House - Week #4

This was week 5 in the building of our new home. They've enclosed the crawl space, layed the flooring for the 1st level and even got some walls up. I'd say they've been quite busy. It's looking as beautiful as a barely begun home can. We're thrilled with the progress. Here's what she looks like after this week.

Another Storm

Well, it's a beautiful day here in Kentucky. Blue skies and sunshine......picture perfect. I'm tickled to live in such a beautiful area with rolling hills, pastures and giant old barns. But my heart is with my family and friends in Texas and Louisiana as they await the trauma from Hurricane Ike. I'm thinking there is a great number of them that will opt not to evacuate this time around because they've barely returned home from Hurricane Gustav's mandatory evacuation. Even though the hurricane actually landed in Galveston, the effects will stretch both north and east, where most of my peeps are. My heart goes out to all of them and the hardships and headaches they face well after Ike has come and gone. Any and all prayers, along with mine, are greatly needed and I know would be appreciated as well. Love and prayers to all.

New House Pics

Front, from street

A few new pictures of the house, as it goes up. You won't be able to see a lot of change. But they've done dirt work and started the actual construction. They say we should have walls this week sometime. Exciting!!!

Rear, South Corner, This is the crawl space below the house.

Rear, North Corner, Crawl space below the house.

Quick Run Through of Events

This past week has been a bit of a blur, being shortened by the Labor Day holiday. I will hit on the highlights.

• Last Saturday was my birthday (we won't say which number). The day started off with presents and breakfast in bed.....frosted mini wheats in a bowl so big it took all three of us to finish! This was followed by a call from Perry, my grandbabies and their sweet parents, Wes and Wendy, and then other family members. We did some running around and ended up at Red Lobster for dinner.
• Sunday was church and then friends and visiting teachers over for our usual batch of chocolate chip cookies.
• Monday was Labor Day. We went to Shaker Village at Pleasant Hill with a another family of friends. We took a horse drawn buggy tour of the village and heard the history of the Shakers. Very interesting. It was a beautiful day, completed by having this and another family over for dinner. Mark grilled the most tender, mouth watering steaks I have eaten in a long time. We also had sweet potato casserole, fruit salad, rolls and cucumbers & tomatoes. Deslicious!!! Oh! And the dessert - cheesecake and home made fudge! Needless to say, we were all stuffed!!
• Tuesday, Alysa was sick from all she ate the day before. So she stayed home from school and we got things done around the house.
• Wednesday & Thursday were normal days. Thursday evening, me and the girls went out AGAIN for Cari's birthday. A group of 6 went to Cheddar's for dinner and talked and laughed so hard, I'm sure people thought we'd been drinking! It was great!!
• Friday - nothing to report.
• Saturday - Today - Mark is in real estate class all day, Alysa and I are going to Lexington for some girl time and to eat at Red Robin, since she didn't get to go for my birthday girls' night. Then she's going to a birthday party and Mark and I will take in a movie.
  

Prayers for Our Louisiana Friends

Coming to Kentucky from Louisiana, we certainly have the dear friends we left behind in our thoughts and prayers. We are quite a distance from you all. But we graciously welcome anyone who wants to make a fun trip out of a tragic act of nature. At the very least, please know we are thinking of you and praying for your safety and little or no damage to your homes and property. We love and miss you all.

Red Robin! Yummmmmmm!

My birthday is coming up on Saturday and a few of my closest "peeps" wanted to take me out to celebrate. I have been so excited ever since I found out there is a Red Robin here. So that is where I chose to go. Now I know what you're probably thinking...."You're going out with your girlfriends to celebrate your birthday and you pick a hamburger joint?!". Well, yes.....I remember eating at a Red Robin when I lived in Utah and LOVED it!! I haven't been to one since; and I am a real cheeseburger freak. So this was the perfect time to do it. Besides, Mark promised to cook me a steak this weekend! We had an absolute blast!! I got the full birthday treatment, with the waitresses bringing me a hot fudge sunday and singing their version of the birthday song. It was very embarrassing....especially when Cari informed me I had something in my teeth as I had been smiling away during the song. Sigh. We thought about doing a movie afterwards, but we had so much more fun loitering in the parking lot, just talking. I have truly been blessed with the most wonderful friends....true friends.....and I am so thankful to have these precious people in my life. So, above is me with Red Robin and me, Nikki T., Cari and Jenni. Thanks, gals.

She Might Even be a Rock, uh, Country Star

From the time she was a baby, Alysa grew up hearing and seeing her older brother, Perry, play the guitar and drums, going to his gigs and developing her very own desire to perform. She use to grab the antique popcorn popper by the fireplace and pretend to strum it like a guitar while she sang along to her favorite songs on the radio. She got a beginner guitar several years ago for Christmas which we thought would probably satisfy her desire to learn to play. It was just one of those things every child dreams of.....for a while.....and then moves past......we THOUGHT. She kept nagging us, though, so we'd been telling her we'd get her a guitar and start her on lessons since before we moved to Kentucky. In the back of our minds we were still thinking it was just a "shallow" want, not anything that would really last. But her persistence has continued and with all the young talented artists on the scene today, we decided if she was willing to seriously pursue it, we'd do what we could to support her, just like we did for her brother. So yesterday when Mark got off work, we made a surprise visit to the music store and purchased her first real guitar (a Hanna Montana) and signed her up for lessons, to begin this coming Monday after school. She is absolutely tickled. The guy at the music shop let her choose a bunch of picks she liked. She keeps them all ligned out on her dresser, least favorite to favorite, and has already chosen the one she is going to take with her when she plays at the Grand Ole Opry (that would be the dark purple one on the far right). Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open, friends. 'Cause one day you just might hear and see our sweet girl playing and singing her heart out on stage.