The Best Article EVER!!!!

I just read this article and loved it so much I had to post it on my blog. It is AWESOME!! It is exactly what I have thought forever! We coddle our kids. We tell them they are good at everything. We don't let them suffer the consequences of their actions. All of these things are creating a generation of kids who cant fend for themselves, make decisions, have no work ethic and cant  handle disappointments. They are lacking in so many areas because WE are doing it to them!!! 

This article is awesome and I could have literally written it myself. I see this in the schools and working with kids. It is SOOOOO true! I get a bit of flack for not stepping in when my kids do stupid stuff and allowing them to suffer the natural consequences of their actions. I also get flack for telling my kids NO!! If they didn't earn it then they don't get it. Just because the boys broke a hockey stick does not mean I need to run out and buy them one-- they need to earn it and work for it and then I am happy to replace the stick. I also get flack for the "risky behaviors" I allow. These "risky behaviors" involve allowing the kids to climb OVER the play set or swing from a part of the swings that might cause my girls to get hurt. I allow them to scale walls and God forbid they might fall and get hurt-- oh well-- they will learn not to do that in the future-- right?? I catch a lot of flack for all kinds of parenting decisions but I will tell you that I am raising responsible kids that know I am not going to bale them out or give them an inflated sense of self worth. My kids will know what they are good at and what they are not good at and I will make them earn the things they want-- not need-- but want. I talk to my boys and tell them the stupid things I did and we talk through their decisions. I let my kids play outside till the street lights come on-- just like we did-- and I punish when they do stupid stuff. This is not rocket science. I raise my kids like I was raised 30+ years ago. 

We have dumbed down our kids and our kids and their futures are suffering. Do you want to know how many classes on field trips go down to the farm where Kevin farms - www.amysfarm.com- and the parents are bathing their in sanitizer for fear they might get germs on them. Do you know how many parents see Emery and the other little farm kids roaming unattended playing all day who ask "whose kids are those and why are they not being watched?" The parents are not letting the kids be kids. They hover over the kids and insulate their world so that nothing bad happens to them. Guess what parents??? That's not the real world and a generation has now been launched who were raised that way and IT IS NOT WORKING!!!! These kids are inept and they are not ready for hard work. They have no work ethic because if they don't like the work and it is not making them "happy" then they quit. NO WORK ETHIC!!! These kids have no idea how to work hard because they never had to hold a job because their parents didn't want them to "be distracted from their studies." Guess what?? Studies show the kids who worked-- like I did and like my 15 year old son did all last summer-- got better grades then the kids who didnt work!! They learn how to prioritize and multi-task and most importantly-- HOW TO WORK HARD!!! They learn that they might not be "happy" in what they are doing or maybe not even like the work they are doing-- BUT, after the end of the day, they earned money and that pushes them to go back the next day. 

People, please read this article. It's important for your kids. I'm not saying I am perfect-- my goodness Kevin and I are far from perfect-- but we try to parent realistically much like my parents did 30+ years ago. Its not perfect and honestly it would be easier if I were more indulgent with my kids- but I will not do that to them. To let them experience delayed gratification is sooooo important. Would it be easier to just give it to them and not hear the whining? ABSOLUTELY!! Would I be teaching my kids  that they get anything they want WHENEVER they want it?  YES!! And I will not do that to them. 

Anyway, i will post the link as well as the article is below. 

 http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2014/01/16/7-crippling-parenting-behaviors-that-keep-children-from-growing-into-leaders/

While I spend my professional time now as a career success coach, writer, and leadership trainer, I was a marriage and family therapist in my past, and worked for several years with couples, families, and children. Through that experience, I witnessed a very wide array of both functional and dysfunctional parenting behaviors. As a parent myself, I’ve learned that all the wisdom and love in the world doesn’t necessarily protect you from parenting in ways that hold your children back from thriving, gaining independence and becoming the leaders they have the potential to be.

