Proud Parents

Drumroll please....The Beam

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:51:00 +0000

The guys put up the beam Trey worked so hard to cut. It is crazy heavy! I mean CRAZY heavy! We are so excited it worked. I kept envisioning the beam crashing down and splitting into pieces while they put it up. But it all seemed to go very smooth. Trey still has to cut a couple accent pieces that will go on top of it. All the brick laying on the ground will be put to use tomorrow. Can't wait to see the house all fancied up with brick!
Drywall is done. This is a shot taken from the entry. The living room is on the left and the dining in on the right with the kitchen around the corner on the right. The plumbing that rises from the floor is for the kitchen island.
Trey's turn to post:
The dimensions of the horizontal beam are 12 foot long x 16 inches deep x 7 inches thick. It is made from a Live Oak tree that was close to 200 years old. It served as supporting cast in my childhood while I played under it. It now is cast in support for our front porch. (no actual trees were killed or harmed during the filming of this edition of amateur redneck logging)

Ft Worth Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:14:00 +0000

We had the best time this weekend at our friend's Jon & Schel's house. They had a Pumpkin carving party. Anyone over age 13 could enter their pumpkin to try to win first place. Apparently the child's age is not voted for, as the tears of the "loosers" is too much for the adults to handle. The kids dressed in their halloween costumes and had tons of fun creating their jack-o-lanterns, eating candy, and playing.
Here is big boy of the house, Christian, and Evan showing off their jack-o-lanterns.
Andie and her Belle jack-o-lantern.
The winner. Pretty cool, huh?
How cool is Zorro? This is Schel's creation and since she was the hostess, she named herself ineligible to be voted on.
Andie really wanted to take our picture - not bad.

Jon has season tickets to the Dallas Cowboys. So he and Trey went to the game Sunday afternoon. Schel and I hung out at their house with the kiddos. It was a much needed vacation. Thanks Jon & Schel!

Andie with Sandy

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 23:39:00 +0000

Andie has loved horses for a long time. I don't know if she loved the fairy tale idea or the reality of them, or both. But we decided to find out. We are letting her take horse back riding lessons. Here she is with the horse she will take lessons with, Sandy.

First, she gets Sandy from the stables and guides her by rope to the grooming area. She brushes her body and hair, and places the blanket and saddle on her at the start of each lesson. Then she guides Sandy to the mounting block so she can ride her. Andie took to it like she has been riding for years. It was amazing to watch! Terrifying as well! Andie just had a joyful glow around her as she rode for the first time. At first the horse would go where Andie told it to, but Sandy started to get stubborn. Andie didn't mind, she got stubborn right back and didn't take no for an answer. Andie got Sandy to go where she wanted her to - that day's challenge was over a bridge.

Love that my girl loved it, curious to see how future lessons will go.

Beauty Salon

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:09:00 +0000

I am 8 weeks past due having my hair done, and I still haven't been able to get an appointment. But I found a great girl, who is sweet, and pays great attention to detail to do my hair this morning. My roots are still gray, but I've never felt more beautiful.
Love my girl!

House Progress

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:16:00 +0000

Our house had a productive day today. The roof was completed and we met with several of the subs that are getting ready to start. Trey got busy creating a beam for the front porch. He is using an oak tree off his grandfather's place that died a few years ago. It was a beautiful tree when alive - Trey has great memories playing around it. And now it will begin it's new form as a key piece of our front porch. Pictured are the kids watching Trey turn the trunk of the tree into a beam.
Here is Trey with the chain saw in action. Notice the cows in the background - they weren't sure what to think.
Blurry picture - but I loved how the boys were mesmerized watching Trey with the chain saw.
Trey's cousin is the contractor, who hired another cousin to make our cabinets, and he also hired another cousin and his son to install our air conditioner. Another cousin will install the counter tops. Trey's dad serves as our "straw boss" and since heavy machinery is involved, payment is not necessary. "If you order one bean you get the whole burrito" -- Trey Joseph Guffey circa 2009. (Trey took over the post on this section)
Here is the house as of today. The beam that Trey is creating will replace the temporary bracing that is making the cross shape in the middle.

