Dave loves Demolition!

It really is a domino effect around here. The bathroom needs some work, but Dave wants to move it. Before we can move it to where the office is now we need somewhere to put the office. The logical place to store stuff is the solarium, but due to rotted wood and stopped up drainage outside the door, we get water in there most every time it rains. All this with Donald working, Dave and Eileen both working and trying to go to school, me needing a nap because getting up for seminary cuts into my sleep needs. Can't anyone out there connect us with any home improvement shows. We particularly like HGTV's "Holmes on Homes". He is our guys newest hero. He believes if you are going to do a job, do it right the first time. That is why Dave is tearing brick off the outside of the house as well as inside! What changes this room has gone through in the last ten years. The first picture, is the new brick kitchen floor. It is so easy to keep clean and looks great all the time. Dallin has no problem crawling around on it. In case you are wondering, Dave and Eileen have no idea how long they will be here. Only definite thing is until he finishes school in the fall. Hey, I don't plan on going anywhere so I will enjoy,enjoy and enjoy IF we all survive the transformation. I gotta say, the new kitchen is pretty spectacular!



These are all the before pictures.
All the crazy shapped windows will be gone.










This beautiful brick was hidden under sheetrock over where the shelf for hanging wet towels was at.

More Fun at the Porch

We had a muddy mess in front of the barn steps due to all the rain. Everyone pitched in to help move the mountain of rocks. The store just dumps them, they don't spread them. Of course I didn't get the camera until we were almost done. You gotta love Granddaddy's home made leveler. It was fun when it got stuck a couple of times. That is why G-dad is on the back. Somehow it helps balance things out. I could have called this blog Golf cart use number 137!

Dallin trying to escape to join the fun

Grandmom enjoying all the action from her throne

G-dad hanging on for dear life!

Eileen taking a break from shoveling since the guys found an "easier" way

Jed was wishing someone would let him drive the cart

Everyone had to ride along even though they were going in circles

Broccoli that survived the cold

Miracle Ear

I actually had to go buy one the other day. And yes, it does wonders. I had an earache a week ago. It lasted one day. Then the other ear hurt briefly. Then they both got better but I had major loss of hearing. So I looked online and it said temporary loss was not uncommon. I had a doctor appt. scheduled anyway. When I went in for the appt. they found wax in one ear, other nothing wrong with it. We all figured the wax removal should clear the problem. Nope. So come to find out from the kids ENT doctor I may have nerve damage and need steriods. Can't find out till next Thursday unless insurance and appt come through earlier. I mean how long is temporary anyway. I don't have any pain. I never had veritgo or drainage, not even too bad pain. It really is quite scary though not being able to hear. Driving is even more of a nightmare. I can't even teach seminary effectively. I guess it is time to practice what I preach and trust in the Lord. I had Donald give me a blessing today. I need everyone to pray for me whatever the outcome. I am trying to keep the sense of humor we have all had about the miracle ear. At least it looks like a bluetooth though I don't even have a cell phone yet.

Wall of Insanity

(In Doctor office, shaking all over as I recline on the table.)
Doctor,"So, Mrs. Seaman what do you think caused you to have this condition?"
Mrs. Seaman, " It was either the clutter or the sugar, I'm not quite sure."

Several years ago Dave and Eileen gave me my first machine for Christmas. I was working at the time and enjoyed taking candy into the office and delighting my co-workers with a little treat. The collection grew as a new machine came out the following year. Twenty-two machines later this is the result. That doesn't count the other little doodads in the collection. Should they be buried with me or should I let the Smithsonian have them?

Word Follow-up

I think I did great with my word. Next year will be even better with the addititon of a new, larger refrigerator for the poolhouse. My word was ignore. It is hard but I am slowly getting better at not letting everyone else's issues become mine. I cut way baack on my M&m consumption. I ignored all the after Valentine, Easter and Fourth of July candy sales. I slipped after Halloween but only because I had to buy for my seminary students. I think I was able to ignore the confusion and disorder of the kitchen remodeling project.
The new year will bring many challenges I am sure. Isn't that what life is all about though in the end? Let's not call them challenges, let's think of them as opportunities. That is my word for 2010.