I was intrigued, then, to catch up with leadership expert Dr. Tim Elmore and learn more about how we as parents are failing our children today — coddling and crippling them — and keeping them from becoming leaders they are destined to be. Tim is a best-selling author of more than 25 books, including Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future, Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenges of Becoming Authentic Adults, and the Habitudes® series. He is Founder and President of Growing Leaders, an organization dedicated to mentoring today’s young people to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Tim had this to share about the 7 damaging parenting behaviors that keep children from becoming leaders – of their own lives and of the world’s enterprises:

1. We don’t let our children experience risk
We live in a world that warns us of danger at every turn. The “safety first” preoccupation enforces our fear of losing our kids, so we do everything we can to protect them. It’s our job after all, but we have insulated them from healthy risk-taking behavior and it’s had an adverse effect. Psychologists in Europe have discovered that if a child doesn’t play outside and is never allowed to experience a skinned knee, they frequently have phobias as adults. Kids need to fall a few times to learn it’s normal; teens likely need to break up with a boyfriend or girlfriend to appreciate the emotional maturity that lasting relationships require. If parents remove risk from children’s lives, we will likely experience high arrogance and low self-esteem in our growing leaders.

2. We rescue too quickly
Today’s generation of young people has not developed some of the life skills kids did 30 years ago because adults swoop in and take care of problems for them. When we rescue too quickly and over-indulge our children with “assistance,” we remove the need for them to navigate hardships and solve problems on their own. It’s parenting for the short-term and it sorely misses the point of leadership—to equip our young people to do it without help. Sooner or later, kids get used to someone rescuing them: “If I fail or fall short, an adult will smooth things over and remove any consequences for my misconduct.” When in reality, this isn’t even remotely close to how the world works, and therefore it disables our kids from becoming competent adults.

3. We rave too easily
The self-esteem movement has been around since Baby Boomers were kids, but it took root in our school systems in the 1980s. Attend a little league baseball game and you’ll see that everyone is a winner. This “everyone gets a trophy” mentality might make our kids feel special, but research is now indicating this method has unintended consequences. Kids eventually observe that Mom and Dad are the only ones who think they’re awesome when no one else is saying it. They begin to doubt the objectivity of their parents; it feels good in the moment, but it’s not connected to reality. When we rave too easily and disregard poor behavior, children eventually learn to cheat, exaggerate and lie and to avoid difficult reality. They have not been conditioned to face it.

4. We let guilt get in the way of leading well
Your child does not have to love you every minute. Your kids will get over the disappointment, but they won’t get over the effects of being spoiled. So tell them “no” or “not now,” and let them fight for what they really value and need. As parents, we tend to give them what they want when rewarding our children, especially with multiple kids. When one does well in something, we feel it’s unfair to praise and reward that one and not the other. This is unrealistic and misses an opportunity to enforce the point to our kids that success is dependent upon our own actions and good deeds. Be careful not to teach them a good grade is rewarded by a trip to the mall. If your relationship is based on material rewards, kids will experience neither intrinsic motivation nor unconditional love.
5. We don’t share our past mistakes
Healthy teens are going to want to spread their wings and they’ll need to try things on their own. We as adults must let them, but that doesn’t mean we can’t help them navigate these waters. Share with them the relevant mistakes you made when you were their age in a way that helps them learn to make good choices. (Avoid negative “lessons learned” having to do with smoking, alcohol, illegal drugs, etc.) Also, kids must prepare to encounter slip-ups and face the consequences of their decisions. Share how you felt when you faced a similar experience, what drove your actions, and the resulting lessons learned. Because we’re not the only influence on our kids, we must be the best influence.

6. We mistake intelligence, giftedness and influence for maturity
Intelligence is often used as a measurement of a child’s maturity, and as a result parents assume an intelligent child is ready for the world. That’s not the case. Some professional athletes and Hollywood starlets, for example, possess unimaginable talent, but still get caught in a public scandal. Just because giftedness is present in one aspect of a child’s life, don’t assume it pervades all areas. There is no magic “age of responsibility” or a proven guide as to when a child should be given specific freedoms, but a good rule of thumb is to observe other children the same age as yours. If you notice that they are doing more themselves than your child does, you may be delaying your child’s independence.

7. We don’t practice what we preach
As parents, it is our responsibility to model the life we want our children to live. To help them lead a life of character and become dependable and accountable for their words and actions. As the leaders of our homes, we can start by only speaking honest words – white lies will surface and slowly erode character. Watch yourself in the little ethical choices that others might notice, because your kids will notice too. If you don’t cut corners, for example, they will know it’s not acceptable for them to either. Show your kids what it means to give selflessly and joyfully by volunteering for a service project or with a community group. Leave people and places better than you found them, and your kids will take note and do the same.
Why do parents engage in these behaviors (what are they afraid of if they don’t)? Do these behaviors come from fear or from poor understanding of what strong parenting (with good boundaries) is?

