Extreme Makeover:Shed Edition-Day 2

Well, I didn't get as many pictures as I wanted to of Day 2 because well, we ended the day with frustration and darkness.

Dad spent the afternoon working on building a new door for the shed. We didn't get it finished, but hopefully another day & it will be done.

Pictures by AJ

Mango break for the kid means Meemaw gets some extra supervisors to help her out

One of the reasons we didn't get as much done as I had hoped to was we had the take a break this afternoon for AJ's soccer game. He had 2 goals today and his team won easily.

Extreme Makeover: Shed Edition

Meemaw & Grandpa drove down late last night so Grandpa could help me (Amy) help our poor shed survive the winter. The building is sound, but whoever build it, covered it with pressboard, which of course, is not waterproof.

We had to remove the bottom 2 feet and replace it, due to it being rotten.

Step #1 done.

Starting to put the siding up!

End of Day 1-most of one end done, part of the front done

Building Projects

I've been working on the shed a bit, getting it ready for Friday when my Dad is coming to help me put siding on it. The kids got into some building project of their own. The girls made an airplane (notice the cockpit by Essie's right hand). AJ was hammering a bunch of boards together but he couldn't quite decide what it was yet so didn't want his picture taken. We'll see if he gets more inspired next weekend when Grandpa is here.

A Beautiful October Day

Blue skies, leaves changing, 66 degrees. A great day to go hiking at Red River Gorge! Mom had to work, so Dad and the kiddos headed east to get some exercise and see some nature.

Picnic with sandwiches from Subway - our kids' new favorite restaurant.

AJ found a leaf that was bigger than his head!

The girls were not impressed with the facilities.

The Rock Bridge Trail - our trail for the day.

AJ & Essie

The girls relax on a patch of moss.

Chloe: You mean like Ms. Moss? (their teacher)

Standing under Rock Bridge

AJ

Waving at Dad from on top of the bridge

A closer look

Checking out a little waterfall

On top of the waterfall

Playing in the sand along the creek

A brief rest on the way back up the hill

Empowered to Parent

I am so excited to be promoting this training that is coming to Lexington (KY) on November 11-12. Based on Dr. Karen Purvis' research, this training incorporates scientific research with Biblical principles to parent our children from "hard places". Dr. Purvis wrote The Connected Child, a book I recommend to all my parents. I attended a conference last month in Nashville with Dr. Purvis and came away so refreshed and full of hope that we can bring complete healing to our kids if we are just willing to alter our parenting style to fit their needs. We have to do our part, go beyond ourselves and the "normal" way of parenting, but we can see dramatic healing in our kids. We have been implimenting many of the things I learned in Nashville in our own family and now we are bringing some of Dr. Purvis' team here to Lexington to do a hands-on training for adoptive parents, teachers, social workers, and therapists. Please check out our website for more information on how to register.

The Failure of International Adoption Policies

This is the story of what is really happening in Guatemala, but its not just Guatemala. Unfortunately, its the story in many countries that have closed their doors to international adoption (Cambodia, Vietnam, Nepal).

Fall Break: Monday at Mammoth Cave

The last big activity of our Fall Break road trip was a visit to Mammoth Cave. The kids were very excited to go underground for the first time.

Waiting for the tour to begin

Heading down into the cave

Going deeper into the earth

Watch your head, Dad!

Whoa...deep hole.

Getting ready to head into "Fat Man's Misery"

AJ

Squeezing our way through

A quick family photo

Apparently Landram's Sax-Horn Band was there in 1855.

Back up into the sunlight

Back above ground, but enjoying the cool breeze from the mouth of the cave

Chloe is reading up on Floyd Collins, a man who was trapped and died in Sand Cave in 1925. The rescue effort was one of the most covered U.S. news stories between the two world wars. Hundreds came to help in the unsuccessful rescue attempt and thousands gathered to watch the excitement.

The mouth of Sand Cave, where Floyd Collins was killed.

All that walking, and still three happy children.

And Mom and Dad are still smiling after driving three kids all over Kentucky.