We are ending week 3 of our whole first floor renovation. We have Sheetrock  walls!  So exciting…and the contractor is in the middle of taping said walls, again very exciting. Tommy ordered the kitchen cabinets this past week so our next step is tile. We’ve already picked out the tile and the grout. Next week the tile guy will lay down the mesh and Tommy will install the tubing for radiant in floor heat. Fancy.

It’s really nice to look at smooth walls after looking at and painting (many times) the ugly faux brick we had in the kitchen and living room. I’m totally looking forward to having my house be put back together again. I do see light at the end of the tunnel. When everything was first demo’ed and I was left to stare at bare wall studs it was hard to digest what we had done.  I didn’t have regret; we had to do things this way to have the end result that we want. Its been a renovation that we’ve planned forever. A bonus is that Tommy and I seem to be on the same page with almost every decision. We’re pretty low maintenance so it’s nice that we are getting through this with our marriage intact.

We’ve spent record breaking amounts of time together now that the basement is our temporary living room. Thank God for finished basements!  We have a really nice entertainment center down there as well as microwave, small fridge and of course the crock pot down there. There is also a sink so it’s not too bad dealing with not having a kitchen.

I’m so thankful I’m working during this season of our life.

 

 

 

Thank you all for the prayers for my dad. He’s out of the ICU and in a regular room awaiting the doctor’s ok to go to rehab for a bit of physical therapy to strengthen him up before he goes home. I saw him yesterday and he looks good and still has that sense of humor he’s known for.

The renovation is ongoing. We’re getting insulated walls this week which is great! We didn’t know there was no insulation behind most of the walls of this house (how would we know?) We weren’t cold or noticed a draft or even had the heat up high during the coldest days before we began this project so go figure. My brother in law; the best electrician ever was here Saturday and ran all the wires and lines, outlets, etc…and today Tommy and I and our neighbor Benny who is a carpenter are looking at cabinets. Hopefully we’ll order them if they pass Benny’s inspection. Tommy also told me the tile guy will be here next week to lay down wire?  I’m not well versed in the steps of tile work so I’ll just be going with the flow on that one.

Work has been so busy. I picked up two more students who need nursing services every day. It’s ok I’m not running around chicken without a head busy, but it’s enough to make the day fly by. Thankfully the two new to me students are in the same room most of my other students are in. All you hear from me all day is “I’ll be in room so and so!” And my coworkers laugh because they know where I’m going yet I still announce it. In addition to the students I provide care for; there are also others in that room who are medically fragile so I’m called to go in there quite a bit to check someone out. It’s all good, the staff and I all get along quite well.

So yesterday being Sunday I of course went to church. Our Pastor is preaching a series on “What if we could make a difference?” Last week it was making a difference in the lives of the vulnerable. This week was making a difference in the lives of the unsaved. Pastor John brought up the great commission where Jesus commanded that we go to every nation and tell the Gospel. I feel I’m lacking in that department. Other than this blog, I lack the boldness to speak to others in person about the Gospel, with the exception of family members that I was concerned for their salvation. One such family member; I yelled the Gospel at him because I didn’t think I would get through any other way. While I don’t advocate that method of delivery, it worked and he now attends church regularly and even goes to bible study.

I will pray for boldness. For me to speak with the power of The Holy Spirit to spread the Gospel to the unsaved.  To tell them that Jesus lived a sinless life. He took on the punishment that I deserved for being a sinner. He took on God’s wrath for you and me so we could have a relationship with The Father. Jesus died a criminal’s death, crucified on a cross. Three days later he rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father. The name of Jesus is one that needs to be called upon for salvation. He’s the only one who can save. “For whosoever believes in me shall not perish but have everlasting life” John 11:26.

It’s my hope that all will call upon His name, repent and surrender their lives to our Lord Jesus Christ. I can testify with my own life that when you surrender to Him you experience a peace in yourself that truly transcends all understanding. That’s not to say I don’t take my eyes off Christ every so often. I then have moments of anxiety, doubt and confusion. Jesus is the answer, the way the truth and the light. He is awesome.

