The Things You Take for Granted, Someone Else is Praying For

I am one for quotes of any kind.  Inspirational, life, meaningful, biblical, you name it, I gravitate towards them!  For those who have been to my humble abode will know full well that I have numerous quote plaques as well as biblical plaques throughout my house.  We even put quotes directly on the wall of our nursery (which will have its own post when finished soon I promise)!  I am always on the look out for a great quote and when I find one I save it in a file on my computer to be kept for future reference or inspiration.  Last week I came across the quote from above and it hit me like a ton of bricks.  11 simple words strung together gave me a wake up call and put me back into reality.

When I first read the quote I then flipped over to facebook and saw on my newsfeed a posting of someone who was complaining about their new baby that is only a few months old not sleeping through the night and how they are exhausted.  I'm not saying they have no place to complain and I feel for this individual yet at the same time that is all I want right now.  Here they are in a way taking for granted something I am desperately praying for, something I desperately dream of in anguish.  I want to be able to complain about a baby up all night and my pure exhaustion.  I am doing everything I possibly can and have been for a year and a half to achieve that kind of exhaustion.  I had been so close to it and it is not far from my mind that had I not miscarried almost a whole year ago I would be exhausted with my own 2 month old little one at this very moment instead of being exactly where I was a year ago.  I am putting my mind, body, and soul literally into achieving that dream of being up at 3 a.m. rocking a little one through those endless nights. 

I allowed myself my 15 minute pity party for one to cry and grieve what could have been and the journey since that has just seemed endless.  After those 15 minutes which consisted of an ugly cry session I composed myself and carried on.  Not too long later I received an email and it seemed that not only did I get hit with a ton of bricks by it, but the whole darn brick house fell on top of me!  The email was in regards to one of my high school teachers (now a Dean of Students at the school) and the person in charge of the Honduras program that his wife has passed away after a short but ugly fight with lymphoma.  My heart just broke for him, his family, and his wife.  Here I was having my own pity party yet what do I truly have to complain about?  I'm alive, healthy, and relatively happy and here someone just lost his soul mate after only 9 months of battling.  I had the privilege of going on a summer trip to Honduras that his wife accompanied us on and saw what a beautiful person she truly was.  My heart just aches and again a reality check came over me.  Here I was taking granted my own health when someone else I'm sure was praying for a cure that never came beyond their eternal heavenly cure. 

In the following days since, this quote has consumed my every thought.  I have been more aware of other peoples challenges around me and around the world.  Tonight there are people praying for food, clean water, a job to support them and their family, for a roof over their head, protection for their family.  Tonight someone is praying for a cure while someone is praying to just be taken so they can be out of their earthly pain.  Children are praying for a family to love them and people are praying for peace in their homeland.  Someone somewhere is single and praying for the perfect spouse for them to finally show up while someone else is out their praying for the physical strength to continue through the loss of their beloved spouse.  Someone is praying for financial help with bills while another is praying for their car that decided to break down on the side of the highway.  Tonight someone is praying to save their marriage from divorce, while others are praying for their children to follow the right path.  Someone is praying to get over an addiction and another is praying to rid their mental illness. 

There are just so many countless things that I take for granted that I know others are praying for.  It is a clear reality check to the gut.  Hopefully this 11 word quote will also inspire you to not take for granted the simple things you have that others are simply praying for.  Tonight I say extra prayers for others instead of myself in hopes they will receive relief from inflictions that are far greater than my own.

Take a Peak ~ Unlikely Marriage Advice

I came across this blog post that had been posted on another blog that I found through another blog (yes lots of blog hopping required!) and it really struck a cord with me.  I am always looking for marriage advice from sources of happy healthy marriages, yet here I was finding awesome (and hysterical yet true!) marriage advice from no other than a man who has been married and divorced.....TWICE.  While he had no how to stay happily married specific advice, he had a what not to do when married advice and it was very honest and telling.  I think everyone who is married or soon to be married or possibly even on the verge of divorce/seperation can ponder and learn from this! 

While the full link can be found here: http://www.danoah.com/2012/10/16-ways-i-blew-my-marriage.html/3 I decided to paste it below to keep in my reservoir of enlightened knowledge.

