October

Well, it is officially Christmas time in the city!  But before I get too far ahead of myself, I need to catch up on October.  It was a fun Fall with the kids.  There's so much going on in their world that I don't want to forget.  Plenty of pictures, but probably more words in this post than usual.  I just know I will lose these memories unless I write them down.  So here we go...

Claire and Henry's school pictures.

We had Parent-Teacher conferences in October.  This is Claire's second year with Ms. B.  It has been a great year for her.  Ms. B. said Claire is the sweetest girl and she loves having her in class.  She said Claire is still a bit shy, but has shown great care and leadership with her new desk mate, Alena.  Last year, Claire had struggled with friendships, so Ms. B. took her aside at the beginning of this school year and asked if she could take a new 1st grader, who is also shy, under her wing.  This has been such a positive role and wonderful relationship for Claire.   

And Henry...the first words out of his teacher's mouth were, "Henry is perfect!" She loves having him in class and shared how he has become a natural leader. When it is time for "Works", he always starts with his decimal work.  She said it is like his morning coffee; he just has to get it done before moving on.  Then as soon as he is available, he has a group of three pre-schoolers who love to follow him around and sit with him while he teaches them lessons.  

And George is doing great with his speech therapy.   He was officially diagnosed with Apraxia of Speech this summer.  We currently attend a speech group once a week where he works with 4-5 other kids with similar challenges.  And we also have a speech therapist, Ms. K., who comes to our home once a week.  She has been such a gift. Apraxia can be a difficult diagnosis as there is such a range between children and often, an overabundance of information.  Ms. K., is great at providing us with the information we need, as we need it, to best help George with his care.  And after 6 months in the program, he is making significant progress. He has met his goal of 25 words and is beginning to work on his new goal of stringing words together. 

Also in October, we spent a good chunk of our free time painting our house.

We had been chipping away at the old paint throughout the summer, slowly scraping it as needed. But our insurance company was pushing us to complete the project by the end of the year, so we took a couple weeks and buckled down to get the job done.

Dad and Joe were great at getting those hard-to-reach places.  Thanks boys!

After a lot of scraping, more scraping, and scraping some more...we finally started Phase 2 of the project: Priming.  We were ready to get those paint brushes in our hands.

Once we had the house primed, we organized the "Puplis Painting Party", inviting some family and friends over to help us put the finishing coat of paint on before the weather cooled much further.

The kids had to earn their keep by slinging some paint.  And boy, did they literally "sling some paint". Not sure if they got much on the house, but it was good practice for them.

All three of our Dads were involved, which was pretty special.

Sam and Hannah from our church.  We figured if they are brave enough to sit behind us in church, they could handle a morning of painting.  

Don't look too closely at this corner of the house as the painters were pretty squirrelly.

Uncle Ron wasn't afraid to tackle the peeks.

Joe and Casey did just as much chatting as they did painting, but they did a great job.

Claire was in her glory, organizing snacks for the volunteers.  Her sign pictured above reads "Meet Up. Eat Up."  That's my girl.

And now...drum roll please!

Tah-Dah!

We got it done!  I think most people were skeptical that we could do it, yet we remained resilient. But oh man, we are so glad to put that behind us for now.  Some new doors and landscaping may be in order for next year, but for now, we are glad to hang up our paint brush.

Our 2016 "Hart Prize" contribution.

We called it "The Uninvited Guest".  She sat in the corner with her very own contribution to Hart Prize.  We had fun with it, but needless to say, we did not take home the prize.  Maybe next year!

I'm always a little nervous when it has been too quiet in our home for more than 10 minutes.  Okay, 5 minutes.  Our kids have many wonderful qualities, but "playing quietly" is not normally one of them. So I was pleasantly surprised to find them in Henry's bedroom reading books so peacefully.  Look at those perfect little angels.  I had to get a picture, before the moment passed!

And of course, we had to take an afternoon to venture out and pick some pumpkins at "Under the Pines".  

Couldn't resist taking some pictures of my lil' pumpkins.

And in other news, Joe takes home the award for dish stacking.

Way to go, Joe!

Scooping pumpkin seeds with George's speech group.

George doesn't usually like to get his hands dirty, 

but as long as he could use a spoon, he was excited to dig in.

Trick or Treating in our old neighborhood with the Lanser Family.

We had so much fun visiting all our old neighbors!  We do miss them!

We did stop in at some of our new neighbors as well, but it's not as much the Trick or Treating hot spot as our old neighborhood was.

Examining and trading their loot.  

Whew, that was a doozey!  Thanks for hanging in there.  

More to come for November, hopefully sooner rather than later.

Halloween

A Puppy, A Kitten, and A Dragon

September

Oh September.  What a month.  

Usually a favorite time of year, with so many fun Fall activities.  But, oh man, September 2016. What can we say?  Plenty to enjoy and a lot to be thankful for, but also a month of struggle and loss.  Here are some of the highs and lows as we look back on the month.

A Pre-Back to School  trip to Boulder Ridge Zoo.

We had started the month already feeling low, mourning a family loss, so a day at the zoo was a nice retreat.