 

Recently my dad has been hospitalized. It’s always scary when a loved one is in hospital because only sick people are admitted these days. There’s no such thing as someone being admitted for observation unless the doctors and insurance company are certain there’s something to observe for. My dad has been inpatient for about 10 days give or take a day or so. He’s also a chemotherapy patient so a hospital is not the safest place for him due to his  immune system being already compromised. My dad has been battling liver cancer for the past 15 months, hence the chemo. He’s a very strong, impressive fighter when it comes to his health. He’s already fought and conquered lung cancer; twice and has no intention to let the liver cancer take him over.

I’ve had the opportunity to request prayer for my dad and my mother. I have prayer warriors I turn to when prayer is absolutely a necessity. I believe in the power of prayer both individual and corporate. I know God hears me and even though His answer may not be one I would personally choose in the given situation; He does answer: Always.  I have to keep close at heart that His ways are higher than mine and therefore His reasoning is most often not readily apparent. And I’m ok with that.

I’ve seen the power of the Lord in response to prayer. It is great and glorious; but not always taking place at the time we pray. God has His own timing. I’ve witnessed Him answer prayer first hand many years after prayer was begun. It is indeed humbling and wonderful and loving and even a little unsettling when the answer is “yes”. It’s an unreal feeling and so many people like to say it’s a coincidence or good timing or being in the right place at the right time;  but when God is involved there are no coincidences. It’s simple, it’s Him the Great I Am.

 

 

 

I forget which day we are on but Tuesday will be a week from when we started this renovation. My whole first floor is gutted down to the studs. I’m glad we did this because it had to be done to get the house we want, since neither of us want to move. This house has had bandaid upon bandaid covering up things that needed to be remedied and/or renovated. Especially the kitchen. Before we gutted; the kitchen was a galley style with a ceiling lower than the rest of the house. You didn’t notice that so much because it was a separate room, but Tommy and I noticed and it bugged the crap out of us. Well it is no more, the ceiling had been removed down to the original studs and all will be even with the rest of the first floor.

I’m addition to taking the wall down between the dining room and kitchen we also took down a wall separating the living room and sun porch. At first we were just going to leave the sunporch for another project but after discussing things  with my mom: She suggested just going all out and doing away with this small room that we didn’t get much use out of anyway. I’m glad we had that discussion because we’re losing a sunporch but gaining a bigger living room along with a much needed entry way closet.

It’s so difficult to see the light at the end of this renovation tunnel. The demo is for the most part done thank God and some of the electrical lines are run, we just ordered a range hood for over the kitchen island and I’m told the contractor will be removing another layer of kitchen floor. My husband has been wonderful keeping us all informed and being so positive about everything. The other day we had a bad snow storm. The contractor still showed up with his guys ready to finish removing the chimney. Tommy insisted the girls and I get out of the house and drove us to the local diner in that storm. He also picked us up after we couldn’t in good conscience milk spending anymore time there. My husband had been great about everything; keeping us updated on the progress and just being a positive person through it all. He’s a good one I tell you.

 

 

It’s 2018 the first day of the new year. We had a great New Years Eve ringing in the New Year with wonderful friends. I’m standing in my kitchen just staring at my empty first floor. I seriously don’t think I’ve ever seen this house empty.

When we were house shopping the previous owners were living here when we saw the house. When we finally moved in after the closing I was hugely pregnancy with Lelly and Tommy and our friends and brother in law had already brought in furniture and boxes by the time I arrived. I remember the boxes and very ugly carpet. I couldn’t wait to rip up that carpet. Tommy started right away I remember. And the wood floors underneath were so dirty after years of being covered up with padding and carpet. It was like the wood couldn’t release the dirt fast enough. I used to clean those wood floors almost daily. I also remember a very ugly kitchen vinyl tile. Tommy and I pulled up the old floor and I laid down a new one; while hugely pregnant. We moved in April 4th, 2001 and I gave birth to Lelly April 29,2001. It was quite a pregnancy and she was probably my easiest birth go figure.

I’m not that nostalgic about this first floor and kitchen. We replaced the kitchen cabinets and counter top, we had to buy new appliances at the time because the ones that were here when we moved in died within 2 months no kidding. I remember going to Sears with my 3 kids and my best friend Jenn and her 2 girls. The oldest was Thomas who was 5…we were quite the spectacle I’m sure. Jenn made numerous trips to the ladies room at Sears because the older girls who were all of 3 years old were potty training and every child had to use the bathroom at a different time. I remember feeling overwhelmed and I just wanted to go home and Jenn was like, “Oh no!  You’re buying a stove!” I did buy a stove and it served us well the past 15 years.