You know what blows big time?
The other night I was sitting with my family, most of whom are very successfully married. We were going in a circle giving our best marriage advice to my little sister on the eve of her wedding. It’s somewhat of a family tradition.
But that’s not what blows. What really blows is that I realized I don’t have any good marriage advice to give. After all, I’ve never had a successful marriage out of the two marriages I did have.
And so, when it was my turn, I just made a joke about divorce and how you should always remember why you loved your spouse when you first met her so that when times get tough, you can find someone new that is just like she was.
There were a couple courtesy giggles, but overall my humor wasn’t welcome in such a beautifully building ring of profundity.
They finished round one, and for some reason started into another round. And that’s when I realized. Hey. I don’t have marriage advice to give, but I have plenty of “keep your marriage from ending” advice (two equivocally different things), and that might be almost as good.
It eventually came to me again, and what I said would have been such great advice if I were a tenth as good at saying things as I was at writing them.
And so, that night, I sat down and wrote out my “advice list” for my little sister. You know… things I wish I would have known or done differently so that I didn’t end up divorced (twice). After writing it, I thought maybe I’d share it with all of you, too.
I call it my “Ways I Blew My Marriage” list. Also, for the list’s sake, I am just going to refer to “her” instead of “them” even though they almost all were true in both marriages.

1. DON’T STOP HOLDING HER HAND

When I first dated the woman I ended up marrying, I always held her hand. In the car. While walking. At meals. At movies. It didn’t matter where. Over time, I stopped. I made up excuses like my hand was too hot or it made me sweat or I wasn’t comfortable with it in public. Truth was, I stopped holding hands because I stopped wanting to put in the effort to be close to my wife. No other reason.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d hold her hand in the car. I’d hold her hand on a star. I’d hold her hand in a box. I’d hold her hand with a fox. And I’d hold her hand everywhere else, too, even when we didn’t particularly like each other for the moment.

BONUS! When you hold hands in the winter, they don’t get cold. True story.

2. Don’t stop trying to be attractive.

Obviously when I was working to woo her, I would do myself up as attractively as I possibly could every time I saw her. I kept perfectly groomed. I always smelled good. I held in my farts until she wasn’t around. For some reason, marriage made me feel like I could stop doing all that. I would get all properly groomed, smelling good, and dressed up any time we went out somewhere or I went out by myself, but I rarely, if ever, cared about making myself attractive just for her.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d try and put my best foot forward throughout our entire marriage. I’d wait to fart until I was in the bathroom whenever possible. I’d make myself desirable so that she would desire me.

BONUS! when you trim your man hair, guess what. She returns the favor.

3. Don’t always point out her weaknesses.

For some reason, somewhere along the way, I always ended up feeling like it was my place to tell her where she was weak and where she could do better. I sure as heck didn’t do that while we were dating. No, when I dated her I only built her up, only told her how amazing she was, and easily looked past all of her flaws. After we got married though, she sometimes couldn’t even cook eggs without me telling her how she might be able to improve.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I wouldn’t say a damned thing about anything that I thought could use improvement. I’ve learned since my marriage ended that there is more than one right way to do most things, and that the imperfections of others are too beautiful to try and change.

BONUS! when you tell her what she’s doing right, she’ll tell you what you’re doing right. And she’ll also tell her friends. And her family. And the dentist. And even strangers on the street.

4. Don’t stop cooking for her.

I knew how to woo a girl, for sure. And the ticket was usually a night in, cooking a nice meal and having a romantic evening. So why is it then, that I didn’t do that for her after we got married? Sure, I’d throw some canned soup in the microwave or fry up some chimichangas once in a while, but I rarely if ever went out of my way to sweep her off her feet after we were married by steaming crab legs, or making fancy pasta, or setting up a candlelit table.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d make it a priority to cook for her, and only her, something awesome at least every month. And I’d remember that meat in a can is never awesome.

BONUS! candlelit dinners often lead to candlelit bow chica bow-wow.

5. Don’t yell at your spouse.

I’m not talking about the angry kind of yelling. I’m talking about the lazy kind of yelling. The kind of yelling you do when you don’t want to get up from your television show or you don’t want to go ALL THE WAY UPSTAIRS to ask her if she’s seen your keys. It really doesn’t take that much effort to go find her, and yelling (by nature) sounds demanding and authoritative.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d try to go find her anytime I needed something or wanted to know something, and I’d have both gratitude and manners when I did. I always hated when she would yell to me, so why did I always feel it was okay to yell to her?

