Random Five on Friday (May 3rd)

Wow! This has been a hectic week but we all survived. Here are my Random Five on Friday notes about the week.

1.) Great Grandma Mae visited the hospital after falling down. This time she broke her femur. We are very worried and praying she'll heal quickly and have a painless recovery. Prayers for her would be greatly appreciated. We definitely need to schedule a trip to Kerrville to visit family soon. We've been a bit preoccupied with building the house and preparing for the move lately. Grandma is in therapy and doing good.

2.) We went to Magik Theater on Friday night to see the "Velveteen Rabbit." We always buy a season pass when it goes on sale in the fall - we only have three more shows left until the season ends. Our favorite actress was not participating and the show was a little slow and a bit boring this time. The quality time together is something we look forward to each and every time. We know that each month we'll see at least one show together. We still enjoyed the show and laughed on several occasions. Jeff was exhausted from work, I had a migraine, and Alyssa was extremely moody from staying up late (my fault). She wouldn't let me take a photo of her sitting on stage. We ate at iHop (one of Alyssa's favorite restaurants) after the show. I ordered the delicious peaches and cream french toast special. I know . . . not so healthy, but the honey roasted pecans begged me to devour them.

3.) My stepfather had his memorial and everything went smooth. Many people helped my brother and sister. His children from his first marriage attended. This would make him sooo happy. Even though I couldn't attend due to the airfare, car rental, and hotel costs . . . I pray for my family and hope they knew that I was thinking about them all day.

4.) I am participating in the Hello Mornings "Meet Jesus" Bible Study and Wake-up Challenge. I look forward to the Bible study and hope to gain valuable knowledge and information. I am an extreme night owl and this has to change for my family's sake. I am definitely not a morning person! I may need to read their 15 Transformational Tips for the Night Owl post later this evening when everyone is asleep. Ha! Just kidding. I need to go to bed early so I can actually wake up early. I really need to get Alyssa and I on a different and better schedule. I am hoping this will be a way to hold me accountable and provide encouragement along the way. I am also hoping that after my "quiet time with God" I will be able to finally start working out again. It has been almost a year since my last workout. Working out used to be one of my favorite intense hobbies, but I lost my way this year with all the moving and life occurrences. I gained 30 pounds in the process which is not a good feeling when you are 5'1." I will be working on changing my heart and becoming a healthier individual for the rest of the year. My ONE WORD for the year is CHANGE. I just realized that it is already May and I haven't reached many of my goals. Where did the time go? Be sure to check out the free e-books titled, "Maximize Your Mornings" and Mission Statements for Moms available thanks to Kat at Inspired To Action. You'll need to enter your e-mail address to subscribe in order to receive the free e-book. She also has printable prayer calendars and other free resources on this website. I plan to utilize several resources to help me get back on track. Prayers and encouragement for my journey would be accepted with great big hugs.

5.) The house is looking GREAT! I have been busy packing and trying to organize what I can while we homeschool. Jeff and I finally decided on a rock fireplace the other day. He decided to pick up the rock instead of having it delivered to save a little money. We visited the site several times trying to make a decision. On the second day, when Jeff went to pick up the last load the gracious owner GAVE him several "special" rocks to add to our fireplace. He said that they will hopefully add a new dimension to the fireplace making the colors more noticeable. Choosing rock for the fireplace has been a very difficult and tedious decision for us, because of the dark floor color and the fact that most of the rock colors blended in with the paint color. My husband continues to work late hours at the house trying to finish up odds and ends. Several of our great friends stopped by and offered him a free hand while I packed at the apartment. They stayed for several hours washing and scrubbing rock for the fireplace. Washing the rock is supposed to make the colors more visible. Thank you Andrea and Pam for your help! You have always been there for us. Hopefully, the rock fireplace will be finished at the beginning of next week. I can't wait to se how it turns out! I will share pics next week if all goes well. We can't return the rock and the rock workers show up tomorrow.

The paint color Jeff chose for the master bath doesn't look as good as we thought. The first color we picked looked horrible! Jeff wanted to try a purple paint, but I am not sure it looks good with the tile color. This will be his third time to paint it if we change our minds again. What do you think? Please let me know your thoughts. He is finished laying the ceramic tile in all bathrooms so I thought I would share a few photos.

You can see the first paint color (pewter) in this photo.

The new purple color

Master Bath Shower Bench

Shower Floor

We canceled our countertop order with Home Depot, because they pushed the date back too far and we weren't going to close on time. We decided to use a different recommended guy, because he promised to have it done before Home Depot. We ran into problems. Apparently, the company sent two lot numbers so the colors didn't match the first time. Unfortunately, my husband has been dealing with an individual that doesn't call him back or do what he promises to do. He is quite frustrated with his "professionalism." Now, it looks like the countertops won't be in when expected and it looks like they will arrive after the original installation date. This may mess up the closing date AGAIN. Vacation is most likely going to get canceled at this rate. Please help us to not complain - all things happen for a reason. We'll move into our new home when God feels the time is right.

Jeff and one of his friends built a few extra walls in the classroom for the bathroom and a divider wall for the "library" section. They also added more insulation to the foam sprayed walls which should make it extremely comfortable during all seasons. There's now a back door now with a large window to bring in more light. This will be the workout area or room. I am super excited! We are hoping to move and set-up the classroom before closing. I still have A LOT to do in preparation of moving day!

The front and side doors were painted brown. We still have a white strip to paint down the center of the front doors. I love that they both open and they are taller than the average door. We should be able to easily move in the furniture.

Side Entrance

Here are photos of my favorite bathroom in the new house. This is my daughter's shower area. We still have to scrub off some of the white residue. The dark specks in the border are little jewel-like pebbles.

What??? I forgot to take photos of the guest bathroom tile. Hopefully, I will be able to share them next week.

Miranda at The pebble Pond also shared 5 Things that Makes Her Feel Uncomfortable in conjunction with her Random 5 on Friday post. I thought it would be fun to participate. It is a great way for others to learn more about me.

Five Random Things That Make Me Feel Uncomfortable

I am going to be honest and what you hear you may disagree with, but this is who I am based on my personal life experiences. Please do not judge. 

1.) Going out in public being seen by anyone except Jeff and Alyssa without make-up

2.) Wearing a bathing suit

3.) Singing Songs 

4.) Being in a Crowded Room of Strangers

5.) Driving in Big Cities - This actually causes me high stress and anxiety so I NEVER do it.

I will link this post up at Random 5 on Friday hosted by Miranda at The Pebble Pond. Yes, I am well aware it is Sunday. We have been busy, busy, busy. Please join the fun and link up your random five thoughts, facts, or occurrences. I will also link this post at The Homeschool Mother's Journal at iHomeschool Network and Weekly Wrap-Up at Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers.

Thank you for visiting A Learning Journey. I would love to hear from my readers, so please feel free to leave a comment so I can visit your blog. God bless!