I’m looking forward to the end result of this much anticipated, long planned out renovation. For now I’ll just stare in awe of my empty rooms.

 

Getting ready to ring in the new year, getting ready to say good bye to our house as we know it now and say hello open concept complete with new kitchen!

I can’t say that 2017 was a terrible year for me. I surrendered my life to The Lord and watched Him do His best for me. It was an amazing decision and made me more confident in the direction He took my life in.

I began 2017 employed at a job that was a temporary gig and by mid year I was laid off. I discovered how to apply for unemployment benefits and mastered applying for jobs online and uploading my resume to various job posting websites. I applied to the board of education one day and the next thing I knew I was setting up an appointment to be interviewed. I knew the position was working with special needs population and to be honest I hesitated a bit before hitting the send button. I did hit send and The Lord showed me His faithfulness and what happens when you leave things in His hands.

In 2017 I became employed by the board of education and I enjoy going to work every day. I don’t always have great days. Heck, some days are just flat out busy as anything and draining and I’m totally ready to leave at the end of the day; but I wake up the next day ready to get there and do the best of my ability. I like and admire my co workers and I know they have my back when decisions need to be made. My supervisor is a fair man and I like him as a person.

2017 gave me my Dad for another year. I’m glad to have spent another year of my life with him here. My mom became cancer free this past year after she battled bladder cancer. I no longer take her presence for granted. 2017 was a year that showed me that people in my life are there for a reason. I’m blessed with a wonderful, loving, thoughtful husband and I have children who actually like to be with me and they talk to me; not just about the weather but real life topics that are important to them and not always things that one would necessarily talk to one’s mother about. I’m so grateful for those relationships.

I bid 2017 a fond farewell and I welcome 2018 with optimism.

 

 

I’ve been spending most of my time going through cabinets, storage benches and closets and throwing away a lot of “stuff” we’ve accumulated over the years. Things you think you’ll absolutely need one day so you stick it in the back of a drawer or cabinet. Or things you don’t necessarily need but are so used to them being there like things in the infamous “junk drawer” we all seem to have. I began the clean out of some areas about a month or so ago so all I had to do was pack so that was a help.

Our renovation officially starts this coming Tuesday. I am nervous, but extremely grateful for a finished basement as that’s where we will be spending the majority of our time while home and not sleeping. There’s a great tv/entertainment center down there all set up with Netflix.  I’m trying to picture my whole first floor gone. It’s difficult because this is the way our home has been since we moved in 16 years ago. Actually this renovation should have been done 16 years ago but we had too many little kids and/or babies to take care of first. I’m excited picking out cabinets and I’ll finally get my farmhouse sink (I’ve wanted since we renovated the kitchen in our first house 20 years ago).

It’s hard to believe we became homeowners for the first time 20 years ago. We were young and the house was my grandparent’s. It was a great house to start off in. I can’t think of what life would have been had we stayed. The neighborhood was changing and our neighbors for the most part were elderly. In that situation you don’t know who will move in when those elderly neighbors pass on. It sounds cold I guess but it’s the truth. I loved living there for the short time we did. Then we were off to Jersey! And 15 months later we came back to New York. I’m not a Jersey person plain and simple. I’m a New Yorker, a city gal if you will. I believe Tommy and I were meant to be where we are now. We got here in a roundabout way and that’s ok. Things work out. I keep telling myself that when I think about living through this renovation…things work out…

 

 

 

 

 

I was up relatively early this morning; like 7:45 ish. It  was fine I’m still fighting a cold from last week. It has settled in my throat so my voice sounds a bit funny. Especially when I raise my voice which thank goodness I haven’t had to do that often.

The day after Christmas… usually a let down day after all the big build up. But today I feel really good. Alyssa, Samantha and I braved the mall early this morning. We arrived as soon as they opened, so there weren’t any crazy crowds. I was able  I returned Samantha’s sneakers which turned out to be a half size too small. Yesterday I ordered the correct size so hopefully with all the holiday deliveries over with they will be here within a day or two. I also had my new watch sized which makes me so happy that it fits well.