BONUS! sometimes you catch her doing something cute that you would have missed otherwise.

6. Don’t call names.

I always felt I was the king of not calling names, but I wasn’t. I may not have called her stupid, or idiot, or any of the other names she’d sometimes call me, but I would tell her she was stubborn, or that she was impossible, or that she was so hard to deal with. Names are names, and calling them will drive bigger wedges in communication than just about anything else.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: Any time it got to the point that I wanted to call names, I’d call a time-out and come back to it later. Or better yet, I’d call her names, but they’d be names like “super sexy” or “hotness.” Even in the heat of the moment.

BONUS! she’ll call you names in better places. Like the bedroom.

7. Don’t be stingy with your money.

As the main bread earner, I was always so stingy with the money. I’d whine about the cost of her shampoo or that she didn’t order water at restaurants, or that she’d spend so much money on things like pedicures or hair dye jobs. But seriously. I always had just as many if not more things that I spent my money on, and in the end, the money was spent, we were just fine, and the only thing my bitching and moaning did was bring undo stress to our relationship.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d tell her I trusted her to buy whatever she wanted, whenever she felt like she needed it. And then, I’d actually trust her to do it.

BONUS! sometimes she will make bad purchase decisions, which leads to makeup purchase decisions. Like that new gadget you’ve had your eyes on.

8. Don’t argue in front of the kids.

There was never any argument that was so important or pressing that we couldn’t wait to have it until the kids weren’t there. I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist or super-shrink to know why fighting in front of the kids is a dangerous and selfish way of doing things.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I would never, ever, not even once fight in front of the kids, no matter how big or how small the issue was. I’d maybe make a code word that meant, “not with the kids here.”

BONUS! when you wait to fight, usually you both realize how stupid or unimportant the fight was and the fight never happens.

9. Don’t encourage each other to skip working out.

I always thought it was love to tell my spouse, “I don’t care if you don’t take care of yourself. I don’t care if you don’t exercise. I don’t care if you let yourself go.” But that was lying, and it was lying when she said it to me because the truth is, we did care and I wish that we would have always told each other how sexy and attractive the other was any time we’d go workout or do something to become healthier.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d ask her to tell me that she cared. I’d ask her to encourage me to go to the gym. I’d ask her to remind me of my goals and tell me I’m strong enough to keep them.

BONUS! exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. And happy people don’t kill other people. (Name that movie!)

10. Don’t poop with the bathroom door open.

I don’t know why, but at some point I started thinking it was okay to poop with the bathroom door open, and so did she. First of all, it’s gross. Second of all, it stinks everything up. Third of all, there is literally no way to make pooping attractive, which means that every time she saw me do it, she, at least in some little way, would have thought I was less attractive.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d shut the damn door and poop in private.

BONUS! when she does think of your naked body, she’s not going to be thinking about it in a grunting/squatting position.

11. Don’t stop kissing her.

It always got to a point when I’d more or less stop kissing her. Usually it was because things were stressful and there was tension in our relationship, and so I’d make it worse by refusing to kiss her. This of course would lead to her feeling rejected. Which would of course lead to arguments about it. Other times I had my own issues with germs and whatnot.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d kiss her in the morning when she looked like people do in the morning. I’d kiss her at night when she’s had a long day. I’d kiss her any time I felt like she secretly wanted a kiss. And, I’d kiss her even when my germ issues kicked in.

BONUS! she feels loved when you kiss her. That’s bonus enough.

12. Don’t stop having fun together.

Age shouldn’t matter. Physical ability shouldn’t matter. Couples should never stop having fun with each other, and I really wish I wouldn’t have gotten into so many ruts in which we didn’t really go out and do anything. And, I’ve been around the block enough times to know that when the fun is missing, and the social part of life is missing, so also goes missing the ability to be fully content with each other.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d make a rule with her that we’d never stay home two weekends in a row.

BONUS! awesome stories and awesome memories come from doing awesome things. And so do cherished embarrassing moments.

