Champions again

Yes Duke has been eliminated from the NCAA Basketball Tournament...but we were able to find some consolation in the fact that our Dodgeball Team (Winston edition) dominated the junior highers in a "Dodgeball Grudge Match" (jailball style).

Irwin and Cripps celebrate!

Colton does the splits trying to throw the ball

At one point approximately 50 students were play a single game of dodgeball

Introducing Pastor Will Irwin...Isn't he the handsomest?

Well not officially yet,

the church still has to cast their vote on the matter at hand,

but we got the call from Pastor Ed Wilgus at our church,

Sutherlin Family Church,

on Friday that the pastors and board had approved him to become

Pastor of Children and Young Families at SFC.

We're pretty excited and just asking for prayer from you all

that the rest of the church body will be in unity with the

staff & board's approval of Will

and not vote him off the island.:)

We're both really excited about getting to step in,

with both of our sets of feet together,

to a new ministry to see what God has for us now!

Well Good Afternoon to you Mr. Tulipfaces!

Just wanted to share the sight and beauty of Spring in Oregon with you today...

These little guys were just waving good afternoon, good evening and good night the other day when I arrived home from work. Don't you just love a little Spring in your life?

Updates!

Woohoo! We're getting there! Our ground and yard were even leveled out by the big tractor yesterday, as you can tell, Will isn't tripping and falling along the driveway below (as most people do when they've been walking into our front yard)...
Even amongst the non-friendly neighborly comments about our color choice, we are still fully confident and absotutely LOVE our new charcoal gray w/white trimmed home, it's everything we dreamed of and so much more...
All of the windows will get painted w/white trim too...
And a hiphiphorray for the team that worked yesterday--they got 1 of the houses in the neighborhood fully trimmed on the inside and all of the doors hung. At this rate, we'll be in next week! Well, not really, but we can always hope for the best can't we?

The Man Who Never Sleeps (Jorge)

This post is dedicated to Jorge Martinez...the man who works all night so he can...work all day. After putting in a full day's (night's) work on the graveyard shift at the mill he comes to Bunting Court to work his posterior (butt) off. So we say, "here's to you, Jorge!" We are grateful. (and thanks for being the whipping boy for Eli lately)

Jorge painting lot 9

Jorge setting the posts for lot 10

Jorge looking pretty on lot 6

Thanks again Jorge!

Shades of Grey

Today was Paint Day (in honor of Saint Patrick-except no green)! Jorge, Trina, Darren, Kevin and I turned a sunny day into a grey day. The Sun was shining...the brushes were brushing...and the sprayers were spraying as we transformed another house into a home. P.S. It's ours!:)

The Storm of the following day

"No. 11 VCU shocks sixth seed Duke in final seconds" (ESPN.com Headline)

Let the jeering, the mocking, the ridicule, the scorn and all teasing begin. Duke is done and I am left to ponder the true nature of my friendships. The petty souls who said they were my friend...but now in my darkest hour I see their "true colors shining through". "HEY WHAT HAPPENED TO DUKE. HAHAHA" "HEY I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE SUPPOSE TO BE GOOD!" "HEY WHY DIDN'T THEY STOP THAT GUY?" "HEY WHEN IS DUKE GOING TO START RECRUITING PLAYERS WHO AREN'T PARAPLEGICS?" "WHO IS VCU ANYWAY?" I have heard them all...and it isn't even 9:00 am.

Check this Chica Out!!!

Will and I thought we should give a hip-hip hooray and a cheers to one of our lovely friends and construction assistants...Mrs. Kia Gregory and fam too! Do you hear the crowd roaring now? We do!
These are just a few pics of the Gregoy visits out to the lot...house dedication & scripture writing day with the girlies, Olivia & Ella, photo opp day done by Kia with Will and Krystal and regretfully so, we had NO pics of the day Kia came out and swang a hammer and used the chop saw. She was woman and you could have heard her roar that day!:)
Cheers to Kia, she's the best!

Many Hands to Help...

We had more volunteers yesterday in one day

than we've had in a long time...and what a help they were!

But of course, as irony would have it,

we FORGOT the camera's battery.

Poor little camera, she had no juice to run on,

for energy for the big day.

So cheers and thanks to

Danny Schultz, and Beth Chappell!!!!

Great job deck builders! You rocked our deck world!

We're Rocked by the Sheets!

Just take a gander at our new sheetrocked home! Woohoo! Up above is me, so excited to be standing in my kitchen's entry way. Pretty soon there'll be a party in that kitchen and you'll all be invited!
Down below is our new dining room and our new living room, I have to keep repeating that it's all new to encourage myself to keep chugging along, that there is a good reward at the end of this race. I've had a few down days out building, just really wanting to be laying on the couch (never swinging another hammer again) in the new home, staring at my beautiful new walls. But God, I just love that phrase, He keeps strengthening me every day, renewing me to keep trudging through, building patience all along the way. Isn't that life? Because the truth is, and He keeps reminding me, unless the Lord builds the house (life, marriage, family), it's laborers labor in vain.
Here's my man, taking a peek at our new view out these big new living room windows...
Deep thoughts with Will Irwin, and they're deep, I'll tell ya...

Spiderwoman to the rescue

Krystal stepped into the great unknown to boldly go where she had never gone before, the trusses. I couldn't be more proud of her. She put "L" brackets on every interior wall from above.

She is not too fond of heights, but she was willing to overcome her fear. She sang worship songs to keep her mind on things above and not "things below" (namely the floor-eight feet below).

She is Spiderwoman, Wonderwoman and Superwife all rolled into one! I am so proud of her. :)

Thanks for the Help Boys

Ryan Rhoden and Dave Mahoney came from Medford to help with the house. We accomplished a great deal of work. We were able to do lap siding on our house in the morning and set almost all the trusses on Jorge's house in the afternoon...apparently Ryan carried some one by fours...he is great little helper!

Time

Doesn't it seem like someone should put up another post on this Blog? I hate lazy people.