BIG HOUSE!

Last week was bittersweet in that Don and Waneta came back to Aldergrove to pack up the last of their stuff. It was sad to see them go and we will miss them very much. Patience went into their empty suite and said, "Where's Grandpa's chair?" There is NO furniture at all anywhere, and she asked about the chair that she sat in with her grandpa. I told her that all of their stuff was now in their big house, and she said, "I don't want them to move to their big house. I want them to stay in their little house down the hall." She always enjoyed visiting Waneta and having "tea," or sitting with Don and watching t.v.

We moved Dylan in during the week last week. He had no school Thursday or Friday due to semester break.

On Saturday, Don and Nathan went to Langley to pick up the double bed that Dorothy gave us for Sean's room. He was gone all day to a cadet self-defense workshop, so he came home to his room all ready to move into.

I did some shopping in Langley on Saturday to buy a birthday gift, and I ended up in Michael's in their art/frame section. They were having a 60% off sale on their large frames so I purchased quite a few. Now all the kids' posters and pictures are in proper frames instead of just being taped to the wall. Looks much better. I framed Dylan's trumpet picture and bought him two other prints and frames. They look fantastic in his moss-colored room. I bought Sean frames for his swimming and basketball frames and purchased him another gorgeous print and frame that match his teal-colored room perfectly. Framed artwork make their rooms look so much more put together.

Yesterday after church we had a "Murphy family work party" and made some changes to the basement that used to house all three boys.

The little room that used to be Sean's was empty. So we moved the Foosball table from the shop, where it had been stored for two years, into that room. And that's all that's in there! How funny going from practically stacking our children to now having a room dedicated to a Foosball table!

The room that Dylan and Nathan used to share is now Nathan's. He has two twin beds and two armoirs, so he has lots of room for his "stuff." We framed and hung his Sharks posters, hung up a coat rack for him, and just generally got him organized. It's a shame he has so little time to enjoy having his own space, but we're encouraging him to make the most of it during his last five months at home.

Renovations continue as quickly as Don can fit in the work, as he's already working full-time at the computer stuff. He's concentrating on finishing the living space of the suite right now. When we had the windows replaced two Christmases ago, the sheetrock never did get mudded and taped. So he'll do that and then we'll paint the rest of the suite and hallway. The bathroom down there (now the boys' bathroom) needs a bit of work. Then we'll move upstairs and do some work up here. More on that later.

Last night when we went to bed, I told Don that it felt so strange to have our family so spread out!