Frustration!

This roof project is becoming a bad bur in my side. It is very annoying that the roofer only shows up 2 days a week. Especially when it is getting colder each day! Take yesterday and today for instance...no roofer. Alright, so it was only 30 degrees, but the sun was shining which means the shingles would have sealed just fine. And then there is tomorrow. As I write, I'm watching the news and we have a winter weather warning from 6 a.m. Sat. to 6 a.m. Sun. We are suppose to get a half inch of ice and then 30 plus mph winds, and maybe some snow mixed in as well. (When that happened last year, we were out of power for 5 days!!!) Anywho...back to the roof...it's not finished! So, if we really do get this weather tomorrow, it will be days before I see the roofer again. I hope it doesn't ruin the new decking he put down Wednesday morning!

You would think that the guy would want to get this project finished because it is a 45 minute drive here from his home...and if you haven't noticed...gas prices aren't that great! Then, when he is here, he only stays for a few hours. Maybe I'm just shorter fused these days...but I just want the project completed.

Sorry for the ranting...but I just needed to let off some steam.

Until next time...

Roof - Day 6

Another day of progress!

Just like I was hoping, the roofer was back today. Luckily, we didn't get the rain and snow like they thought, but it sure has cooled off and is going to continue to cool off through the weekend.

There isn't shingles on these sections, but they are covered!

Like always, here are some pictures of what happened today...

On a side note...Doug did make it to the hotel in Puerto Rico Monday evening/Tuesday morning around midnight or a little after, and he was up ready to start planting at 6 a.m. I haven't actually talked to him, but I know they are busy trying to get finished.

Until next time...

Puerto Rico

For those of you who did not know, Doug left for Puerto Rico Monday morning. It was short notice and definitely unexpected. We knew that the department was sending another crew after Thanksgiving to finish the planting, but Doug was not scheduled to go. Unfortunately, one of the girls that was to go, lost a close friend in a car accident over the weekend. (Please keep her in your prayers) So Doug took her place.

Of course, it was an eventful flight...as always! His flight left from Cedar Rapids at 6 a.m. and arrived in Atlanta at 9:30 a.m. His flight from Atlanta to San Juan left at 9:54 a.m. Unfortunately, Doug's plane did not taxi to the gate to unload until 10:10 a.m.; yep, he missed his connection. The airline did not have another available seat until 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. Needless to say, Doug was upset. The airline then told him he could try the stand-by list for the 5 p.m. flight, Monday evening, but he would have to stay there around the terminal. Well, he did take the chance, and was actually able to get on that flight! He was to arrive in San Juan around 10 last night, and he was then going to take a taxi to Ponce, which is on the opposite side of the island (a 3 hour drive). I haven't talked to him since he boarded the plane in Atlanta...I'm hoping all went well.

I will keep you updated as I learn more. The crew is scheduled to arrive back in Iowa on December 8th, but could be earlier if all goes well with the planting (aka: they don't get any more rain).

Until next time...

Roof - Days 4 and 5 of Work

So...the roof...progress is being made, but slower than I expected. Doug and I were hoping that the project would be completed when we got back from our Thanksgiving trip, but it was not. Luckily, they did work one day and finished the west side of house, which they started before Thanksgiving. Here are some pictures...

A reminder of what it was before...


...What it looks like now!


Here's a close up...the boards are there to help the workers
keep their footing...they will be removed at a later date.

Monday, when I arrived home for lunch, they were back to work on the north and east side of the house that face the road. It was then that I learned the slats on one side have rotted and need to be replaced. (What else can they find under all those layers of shingles?) Here are some pictures of the progress made on Monday.

The before...sorry, not the best picture.


Charlie (the main roofer) and his crew at work.


Some close-ups of the bare slats.
The rotted boards are the ones at the bottom of this section.


The other side

I was disappointed that the workers were not back today...my roof is still open as you see in the pictures. We are suppose to get some rain and snow tomorrow. I hope they will be back tomorrow before it (the rain and snow) comes and get these sections covered!