13. Don’t pressure each other.

Pressuring each other about anything is always a recipe for resentment. I always felt so pressured to make more money. I always felt so pressured to not slip in my religion. I always felt so pressured to feel certain ways about things when I felt the opposite. And I usually carried a lot of resentment. Looking back, I can think of just as many times that I pressured her, so I know it was a two-way street.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d make it a point to celebrate the different views, opinions, and ways that she had of doing things. I’d find the beauty in differentiation, not the threat.

BONUS! authentic happiness becomes a real possibility. And so do authentic foot rubs.

14. Don’t label each other with negative labels.

Sometimes the easiest phrases to say in my marriage started with one of three things. Either, “you should have,” “you aren’t,” or “you didn’t.” Inevitably after each of those seemed to come something negative. And since when have negative labels ever helped anyone? They certainly never helped her. Or me. Instead, they seemed to make the action that sparked the label worsen in big ways.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I would learn to stop myself before saying any of those phrases, and then I’d switch them out for positive labels. Instead of “you should,” I’d say “you are great at.” Instead of saying “you aren’t,” I’d say “you are.” Instead of saying “you didn’t,” I’d say, “you did.” And then I’d follow it up with something positive.

BONUS! the noblest struggles become far more conquerable. And you don’t think or believe that you’re a schmuck, which is always nice.

15. Don’t skip out on things that are important to her.

It was so easy in marriage to veto so many of the things she enjoyed doing. My reasoning, “we can find things we both enjoy.” That’s lame. There will always be things she enjoys that I will never enjoy, and that’s no reason not to support her in them. Sometimes the only thing she needs is to know that I’m there.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d attend many more of the events that she invited me to. I would actively participate and not tell all the reasons why I’d do it differently or how it could be better or more fun or time better spent.

BONUS! go to something she knows you don’t enjoy and the gratitude gets piled on later that night, like whipped cream on a cheesecake.

16. Don’t emotionally distance yourself after a fight.

I never got to experience the power of make-up sex because any time my wife was mean or we got in a fight, I’d completely distance myself from her, usually for several days. Communication would shut down and I’d avoid contact at all cost. This never let things get worked out, and eventually after it had happened enough times I’d explode unnecessarily.

IF I COULD HAVE A DO-OVER: I’d let myself communicate my emotions and feelings more often, and I’d make sure that she knew I still loved her any time we had an ugly bout. Sure, we’d give each other some distance. But not days of distance.

BONUS! Fantastic make-up sex. Or at least that’s the theory.

I had lots more written out, but the list started getting super long so I’ll stop right there and maybe do a part 2. It’s amazing when you’ve had relationships end, just how much you learn and know you could have done differently, isn’t it?

Little Updates

I have heavily been consumed with so much that I have not blogged lately.  Not for lack of subjects or thoughts, but honestly lack of time.  I have been completing the huge stack of paperwork which means making copies of every known personal document to our names as well as filling in lengthy paperwork.  Our homestudy went super well and we really like our home study social worker!  She is so easy to talk with and so real and down to earth.  She stayed for a bit over 3 hours and laid out the paperwork and did our first home inspection.  She completely loved our front bedroom that is colorful dot-crazy and said it is the perfect set-up and a great refuge for children.  From the stories she shared about many people not putting anything special into the rooms really left me surprised.  I still need to do a front room reveal post too as I have kept promising but have not gotten there yet.

All I can say about the whole homestudy is thank goodness she did not go into our basement....she may have gotten lost and never found her way back up!  We passed on most accounts but have a few things to do before full approval, but we have time to make those changes.  Most we have already accomplished since such as having a car seat, getting the treadmill out of the front bedroom (considered a safety hazard though it has a key you need to be able to turn it on), and needed the nursery ready in which it almost is finished!  Once we complete the stack of endless paperwork abyss and have our Dr. sign off on our physicals, and a fire marshall come to our home and check it for safety, we will give our social worker a call and we will schedule another lengthy visit for individual and couple interviews and another walk through the home.  We have to finish the basement room (as in drywalled and mudded --- paint and flooring doesn't need completed) in order for the fire marshall to come and sign off so mainly Brian and my dad (as well as my brothers Greg and G.J. at times) are hard at work getting that done.  I'm thinking if they continue working like they are that they will have it drywalled and mudded by the end of next week.  At that point I can call and set up our home walk through with the fire marshall. 

