Last month we celebrated our two September babies birthdays.

It's so hard to believe they're five and seven.  I'm still not quite used to living in a house with no babies, maybe we should go ahead and have another one.

A couple of weeks ago the guys opened up our house to tie the roof to the new addition and to let in a million and one flies.  We closed off the house with plastic but they still found there way in over the several days the house was open.  We had about a dozen rolls of fly tape out and they were all full in no time.  Ahhh, good times.

Thankfully the temperatures were pretty near perfect while this was going on.

In the course of four days they managed to start and finish joining the two sides together as well as get it partially roofed and house wrapped before a few rounds of storms moved through.

The metal store didn't have the piece of metal roofing that goes in the valleys and the tar paper couldn't keep the rain out of the addition OR the old part of the house...where we're ACTUALLY living.  It was a really rough week and I may have even cried a little while trying to keep all the water caught in buckets and sopped up out of the rug and chairs and everything else the rain found its way into.  At the time, it seemed like there couldn't be anything worse than being continually wet and cold inside your own house day after day...but every evening we'd watch a little bit of the news and remember how blessed we really are, at least until the next storm would roll through. 

By Friday the rain was heavier and coming in faster than the kids and I could keep up with and with no heat the cold was making its way into our bones.  I called Jeff with that "woman on a ledge" sound in my voice and he headed home with the metal we needed to get the valleys fixed.

So in the cold and drizzle with a lot of huffing and puffing and probably a few choice words, Jeff roofed the dormer, put in the valley and we finally got a handle on the rain. 

Somewhere during that mess, Jeff and I managed to get 16 of the 18 new windows in too. 

We're looking at a beautiful forecast for the next few days so Jeff's hoping he'll be able to finish the roof.  

(A look into the new addition from upstairs.)

In other news...

we bought a bunch of fruit trees for 50% off and planted a small orchard within two or three hours.  We planted a variety of apples, pears, peaches, and plums.  This is something we've been wanting to do for many years so we're thrilled to have come across so many tress at such a good price!!

And a while back, Jeff put in a new vanity in the bathroom so, while it doesn't usually feel like it, I guess we're actually on a bit of a roll around here.

The walls, knots and nail holes all need to be patched and repainted, I just have to decide if I'm over the stripes or not.  Those adorable sea turtles paintings are by Madison.

My sister, Erin, got engaged and asked me to be her matron of honor so I've been having a lot of fun pinning dresses and cakes and shower decor on pinterest lately.  She's getting married in February and I have a goal of hosting her bridal shower here so I plan to take advantage of the motivation that's currently running out my ears and really get some things done!  Pity those who have to live with me during this time!

That's some of what's been going on around here and I hope all of you are knee deep in things you love too!