"The customer's are gonna love this..."

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 01:59:00 +0000

I gave Andie Crayola Color Wonder Finger paints today. She was sitting on one side of the bar painting while I was on the other side baking in the kitchen. I could hear her sounding pleased with herself. When I listened closer, I heard her say,"The customer's are gonna love this!" I said "What are you doing Andie?" She let me know that she had made many beautiful paintings. (I only pictured 1/3 of her collection) And she needed them hung in the pharmacy so all the people could see them. She went on to say I could use tape or tacks to hang them, and that I needed to hang them neatly so the people will like them....oh how my Andie makes me smile.

Kindergarten!

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Evan's day starts off with the playground. We drop off and pick up here. I think this is such a wonderful idea. The kids run and play, keeping them very distracted while mommy and daddy leave.

This picture was taken on the drive home on Friday. Kindergarten is tiring stuff! Dean is sleeping, too.

I need someone to tell me how to arrange my pictures. I enter them, then they appear in a random order. Like, this picture should be last.....

Me and my big boy. So proud of this boy! He is very ready for Kindergarten! I love the smile he wears around taking on this new challenge.

Dean meant to be hugging Evan, too. But the playground is too much fun!

Love this picture. This is taken on the steps of our rent house. We call it the "Bungalow". Evan has his Star Wars back pack and lunch box. It's sure to be a great day!

Framing

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 14:18:00 +0000

This is our view off the front porch. The dirt road will become a caliche road when the house is done. There are beautiful sunsets behind this hill. The view made it clear to us that this was just the place for the house. The Texas Rangers Company E had a campsite on our ranch to protect frontier settlers against indian attacks in the 1800's. This oak tree is 150 to 200 years old. Maybe they enjoyed its shade.

Side view of the house. The large oak trees on the other side is the site of our engagement.

Framing in action. I can't ever stay around long to watch when the framers are up that high.....my nerves can't handle it.

Decking @ Husband's Request

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:20:00 +0000

Underneath the house aftering the decking was placed. Trey still has some plans for under here. Big plans. Just be warned when you come visit this house, you will be expected to go under here and check it out. Whether you want to or not.....please be working on your excited responses. You have about 6 months to work on it.

Beams and decking being placed over the piers. The square in the upper right if where the fireplace is going.

I think the kids are all saying "House!"

In this picture you can see the metal circles on top of each beam. Trey had his friend, Clay make them. They are termite shields - keep the little destroyer's from getting up to the framing. The wood beam in between Evan and Andie has a "U" shaped one on the end of it. Also for termites, but it will also act as a moisture barrier between the concrete and the wood. Apparently concrete is thirsty, or something. Technical explanation, I know, I can feel my husband's head shaking right now.

Stressin'

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 03:08:00 +0000

It's been a challenging past couple days. When people say building a house is difficult, I have never agreed. It's an annoying statement to me. Building the house isn't difficult - selling a house, finding an interim place to live, and figuring family life with three young ones are the difficult parts.

This time yesterday, we did not have a place to live after we close on our house next Friday. Turns out a family of 5 has to live in a 3 bed apartment. And a 3 bed apartment is hard to come by. The rule is no more than 2 people per room. We thought we were going to get to move to a rent house close to our ranch, but the current renters will not be out in time. And the home had some safety issues anyway.

Friends came to the rescue. We are going to live in a rent house that a man from our church owns. It is tiny, but nice. And we can have it today. We have always considered our current home small, but the rent house is almost 1/2 it's size! It's really going to make our newly constructed home seem HUGE!

We are craming as much as we can get into our Go Mini (like a POD). And some wonderful friends have agreed to furniture sit our dining furniture. We are thankful for the rent house, friends, and a faithful God. But I must admit, I've had two rounds of Excedrine and two pieces of strawberry cake to help me get by today.