As I said earlier the nursery has been painted.  Our friend Lindsey and her boyfriend Nate came over and helped painting the base coat of white.  Brian and I painted the ceiling and then my brother Greg helped us with taping the stripes with the laser level and we painted in the stripes.  It worked out perfectly and we are so happy with how it turned out!  We have to wait two weeks until we can put our special decals up to give the paint enough time to cure so then we will get the full effect!  We then pulled up the carpeting and can officially say goodbye to all carpeting in our home (well for now, planning on carpeting the basement likely)!  I snagged an awesome deal on a large bright red rug at Ollie's that is just way too perfect.  All we have in there now is the changing table and intend to get the rocker my mom bought when she had me to use in the room.  We are waiting to hear back from the social worker who was checking on specific crib rules as the paperwork she had is not the most up-to-date so needing clarification on drop-side specifications.  Once we have the room all put together and the furniture all in I will do a big nursery reveal post and share it with all of you!  Get ready because it is very Seussy :)

As for some other great news, those siblings "Samuel" and "Sara" I blogged about from Ukraine that needed a home have been matched with a family!  I have prayed daily for them and had the nudge to go see if their grant amount had changed much and not only did they have over $1400 in it, I found they were on the My Family Found Me page.  Hopefully their family will fly through the paperwork and be able to get to them soon.  Since I saw that I seem to not be able to wipe the smile off my face :)  Nothing is better than praying every day for something then seeing your prayers go into full fruitation!  Their chances of finding a family willing to step up and adopt them was slim to none, but our God is Great and He has amazing plans for them I am sure! 

Bullet Point Mood

• So I'm in a bullet point mood, short sweet and snappy. 
• Why bullet points?  This is my blog and I make the rules!
• How many bullet points?  As many as I want because of what I stated above.
• Talked with our home study social worker today, she's coming this upcoming Tuesday the 12th for our first home visit and interviews.
• Not sure how many visits and interviews we will have.
• I'm excited to get this ball rolling especially since we are way ahead of schedule.
• I'm also aware we have a lot to get done before we get full approval.
• No everything won't be done by the time she comes and that's fine.
• Tomorrow is our 6th fostering class which marks the half way point!
• We get a new instructor tomorrow so we shall see how this goes
• Our basement is coming along. 
• Basement is completely framed and now working on insulation and wiring electrical boxes and recessed lighting.
• Hoping the new basement room will be finished by the end of February so we can start on the other side.
• Chances are low that will happen by the snail pace we are going.
• The first floor office is empty and our basement now houses more crap piled up!
• Planning on painting soon, possibly this week.
• I've been itching to paint so why not start on the room since I have the paint?
• I was friended on Facebook and contacted by the boy Luis that I've known for 6 years in Honduras.
• We chatted for about twenty minutes.
• I was in heaven.
• He is doing well and starting school in the capitol, he no longer is at the boys farm.
• I look forward to keeping in close touch with him, thank you Facebook!
• I have been yearning to go back to Honduras a lot lately as well as Brian has shared the same yearning.  Luis reaching out to me and asking when he will see his madrina and padrino (godmother and godfather which he refers to us as) again just magnified that feeling!
• This fertility cycle completely failed (well Friday will verify that 110% at my ultrasound).
• I was not only upset and shed tears (even before I got out of the building) when I found out this past Monday, but I was angry.
• Where this anger came from is beyond me, something I haven't felt towards this process before.  Perhaps from frustration and that the prior Thursday ultrasound had looked so promising and Monday chopped that excitement up in half and left me with salt in my wounds.
• Sometimes life blows.
• Where do we go from here?  Well office appointment March 1st to talk with the reproductive endocrinologist about our next step because what we are doing now is going nowhere and failing.
• Yay I have to wait almost a whole month to get in to see my RE which blows!
• Next step is injectibles, really serious step up....this should be fun...
• I apologize to all in my daily life right now ahead of time as they are known to cause severe mood swings, makes Brian so excited!
• Don't worry, we will hide the knives and all other plausible weapons before!
• Hopefully we will have better luck or at least get the follicles to grow.  All I want even if we aren't successfully pregnant after the first round, that I know the chance was actually there because right now it's just one big failure.
• Always seems to be one problem after another, when it rains it sure does pour.
• I've been feeling in the dumps lately even before my bad news.  I think it's this weird weather that's been bipolar on us and that time of the year I just want and NEED sunshine and warm weather!
• Can't wait to be able to walk outside barefoot.
• I want Spring to come....NOW!
• Hopefully my mood will pick back up and I will be back to being my normal happy self.
• Tucker continues to do well, he's only been with us for 2 weeks but it feels way longer than that.
• He is mischievous and keeps me up and going, can't sit for longer than 2 mintes without him getting into something.
• He has the whole pottying thing completely down.  He was a quick learner and we had few mistakes in the house.
• Jeeze do I love our hardwood floors for those times he failed to make it outside.
• I had him on an hourly schedule of putting him out, three days in a row now he has gone to the back door and whines and scratches the door the same way Meeko does.
• Score 1 for us!  He is officially trained! 
• Going to see a community theatre Les Mis performance this Friday, never seen it before but know a bit of the background story.
• A friends sister is one of the leads so we are making it a girls outing with dinner before the play, should be fun. 
• Yup running out of bullet points and I'm sure many stopped reading by now.
• Thank you if you read it all.
• You get a gold star!

