More Closet Continuation

Wow! The closet has made progress.

You saw Lando & D working to close in the HUGE window in what was once Maddie's room.

You saw the room begin to get framed in.

You saw the door get punched through,

Since that time, D put up all the the drywall, hung the door, textured, and painted,
He rewired the electricity, moved the light switch and added a new overhead light (a little bit of a retro feel :)

We finally decided that we could get what we wanted for a price we could live with at Ikea. We are not huge fans of Ikea over all, but their "Pax" closet system fit the bill well enough for what we were doing. We were quite happy with our choices & design.

The night the cabinets finally arrived, Jade & Sara came over and Jade worked with his dad for 4 hours, sweating and being manly... They put together all the big "boxes" (frames) for the closet. They put them together in out bedroom, then slid them out into the main room and the hall, then had to bring them all back in, one x one and bring them into the tiny closet and stand them up and put them in where our design placed them.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T GET ANY PICTURES!!!

But here is a photos of their handy work, the next morning:

The next morning, Deevs got home from spending the night at his friend's house and jumped in to work (trying to earn money to put toward a "fixie" bike) to assemble and install drawers and shelving and hanging rods, and baskets.

New Closet in Process

Our Master Closet is finally beginning. I know it will be a long process since D is doing it while trying to run a business and do appliance repair calls, but it has BEGUN! Today Lando & Dad took out the big, old window and framed it in and are putting on the ___________ (I have no idea what it's called, but it is like chicken wire over black paper or something).

Sad to lose a big window (even though it was ancient and needed to be replaced) and all the sunlight that went with it, but we do not need a whole wall of our closet to be a huge window... we need shelves and drawers and hanging space.

outside views

from inside

macro view from inside

Great start, men!!!

Still a lot more to do:

* Dry wall over old window area

*Wire for electrical so both the new closet and new storage areas have lights & switches

* Divide the room in half with a new wall which will separate the new closet from the new walk in pantry/storage/laundry kind of area.

* Bust an opening (doorway) through our master bedroom wall into closet (frame it in?)

* Fix the gap in the flooring where there was previously wall.

* Design what closet space will look like

* Put in all the shelving, drawers and hanging bars for which we designed the scheme

And that is just the closet (and only what I know about it... I am probably over-simplifying it!)... then onto the storage/pantry area.

EXCITING!

Paper Roller Coaster

I don't want to be a complainer, but

*I am un-fond of when school projects don't seem to correlate with the subject and what they are trying to teach is not really illustrated by the assignment.

*I am NOT a huge fan of work for work's sake - PLEASE, for land's sake, let it have a PURPOSE!

*I do not like projects that the PARENTS have to do (and the kids aren't capable of it) and you walk in the room and you are like "Wow! Mr. & Mrs. Ramalamadingdong should DEFINITELY get a A on that California Mission they built!!!"

*I really dislike when projects cost $40+... especially in this economy... especially when they are firing teachers and canceling summer school but they give no thought to students' FAMILIES spending that much money on a project.

This was one of those projects.

A roller coaster made entirely out of paper, tape and glue ONLY.

For MATH (?!?!?!?)

It was HEAVILY graded for the theme (um... again, where is the math???).

It had to have a loop and a jump and at least 360 degrees in turns (combined).

A marble had to actually be able to "ride" the coaster successfully (the student got 3 tries to make it work).

Most kids' projects were definitely made by the parents (Congrats on that "A" Mom & Dad).

And yes, it cost $40.

That said, Miss M made it 99% by herself and was QUITE proud of herself.

Check out her "Under the Sea" coaster... opening soon at an amusement park near you:

A video of project extraordinaire!

Congratulations on your "A" Miss M.

Nathan the Nothosaurus

Miss M had to create a model for her team's Animal Project in Science.

They got assigned the extinct Nothosaurus.

(Compare this with some groups who had the giant Panda or a giraffe... not that fair)

One student did the display board (well, at least in theory... Miss M's team's girl didn't speak english and just didn't do it).  Another student had the power point and the third did the model. 

She got an "A".

Turn it Around - THE BOOK

It's not that I think my "turn it around" book is so spectacular, it's just that:

#1 - It is one of the only crafts I have made since leaving MOPS.

#2 - It was such a fun, memorable day.

#3 - The MAMBI papers are just delectable! 

#4 - Since crafting is such a rare occurrence, I decided I should save it for posterity.

#5 - I am fairly craft impaired, so, actually, for me, this IS spectacular!!!

Anyhow, in light of the above, I decided to take a picture of every single page layout... and yes, lucky readers, I will update again once I have written in them!!!

Turn it Around

My Women's Bible study group just finished Beth Moore's newest Bible study (Esther).

It was a very good study.

The theme was:

Reversal of Destiny (or "Turn it Around").

Each week we talked about how it was "tough being a woman" in various ciurcumstances but then Beth Moore (via DVD) taught from Scripture how the Lord turns those various tough scenarios around.

To finish out our time together, we got together and ATE (of course!) and created "Turn it Around" books where we could write the tough scenarios and God's turnarounds for them.

  (Although the books turned out so darned cute - THANKS SUEZI -  that many of them are now going to be photo albums and prayer journals.)

Here are the scenarios and some photos:

* It’s tough being a woman in another woman’s shadow (Overshadowed)

TURNAROUND - Psalm 91:1 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

* It’s tough being a woman in a world where beauty is a treatment (Underrated)
TURNAROUND - Eccl 3:11 - He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set

 eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

* It’s tough being a woman in a mean world (Overwrought)
TURNAROUND - 1 Tim 1:18, 19 - …I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith.
* It’s tough being a woman thrown a giant sized weight (Under Qualified)

TURNAROUND - 1 peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Deut 23:5 - However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.

* It’s tough being a woman in the tight fist of fear (Under Attack)
TURNAROUND -  

Deut 33:29 - Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places

Neh 4:14 - …"Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

Isa 49: 15, 16 …I will not forget you. See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands”
Ps 139:10 - even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
* It’s tough being a woman who can balance passion with patience (Over Anxious)
TURNAROUND - Is 30:18 - Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you

 compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

* It’s tough being a woman who feels responsible for the “how” (Over-Responsible)
TURNAROUND - 2 peter 2:9 - If this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
Ps 103:14 - for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
*** It’s tough being a woman… BUT it is TRUST that turns it all around.

*** It’s tough being a woman… BUT TRUST REVERSES THE DETOURS OF ADVERSITY INTO THE HIGHWAYS OF DESTINY.

We missed you Jen, Lynn, Stephanie, Andria, & Sharon!!!