Tim shares:
“I think both fear and lack of understanding play a role here, but it leads with the fact that each generation of parents is usually compensating for something the previous generation did. The primary adults in kids’ lives today have focused on now rather than later. It’s about their happiness today not their readiness tomorrow. I suspect it’s a reaction. Many parents today had Moms and Dads who were all about getting ready for tomorrow: saving money, not spending it, and getting ready for retirement. In response, many of us bought into the message: embrace the moment. You deserve it. Enjoy today. And we did. For many, it resulted in credit card debt and the inability to delay gratification. This may be the crux of our challenge. The truth is, parents who are able to focus on tomorrow, not just today, produce better results.”
How can parents move away from these negative behaviors (without having to hire a family therapist to help)?
Tim says: “It’s important for parents to become exceedingly self-aware of their words and actions when interacting with their children, or with others when their children are nearby. Care enough to train them, not merely treat them to a good life. Coach them, more than coddle. “
Here’s a start:
1. Talk over the issues you wish you would’ve known about adulthood.
2. Allow them to attempt things that stretch them and even let them fail.
3. Discuss future consequences if they fail to master certain disciplines.
4. Aid them in matching their strengths to real-world problems.
5. Furnish projects that require patience, so they learn to delay gratification.
6. Teach them that life is about choices and trade-offs; they can’t do everything.
7. Initiate (or simulate) adult tasks like paying bills or making business deals.
8. Introduce them to potential mentors from your network.
9. Help them envision a fulfilling future, and then discuss the steps to get there.
10. Celebrate progress they make toward autonomy and responsibility.

Updates house

Here are some new pictures of the house that were taken a couple days ago. They're planning on wrapping the house this week and the inside insulation and drywall start. We're still hoping for April completion date. Things of been going well and are moving quite rapidly. Kevin is doing a huge portion of the electrical and many other things to save money so he is pretty much been at the house every day. It's a lot of work but we can't wait for the pay off in less money owed as well as him having a hand in the building of our house.

This is a view of the kind of the breakfast room from the kitchen.

Backside of the house is pretty much French doors that will look out into the pool eventually

The little wall in the middle of the room is actually the island that the cabinets will but up again. It is where the large kitchen island will be.

This is the view into the dining area of the great room. There is no separation between the living area and the dining area. The dining area is the part with the three new windows that have yet to be placed. The area to the left of that is the fireplace with two windows on each side and that is the living area. It is a huge room.

This is the view of the living area with the fireplace and the two windows on each side. You can also see the three windows that my dining room.

Again, the dining area but you can also see where the three French doors out to a courtyard will be in on the other side of the courtyard is a separate structure which is a casita which will eventually be my office for my private practice. It has a bathroom closet shower and will function as an office but bedroom as well.

Stairs to upstairs. The landing area where my dad almost then goes down into the mudroom on the other side which is a feature about the house that I absolutely love. Two sides of the staircase a really cool I love having a mid room. 

I didn't take a lot of pictures of upstairs because it's really hard to tell with just a bunch of framing and pipes in the wall that this is the bonus room and off of this room is the boys rooms As well as the bathroom.

The Picture below is of the window going into the entry  for our bedroom bathroom and closet. It's an awesome open area and should be a really gracious entry into the master suite. We did not do a huge master suite since we spent hardly any time in our own bedroom anyway but we wanted to maximize the views as well as have a light bright window in the actual Corredor to lighten things up here

The house

The house is coming along amazingly well. The plumbers and the air-conditioner and electricians all started today. It's about two weeks away from the combination inspection where the house will be closed up. Windows go in Monday the fireplace went in today and it is moving along at a rate that should be able to put us in by mid March or the beginning of April. I'm praying for mid-March. This process is a lot of fun but it also is extremely taxing with the ridiculous amounts of decisions you have to make immediately. We do a pretty good job making decisions because Kevin and I are not overly picky but it is a lot of stress. Furthermore, Kevin is doing all of the electrical with his dad and a few friends so that adds another stress level. Kevin is doing quite a few of the steps along the way for us to save money. 

