So, what’s new in our lives? Well, starting with moving into our new home! YAY!  

This was from a website, I didn't take this one hence the copyright.

When we first got this house, it was a total miracle. We had put in an offer on the home the day it went on the market. We walked inside and saw the kind of work it would need and realized it’s potential. After 60 days of fighting with 2 lien-holders on the property and countless frustrations, we managed to secure the home and close on April 14th!  

When I talk about the “work” it needed, see for yourself!  

My Future Office.... Only one question... Why?

 This room was the worst. The owners bought the house with an unfinished main-level bedroom and bath and attempted to finish it themselves. The short of it is that they managed to mud all the drywall without taping it first so it was entirely cracked on every seam, the electrical wiring was, in places, holding up the 2×4′s they used to frame parts of the room, and nothing was straight. It was the worst finishing job I’d ever seen in my life!  

Entrance to my Office

Family Room - Just LOVED their choice of GRAY

Our Kitchen - BEFORE

The Bathroom - BEFORE

 And so the work began! We started ripping and tearing and spending every spare moment at the house trying to get it ready to move-in in the two weeks we had before our lease expired at our town home. We couldn’t have done it without the help of a multitude of friends and family!  

Dad White in his Element

Painting Par-tay!

 And we made it! We painted all the ceilings, all the walls, cleaned the carpet, cleaned the bathroom (it was disgusting) removed hundreds of boxes and trash the old owners left behind, installed all new appliances, and moved in in 2 weeks. Phew!  

Well, at that point the fun at just begun. I never really understood how much work is in just keeping up a house let alone bringing it back to its full glory. Aside from the dozens of projects that are still left undone, I’ve been working on getting our front lawn to come back to life and trying to keep the weeds from invading our back yard! All of you fellow home owners know what I mean when I say the work is never done. But I must admit, there is a sense of accomplishment each and every time I complete even the smallest task that improves the house or fixes something. It must be something built into us guys that we want to work with our hands to make things work… I am seeing the image of Tom Hanks dancing around the fire in “Castaway” shouting Me Make Fire! Yeah, I feel that way sometimes like when I managed to bring our front lawn back to beautiful green-ness for pennies – or one of many other countless victories.   

I can’t not (yes that’s a double negative!) mention that my wife has contributed in so many invaluable ways with her eye for decorating and colors. Me make things work, she make things pretty!  

Our Living Room - NOW

A New Addition to our Kitchen

Partial view of our Kitchen

White Railings (Still in process)

Our bathroom

So on top of having an 8 month-old baby who is the love of my life….  

And from having an amazing wife to spend time with who is the Love of My Life!….  

And from having a relationship with Jesus Christ who is the LOVE OF MY LIFE!….  

I now have this home to take care of. And that means that this summer I have not gone fishing, climbing, or hiking. I’ve been camping once with a couple of guys, and that’s it. But it’s strange. As much as I miss those things, when the time comes or the opportunity presents itself, I find myself wanting to either spend time with my family relaxing or working on the house. My family will always come before anything else, but now all my other hobbies have kinda lost their luster and my new hobby is working on my home. Strange… Never knew I’d be one of those guys who enjoys work  

Well, anyway, time is getting away from me and I need to get up early tomorrow morning to hit the gym (try 5:00am!) Goodnight blog-land! I missed you and I promise this time I’ll be around a lot more often!

Read below on how to enter to win a copy of “Planet Earth” on DVD or  Blu-Ray!

June 5th, 2010 my entire family will be participating in the Walk for Life in Colorado Springs. Melissa, Caleb, and daddy are going to walk 2 miles together to help raise money to support the Life Network’s ministry to young moms, pregnant teens, and abstinence education programs in El Paso County schools.

So, we want to ask for anyone and everyone who believes that we can make a difference to donate any amount towards this wonderful ministry. For every $150 raised, 3 women can be shown and taught that choosing life is the only choice and a blessing of a lifetime. Would you consider a gift? If the Lord impresses on your heart to do so, please visit our sponsor page and donate completely securely directly to the Life Network in our name. If not, please keep us in your prayers so that we can bless this ministry in a special way.

As a special thank you, everyone who pledges money for this event will be entered into a drawing to win a brand new copy of the amazing Emmy award winning documentary series, “Planet Earth” on Blu-Ray (if you have a blu-ray player) or DVD (if you only have a DVD player). The contest ends on June 5th and the drawing will be filmed on video and announced Saturday evening on the 5th!

When you donate, please post a comment on this blog making sure to leave your email address. The amount is not important and there is no minimum to enter.

Thank you all so much and God Bless!

PLANET EARTH – Description – Undeniable Evidence of a Creator! (even though the producers of it don’t believe it!)

With an unprecedented production budget of $25 million, and from the makers of Blue Planet: Seas of Life, comes the epic story of life on Earth. Five years in production, over 2,000 days in the field, using 40 cameramen filming across 200 locations, shot entirely in high definition, this is the ultimate portrait of our planet. A stunning television experience that captures rare action, impossible locations and intimate moments with our planet’s best-loved, wildest and most elusive creatures. From the highest mountains to the deepest rivers, this blockbuster series takes you on an unforgettable journey through the daily struggle for survival in Earth’s most extreme habitats. Planet Earth takes you to places you have never seen before, to experience sights and sounds you may never experience anywhere else.

GET MORE THAN ONE ENTRY!!

You can get up to 3 separate entries! Here is how!

1. Make a donation of any amount.
2. Post on your own blog and link back to my blog.
3. Post this on Facebook and provide a link to my blog. (NOTE: please leave a comment on this post with which of these 3 you have done so I can verify and enter you!)

*Disclaimer. This prize is being provided as a gift paid for entirely out of our own pocket ( valued at up to $49.99) and you do not have to donate to be entered. Just email me directly at the.franky at gmail.com amd request to be entered. I am not being compensated in any way by either the Life Network or by BBC (makers of Planet Earth).  You must be a US resident to enter. Donation amounts and names will not be disclosed (except the name of the winner but any donation amount will not be released).

Ok, I need a creative caption for this picture! The winner who we select will get their blog linked too and mentioned in my next post as well as the prestigious recognition of being very cute and quirky!  - Well, most of us in blog-land are anyway, but go with me on this! I look forward to your suggestions!

Need a caption!

I need to share with my readers that my darling wife Melissa has started her own blog . There are writers who aspire to inspire others online like myself and many others then there are those like my wife who have a natural, God-given talent to craft words in such a way that you can’t help but feel every emotion, sense every detail, and literally feel like you’ve been drawn into each paragraph. Folks with the pure talent that she possesses are few are far between and I am proud to announce the start of her own blog at www.aheavenlyjourney.net.  So, to all my readers, check out Melissa’s blog!

We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo with Caleb this week for Caleb’s first trip to see the Am-in-als (yes, Aminals is the correct spelling and pronunciation of “animals”!) Here are a few pics to commemorate the event!

Our Moose Baby!

Moose Baby Loves Mommy and Daddy Time!

Moose Baby Tongue!

This is my first trip to the zoo! I'm so excited!.... Ok maybe not, but I should be!

That giraffe looks a little suspicious

Tasty Railing! Nom Nom Nom!

Who You Lookin' At?

I CEE YOUS!

Daddy! I don't like the Lions!

(In the monkey house) Those Monkeys are making quite the ruckus!

Mr. Moose, Meet the Moose Baby!