Feeding the giraffes.

We went on the African Safari ride twice.  We were big fans.

Our resident animal expert was enthralled by the animals.

It was fun to hear Grandma reminisce about animals she 

had seen during her time in Africa.

Couldn't resist stopping for lunch at this little Ice Cream Caboose.

Then back to the Zoo to see the animals a second time through.

Grandmas are great cause they pay for things like 

train rides that moms typically refuse.

Overall, a great day at the zoo.  We were very impressed.  

A collective 10 thumbs up from myself, Grandma and the kids.

Joe was grateful for and amused with his extra help tending 

the lawn one beautiful afternoon.

First Day of School

Claire starts 2nd Grade!

And Henry is our big Kindergartner!

Henry ran with Claire across the playground as she prepared to join her class. Watching them go, it seems like summer was just a blink of an eye.  As they say, the days are long but the years are short. Yes they are.

Henry was ready for afternoon session.  He now goes 5 days a week.

It wasn't even planned for he and daddy to dress identically.  Two peas in a pod.

There's my confident Kindergartner, ready to face a new year.

No tears this year!

George may skip school all together and just take over Quality Builders.

He's all set now, with is new tool belt from Grandpa.

Preparing the house for paint.

And then there was this...

It was a 6:00 am phone call from our landlords saying there had been a 

fire at the store, and the damage had been significant.

I wasn't really sure what to expect.  At first glance, the damage appeared rather superficial.  The fire started outside, but smoke had filled the attic and had poured into our store.

While everything was in tact, there was a layer of acid soot that covered everything and a smell of smoke so strong, I have never experienced anything like it.  They say that once you have gone through a house fire, you never forget the smell.  I get that.

And one thing I should mention is that a few weeks earlier I had come down with a bad cough.  I felt okay, but couldn't shake it.  Well, spending so much time in the smoke just intensified it.  Not that there's ever a convenient time to get bronchitis, but at this point, rest and recuperation were not an option, so I really just had to work through it.  It was a solid 6 weeks after the fire before I felt my cough had finally subsided. 

As we met with the emergency response team of Servpro, they were an answer to prayer.  They gracefully walked with us through the process of what it would mean to clean up and restore our building.  I cannot hardly believe all that transpired in the days following the fire.  I could fill a book. In the midst of tragedy, there were holy moments that humble me and enrich my faith.  

The team of Servpro was simply hired to clean and restore our building, but as they learned about our ministry, they fell in love with our mission.  And it slowly began to dawn on them what this fire meant for us.  We are not a typical retail store that can go out and buy new inventory.  100% of our inventory was donated to us...and now it was being thrown in the dumpster, which meant we were starting from scratch. It was devastating.  

They came to us and said, "This is what we want to do.  We want to host a donation drive in your honor.  We will reach out to the news stations and media to plan a special event making the community aware of your immediate need."  And that is exactly what they did.

The kids and I prepare to serve at the Donation Drive.

A steady stream of cars with donation after donation.

We were blown away.

The kids hung out in the fire truck for a bit during the Drive.

Our landlords have graciously allowed us to use a spare storefront for the time being to at least collect and sort donations until we can reopen again.

Claire and a couple friends from her school help "triag" the donations.  The picture was blurry cause just as I was ready to snap, I noticed the tv crew filming the girls (on the right), so I scrambled to get out of the way.  

After the donation drive, Servpro began the difficult job of clearing 

the store.  They filled at over eight large dumpsters.  

We spent the last three years working to fill the store, and 

in two days, the inventory was wiped out.

Shelves that had been overflowing, were emptied.

The last remaining piece in an empty store:

"Verse of the Week: 'Be strong and courageous.  Do not be frightened or dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.' Joshua 1:9"  A verse that had been displayed that week, even before the fire, perfectly suited to meet our cries.

And then the store as we have never seen it, stripped down to the studs.  Even all wiring had to go.  The two men on these hi-los hand-washed the entire grid structure of the ceiling.  I don't know what they get paid, but it's not enough!

As the kids looked in on the store, I felt the heaviness of our loss.  They have been just as invested into the store as I have been.  I remember so clearly the long days when we first worked to open the store, having them help with little projects as they could, or simply watching them ride their bikes around the empty space.  It has been so much a part of their childhood.  I have no doubt that we will come back stronger than before, but it still feels right to mourn what was lost.  It is an important part of the process.

But we must not get stuck looking back too long, because our future is looking bright.  And so we press forward. 

Yes, look at these donations!  We must press forward.

Well, more on this all to come, I'm sure.  

But one last little thing from September...my birthday!

Joe took a half day of work and we spent the afternoon together.  We went out to eat and did some paint shopping for our upcoming house project.  A low key day with my hubby and kids was just what my heart needed.  They always know how to make me feel loved on my special day.  

This is the book Joe bought me for my birthday.  One of my favorite authors and a topic that seems painfully relevant right now.  I look forward to diving in, but I have a feeling it won't be an easy one to get through.

So that was our September, the highs and the lows.  Like I said, so much to be thankful for, but also much to mourn.  Now, bring on October!