This whole house thing came out of being so upside down on our current home. As we've moved along in the project it is been so clear that this is Gods plan for our life and every way with regards to the new house. Every door has swung open and every door on our old house has been slammed shut. We will be able to put renters in our current house and hope that in a few years we should be at value or even above value and then be able to sell. We feel extremely grateful that this whole process has been able to happen but this home is really not a dream home or at home that we are thinking of every single detail at all. This home is a functional home that does not have a ridiculous bells and whistles rather it is a home to be lived in that will nurture our family. Downstairs literally has no walls. It is one huge giant room that will be a functional living space. Not one inch of the house is unusable. There is no room that is a showpiece or a masterpiece at all. It is 100% usable. People keep referring to our home as a dream home or a masterpiece and Kevin then I laugh every time that happens because it's so far from what this really is. This was a wonderful opportunity to be able to build a home that will suit our family well that we can do it for a modest budget. To build a home in California is cheaper then to buy a home therefore we took advantage of the fact that we were able to build. The issue with California is the land. It is extremely expensive to buy land in California and it is extremely difficult to find land in California. We got extremely lucky - i.e. the first door that swung open- and that allowed us to buy the land at a significantly undervalue price. The land has a water easement on the property which deters some but for us it made it more valuable and it also made it about $100,000 under value and it actually wasn't even for sale. All the factors that went into us finding the land were extremely God in every way! It wasn't for sale -it was a price we actually had the money for and it was extremely undervalue. Those factors in California just don't happen, therefore we jump on it and felt like God was telling us to do it - so we did and we are exceedingly thankful!!!!

I am going to post pictures right now that I took today of the house but it's going to be really difficult to understand the parts of it until I can get home and explain each picture. I'm posting on my phone right now so I will not be able to explain the pictures until I get home. I'll try to do that right away.

 I'm going to continually update the blog with pictures of the progress. It's fun to watch every day that change so I will try to share it as well

Front of house by sign

Actually taken yesterday or day before

View from master bedroom. Every window has an Absolutly amazing view!!

View from other side of master- without the haze you could see the valley

Stairs go into mud room or into great room. Both stairs end up on landing. Can I express how excited I am to have a mud room!!!

Great room. Fireplace went in today. Bookshelves and windows on each side of fireplace. Big blank wall

Next to fireplace will have 3 large 6 foot windows so we don't block the view. We changed that this week so they will cut the windows next week. They already ordered them. 

View out French doors by dining room area (the section separated into 3) and the front door is the other hole. 

Front door and stairs. There will be a bathroom and closet tucked in there 

View towards kitchen and sun room ( I guess a breakfast room- not sure what to call it)

Two sets of French doors looking out the back of the house towards what will

Eventually be the pool

Looking towards kitchen breakfast area

View from dining room area French doors over across court yard to casita (detached bedroom and bathroom that will Function as an office for cornerstone)

Back wall is part kitchen and part of sun room 

Same view

View down stairs into great room 

View up stairs from landing

Garage 

Hockey

Even though I've been away from the blog for a long time not a lot has changed in regards to the hockey season. It's still many games every weekend and while we enjoy it it does dominate quite a bit of our time. Here are some pics from the game today. Owen also had a game but we had to divide and conquer so Kevin took him to his game and I took Ethan to his game in Anaheim. Ethan's team is doing phenomenal! They are in first place in the league and are just so much fun to watch! Owens team is doing really well also. Because so much of our time is split between the two teams I don't get nearly as many opportunities to watch Owen play as I do Ethan but I still completely enjoy every second of it! The girls also enjoy going to games and always take the fun stuff to play with while were there. They also get to see their grandparents often attending the game so that's always an extra bonus with them.

Oh my sweet Em!

I love my Fridays! I do not work on Fridays so I have time to just chill with Emery and she is such a delightful kid! She is fun happy and there's never a dull moment. She rarely throws fits unless prompted by her siblings and is just a happy kid! We are off to target to get some necessities and she is just as happy and cheerful as can be. Absolutely love it!

Ummm... 6 Months???

Seriously cant believe it has been 6 months since I have posted. I am a terrible blogger and honestly, 5 kids has kept me from doing a lot of relaxing which is usually when I blog. I post on facebook here and there but just forget to do more than that-- so sorry! I will do my best to catch up today.

Since my last post in May so many things have happened-- I don't even know where to start. I think I will start with Finley since I have had so many people ask me how she is doing. (BTW, all pics are IPhone pics so they are terrible-- sorry!)