On another note...yesterday afternoon I took a peak out the window to see all these pheasants in the field by the house! Where is a gun when you need it? I think there were about 15 hens and roosters in all.

Tonight when I got home from town, there were a dozen deer in the field behind the house, and 2 more in the waterway running through the field to the side. I tried to take a picture, but it didn't work out so well. Quite the nature center around here!

Until next time...

Change of Date

Just in case any of you were carefully following the pregnancy ticker at the bottom of the page, you are not going crazy!

Earlier today it stated that I was 23 weeks along, and now it states that I'm 25 weeks 6 days along. Doug and I received a notice from the OB-GYN's office that they have changed the due date for Buckwheat! They decided to go ahead and move our date up to the 4th of March! Yes, that is almost a 3 week difference.

So...I apologize to our friends, Cari and Mark, who were hoping that Buckwheat might come on their birthday. Now, our cousin Molly is probably hoping for Buckwheat to come on her birthday! We'll just have to wait and see.

Until next time...

(Thanksgiving) Trip in Pictures

Well, I finally took some time to download my pictures and shrink them down in size in order to upload them to this page!

The following is a recap of our week in Indiana...enjoy!

Saturday, November 17th
Missy & Andy's Wedding

Most just stand and smile...Missy added a wave!

Leaving the Church

The "Get-Away" Vehicle

The 1st Dance

Behave Andy...

The Beautiful Wedding Gown from Egypt!

The Cake

Thursday, November 22nd
Thanksgiving Dinner at Rosenfeld's

Molly...not wanting to look at the camera

Traditional Tripole Game

Sunday, November 25th
The Car Ride Home

Charlie patiently waiting to get home

Snow falling in Illinois

Check out the size of those snow flakes!
They were huge!!!

Some other things we did while in Indiana (without the camera) included:

• Completed our Christmas shopping on Monday and Tuesday;
• Attended the Varsity Basketball Home Opener against Edinburgh...which SWHS lost; and
• Had Thanksgiving dinners with the Gossett family, the '99-'00 PSO FFA families, and the Robertson family.

Home Again, Home Again...

Jig-ity, Jig!

Well, we survived all the Thanksgiving feasts, and made it back to our house around 5:15 this evening. The boys ran around all crazy like...I do think they are happy to be back in their house.

I have a few pictures to add, but I will do that in the next few days. Doug is busy at unpacking and repacking his suitcase. He found out Saturday evening that he is heading to Puerto Rico tomorrow morning! He is pretty excited about going to the warmer weather...especially after we drove through snow on our way home today!

We apologize to those that we were not able to meet up with during our stay in Indiana...but we will be back that way in 4 weeks! So look for us then.

Until next time...

Back Home Again...

...In Indiana!

Yes, Doug and I are back in Indiana for the Thanksgiving holiday. We actually arrived late Saturday night after attending my friend's (Missy Sandefur...now Buhr) wedding in Illinois. We had decided on Friday that it was crazy for us to drive almost 5 hours to the wedding, drive back to Iowa on Sunday, and then turn around and drive 7 hours to Indiana on Wednesday. So...we loaded up the car, threw in the dogs, and headed east for the week.

I was going to upload some pictures from the wedding, but I am on a dial up connection...and I had actually forgotten how slow it can be. Therefore, you will have to wait until I can get a faster connection to see pictures again. In addition, there may not be many posts this week for the same reason.

So...before I end this, I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Remember to say thanks for all that we have. God Bless...and eat lots of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, rolls, pies, etc.!

Until next time...

House Picture

Since there were many inquiries about the old house picture, I thought I would just write a blog about it!

The house was built in 1902, by Don Lortz's grandfather. When Don & Leo (the couple we brought from) were cleaning out the house, they came across many old slides of various events and activities from years ago...one being the house. This past summer the town of Williamsburg celebrated its 150th year...so Don submitted the slides to the Williamsburg Sesquicentennial committee to upload to the website. Don told us about this, and I was able to sift through the numerous photos and find it! It is a pretty cool keepsake to have, and if you check out the website, I'm pretty lucky to have found it among the pictures!