The picture doesn't do justice to the tree though the topper is quite original.

Travis and Lindsea

Meghan (you got to loive bumbo chairs)

Wonder what Dallin was thinking?

Jed's tent so he wouldn't see Santa. He gave up his room in the inn and had to sleep in the solarium.

Tabi and Evan

Gretchen was being very territorial over the trash can. That is the back of Sammie's head.

We as usual had a wild and crazy time!

The Wedding

Matthew Ruberson married Alexa Millard of Albany Ward yesterday in the Orlando Temple. We all had a great time at the reception last night. The food was fabulous and dance music was provided by jason Goodman. The newlyweds will live in Tifton.

Parade is Over!!

We actually did it! We ended up being the first in line behind the city officials and a couple of city business floats. The weather was great, not to chilly, although I was wrapped in a blanket. Andrea took all these pics for me. Jen and James looked like the Beverly Hillbillies sitting in their chairs at the back of the truck. If Hayward didn't capture them on film last night, oh well, we tried. Did you know you can view the Fun Channel online? The parade should start airing soon if not already. Mom rode in the front of one of the trucks. She held Dallin, who fell asleep shortly after the parade started. We got permission to drive home with people on the trailer and golfcart and in the back of the truck so we had a mini parade down Old Ocilla Rd. I think we succeeded in making Granddads dream come true. Don't know how he invisioned it but it turned out better than I expected!

Start of the Holidays

We have the family float entered into the Tifton Christmas parade. The new holiday g-dad tee-shirts have been ordered. Best of all, Eileen with help from Grandaddy, Andrea and Randy, Andrea's brother got cutouts and lights put up.Once again the sled with Santa's list, Rudolf's jail,the little country church and most important of all, the manger scene grace the front lawn. I just hope our new neighbors can stand the lights for the next month.

Anyone have a homemade cookie?

As we enter week three progress is being made. These pictures were taken last week and don't show the tile on the counter top. At least we can run the dishwasher now. What amazes me is how I still manage to not lose any weight. We can't make homemade bread, cookies, pancakes, etc. without a whole lot of moving stuff around so it just isn't worth it. the first thing I will do in my new kitchen is make a huge pan of gooey cinnamon rolls. Did I mention I might have a problem kneading the dough? My new counter top is about three inches higher than the old one. I could go retro fifties and wear high heels with my apron.

Speaking of Pecans

Eileen and I both had the same dream the other night. We dreamed we were digging pecans out of the grass with our toes every time we closed our eyes. This is what happens when you spend all day looking down for the brown nuts in the brown leaf piles.
I have developed a new technique this year to accommodate my advancing years. I call it the "rake and scoot" method. I rake all the leaves/pecans into long rows. Then I sit on my bottom at the beginning of the row and with one hand rake through the leaves while picking out pecans with the other. When I finish the area in front of me I scoot on down the row until I reach the end. I have developed the twirl method for moving my bucket. I simply turn it up on the bottom rim and roll until it advances to where I want it to be. There are a couple of downfalls to my methods. First,is the occasional antpile I happen into. Then there are the bugs whose homes have been disturbed by my raking. There is also the unknown hard objects found while digging through the piles. The biggest problem this year has been Roxie, the compound dog of the moment. She takes my sitting on the ground as an open invitation to come nuzzle my face and sit in my lap. While she is not a very large dog, these actions make it impossible to sort out pecans. If I push her head away she takes that as a sign I want to play a little rougher. Thankfully, she is easily distracted if you throw a stick for her to fetch. She chases and picks up the stick like a pro but has not mastered the art of returning to the thrower. I try to keep sticks with me as I scoot along and hope she will find distraction as she runs happily away from me!

Here we go again!

