Reflect upon your blessings, of which every man has plenty, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.
Charles Dickens
Things are still scattered around but so far we are so pleased with how everything is coming together. We still need to tile the "game room", paint, add crown moulding, mount our flat screen and add some decorative touches. Its a much cozier space to hang-out in now.
This is looking out from the "new game-room" into the familyroom:
Standing in fm/rm looking towards "game-room", pocket doors are opened halfway:
Looking from the garage door into fam/rm:
Random picture of our living room:
(2)Familyroom pics:
Here is the before of our downstairs family room/entryway. Kenny replaced tiles in the entryway, in front of the fireplace and the hallway from the garage. There was alot of dead space in this awkwardly laid out fam/rm--so we decided to split the room with a wall with double-sliding pocket doors. One side is the more cozier famroom and the other side will be the "game room". This was Kenny's first time attempting the tiles on his own and he did an amazing job. Our friend, Mike stepped in to help with the wall and it came out better than I had expected.
I couldn't be happier with the way everythings turned out so far. I'll be sure to post some after pix.but I hope you've enjoyed the videos.....this one had me rotfl....don't miss the news scroll stories.....
Obama's Home Teleprompter Malfunctions During Family Dinner
to my brother, (Uncle) Kenny. Wishing you all things wonderful on your special day :)
D.C. was GREAT!!!!! And I can't wait to share our experience there, but unfortunately we've been having much trouble with our computer i.e., downloading and just navigating in general--VERY slow, so VERY, VERY frustrating to post. So, after much consideration we have decided to break down and buy a new computer--tomorrow!! Our last computer purchase was over nine years ago and then my parents were kind enough to give us their old computer (the one I'm on now) after they left us in the dust and entered the 21st century and purchased a laptop. I believe this one is close to eight years old, if not older. I hope tomorrow with a new computer I'll be able to catch-up on some posting & pix.
we're a modern stone-age family.......
Heading to Washington D.C. with Lauren and I can not wait! I love D.C. Any message you want me to pass along??
Hope everyone had a wonderful, fun filled Labor Day weekend. I was working Thurs., Fri., and Sun., but was able to go a BBQ at Kevin's house on Sat.--sorry, no pix. Lauren started school last week and everyone else started today. I don't know about anyone else in the house but I'm very excited about this school year and the study of history--1850-modern times :)
I'm finding it hard to find the time to sit and post aaanything....but I'm working on it ;) Its been busy these last few weeks with family camp, work, soccer practice (Catherine, I know you can relate), school and not feeling well (this week)--but soon life should begin to fall into a manageable system..if you know what I mean.
I wanted to update THISfunctional Family with all the latest happenings from the past 2 months but each time I tried to sit down to blog there were just 10 other things I had to do....So, I'll take one event-at-a-time and start with the 5K Run for Life (since that seems to be what people are most curious about).
If you read back on this blog you'll see how I attempted to train for this 5k last year and what a disaster it was. This year I worked the Couch to 5K (9 week) training program and followed it as written. On the second half of the program I would go out with either Lauren or Alison and they always left me in the dust. On week 8 Kenny came with me for a dry run of the course. He was a jogger but hadn't been out in a couple of years due to his bad knees. Even so he was able to jog the course with seemingly no problem. If you can imagine in your minds eye Kenny, jogging alongside me (looking at me sideways with a smile), then jogging backwards alongside me, then behind me on my tail, and then cutting behind buildings to come out in front of me, you would understand that I was a little more than annoyed ;). The night before the race I kept having dreams that I was late for the race and my stomach was in knots.
Here's Alison, me, and Lauren before heading over to the starting line.
Afterwards we treated ourselves to a big breakfast and talked about the race, then went home and I took two Motrin, laid down on the couch, (glad that it was over) and took a nap. It took my legs until Tuesday to stop hurting.
This was a great family experience.
John Adams
2nd U.S. President and Signer of the Declaration of Independence
"The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary Festival. It ought to be commemorated, as the Day of Deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever."
--Adams wrote this in a letter to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776.