Oh, and as for my mums...I'm sure they will come back next year. Leo told me that those flowers have been there for a LONG time! I was just bummed about them being smashed because it took them forever to bloom this year. Oh, well, I enjoyed them for a while.

Until next time...

Roof - Day 3 (work)

The roofer came back today! He actually had a crew of 5 guys with him...he originally said he would do the work by himself. Anywho...they did get one side the upper part of the house torn off and new sheating put down. I'm not sure what time they arrived, but they left a little after 1:30 this afternoon. And, the roofer didn't really say when he would be back again. Just depends on the weather. Here are a couple pictures to show the change.

Before

After

Remember those beautiful purple mums that I had? Here is what they look like now. The roofer moved his trailer to the other side of house so it would be easier to throw off the old shingles.

Not so pretty anymore

The last thing I wanted to share was a picture of our house when it was built in the early 1900's and a picture from the same view today. Just thought it was interesting!

Then

Now

Hump Day

Can you believe that Wednesday is already gone? Where has the week gone? I don't have too much to write about. The roofer again didn't show up today...but it was super windy here. It probably would have blown the guy off the roof! I also had a chiropractic appointment today. I've been having some neck pain this last week, and it is causing me to have bad headaches by late morning and lasting all night. While meeting with the doctor today, he came to the conclusion that it has to do with the change in my sleeping positions. I usually sleep on my stomach, but with Buckwheat growing...that is a little more difficult these days! I go back on Monday, and hopefully, that will get me through the holiday weekend.

Until next time...

Random

I hope everyone had a good day. It was just another Tuesday around here. The roofer hasn't been here since Saturday. He said would try to be here tomorrow (Wed.) So...we'll wait and see. The shingles haven't arrived yet, so he will just be tearing off more of the old stuff and putting down new sheating.

It was a really nice day here. I think it hit the 60's again, but it is to drop down to the 30's tonight and the wind is to really pick up! We are expecting a high of 53 tomorrow with 25 mph winds.

I hope you were able to "see" Buckwheat in the last post. We have a CD containing about 10 or 11 different pictures, but Doug and I thought the one posted was the easiest to see him/her.

My friend Kim finally shared a new baby bump picture on her blog...so I thought I would share it with you all as well! I think her due date is around mid-January. Kim & Jason are also waiting to be surprised with the gender of their baby...my vote is for a girl!

Kim (Hall) Stockment - 29 weeks along

That's all I have for now...only 9 days until Thanksgiving! Hopefully, Doug and I will get to visit with many of you then!

Until next time...

Life is Good

Doug and I had an ultrasound done today! It was a lot of fun. I thought I would share the following picture of Buckwheat.

Profile of Buckwheat - "age" 21 weeks

We still don't know if Buckwheat is a boy or girl. The technician said that by her measurements, she thought I was about 2 weeks farther along than the doctor originally said...making my possible due date March 3rd. Of course, this is not a definite because the technician then said her date is give or take 2 weeks....taking us back close to the 24th. So...Who knows!

After the ultrasound, we met with Dr. Smollen for our monthly check-up. Doug actually timed her this time (she is very quick and to the point at times). We met with her for a total of 4 minutes today! We got a good laugh out of it. Anywho...she again counted the heartbeat at 160 beats/min. An hour earlier the technician counted the heartbeat at 133 beats/min., but Dr. Smollen said it could vary that much depending if Buckwheat is awake or asleep.

Until next time...

Cousins

My Aunt Marnie sent these pictures of my cousin, Brooke, in her cheerleader outfit. They were just so adorable that I had to share!In addition, I wanted to show some new pictures of my (second?) cousin, Vanessa. She is almost 4 months old. You might remember seeing a picture of her at 6 weeks old - check out the Labor Day weekend update...my mom is holding her in one of the pictures.

Roof - Day 2

The roofer was back yesterday to work on the section over the bathroom. He was able to replace the rotted area, re-deck the area, and place down the shingles. Doug and I are really pleased with how it is looking. He will be back on Monday to continue tearing off.





Check back for more updates!

Until next time...

