Where has all the time gone ?!!!!
We are going to assume that most of you got
our Christmas letter so we are going to pick up where that left off since WAY too much has gone on since the September 2002
update!
Our new son Garrett has been taking up all of our free time (He's napping now ~ hence the update!) and on top of
that we have trying to adjust to two new Great Danes (One of which had to gain 60 lbs!!!), two new Longhorn cows who have
both had calves, and as if THAT wasn't enough we have taken on the task of remodeling our cabin to create more space for our
fast growing boy.
So, you see, we DO have some valid excuses!!!
Garrett's page and the Doggie page have been updated with some much needed photos
and information... and we will attempt to include the rest here.
Our remodel has snowballed and gotten much bigger than we originally planned. What
started as originally adding a small spiral staircase and removing a steep existing stair that took up over 1/3 of the precious
floor space of our loft turned into adding almost a full second story...AND windows...AND carpet...AND ceilings etc. etc.
etc. The only place it turned out that we could put our staircase was the other side of the house !!!
We
will now have a large 3/4's of a second story with the remaining 1/4 overlooking a black metal railing into the living room
below. We decided on large custom windows to match the roofline on both ends of the upstairs that will look out
into the trees. This resulted in ceilings that used to be vaulted in the dining room and kitchen. We included some recessed
lighting and sheetrock in the kitchen to brighten it up a little and will use an off-white sandy texture accented by streaks
from wooden broom straws to give it that rustic look to match the cedar siding in the rest of the house and the cedar ceiling
in the dining room. Originally we were going to do it all in cedar but the sheetrock not only makes it brighter but
also saves us some $$$ (Cedar is really steep!!!).
On top of all that where the old stairs used to be we gain extended
closet space in the master (About to be Garrett's) bedroom underneath, a LARGE pantry for food storage, dog food and emergency
essentials and a smaller pantry with an open bookshelf into the living room on the other end. Basically we are living
in a corner of the house....everything else is a construction zone....and the bathroom is the only room not torn up.
Amidst all that I'm still arranging couch cushions, cleaning daily and trying to maintain some semblance of order !!! ARRRGGGHHH!!!!
The carpet people should come this week with a nice hunter green carpet for up
and downstairs.
Walter and I will be doing all the finish work and trying to get it done before
the heat of summer !!!!
Now what was that I was thinking about being out of debt???? Hmmmmm....
Maybe
by tax refund time.
Our cow Spike just had her first calf ... a heifer calf named Nail....(Get it?
HINT: A small nail is a .... ?) and both our mama cows are going off to be rebred soon so we can have more calves at the end
of the year.
Garrett had a small surgery in January and he did great and has recovered completely.....
We had a surprise visit from brother Scott, wife Tara, cousin Christopher and new
niece McKaylee (Born 2 days after Garrett) at Christmas and it was great to see them !!!
Gosh, aside from that I don't know (Or can't think about it...!!!)
Walter is
enjoying the construction and Shari is about to enjoy the finale's of "Joe Millionaire" and "The Bachelorette" as well is
being engrossed by "American Idol". (You can take the girl out of the entertainment industry but you can't take the
industry out of the girl!!!) Sad isn't it? What else are you supposed to do when the baby demands to be held all day
and night?!!!
Garrett is enjoying being the center of attention and we enjoy spoiling him!
Well,
I guess that's it
for now!!!
We would love to hear from some if not all of you and until then.....
Behave!!!!
Love,
Walter,
Shari, Garrett and the rest of the "Funny Farm"