Pier and Beam

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 02:23:00 +0000

Well, here's a look at our pier and beam foundation. The beams will be put in place tomorrow, so really, here's a look at piers and porches. This is a look from the side of house. The garage is at the lowest part of the picture. To the far left is the front porch. The concrete square in the middle is the base for the fireplace. And the far right will become the back deck when decking is placed over the large opening.
Here is Trey performing a little Karate Kid trick on a pier.
I am standing on the front porch where the front door will be. Come on in!

Sold!

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 13:26:00 +0000

Well, under contract anyway. Two weeks into placing our house for sell, we signed a contract yesterday and will close in 3 weeks! My prayer was that the house would sell quickly. OH! I am so thankful it did! It was a lot to put the kids through. Really, it was a lot to put me through, which in turn is tough on them. We had packed up a huge majority of the toys and of coarse were constantly cleaning. Well - we are definitely having a celebratory cleaning strike today!

Anyway, the plan had been to move to an apartment, but there might be a change in plans. We are now trying to rent a house that is about 4 miles away from where we are building. This will allow us to check on the house whenever we want - we are over 30 miles away currently. And most importantly, it will get us very close to Evan's school. He has to be there at 7:55. So, the idea of having everyone ready and out the door by 7:25 5 days a week is such a stressful thought. So we are praying this rent house works out. We were told we can have it. The current renters still live there, and a set move out date is not nailed down. We're gonna check the place out on Monday. I'll have to have Evan do some Jedi mind tricks to convince them to "move out, move out".

So we're still working on finding a place to live till February, but for now we'll celebrate being under contract.

House Update

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:06:00 +0000

We have finally started to build! Trey bought this ranch just before we met. Trey has been so excited to build our home here. I am now as excited as he is, but it did take a while for me to get to this place. Now, eight years of talking, dreaming, and planning have begun. The house will rest back in the semi-circle of trees. The large oak tree to the far left is the tree where Trey asked me to marry him. The master bedroom will look out to this tree.

This has been our home for the last four years while we got the ranch paid down and made building plans. It is now for sale. If it sells soon, we will move to an apartment while the house is under construction. We have done a complete update/remodel on this house, so someone will be getting a good house.

We don't expect the new house will be done till February.

That's the news for now.....

What would you do?

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:07:00 +0000

I had been given a gift certificate to a nice nail salon in town. I won't name the salon because I didn't have a good experience. Like I said, I had a gift certificate. I was going to get a pedicure, but last minute decided to get a massage. I was so excited. I went to massage therapy school in 1999. Since then, I have only had one massage, and it was not good. I was going in with low expectations. I figured as long as her nails were short and she didn't torture me how bad could it be?? As a massage therapy graduate I know some basics:

Keep the person as drapped or covered as possible
Keep finger nails short
Perform each motion slowly, repeating 3 times
What is done on one side of the body is repeated on the other side
Stay away from the back of the knee & the spine

Well she did not learn these basics.

The girl spoke about 10 words of english. She threw back the blanket that was covering me and slapped oil over me a few times. Then started moving her hands as fast as she could all around. My skin was burning! Her finger nails were scrapping me with every movement. Her movements were random. She seemed to repeat the most painful things over and over. She kept rubbing up and down my spine - it hurt so bad!! I was trying to justify what she was doing thinking she was doing some crazy asian massage that was world's apart from swedish massage. But the more she did, the more I don't think she went through real training at all. There were times I wanted to scream STOP! But I kept hoping there might be something good coming.

Other times I thought how I did not need to pay for this. This was a mild form of torture and I wasn't paying for it. I figured when it was time to pay I would ask what kind of massage that was, or where she got her license. That should start the conversation of how I was in pain or at best uncomfortable most of the massage.

There was a moment of relief when she used hot rocks. That was very nice, would have been nicer if once again, her fingernails weren't razor blades. But the hot rocks were very nice. I would love to try that with a good therapist.

