josh Hansen
Rebekah Johnson
Ketherine Ralie
Jan McKinnon
Seth and Nikki Devey
Debbie Womack
Seth and Chelsea Miner
Annemaria Duran
Joseph Cloward
Audrey Dang
Laura Johnson
Dirk Johnson
Jacob Johnson
Julene Johnson
Adam Johnson
Karen Johnson
Amanda Tomaszewski
Jessica Barrett
Gary Fordham
Photoumbra
Denise Parch
Natalie Celske
Keith Mortensen
Vanessa and Ben Henry
Teri Suiter
Alisa Weeks
Stephen Rawlins
Emily Yungfleisch
Jennifer Johnson
Patsy Despain
Clint Muhlestein
Andrea Hales
Ted and Debbi Nelson
Amanda Wilkinson
Jim Brantley
Bandice Bringhurst
Chelsie Pykes
Kathleen Hansen
Pauline Syles
Karen Stuttard
The Duncan Family
Matthew Boyce
Paul and Vicki Peacock
Rigby Family
LaRue Larsen
Suzanne Stott
Families For Children
Ryan and Melissa Barclay
Steve McMurtrey
Doug Hecox
Holly Richardson
Nikki Malmgren
Jenny Hanson
Channy Philips
Leah Cox
Karine Christensen
Jeanette Buttars
April, Julian, and Anabelle Wolfson

Just so you know, writing this list was a beautiful experience as I remembered one by one everyone that has been part of this.  Thank you so very much!

--Christianne

First Day of Summer

Yesterday was the last day of school for eight of our kids, making this the first day of summer break!  (Poor Cali is in a year round school and has to go for four more weeks:(  The kids love the days of staying up late and sleeping in, reading, going to camps and family reunions.  They are not so much in love with the chores.  We had the "beginning of summer" talk today.  We talked about fun things we want to do during the time off school.  Christi and I also talked about some projects we wanted to accomplish and set up some rules regarding bedtimes, screen time, etc.  For the most part the discussion went very well.  There were definitely some scowls and exaggerated sighs, but by the end, we got really good buy in.  I love my kids!

Tonight we went to the rec center and swam.  Taylor chose to stay home (he said it was so he could mow the lawn and get that out of the way for tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure it had more to do with the NBA finals game he wanted to watch:)  Graci also wanted to stay home.  But the rest of us had a great time.  Other than me coaxing Lex to go down a bigger slide than she wanted to (and her conking her head on the side) everyone was all smiles and giggles and splashy fun.  Parker and I did some flips off the diving board.  For some reason, he looks much better doing those than I do.  He adds twists to his and looks awesome.  We jumped off the high dive and went down the big slide.  For the last 20 minutes or so, all of us were together in the mini lazy river.  The little girls LOVE that.  Sophi was particularly sweet.  She just wanted to cuddle up to me as we went around and around and around.

The home continues to progress, although not at the rate our builder was hoping for.  The framers are still there, but will hopefully done soon.  One major thing happened yesterday.  As we had looked at the plans, it appeared that the elevator would not be able to go up to the bonus room.  Once they had framed upstairs, however, we saw two things:  1.  The loft/bonus room is much bigger and cooler than we had thought, meaning Cali would most likely be wanting to go up there more than we had anticipated.  2.  It was actually possible to have the elevator go all the way up to the bonus room!  So, we've modified things a little bit, and Cali will be able to get to every room in the house!  How awesome is that?

We continue to be amazed at the home.  It is really a dream come true!

Jer

When did he grow up?

When did our little boy become a man?  It's crazy how big Taylor has become over the past year.  I notice it most when I shake his hand or give him five.  He has man hands.  They're almost as big as mine!  He is wearing a size 13 shoe at this point.  It's crazy.  It's a frequent reminder of just how quickly  they are all growing up.  Take advantage of each moment of these precious years while they are at home.

Speaking of homes, ours continues to progress.  There have been some minor issues in the past couple of days, so the progress has been a bit slow, but framing should be complete on Friday.  Plumbing, electric and HVAC are all going in at this point.  The timbers on the front porch arrived and are gorgeous.  It is SO fun to watch our beautiful home go up.

Thank you!

Jeremy

Moving on!

The blessings continue to pour in!  In the last few days we have had several people volunteer to help with different things.  A finish carpenter who we've known since we moved to Herriman has volunteered to build in triple bunks for the girl's rooms and to put lockers in the mud room.  A man from our congregation has volunteered to install the decking material.  Several people, some relatives, some friends and some who just heard about us on facebook! have put together an interior design committee to help with ideas for the Parade of Homes and beyond.  A friend of ours contacted someone she knew who recently closed his lighting company.  He donated several hundred dollars worth of fixtures.

We just can't say thank you enough to everyone who is helping this project come together.  So many, many people continue to amaze us with their generosity and the love the feel and show for our family.

Thank you all!!!

Jeremy

The trusses are on!

Holy cow!  It is so awesome!!!  We are so excited!!!  Most of the trusses are on and the framing should be done soon:)

 (I had to put this one in because something about the arch just made it feel like a home:)  This is the entry into Cali, Jesi and Graci's walk in closet.)

Stormy Weather

We often pray for rain here in Utah.  So it's usually a good thing when it comes.  Just not on the day that you're supposed to put the trusses on your new home!  Not too much progress on the home today due to the thunderstorm.  But there is a big pile of trusses awaiting the crane that's scheduled to arrive at 7:30am tomorrow morning:)

Tonight was the pinewood derby.  Xander has so looked forward to this day!  He watched his older brothers making their cars, always being told that someday he would be a Cub Scout.  Well, the day finally came.  He had a great time.  His car won two of the three heats he raced in and he was ecstatic.  He also won an award for "Best Hot Rod."  Way to go, X-man!

Jeremy

More Updates!

So sorry we haven't updated more on the house!  We promise to be better!!!  It is SO amazing:)  We are SO excited.  The trusses are going up tomorrow.  We are so in love with this home.  Thank you SO much to everyone who is helping.  We are amazed at the donations of labor and materials that continue to come.  Here are some pics from the past few weeks:

Not sure what look Jesi was going for here but we were certainly entertained (she cut up paper and taped it to herself for the eyebrows and moustache):

Picture day for Sophi and Lex at the baseball diamond:

(As you can see, Sophi was not super-excited about the photos!!!)

One of Lexi's best friends came along on this week and was her helper at the game.  We love Erin!

Elli, Lexi and Erin had a fantastic time on the tire swing (especially after dad started to push!)

We went down to the cemetery this evening to visit Emily and Jacob.  Hope you all had a great memorial day! 

-Jer