Yes, I know what day it is...

We normally don't celebrate this day but I couldn't resist posting this photo. And no, this work of art is not in our front yard. First, Tera would be "very disappointed" in me and second, I'm not that creative. So kids have a great day and eat lots and lots of sweet, sugary candy. Mmmm....candy. j

Semi-Finished floor and a new pic of Emma

So here is the floor. To the left you can see the 4x4 area that will be tiled and to the right is the sub-floor that shows where the wall used to be and where I will be installing new oak strips. Technically this is a semi-finished floor. We haven't picked out the tile yet hopefully we soon will.
Today was beautiful and 69 degrees outside. Tomorrow will be 20 degrees colder which will make a nice day for me to be out and about to winterize the yard and garage and such.
For those who get what I am talking about I went online last night to look at pictures of the Westin in Guatemala City. I reminisced about their breakfast buffet , Gallo, Guiseppe's and the Westin's beds and room service. Till then.

Floored

I refinished the floors in our house last week. It went well for the most part. We did have a couple surprises though. When I pulled up the carpet it revealed that there was a wall between the dining room and living room so there was no wood flooring. Just a sub-floor. So I will be installing oak flooring in that area. The area at the front door about 4x4 also had a sub floor installed. I will be installing either laminate or tile there. I think that the floors turned out nicely. I really like wood floors so I was pretty happy when Tera and I agreed to do the floors in the house. An area of concern was some "dark spots" that exist. Oak does this weird thing when it is wet for a long time. It turns black. Sometimes you can get it out, sometimes you can't. Some people call it ugly. I call it "character". Here are some before and after the sanding pics of the floors. Notice the evidence of a "painting party" that the previous owner had before installing the carpet over the hardwood floors.I will post the "final product" in a couple of days.
See ya

J

While we were gone

We had a lot going on last week. Aside from being out the house for an entire week while I refinished the floors Tera and I also celebrated something more important than a home improvement. Last year on the 26th of October 2006 Tera and I had just met Emma and were getting acquainted for the very first time. While so much has happened since then and I am unable to type it all out I do have one or two things to say about it. I am thankful for what the Lord has blessed us with. Emma is quite the young lady. She is energetic to say the least and her demeanor is so sweet. We are still soaking in her arrival into our home and fondly look back to the days just one year ago when she came into our lives.

A walk down memory lane... This is the post I made the day Tera and I met little Emma last October:

Thursday, October 26, 2006

Greetings from Guatemala City

We are here. I have not posted because I have been staring at our little one so much. For the record we named her Emma Grace Esperanza Chavez. Emma and Grace are family names and Esperanza means "hope".

We arrived in Guatemala City on Tuesday safe and sound. We were met outside the airport by many beggars. I am not as used to this as Tera is. It's hard to see children live like that. On the way from the airport to the hotel I witnessed approximately four thousand traffic violations give or take a few. I don't think that I will ever rent a car here.

Tera and I were spent yet so excited to meet little Emma so we did the best we could to get some rest and to settle in for a weeks stay at the Westin in Guatemala City. The beds here are far beyond what I can explain. They are by far the most comfortable beds I have ever slept in.

Wednesday morning we got up and went to have breakfast. It was buffet style with so many things to choose from. I have officially named fried plantains as my "so very bad for me but I don't care" food of choice. The breakfast was so good but in the backs of our minds was the fact that we were about to meet the girl who would change our lives forever. We headed back up to our room and waited. Room service came to tidy up our room and the second they left and shut the door the phone rang. It was Marielena asking us to meet her in the lobby of the hotel. We quickly gathered our things and headed for the lobby. Once there Marielena led us to a small secluded room to meet little Emma (then Nurian Sochil). The foster mother was there with her daughter and Emma. The foster mother greeted us and immediately handed Emma to Tera. We were so overwhelmed by the situation that neither Tera or I spoke for a minute or so. We began to speak with the foster mother and her daughter about Emma and who they were as well. The foster mother and her daughter were so sweet and kind. We like them alot. They seem so concerned with Emma's well being. After some more conversation and picture taking we were allowed to leave so the three of us headed back upstairs to our room. Together we gave Emma her first bath, first bottle and first diaper change. A day of firsts. I loved it. Since then Emma has pretty much slept and eaten. Today she is a bit out of sorts but otherwise in great spirits. Here at the Westin we have met so many nice people visiting their babies as well. Last night we were able to have dinner with one of the moms and her little one which was really nice. It's really cool to interact with others going through the adoption process as well.
This morning we signed our Power of Attorney and the now the Guatemalan side of the process is now underway! Praise the Lord.
So here I sit. It is raining outside and Tera is across the room feeding Emma. It seems so quiet in here even with the hustle and bustle of the city below. The world moves on as Tera and I fall in love with our dear Emma Grace.