Eileen asked the question the other day, "Why can't we have a simple remodling project"? The kitchen floor needed to be replaced so they tore up the old one. Lo and behold there was rotted, dampness that meant cabinets had to come out. So we have flu stricken kids and adults in a house where we are washing dishes in the bathroom sink. This was also the week David started his substitute teaching career. Throw in Jed on crutches for six weeks (thank heavens no surgery) and life truly becomes a comedy. Oh, did I mention I need to get a new battery for my camera. Anybody going to Walmart? They don't sell batteries at Lowe's or the hardware store. The ones benefitting from all the madness are the squirrels. They are glad we don't have time to pick up the pecans covering the ground.

Fall Friday

Jen, James and the girls were in town
They were waiting for the fish to be relaeased from the bag
See the goldfish? The cat does
Yeah the pump is working!
Dave gave these to G-dad. Did you ever think to see such a sight?
Perfect end to an insane week. Went to the temple in Orlando.Went to the storehouse in Jacksonville, saw old friends, visited Brenda and Jim. Came home. happy Birthday! thanks Eileen for the alfredo pasta and ice cream cake. Dentist appointments and doctor appointments. The latter for Jed who broke a bone in his ankle doing flips before wrestling practice. Picked up pecans. Cleaned poolhouse. Now lets see if I can post pictures with captions.

Planting flowers

I took a month off to recover from surgery. Exercise is a wonderful thing when you are able to do it. I have been digging holes and hauling rocks from one place to another. The great thing about the water feature we put in at the Barn is where everything came from. The old pump came from the Brookfield house. It used to stand right outside the back porch which also happens to be where Donald proposed to me. The big rocks came from Dave and Eileen's house in North GA. The smaller rocks are ones we hauled back from our Missouri vacation a few years ago. Great memories of that trip. The white mums came from Aunt Alice's and Ally planted them around that tree. Who knew they would spread out to be so pretty. Some of the other mums are from the Wall last year and were donated by Susan. Somewhere in the mix also are remnants of mums from Corey and Nikki's reception. I love it that the G-parents can sit on the porch surrounded by all the reminders of family. We were going to put fish in the little pond but don't know how they would fare with the dog, four cats and assorted wild creatures that show up on occasion.

More Family Photos

I've got to give Vickie credit for these pictures. Thanks for sending them to me so I could share on my blog!!

The Blessing

Today was Meghan's blessing and as usual was followed by a family feast. We went for a scaled down lunch and limited the menu to a variety of salads.

The Basket

Ask any of the children what I am referring to and they will know right away. When Carol and Joe moved, a basket got left behind. Once it arrived at my house it became the perfect place to put the snacks for school lunches,treats after nap, or to kill the munchies till dinner. The babies don't know what it is called but they sure can point and make a sound that clearly indicates what they are wanting. It still has Carol's name on the bottom and she can have it back anytime she comes and gets it. Till then, thanks Aunt Carol!!

Tifton Conference

The last blog is a series of photos from the weekend. I haven't figured out how to caption pics yet so good luck figuring out the people. If I repeated a photo sorry, I lost count of what I was on. Nothing captures the majesty of the day anyway.

Tifton Stake Conference

Yes, you read it right. Pres. Fussell from Douglas, counselors Fields and Sorenson.
Gary Flanders Stake Clerk, Pres. Worthington Exec. Secretary. I don't know the head count but seats were full and at least 100 were counted standing in hallways. Parking was all up and down the road for several blocks. Police gave permission for one lane to be blocked and cars were parked sidewise along that lane. Lots of reorganization to be done. We had family dinner here following. The las6t picture is at the FRONT of the building faceing 24th street, where there are no parking spaces.

Then and Now

I taught seminary three years ago. Since that time Matthew Ruberson has gone on a mission. Ben Anderson left a week or so ago. Allison is married. The others are all following their life path. I can hardly wait to see where this bunch goes. I will have to update as the year goes along because since this pic was taken I already have gained one new student. I guess I should get their permission before I start talking about them to the world.