Wow - time flies when you are seriously busy! We've been working close to 11 hours a day at Flint Truck and Bus since May/June... It's a tough plant to work at - the jobs are much harder and more loaded than Orion was but also only runs 31 trucks and hour vs 70 cars an hour! So, we are exhausted most of the time. Our shift starts 5pm and we get out a few minutes before 4am... We have been working Fridays as well so 50-55 hours per week. We get home and into bed by 5am. I wake up at 7am to help kids with getting ready for school, if needed, then back to bed until Lyndsay wakes me up at 9:30 or so. I will lay on the couch while she watches Dora and doze off and on til 10:30 OR 11am... Then we only have a few hours until we have to get ready, pack lunches for work. The kids get home at 3:40pm and we hear all about their day before leaving at 4pm for work. This has been even more difficult since they started school, not seeing them is very very hard! I decided not to homeschool again this year because we were put on this shift (as a temp employee, we cannot bump to first), and I wouldn't have enough time during the day to spend on schooling... The kids are enjoying being back in school, anyway and doing well! Orion Assembly will hopefully be calling us back to work come Jan/Feb and we will be back on first shift then which will be wonderful!
Our time in the mobile home is coming to a close. I will miss living here on the property, but won't miss the mobile home very much:) Made some nice memories here, though! We could've stayed here longer if we were building, but with all that has happened this past year with our job stability, etc., we decided we will wait until we are able to build with funds out of our pockets so our motto now is save, save, save! We just bought (closed Oct 1st) on an old farmhouse 1 1/2 miles down the road from our property with 4 1/2 more acres. It was a foreclosure so you guessed it, there is lots of work to be done before we can move in... It is a 5 bedroom house with 1546 square feet which will be the biggest house I've ever lived in! We are making it into 4 bedroom house for now! The upstairs was mostly gutted and we've been working on gutting the rest. Then, hubby will check the electrical, have duct work installed, the insulate and drywall the rooms. Carpet will be last! Downstairs, we will make the main living area into a master bedroom, the extra bedroom downstairs will be a study/computer room for now - we may make a second bathroom out of it eventually. The kitchen will be getting new cupboards and new flooring downstairs as well - my mother in law (who used to work as a kitchen designer) has come up with some beautiful kitchen plans for us! Jeremy had to replace 2 old, outdated and broken windows in the basement - had dirt washed in, etc. that had to be cleaned out as well. Poured the rest of the cement and remortar'd the stone around the new frames today. The house has vinyl siding and newer vinyl windows as well. I can't wait for all of the space!!! There is a family room that was added on with sliding doors going out to a huge deck out back that we will use as our living room! The rail trail runs right at the back of the 4.5 acres - we went for walk down it today - just beautiful with the colors in full swing! We will be able to keep our animal (horse, goat, chickens and dogs) there as well - few outbuildings that aren't the prettiest, but will make due for now - might build a small barn next year to replace them... The horse will still go out back here in the summer for pasture. We bought a goat a month ago - her name is Chip and she is soooo cute! She things she is a dog - wants to come in the house and will put her front legs on the storm door looking in, calling for us "maaaaaaaa"... she loves loves loves the kids - especially Brooke! She gets into the vehicles when we are trying to leave so we'll have to put her in her stall so she won't get run over or follow us! The kids get a big kick out of her! I'd like to get one more... So, we plan on staying in the farmhouse until we build here. It will be so convenient just being down the road (already is), instead of 35 minutes away! Jeremy can come down here and work on building the new house when we decide the time is right!
Amber has been back at college since the third weekend in August. She is getting homesick lately! She has been working to pay towards her tuition and keeping busy with studying, classes, and friends (of course!). Brooke is a senior this year - having fun, I hope! She is such a help to us while we are working this shift - she gets everyone fed and ready for bed at night during the week. Some mornings, I don't get awakened by anyone - she gets all ready for school as well to let mom sleep... What a great young lady, I appreciate her more than she knows:) Lyndsay loves her so much - she even sleeps with her at night. Brooke puts her in her own bed and Lyndsay "sneaks" into Brooke's bed during the night cuz mamma isn't home! Curt is growing taller everyday! He's been a big help around here - takes care of the chickens, moved a lot of dirt at the farmhouse to help Jeremy with the basement windows, fixed the landscaping when he was done... He's liking being back in school even though it took a few weeks! Isaac is enjoying school as well - has stories to tell me everyday! He's waiting patiently to carve some pumpkins this Friday coming up! He helped with the fire today, burning lathe board we tore out of the house and kept busy removing nails up there, toO! Erin is still my drama queen! Curt turned 14 in September and Erin turned 5 Oct 4th. She is learning (I hope) to control her emotions more and more. She melts down very easily, but the next minute will melt my heart:) She just came in to my room saying she feels sick, so she is laying on the couch, closer to our room! Lyndsay is a stinker! Still a sweetheart, but if she's quiet, watch out! Draws on herself, cuts her hair, you name it, she will try and do it! Not a good combo when I'm trying to get a few more Z's in on the couch in the morning! She loves Dora and we are working on potty training - she wore big girl panties all day today and no accidents, Praise the Lord! She is so stinking cute - we are enjoying every minute as we have with all the kids - especially at this age!
Anyway, that is a fast update - didn't check to see the last time I posted. We are still working as temps (was summer help to begin with). They laid off 20 of us last week, but Jeremy and I missed that layoff, praise the Lord! Rumor has it we might be there until the end of the year with hunting season upon us! That is great for us - gives us savings and money to work on the house and help Amber with college as well! God is so good - he takes care of things in the neatest ways! Example - when we put an offer on this farmhouse, my husband told the realtor what he wanted to offer (30K) - asking price was 35,350K. Realtor says, make full price, place is hot and could end up in a bidding war. Looked online, price was just lowered to 32,500 - hubby said go ahead and do full price then. The realtor called us the next morning and said - you won't believe this - the bank just lowered the price to $30,000!!!! See - the Master is in control! I could name so many more things that have happened - we are just so thankful and blessed! I will try and post pictures in the near future!
Christine