To end the massage she was trying to work on my neck. She started rubbing my caroid artery really fast up and down. Nursing school flash backs popped up. Only a heart doctor is allowed to do this! What in the world! I did shout, and grabbed her hand to make her stop.

Even though I had bold thought's, I wasn't bold at payment time. I handed over the gift card. I did not tip. Which really is bold for me. I chickened out saying anything cause I felt like the language barrier was going to make it a difficult conversation. I figure I might write into them about my experience. The cost was $70. I'd say 10 of the 60 minutes were good. What would you do?

Memorial Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:02:00 +0000

It has been a tradition to spend Memorial weekend at my parents cabin. This year, it was the weekend after, but the fun and relaxation was the same. Pictured is Andie with my dad, Grandave. He has worked incredibly hard to make his cabin a wonderful mountain retreat. I know it brings him tons of joy to watch his grandkids enjoy the place.

Here are the boys doing one of their favorite activities. Over and over they would ride on the truck down the ramp trying to lauch them selves as far as they could.

Other favorite activities:

Playing Star Wars with PVC pipe light sabers and forts made from limbs

Walking in the ice cold creek

discovering what floats in the creek

rides on grandave's 4 wheeler

& we always love my mom's cookin'

Andie was feeling left out watching all the boys play with their trucks, so daddy came up with an awesome alternative for his girl. Wheel barrow racing!

We had a really scarry event happen involving Dean and the creek. Dean was playing on a large rock that was on the egde of the creek. Hunched over with his back to the creek, he fell in the creek backwards. He could have stood up, but he was too shocked to know what was going on. Trey ran over as fast as he could to fish Dean out. It was a very scarry event that left my chest hurting for hours. Apprently I screamed very loud, as my mom came running from the cabin with a towel. Dean will say, "I fell in the big water. I was scarred. It was cold. I fell in the biiiiig water." I think many kids would have steered clear of the stream, but here is Dean the very next day having a great time.

Always wish we could stay longer and can't wait for the next time.

Picture Time!

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:38:00 +0000

My sister-in-law flew in from Ohio, so we seized the opportunity to take photos of all the cousins together. Our friend Shawn agreed to meet out at my in-laws place to take the pictures. The pictures are amazing. Here is a sampling of the 550 photos he shot:

This is Trey's grandpa, Dad-aw. We love how this shot captured Evan and Dad-aw... priceless.

Sweet Andie Grace at home in the flower garden.

My Dean...What you can't see is the right sleeve...he stuck his arm up a muffler, and turned the sleeve jet black!

Awwwww......

Growing Boy

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 03:12:00 +0000

My oldest is growing up. Several milestones occurred the last few days. Today, we enrolled Evan in kindergarten. We had a great time meeting some of the teachers and the principal. Evan's grandpa, Papa, taught at this school for several years. Trey, his siblings, and many other relatives have attended and worked at this school district. Evan doesn't know all that - so he was absolutely floored when the principal greeted him by name as we walked in the door. Evan enjoyed the special attention. He loved the "test" they put him through. He also received cookies and juice, and a bag of books - he cannot wait to go back!! We are excited for Evan, he loves to learn, and is very ready for school. No saddness yet from this momma. We'll see how I feel when the fall comes.

Evan mastered riding his bike without training wheels this week. Lack of confidence was holding him back, but once confidence caught up with his ability, Watch out! He's a bike riding machine! What joy it brings me to see him master this challenge!

He lost another tooth. We have not got to see him with the cute little no-tooth-gap that most kiddos have when they loose a tooth. His two bottom teeth grew in right behind the baby teeth. So when the baby tooth fell out, it's replacement was fully visible.

I tried to snap a picture of Evan today to add to this post, but he wanted no part of that. So a recent picture of Evan with two good buddies will do.