Roof - Day 1

The roofer finally arrived on Friday to begin the work over our bathroom (where we have the leaking problem). When he started the process of removing the old shingles, he found that we didn't have 3 layers of shingles like we thought we did. Instead...we had 5 layers, plus the wood shingle layer! In addition, he found what we were afraid of...rotted boards. Luckily, he is able to replace/fix them. He is to be back today to continue working. I have some pictures of the before and the progress he made yesterday. Enjoy!

Before - the bathroom is under the Dish

Tearing Off

More removal - FYI: the dumpster/trailer is sitting on top of my beautiful purple mums

Go Colts!

I just had to share this picture with everyone.

Doug's mom, Connie, works at the middle school cafe in Shelbyville. This year for Halloween, they decided to wear their Colts attire. One lady "missed the memo" and instead dressed up as a nun. They decided to gather for a picture, and it turned out really well! I think someone even sent it to the local news stations back home, and it appeared on the evening news!

p.s. Connie is the one in the pink shirt, second row

Until next time...

New Roof!

Yeah!!!

We have finally found someone to replace our roof! Doug and I have been searching for someone to do the job since mid-August . We were having lots of problems with people not returning our calls or not following through with estimates. But...today...we were able to get a reasonable estimate - from a guy that some people we know used and recommended. He is going to be out tomorrow to fix the leak over the bathroom, and then he will be back in a couple weeks (he has to order the shingles and wait for them to arrive) to start on the removal and replacement of the roof.

The next project to save up for once the roof is finished is the bathroom...but only one project at a time...

Until next time...

Baby Bump

I was able to get Doug to take a picture last night...so here it is!

Week 20

Don't mind the bed sheets in the back ground...I'm a little slow at getting my laundry put away!

Until next time...

Week 20!

Can you believe that I'm already at week 20 of this pregnancy?!?! That's half-way ... considering a full term pregnancy is 40 weeks. I must actually be appearing pregnant to others. Just this last week people have started to ask when I'm due (without me previously telling them I'm expecting).

I was going to post a new picture, but the battery was dead on the camera and now that it is charge...Doug is not home. I will try my best to get one up soon.

As far as upcoming dates for Buckwheat...This Wednesday, Doug and I are going to a class at church regarding baptism. Our church usually does two different classes during a year - one in the spring and one in the fall. They are unsure when the spring class will be, so we decided to attend the fall session. Then, Doug and I go next Monday to have an ultrasound and the monthly baby doctor appointment. So...look forward to some more Buckwheat updates!

Until next time...

Our Weekend

What a fun weekend!

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Bob (Doug's dad) and a friend of their's, Andy, came out to Iowa for the weekend. They spent all day Friday at the National Toy Farmer Show in Dyersville. I met them for dinner around 6:30 that night. I was very surprised they were back this way that early!

I then decided to join them on Saturday for the show. We would be inside - where it was nice and warm and no wind - for the majority of the day. We saw sooooooo many toys! It's amazing how many people attend with their collections and how many people attend to add to their collections. Needless to say, we were some of those there to add to the collection. Doug didn't have plans on buying toys beings that Christmas isn't that far off...but he found some excellent deals that he just couldn't pass up. One of the deals being Buckwheat's official first toy tractor! It's an Oliver 1855 narrow front about 20 years old...usually found for $40, but we only paid $10!

Buckwheat's 1st Tractor!

I then forgot to change my clocks before heading to bed so we were up an hour early this morning! Bob and Andy left to head home around 7:15 a.m., and Doug and I got ready and headed for church. After church, Doug tackled the laundry and I baked some more pumpkins. We then settled in to watch the Colts vs. Patriots game...too bad it couldn't have ended on a better note.

Well, I better wrap this up...I have a few random pictures that I thought I would share...so enjoy!

Yep, that's Doug mowing the lawn this last week.

This is actually along I-74 in Indiana.
The trees aren't this pretty in our part of Iowa.

The mums behind my house.

The boys stayed outside over the weekend -
Fred was so glad to have his spot back today.

Our picture for the church pictorial directory.

Until next time...