My sweet Fin :) She is now in Kindergarten and loving it. She is still our super sweet child and just goes with the flow-- I love that about her. As many remember, Finley was born with Spina Bifida and was completely continent since we got her at age 3 years 2 months. She started to have symptoms of tethered cord (spinal cord being stretched causing loss of function) in January. We immediately took her to ER and they admitted her and did 9 hour emergency tethered cord surgery the next day. The surgery rendered Fin incontinent but the doctors thought her function would return since she was experiencing spinal shock. Over the last several months, her bowel function has returned to about 80%. She still has some issues and will have accidents here and there but for the most part, her bowels have returned. Her bladder function has not quite returned. She can empty about 30% of her bladder but that is about it. To empty the remaining contents of her bladder we catheterize her 4 times a day. We cath her in the morning, the nurse at school caths her at 1pm and then we do it again when she gets home from school and right before bed. We have been praying her bladder function would return but at clinic in August they said she is probably as good as it will ever be which basically means, she will be cath dependant for the rest of her life. I was very sad about this but Fin doesn't really care. She is totally chill about it and does not mind it at all. The hard part is that she use to be completely continent like any other kid before her tethered cord and after she lost function. It is a hard reality but she is fine and my mom was always cath dependant so Fin and my mom have this cute connection. Furthermore, the nurse who caths her at school is a good church friend of ours and she loves Finley to death so it is a great scenario. Next summer we are going to work on teaching Fin to cath herself so she can become independent in that area. Other than that, Fin is doing AMAZING and learning soooo much!! She is involved in Awana's at church and Daisys. She just celebrated her 6th birthday on October 12!

 

 First Day of School

 

Fin jumping off the diving board this summer on our vacation at Hume Lake Christian Camps

 

 Halloween

 

Next is Ethan. He is a sophomore and had his 15th birthday on August 25th. He started at a new school this year-- Upland High School. We are moving to a new city-- Upland-- in the spring and we offered the boys to attend their home public schools and they both wanted to leave the Christian school and start at Upland Schools-- so we did. The girls already were at Upland Schools (actually they attend the home school where our new house will be and we didn't even know that when we placed them there last year) so it was a natural to put all the kids in their home schools. So Ethan is at Upland High and really loves it. He has many church friends who also attend the same school so he had a great friend group to begin with. He is also playing ice hockey still and is on the Bishop Amat High School Team through the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League which is a big league around here.  Currently, his team is number one in the league which is HUGE!!! They won a recent tournament and we are so proud of the team they have become. Ethan is a phenomenal defense man. He is really amazing and has great potential. If he can keep his grades up I can see the possibility of scholarships in his future. I am not one of those moms who think their kids are perfect-- heck no not me-- but Ethan is pretty darn good at hockey and has a great future in the game (like college level). He also just got his braces off this past week so he is loving the braces free smile-- he says girls like it too :) He also had a summer job as a prep cook at Union on Yale which is the restaurant my brother is the exec chef at. My dad paid his salary but Ethan did a wonderful job and will be hired back next summer as an employee. He also was able to save a big chunk towards his car when he gets his license.

 Braces Free

 

 Tournament Champs!!!

 

Ethan and his team mates-- this is the rink in Anaheim where they have games and where the Ducks practice-- we often see the Duck players there.

 

 Working the pizza station-- acting like a dork

 

With his boss-- my brother and my dad who paid his salary all summer-- thanks dad! Ive always thought Ethan looks like my brother Brad-- don't you think?

 

Owen is doing well as well. He started at Pioneer Junior High as an 8th grader this year and has made lots of good friends. He is doing ok in school but could be doing better. If you recall, 8th grade is a hard year in this house. That is when we pulled Ethan from school and put him on independent study and made him do hard labor at the farm. It was the perfect thing for Ethan- although he hated it- but it taught him a great lesson. Owen is no where near there but he is not putting good effort in-- but we are working on it. He is also playing ice hockey on a club team and will be on the same team as Ethan next year as a freshman. He too is an amazing hockey player. He is a defense man just like his brother and he is extremely good. I cant wait to see him on Ethan's team next year. He is very talented. I honestly don't have many pics of Owen. He always seems to avoid the camera so I only have a couple.

 

 

Owen and Christian at Ethan's game. Owen plays for the California Wave

 

First day of school for the boys in front of my friend Kim's house.

 

 

Mia is great! She is ridiculously smart and is like a sponge in school. EVERY SINGLE DAY she comes home and tells us things we seriously didn't know. She is so much smarter than I am it is crazy. She has been asking for me to test her IQ (I test IQ's all day-- its my job) for months so I finally did and lets just say-- scary smart!! School is Mia's thing. She just gets it and is really good at it. She loves homework (wrong-- I know)  and school just clicks for her. Its nice to have a kid like that. She is also still an extremely independent spicy girl. She is known to throw her fair share of tantrums (ok fair share= daily) but she is getting better with age. She is involved in Awana's and Brownies and wants to rejoin gymnastics. We will see-- life is full of hockey right now and not much more time to add other activities. She just celebrated her 7th birthday and lost her two front teeth which are already almost in.