I love how Evan loves life, how excited he gets about any and everything. Oh, here's something some of you will like: When asked if he was going to be a Jim Ned Indian, Evan replied,"Ummm, no, I'm gonna be a Jim Ned Jedi."

Autism Speaks Walk at the Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 20:10:00 +0000

The kids and I attended the Autism Speaks walk at the zoo last Saturday. It is our second year to attend. Evan's friends Kade and Konner are twin brothers. We attend the walk in support of Konner and his family. Evan and Kade are in pre-K together this year. Most all the boys, if not all of them are super crazy about Star Wars. So it was an extra special feature to have Star Wars caracters at the walk. These guys came from a galaxy far far away in Houston, TX. In this picture this guy is letting Konner wear his helmet. He wanted to do something really cool for Konner, which was really cool, but it so didn't stop with Konner. Almost every kid present took their turn trying on the helmet.

This is Andie checking out the stormtrooper. She kept patting and rubbing his leg. It took me a little bit to get through the crowd to rescue the stormtrooper from my admiring girl.

Here is the gang. Five of these guys are in pre-K together. Konner is on the far right, with Kade and his light saber right beside him. You might see the top of Dean's head beside Evan. He is still staring at the stormtrooper in amazement.

Magic Eraser

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:20:00 +0000

Three and a half years ago, a relative went on and on telling me how great the Mr Clean Magic Eraser was. She even bought me a box that contained 4 sponges. I didn't go for the sales pitch at the time, I just continued using my usual cleaners. The box has been under my sink this whole time. Last week, while I think my two year old is driving a car up and down the hall, it turns out he is pressing a blue crayon back and forth along the full length of the hallway. He did it about four times. (That's what I get for watching Dancing With the Stars, but anyway.... ) I tried a couple cleaners. One was ineffective, and one was stripping the paint off the wall. Then, I remembered the Magic Eraser. This product is crazy good! I got the sponge wet, and barely wipe, and the crayon is gone. I was so tickled by this. I was telling a friend this same story, and she tells me how it's amazing at getting out stains on a counter top. So I pull out another sponge, and it magically erases several stains on my counter top that I had not been able to get out with other products. It so lives up to it's Magic Eraser name - the marketers pegged this one perfectly. I get pretty irritated with the false and misleading marketing and advertising that most products seem to have. But not the Magic Eraser -

Now, I'm hooked. I used another sponge and cleaned where my leather couch had rubbed and stained the wall behind it. I figured I was going to have to paint the wall - but no, a little scrubbing, and my wall looks like it's had a fresh coat of paint! I'm sounding like an infomercial, I know. But , I'm telling you, you gotta have this! Knowing that the product has been out for a few years - you might all know about it already, but in case you don't.... Go get you a box of Mr Clean Magic Erasers! Whatever it costs, it is absolutely worth it!

Happy Birthday Husband!

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:10:00 +0000

Today is Trey's 38th birthday. It got me thinking back to when we first met. Trey and I met a couple days before his 30th birthday. He turned 30 while we were on a medical mission trip in Cusco, Peru. I don't think he planned on telling anyone on the trip that it was his birthday. But I saw it on his passport, and word got out. Everyone had a fun time celebrating Trey's 30th. The hotel workers made him a huge chocolate cake - I don't think it had any sugar in it, but it was very pretty. (Probably why Peruvians are small, and we are not.) He was sung to in many languages. I love the image of the Peruvians surrounding his pharmacy belting out their version of "happy birthday."

It's fun to know that this is the 9th birthday I have celebrated with Trey. I am just tickled at the idea of growing old together. Happy Birthday Husband! Much Love!

Sweet moments

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:51:00 +0000

I still do not have a camera, so sorry no updates lately. I can take pictures with my cell phone, but it is just a hastle to get it to get it to the computer. Right now, a long movie is keeping the kids occupied so I could share a picture of the kids wonderful Saturday morning. Can't get much better than the donut shop. I can still hear them shouting the color of icing they wanted. If you look hard you can see that Evan lost his first tooth. The tooth fairy made her first visit to our house Thursday night. Before Evan went to bed that night, he prayed that God would make tooth fairies real. Evan was very excited about the result of his prayer. He loves the silver dollar and would love to show it to all who will listen. I love these sweet kids and love all the donut shop and tooth fairy moments. Makes the stressful days, well, more sweet.

