WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN JANUARY

Well, January has turned out to be a very busy month for us. We got to Fl. and started right in doing more things in the house. We have to have it ready to bring our stuff back this summer. We plan on returning to the states the end of May. So things have to be ready for our "stuff" to enter into a house that already has "stuff" in it.

There are still major things that had to be done, and we are getting them done. The biggest thing was getting rid of the old - old carpet in the house. We looked at laminate flooring but decided on carpet again. We wanted it to look Floridaish (probably not a real word, but you know what I mean) so we went with a pretty green carpet in the small living room and guest room/scrapbook room.
Out with the old...

In with the "new".

We had an old bamboo set of furniture on the porch, needed some attention, but the scale was good for the living room. We had the cushions reupholstered and hubby sanded and refinished the wood frames. It looks brand new. We are so happy with it. We donated the big, old hide-a-bed and a mismatched coffee table to a charity here in town - which made the living room seem much larger.

Painting, painting, and more painting. But we now have light rooms. In the guestroom/ scrapbooking room we put in the leftover counter top as a work are for me. I am going to enjoy it a lot.

My creative space (well, part of it.) Its not all complete but well on the way.

In between all of the work, we did make two weekend trips. We went to Lake Placid to see our brother and sister-in-law and their family. A fun thing we got to do was sit around a fire pit and make S'mores. Haven't done that in ages. We talked and laughed late into the evening. On Sunday Dick ministered at the church that Scott and Sylvia attend. We had a great time with the people there. Then back to the house for lunch and more visiting. It was a very fun weekend for use to be with the family.

Dick roasting marshmellows.

Scott and Sylvia getting the graham crackers, peanut butter and chocolate ready for the hot marshmellows.

The next weekend we went to Ft. Meyers to see our nephew and his wife and new baby. Little Emily Love is so sweet, and I enjoyed all of the cuddle time I got to have with her. It just wasn't a long enough visit, but better than not getting to see them at all.

Micah, Jen and Lil Miss Emily Love

After leaving there we went to Port Charlotte to visit Peter and Betty. We have known Peter since 1983 when he and our Son were in Bible College together. Peter has a ministry in Port Charlotte and we were invited to minister to their worship leaders, church leaders and Dick ministered on Sunday morning. We had a great weekend with them.

Peter and Betty and Dick.

Then back to work between trips. All in all it has been a very productive time for us. The only downfall was last Tuesday. We had been painting (I used a long handled paint roller to do walls) and a lot of bending. On Tuesday evening, we were having dinner guests and I turned wrong and put my back out. What a way to end our time in Fl. But...Wed. it was worse, so Dick had to see if he could change our return flight. We had favor with the airline, since our ticket was the "use it or loose it fare". They let us extend our return flight by a week. Now to get this back healed so I can drag my suitcase through the airport and on and off of the trian in Germany. I just don't understand Dick saying he couldn't handle 3 suitcases and 2 computer bags and a camera bag and me. So, this has been our month. Lots going on and lots of blessings from God.

One other exciting thing happened for me in January. I had my first 2 scrapbook layouts published in an on-line scrapbook magazine. The magazine is Ready,Set, Create. I had one layout that was a heritage layout accepted and another one about Ryan (our oldest grandson) going from new born to engaged entitled "Where did the time go?" Some of my online friends encouraged me to submit some of my layouts, so I did. If it were not for their encouragement, it probably wouldn't have happened, so THANK YOU Corey and Kimmie!

So, when we return to Germany I need to start thinking about the move. Sorting things to get rid of and what to bring back. And only 4 months to accomplish it all.