James Monroe
5th U.S. President
"When we view the blessings with which our country has been favored, those which we now enjoy, and the means which we possess of handing them down unimpaired to our latest posterity, our attention is irresistibly drawn to the source from whence they flow. Let us then, unite in offering our most grateful acknowledgements for these blessings to the Divine Author of All Good."
--Monroe made this statement in his 2nd Annual Message to Congress, November 16, 1818.
**I pray this Fourth of July everyone will be celebrating the birth of this great country with plenty of BBQs, fireworks, parades, as well as remembering always to give thanks to God from where all blessings flow. ***
I've only caught bits and pieces of this show last year but I was blown away by this video of a hometown guy from Kentucky who is part of this season's show.
I remember when I first saw this video many years ago how touched I was and thought what better day to share it with you then on Father's Day. The entire narration is from scripture.
A Love Letter from the Father....
Today my legs are killing me; but for good reason. I am making an attempt to train for a 5K run that is taking place in August benefiting CareNet, a crisis pregnancy center in our area. I need all the accountability I can get--so here I post.
Last year I attempted this same run and failed miserably. I consider myself somewhat of an athletic person and often take mile long walks and am constantly on my feet at work. I thought a 5k run would be a piece of cake--walking, running, jogging it's all the same-right?? So I started my 5K "training" at my driveway and began what I thought was going to be my one mile leisurely jog. WELLLL, by the time I reached my next door neighbors driveway that is approx. 20 yards away I thought I was going to keel over!!!!! I AM NOT KIDDING-it felt as if I had just smoked ten packs of cigarettes at the same time and then attempted to run a marathon all in the matter of five minutes--I honestly thought I was never going to catch my breath--needless to say I had a new found appreciation for anyone who participated in any run.
So this year I thought I'd approach things a little different and decided to follow a 9-week running plan called The Couch to 5K. The first workout was on Monday and it'll continue right-up to the 5K run. This program helps give me a focus with instructions and a checklist which really helps me to see an end.
Another problem I have when running or walking is boredom--I feel like a gerbil in a habitrail just going around and around in circles. I do have an ipod and that helps but looking at the same thing all the time is quite boring--but anyway it'll be fine, its all for a good cause. Lauren and Alison are also training but they're already at 1 1/2-2 miles of jogging with no problem--I know they'll do really well.
I'm very excited and hope to do well, but if I don't pass-out, for me, that'll be an accomplishment.
This is the time of year where school and extra-curricular activities are coming to an end or winding down for the summer--things like our HSKids group, Irish dance, art, and AWANA, oh, and did I say school (yeah :::)))--So I've been spending time sorting, reorganizing, labeling, and storing away school books and winter clothes and today I finished!!! What a great feeling of completion--Like when the laundry is all clean and put away. Since being organized doesn't come naturally I have to work really hard at it and it consumes a lot of my time-but its all worth it. A huge load is lifted from my mind and I'm able to fully enjoy the summer. And I've found that there are so many benefits to having things in order. For one, it's amazing, when I'm looking for something I can actually find it. Two, at Christmas time when we bring down the decorations they aren't broken because the year before I actually took the time to carefully store them away. Three, when switching seasonal clothes over I only have to grab the labeled bag from the attic and not rummage through every bag of clothes we own till I find the one I'm looking for. If only I could carry these organizational "skills" over to other areas of our home--baby steps ;)
Tonight the kids had a baseball game and their cousin Joseph was able to come. We were so excited to have him there and even though they lost; it was a fun game to watch. Gena & Philip stayed with us for a few days last week and they were able to watch the kids play too--but that will get its own post.
I'm hoping to post some pix from the girls Feis (Irish dance competitions) but I need Lauren's help.
*Edit*
I added pix of Lauren and Alison (with braces) and my square-foot garden.
Remembering our fallen heroes and all who have served and are serving this Great Country--Thank you.
Happy Mothers Day to all moms today!!!!!!!!!!!!
I woke to a pancake breakfast (made by Tommy) then I read the cards the kids made, opened my presents and to my surprise I got an ipod and itunes card all courtesy of my children (they pooled their money together and got a pink one for me :) also perfume, and a mother's day plaque from Kenny. Happy mothers day mom I know I was tough to deal with.
And a special Mother's Day shout-out to my mom and mother-in-law!!!!!!!