It was Thomas’ first Christmas in the group home. It was so nice to not have Tommy run up there to get him and worry about traffic coming home and then have me bring him back today. Thomas was a bit higher maintenance than usual. He became incredibly moody at my mom’s yesterday afternoon and continued into early evening until we left to go home. I do not miss that behavior from him and I’m so glad I don’t have to live that way anymore. Thomas can be so fun at times and you can joke around with him, he “gets” sarcasm and he can be sarcastic as well. I wish I knew a way to encourage his fun side and do away with the moody joy sucking side.

Last night after we dropped Thomas  at his group home I had such a great time with my girls. I opened a bottle of wine and we laughed and joked until we all fell asleep. It was a great way to end the day. My girls are so fun to be around. I love laughing with them.

I’m off this week with my kids. Well Alyssa is off all month from college. Samantha and Lelly are off this week. Since I work for the board of education I get this week off paid!  I want to pinch myself at such a sweet deal!

I need to end this post and start packing up for the renovation that is starting next week. I’m lacking in the “umph” department . But those boxes aren’t going to pack themselves.

I have one particular class in the school where I work that is very busy and full of  medically fragile students. As a result I’m in and out of there quite often during the day. My co workers and the staff in that room joke that I should just move my desk there already haha!

Its nice to be trusted and respected by the staff . In the past 2 weeks the school was having a fundraiser where you could send a small bag of chocolate kisses to anyone you wanted for a couple of dollars. I was busy the other day and away from my desk. When I returned there was a small bag of chocolates from one of the staff of that very room I am always in and out of. The staff member of course denied sending it when I thanked her, but she was a terrible liar, lol! They spelled my name wrong but her’s correct.

Its funny how a small bag of chocolate can make you feel so good and it’s not the sugar rush. Yesterday I arrived to that classroom a bit later than usual due to a situation I was called for. The teacher of that class called my office to make sure I wasn’t out sick when I didn’t arrive there at my usual time. I was so honored that my presence is felt and acknowledged.

Another class that we are in and out of gave us all peppermint bark bars with cards signed by all the staff. Again chocolate…how can one go wrong with chocolate?

This is the first job that I’ve ever felt so appreciated. The class that I mentioned first in this post always thanks me for coming to them when they call; even when there isn’t much I can do for the situation but be there.

And then there’s those students you see everyday for medication needs or a nursing procedures. One mom actually bought me a gift, I was so touched by her thoughtfulness.

This is such a magical beautiful season. The birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ celebrated. It’s humbling. I’ve recently been blown away by one of the most well known bible verses, John 3:16. “For God so loved the world he gave his only son. That who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  Totally humbled and convicted I was. It hit me hard almost like being hit with a brick that God loves us that much. It truly is amazing love.

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and I hope the season is magical for all.

 

Work. To quote a dear friend, “They don’t call it a ‘job’ for nothing…”. This past week has been quite eventful. I had to call 911 not once but twice. For two different students. It was the right decision I know that; but I feel for those kids. And I feel for those parents. The events that led to the 911 calls are in addition to the g tube feedings, daily meds and walk ins we see. I was more than ready for the weekend to be here. And believe it or not I’m okay with Monday looming ahead. I still like my job. I like going to work, I like the challenges these kids throw at me. I don’t think I’ve ever felt more at home at a job. I love that I have my own desk and space as do the 2 other nurses I work with. I think we work very well together. There is no such thing as sitting around watching another run around crazed with a situation. We help one another out whether it be doing a procedure for a student that’s not ours or consulting with each other when a challenge arises.

I’m starting to look into going back to school for my Bachelor’s degree. I graduated with my Associates way back when I graduated from Nursing school. I tried to go back when Thomas was a baby and I was also pregnant with Alyssa. I got 2 classes in when I decided that I wasn’t driven enough to continue, being a mom kept me busy enough especially when one of those children was Thomas. I’m researching colleges that have online classes. I don’t see myself going to sit in a classroom after working all day or on the weekends. I’m sure The Lord will lead the way in this venture and open the right doors at the right time. God is so good.