Still haven't missed one...

I am still a record holder (in my mind anyway) and have not missed an Amy Grant tour since Age to Age! This one was so amazing for me as she only did songs recorded prior to 1988. This was an anniversary tour and with each song, memories of a lifetime washed over my mind's eye. She was with the original band from that tour, which was really cool. Most have made names for themselves now but still did this tour with her. I will be digging out all the old albums and will clearly need to re-purchase some of them since many are on tape... LOL! Regardless, I still remembered every word to every song!

At the end of the show she sang several new songs that she has written while on this tour... just her and her guitar... wow, is all I can say. I was sobbing like a baby (which I generally avoid like the plague... and yet) and for good reason. I will run (not even jog) to get the next album if these songs are on it (who am I kidding, I will anyway).

My only sad note on this one, is that my husband married a stalker... and I did not. I know which hotel she stayed at and she made a comment during the show that she had to be in the lobby at 4:30 tomorrow morning to leave for the airport... and I would have been sitting in that lobby all night with a heartfelt letter of thanks, in hopes of being able to give it to her... but SOMEBODY thinks that that is socially unacceptable. Now you all know why I wanted to go alone. At least we had the sweetest seats in the house... or maybe I would have come home alone! LOL What? I am mostly kidding!

Kaeding Decision 08' ...

While most are focused on the national election we have been deep into our personal Decision 08' as to where we are moving. The sold sign is up, the requested repairs have been made... now where do we go? The inspection on the house in Elk went really well and we had a long talk with our kids and each other last night and we have our "final answer". We are moving to the log house in Elk Washington!

For some of you this is a longer drive and somewhat of an inconvenience but please know that we did take all of that into consideration. This is what we have dreamed about for so long and I still can hardly believe it is going to happen. We had the house inspected by two professionals and they both found the house to be structurally sound and very few things in need of actual repair. The things that do need repair, we are very capable of doing and are not concerned about. The logs are in great condition and have finished settling which is a very big deal when it comes to log homes.

So... get ready for some twisted-fun before and after shots as we tackle each new project! Thank you everyone for your prayers, affection and blatant patience as we have wrestled with this. Moving day is November 13th, 2008. Decision made.

My secret nightlife...

Bed time... and I was back up at 4:00

Most of you know that I don't sleep the amount of hours recommended by well... anyone! What you may not know is how low the number actually is. Drum roll please... I sleep between 2 and 6 hours a night. I literally cannot sleep more than that. When I get really stressed or excited, the number can drop to under 2 for a few days in a row. The thing that makes it crazy is that that is really all I need. Even as a kid, that is all I needed to sleep.

My poor husband does not have the same malfunction and he has had to learn to love me through it. He is used to waking up without me in bed or being woken up with me getting in our out of bed throughout the night. To make matters worse, I prefer to sleep with all the lights on and some form of noise (t.v., radio... the louder the better) and he is a deep, black, silent room kind of guy! LOL

I don't think it is insomnia because I am fully functioning and surprisingly good humored as a rule. From what I understand people who suffer from insomnia are well... happiness challenged. My son says that it makes me a little hard to live with but great to vacation with! I think he really did mean it as a compliment! So don't be a hater... I just have more hours in my day than everybody else!

We have made an offer!

We have made an official offer on the house in Elk that we fell in love with 6 months ago. It went down in price the same weekend that we got and accepted an offer on our house and that says a lot to me. For those unfamiliar with the area, Elk is north of Spokane on Hwy 2. It will take Ben about 40 min. to get home from work instead of 20 but he is more than happy to do so to be in this house and out of the city (all of the Seattle folk are chuckling that 40 min. is even an issue but around here that is like FOREVER for a commute LOL).

This is the view of the house when you get to the end of the driveway and turn left. It is not too visible from the road but you can see it if you really look. The driveway goes up the side of the 10 acre field that is also part of the property. The house is on the 5 acres of treed property on the rise over looking the pasture. We are planning on re-staining in the spring and finishing the bottom half of the house with the rounded stone rock facing. The house needs a lot of work but the bones look great. We will feel better once we have an inspection mind you but we are feeling good about it. That is the front door that is open in the picture above and this is the main floor living/dinning looking into the kitchen.
This is looking down from the loft steps at the doors going out to the deck. That is where I was standing to get the picture above.
The loft is 600 sq. ft and has windows all around. Looking east you have a perfect view of Mt. Spokane and looking west is a valley with the mountains in the background.
Ahh yes, the basement.... it is unfinished. It is 1200 sq. feet and has a bathroom plumbed so it is not as bad as it seems! LOL it is insulated and mostly cement so it should be a pretty easy finish... don't get scared, we are project people and I swear in a year this place will knock your socks off!

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Is today the big day?

We are going out with the realtor today to look... one more time... at all the places we have looked before and a few new ones. We really believe that we know which house we want but this could indeed be the day that we make an offer. I am scared, excited, freaked and giddy... all at the same time! The majority of our close friends and family think we are absolutely insane and I hope they are right. Some people feel the most alive when they are risking it all on a dream. I am one of those people and I am so glad that Ben is too!

