House Pictures (Part 1)

Phil Wills was amazing and did all of our excavating. There was an impressive amount of cement beneath the mobile home. Phil made it "disappear," thank goodness as it would have been very expensive to haul off. As it was we ended up needing three dumpsters to get rid of the mobile home.

Blake enjoyed all the equipment on the property. He does this funny little thing of tucking his bottom teeth behind his top teeth.

I think that this was one of my favorite parts. The amount of dirt moved was amazing. Phil levels this pretty much by eye, he has been in the business forever and has worked on the projects of many of our family and friends.

The framing crew came out and in just a short time laid out the foundation wall frames.

These got filled in with the cement and created the first stage of our foundation.

I was always a tomboy, so when the pump truck came out I was thrilled. It is so cool! With this one truck they were able to reach all the way across our property. Without the pump truck I think they would have had to run the cement by wheel barrow.

Check Back Tomorrow for More Pictures
(I've even scheduled the post)

Ready for pictures...

I was all set to start posting pictures several days ago. Imagine my surprise when I went to download my photos and my computer flashed a warning of not enough space. Out of 80GB, I only had 130kb left.Yikes! So, yesterday I ran to the store and picked up another external hard drive. Today I removed all my documents/photos onto my first ext.hd and have them backed up on the second one. Now I am ready to start sharing :)

I have so many pictures I am going to share them over the course of several days. The post are scheduled, so be sure to check each day for a new set of pictures. I'm such a tease, I know.

I'm still here...

I am back from Convention and have been for some time. Internet is finally up and steady. Now if only I could gain several more hours (and the needed energy) in each day. I'll be back soon with some pictures. Rather than wait until I have the photos (my computer says I don't have enough space - but I have a plan) I like to update you all.

~~ House ~~
The progress on the house has been amazing. If you remember we tore down the mobile home the first week in July. Now just a month and half later, we have the foundation, all the walls up and today they are roofing it. Friday we finalized our cabinets and they should be here in four weeks. Tomorrow the plumber comes out. I look forward to sharing pictures, it really is unbelievable. Please pray that the progress continues at the same speed, we'd love to be in the house before the weather turns.

~~ Artwork/New Catalog/Convention ~~
I am sure that you are all wondering where all the pictures of my artwork are. I have decided not to share those quite yet, I'd like to keep them a surprise for the release of the new catalog.

The new catalog is AMAZING! I know that I got to see much of the product early, but I'll tell you what...the product that I didn't get to see until Convention blew my socks off. Close To My Heart never fails to impress me. Here are a few tidbits until my launch, think clear (album), organization and rub ons.

Convention was a blast! We got to stay in the Gaylord Palms Resort and never left the hotel (except to go to the airport). That may not sound like a positive to some of you, but for me I don't do well in the heat and loved that I was comfortable the entire time. I met some super duper Consultants that kept me up all hours of the night. One of those ladies, Corinna, joined Nona and I in the courtyard until nearly midnight every night giggling. We had unbelievable Create & Takes that I can hardly wait to share with you (have to wait until the launch).

My favorite announcement is that Close To My Heart has refined our donation committment and now exclusively supports Operation Smile. The company has promised $150,000 this year and you have a hand in those donations...a percentage of all stamp sales goes to Operation Smile. We spent a morning touched by the pictures and the changes in the kids lives who are benefited by Operation Smile. I have made a promise to myself to raise enough to cover 5 surgeries with the help of my customers.

On September 6th, I am hosting a catalog launch party to benefit Operation Smile. All proceeds from the party and online orders that day will be donated to Operation Smile where for just $240 we can cover the cost of a surgery and change a child's life. Within the next week, I will be releasing the complete details and opening up registration.

If you have actually read this entire post, thank you. I'll be sure to post pictures soon since I know that is what I enjoy myself.

Fingers Crossed...

The power guy came today and brightened my week. Literally, he restored power after making us jump through hoops for close to a week. Living on extension chords and power from our neighbor has made life quite the experience. With enough power to keep our fridge running, the tv for the kiddo and a light or two it has been tough to get much done.

If you have emailed me or called me during this outage and you have not heard from me (and need me right away), please call me at home at 425.413.4280. My email is crazy full and I don't have high hopes of being able to get through all of it before I leave for Convention.

Speaking of Convention, say a prayer for me. I have a lot of artwork preparation still to complete in a short time (made even shorter by having kiddos). Having power will speed the process **I hope**. This is also the first time I am leaving Blake, who is exclusively nursed. I am lucky to have a fantastic hubby, it just always makes me jittery to leave the family behind.

Thank you for all of your support!

House Building Hazards

Power and phone is and has been down.

If you need to get hold of me, please call my cell 206-349-2609.