Life

Life has become a bit more chaotic lately in our household.  Our newest addition Tucker is 9 weeks now and threw us right back into the puppy world that we had just escaped as Meeko outgrew most puppy tendencies (most, not all!).  Baby gates have been erected, cords have been hidden, shoes are in their rightful place, and he reminds us often to pick up after ourselves!  The joy of carrying him out every few hours into the freezing cold snow and standing their waiting for him to potty has become a new norm.  He has adjusted so well and is so bonded with not only us, but with Meeko.  Meeko is an easy going dog, but we still worried jealousy or quarrels would ensue but to our surprise he has taken Tucker in as if he has always been here.  We look forward to when the two will be able to run around the backyard together when Tucker is bigger to keep up.

 

We have also been busy checking off those weekly foster parent classes.  Next week will mark our half way mark and the light at the end of the tunnel will start to approach.  Yesterday in class we were called out of the classroom mid class and were greeted by our official home study social worker.  We were told while they normally do not start the home study process until classes are completed they said they read through our application and decided to assign us with a home study social worker right away to start up!  We are the only ones in our class to be assigned a worker at this time.  Our social worker was so sweet and welcoming.  I can tell from our brief meeting that we will get along well!  She was very enthusiastic and said she was excited to get to know us and start up the process.  By starting up our home study while we are still taking our classes means the two will overlap and we will shave off at least a month if not more of what we had expected before we could get a placement.  She said she got the assignment then saw we were on the list to be in class so thought it wouldn't hurt to pull us out real fast to introduce herself in person rather than by phone.  She said she will be calling us sometime next week so we can start setting everything up from home visits, the endless paperwork purgatory, and our meetings. 

 

We are excited about the opportunity to get things going and are motivated to get everything completed as quickly as we can.  We are about to be hit with a plethora of paperwork including our medical documents, background checks, family budget, reference letters (from amazing friends and family!), and so much more! As we were driving home Brian looked over at me and reminded me that we have so much to get done before our home visits start up!  My mind then went into a scramble as it occurred to me we are knee deep into our basement renovation and we still have our first floor office that is filled to the gills with art/office supplies and random things that need to be relocated.  Since our basement room which will house our things from this room is still only framed almost ready for drywall and mudding, we are planning this weekend to box everything up from the existing office room and move it to the basement (amongst all the other boxes all piled up as we demo and build) so we can throw some paint on the walls (paint was already purchased luckily just need a primer and some ceiling paint), rip up the carpeting (goodbye the last carpeted room in our home!), and get the room up and running into a nursery for a baby/toddler.  Before our home visits we need each room completed and everything set up to be assessed before we can get approved.  A room that is in transition or not completed would extend the process.  Our other room is already perfectly in place with bunked beds and toddler bed in it, but the second bedroom is far from completed.  Suddenly this endeavour looks daunting but we are ready to slay it this weekend hopefully!  What's more boxes in our basement?!?!

 

If anyone is up to join us feel free to come on over and pick up a paint brush, any help would be greatly appreciated...I'm serious!