Man vs Wild

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 02:56:00 +0000

I relived a Man vs Wild moment today. The kids and I were running up and down huge dirt piles newly created on our ranch. A big hole was being dug out by big machinery (to make a tank), so we have great big mounds now. Well, the kids and I had been running and climbing up and down the hill for at least two hours, when..... I stepped, then I sank. I struggled to get my leg out of thick mud, then my next leg goes in - again thick, suction-like mud. In my mind I'm thinking how Man vs. Wild says when in quicksand to stay very still and calm. Even though I was not in quick sand, I was in something as close as I'll ever get. And being calm and still are not options. I wasn't calm cause I was urgently trying to get all my kids to walk away from where I was. I didn't want them to fall in, but they were frozen watching me struggle to get out of the mud pit. When I did get out, I took about 20 pounds of thick mud with me covering my shoes and jeans. So, to get home, I stepped into a trash bag and wrapped it around myself for the drive home. When we got home, I stepped out of the bag, peeling off my shoes, jeans, and socks and left them in the trash bag. Then, cleaned up as much as possible, then go out and buy replacement shoes. So, in this installment of Man vs. Wild - I'd say the wild mud won.

Simple Amusements

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 02:51:00 +0000

Since I still don't have a working camera, I haven't been posting. But I still love reading all your posts.
I have two fun, light things of interest to share. Amongst all the busyness and stress of the everyday, I have been amused by two electronic items. I was given a roomba robot vacuum for Christmas. This is the coolest thing ever! It is a one foot diameter circle that vacuums all on it's own. I pick up a bedroom, turn on the rumba, shut the door, and go on to the next thing while it cleans for me. It's a multitasker's dream. I get so excited to see how much it has picked up.

My other thing is my new hair straightener. My friend, Denise, got me started on a Chi several years ago. It was a sad day when it died. But today in the mail, I received my new Pink Dazzle Chi. It seemed to work even better than the old one - and I'm just sure it's because it's pink.

And by the way, I think some of you are giving up on blogging for Facebook. Blogging is so much better - don't give up. There can be room for both, but don't give up sharing yourself, and recording memories on your blog. I would miss you too much.

Chainsaw and mini mill round 1

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 00:13:00 +0000

Trey and I have been dreaming up our dream home for years now. One idea we have loved was to use trees from our place to make decorative beams in the house. Over the last few months, we have researched and bought the right chainsaw, mill attachment, and protective gear. Trey got to go out today and test it all out. I did not think his first attempt would have gone so well. He turned a recently dead oak tree into this 6'3" beam in about 30 minutes. I guess I can say we have started building our home now. This is very exciting for us! Way to go husband!

Christmas 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Proud Parents) — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 00:06:00 +0000

Our camera broke not too long ago. And thanks to a huge car repair bill, there was no money to replace it before Christmas. So thanks to Trey's cousin Megan, we have a few Christmas pictures.

We had a great Christmas. We were with Trey's side of the family. We rented The Miller Retreat for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. So there was tons of space to spread out, visit, and play. We used their large screen to play a family slideshow. And it was heavenly to have two microwaves, two ovens, and two dishwashers for all the cooking.

We had four 4 wheelers to play on. So fun, and a little too much at times. My husband led me down a very steep rocky path that I did not want to go on. I'm pretty sure I called him lots of not nice names on the way down. I have never been so dirty on Christmas in my life. Pictured, is Dean with Trey's Uncle Leland.

Jedi Dean in action.

Evan as Darth Vader.

Andie and my neice, Lydia worked very hard decorating sugar cookies for all who wanted some.