We actually turned down one house because it was all done. The work was all done. A place for everything and everything in it's place. That would have been a bummer. We are looking forward to the work. We want to get our hands dirty and work side by side on building something together! This is our new home and we want our fingerprints all over it!

Gather round the table...

My husband said that this needed to go on my blog so... here goes! This is what we had for dinner last night. It is a ginger/lime chicken stir fry served over coconut/jasmine rice, topped with sliced cabbage and cashews.

This is a very typical dinner at our house. I love to cook and have a very hard time when children come over and won't partake of any food that is not fried or covered in cheese. Below is a picture of my 2 year old son digging in. I think it is because they have never been given a choice of what they will or will not eat, that they are not picky. We exposed them to all the food that we love and welcomed them at the table with us. We eat together at the table for every meal that we eat at home. When we have guests, we try very hard to not have a "kid" table but rather, smoosh together around one.

The kids all like to try their hand at the chopsticks when we eat Asian or Thai. It is fun to watch them give it a shot. Jedi gave it up after about 5 minutes this time and went for the good ol' American fork!
I have tried very hard to teach my kids that when you go to some one's home for a meal, you are to eat it. Someone went to the trouble to cook for you and you will eat it and say a gracious thank you. Even the popular "polite bite" is offensive to me. Why would you tell your child to force down one bite of something (usually while making a face) and then "politely" refuse to eat anymore! I am blogging this because so many times I have heard moms tell me that their little ones would "never eat that" when we have tried to exchange recipes and it frustrates me! If they see you eat it and enjoy it... sure they would! I believe we create picky eaters by telling them what they "would and would not" like. Children are natural imitators. Raise the bar.. they will rise to meet it!

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The Making of Mr. and Mrs. Aldana...

Two of my lovely sister -in-laws... Sara and Emily

I have been told that it was near unpardonable manners for me to so involve others in my getting ready for Miss Emily's wedding and then say literally nothing of the outcome. I beg your pardon and mercy and I will now attempt to set things right.

We had the bridal shower at my house and it went very well. After dinner we reverted to vulgar games and the giving of much naughty lingerie and so it was a bachelorette party of sorts as well. One week later it was time for the rehearsal dinner which thankfully only involved minimal crying and only one actual fight in the parking lot. Not bad at all with that much family involved.

The wedding itself was beautiful! BJ played the piano for the prelude, party march and brides entry. He did an amazing job and impressed everyone with his combination of humility and incredible talent. I have no idea how I came to be the mother of such a wonderful child but I am so grateful. The reception was at Mukagawa (for those non-Spokanites it is a former Army fort turned exchange student housing for Moody Bible Institute) and I saved the day by driving (partially the wrong way on a one way street but hey doesn't everyone) to the nearest liquor store to purchase the license that we were supposed to have gotten beforehand. They were so accommodating that when they confiscated the liquor they kept it in the fridge for me until I got back! Now that is service folks!

At the end of the day they were officially Mr. and Mrs. Romano Aldana and looked every bit the adoring, over the moon, made for each other, bride and groom. May they live happily ever after.

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This is what I wanted.... right...?

We got an offer on the house. This is the call that I have been waiting for and so why did my little heart gasp when I heard these words? I am a freezer. Not the kind that you store your deer meat in.... but that is what I do.... I freeze. I don't so much like change. We have made a counter offer and so they have 24 hours to say yes or no. This is going to be a long night, I can feel it.

Why is it that I can be so sure about things until they might actually happen and then I have a nervous breakdown just thinking about them happening? The most pathetic part is that when I think about staying here... I just feel so sad. When I think about leaving here, I start having palpitations! At least I have really solid reasons for this sudden emotion. For instance, I have recently ordered a lot of samples and they are coming to this address. What if I never get my free sample of Gain or Crest? What if we move out to the country and a coyote eats Jedi? See what I mean?! (stop laughing, I am really freaking out here!) Moral support on isle 3 please! Is this really the last month I will clean these bathrooms?

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The Dress...

I had to buy another dress. This seems like a simple statement but it isn't. I am in my sister in laws wedding this weekend and we all went dress shopping about six weeks ago and picked out our dresses. The one I really liked I though was a bit pricey and so I went home and ordered a similar style but smaller price tag from the web site. Being a good little mommy I did not open it when it came because I didn't want anything (or anyone of my children) to happen to it!

When I took it out to hang it up this week before the wedding... it didn't fit. I then proceeded to go to my friends house so she could help me MAKE IT FIT. If you know what I mean. LOL Then we went to the shop and used the bra of wonders and it did make it fit... but it didn't look so good! I had to buy another dress. They don't do returns! I am so angry at myself I cannot even tell you. The weird thing is the same size dresses all fit me at the store! AHHH! To add insult to injury, which dress did I end up buying? You guessed it THE ONE I WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!

Being in someone else's wedding is almost as expensive as being in our own! Between my double dress nightmare, Ben's tux, the shower and all the family coming to town.... have mercy people!

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