 

 First day of school- first grade

 

 Jumping off the diving board at Hume this summer

 First Day of School

 Lost both her front teeth the same day

 

7th Birthday cake

 

 

Emery is doing GREAT!! She is such a delight. Happy, sweet, independent, spirited, strong willed but overall a super fun kid with an awesome personality!! Kev stays home with her this year and she will start preschool next school year. She is involved in nursery at church and tags along to all her siblings events. She is a smart little cookie. Her speech is coming along but I am contemplating doing a referral for a speech eval soon. She is not horribly delayed but her expressive is lower than I would expect it to be. Her receptive is awesome but expressive is my concern. I think I will refer her after the first of the year. We will see. She also is totally able to potty in the toilet but kev and I are too lazy to be consistent (5th kid-- what the heck) so we need to work on that but she regularly goes in the toilet-- both pee and poo- when I'm at home. We need to try better to be consistent with potty training.

 

 

 

Hume

 

 Hume

 

 Disneyland

 

Disneyland

 

 

We went to Hume Lake Christian Camps this summer and rented a house for the week and it was amazing! What a wonderful environment to be in. Uplifting in every way-- safe- fun- lots for kids to do- relaxing-- just AWESOME!!! My parents and nephews came for 4 days and Owen took his friend Joel from work and now school. Great time!!! Ethan joined up with a local church from our area and participated in the high school camp quite a bit. He even won a few competitions-- he loved every minute of it!!

 

 

 

 

 

We have lots going on right now. First off I expanded my private practice this summer and now have five employees at three different schools doing reading and math therapy. Its an amazing program and we are doing a lot of good for kids with disabilities and those who desire enrichment. It has been so gratifying to watch these kids grow in such a short time. All my therapists are awesome and are so well trained and are amazing at what they do. I am so thankful for each of them and their unique skills. My sister Cassie also is working for me doing reading and math therapy as well as educational therapy (with high functioning autism spectrum kids) as well as doing psychoeducational testing. She is such an asset and I honestly could not run my private practice without her.

 

The other huge thing going on for us is that we are building  house! We have been wanting to move about 15 miles west of us and have always admired a part of Upland that is kind of a mountain-ish area. It is called San Antonio Heights and it is a county area tucked up in the foothills of Upland. What we love it the eclectic mix of multi-million dollar homes mixed with little cabins. Its pretty cool with amazing mountain and city views. We found a half-acre piece of land that backs up to a revene that was significantly under priced (like a ton under) simply because of a water easement that ran down the side of the property. For many it would be a deterrent because you cant build on top of the easement but for us, we just designed the house around it and no one will ever know the easement is there. It is at the end of a coldesac and on one side of us will be 1 acre of citrus trees and on the other side will be a massive 11,000sqft house (construction will start in Feb or March) and that is it. Super cool little street with great views! Anyway, we are doing this because our other house is not a good investment right now. We worked Dave Ramsey's program so hard to get everything on track financially and it sickens us that we are so upside down on our house. We love our house-- especially our yard- but felt it was not a smart financial decision to stay there. We decided to jump on the increase in the market in this area and since we got a great deal on the land we decided to build which is way cheaper than buying an already built house in our area. We are going to put renters into our house until it comes back up to value and then sell. So we are building and it is moving along. We are anticipating moving in by April 1st. PRAYING!!! They are pouring the foundation today and by the end of next week framing should begin. ITS SO MUCH FUN!!!! It is literally up the street from where the girls go to school so I check on the progress of the house daily. Here are some pictures:

p

Kev is doing a lot of steps on the house himself to keep the cost of the build low. He is doing the electrical, a lot of the rock work, the flooring and a few more things as well. Its going to save us a lot of money but it is a lot of work. He is also doing a lot of farming at Amy's Farm-- about 2-3 times a week and he takes Emery to play down there when he works. She loves hanging out with all the cousins and other kids at the farm and there is a ton for her to do-- she loves it-- and so does Kev-- it is his happy place.

I think that is about it for an update. Sorry it took me 6 months to get this update but I will try to be better!


Here are some recent family pics as well.

Christmas card pic