If you want to see some pictures Tera has some posted on her blog. Just click on the "Guatemama" link to the right. I'll get that picture thing figured out one of these days.

Jason

Back In

We are back in our house now. I finished the floors yesterday and we moved back in tonight. There are some odds and ends to do along with 1/4 round that I will have to poly and install. Emma was very surprised with the floor but I think that she will warm up to the change just fine.
On the 25th we quasi-celebrated our 1 year anniversary of our POA /first time meeting Emma trip. I will post on all this and more later this weekend, pics and all. I would do it now but I have to go to work.
Later.
J

Another day, another project....Days 1 and 2

I have begun a new project this week. Refinishing our wood floors. This means that Tera, Emma and I relocated to her parents home till this "endeavor" is complete.
Day 1 consisted of my friend Brent coming over and helping me move all the furniture to other parts of the house and pulling out the existing carpet and padding. In all this took about 3 hours and it went fairly well. We ended Day 1 eating lunch at El Loro, my favorite Mexican eatery.
Day 2 was just me at the house pulling hundreds of carpet staples from the floor. By the time I was done my knees were ablaze and my back was killing me. I did a bit of preliminary sanding in some trouble areas and vacuumed up the mess. Tomorrow I will get the floor sander and strip the floors down and begin to prep the wood for the multiple coats of poly that I will most likely begin to apply on Monday...my knees can hardly wait.

One year ago today...

... Tera and I headed home from dinner and spent the majority of the drive home going on and on about our upcoming referral. Who is she? What will she look like? How old is she? Has she been born yet? Conversations like these had existed for quite some time or at least since we were placed on the referral list at our adoption agency. We got home and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. As we took off our shoes Tera noticed that there was a message on the machine. When she pressed play we were left with a message that a little girl who had been born on October 4th was being referred to us. Later that evening we received an email with pictures of the child who would change our lives forever. This is one in a series of pictures we received just one year ago today:
This would be the beginning of a long road of ups and downs that would last until her arrival home on June 9th of this year. We are truly blessed to have this beautiful treasure in our lives. Today is a very special day for the three of us and I thought I'd take a moment to share it with you. Gracias.

Jason

Howdy Hi!

It goes without saying that I have had little time for myself as of late and it is for all the right reasons. With that said I will make a quick update.
The adoption climate in Guatemala continues to swirl with changes occurring almost everyday. Please continue to pray for the children and the adoptive parents. Last week CNN's Anderson Cooper did a half hour "expose" on the Guatemalan adoption situation. I don't want to get into this but my personal opinion is that along with so many of this other news/commentary bits he has done I again was very disappointed with his attempt to educate the public about something he know little to nothing about. I must admit that there were a few good points but none to write home about.
In other news... Emma turned ONE year old on the 4th. The week was insane with "things to do" thus not posts. We had a great week. My mom came from North Carolina to visit which was nice and not long enough. On Tuesday Emma went to the doctors office for her one year appointment and ended the visit with 4 shots and a needle prick on her finger. She was not a fan. But she was such a trooper and was back to her sweet spirit in no time. Unfortunately her vomiting issues continue and she has developed a bit of a cold as well. Pray she gets well soon.
As for the next couple of weeks I will be tearing out the carpet in the rest of the house and refinishing the hardwood floors and time permitting I will get out on the lake and do some pike/muskie fishing. The weather has cooled down and fall has set in. Before too long the snow will fly. I'm smiling.