Our home - main area

I've been waiting awhile to start this series of pictures... mostly because I didn't want people to see just how much we have been roughing it, I guess! As you know, we had been planning our "move-in" date for nearly a year, and we had hoped the house we are building would be done by then. But, this is the mission field where things don't move as quickly as we think they should. So, we did the unthinkable and went ahead and moved in when mid-August rolled around, even with the house in the condition it was. I was the one who ultimately made that decision (David so sweetly tried to talk me into renting another apartment, where we would be more comfortable), but I have honestly not regretted it. Sure, it has been difficult and some days have been an extra challenge for us. But, we are HOME, no matter what condition it is in. This is the FIRST home that I have lived in that I could truly call my own. I lived in rentals growing up and this is the first home David and I have owned. So, no matter how it looks to everyone else, it is my HOME... my little nest.

This is how the main area looked when we first moved in... just a big mess of our boxes, dirt, camp mattresses, dirt, workers' tools, MORE dirt, etc....After a couple of weeks, we cleaned all of that up and styrofoam was laid neatly on the concrete...Then soft reflective sheets (don't know their official name) were laid on top of the styrofoam... Next, water pipes were meticulously laid on top of the reflective material...Next came another layer of concrete...

Here is a view of the pipes all leading to our boiler closet....

So, has anyone figured out what we are doing here? HEATED FLOORS!!! Yep, we are going to have heated tile floors throughout our main areas (living room, kitchen, and hallways)! In Mexico (where David is from), tile floors in the living room are very common, due to the dust. Since we have so much dust and dirt here in the summers and mud and slush here in the winters, I really wanted to do as the Mexicans do and have tile floors as well. But, since our winters here are much colder than anything Mexico has ever seen, the only way it would work for our weather was to heat the tiles. And just yesterday a man began laying that tile! Soon! Soon! Soon!

Now, as you can imagine, we have definitely been roughing it (and you don't even know the half of it yet!), but somehow we have managed to keep our sanity and I am even homeschooling our boys through all of this noise, dust, and chaos!

So, what would you have done if you were me... moved into another apartment (keep in mind... if you were truly me, this would have been your seventh move in seven years!) OR move into this house?! Well, my adventurous spirit is happy not to have missed all of these exciting steps that have taken place in my home. One day when I am walking on my cozy heated tiles, I will remember exactly how they came about!

New family pictures

SLOAN FAMILY - FALL 2009 THE THREE SWEETEST CHILDREN THIS SIDE OF HEAVENMY LOVELY PRINCESS.... SHE TAKES MY BREATH AWAY!!!

Home from Poland!

We are home in Ukraine now, happily reunited with Davey and Brianna. We took Nate with us because he needed a new visa; however, come to find out, the law recently changed here in Ukraine and we were told that children under 18 do not need visas to be in Ukraine anymore. So, that saved us $160! Had we known this, we could have saved money on Nate's plane ticket too, by not taking him, but we are so glad we did! What a joy he was to his Daddy and Mommy! Here are some fun pictures from our trip. Enjoy looking at them!

DADDY AND NATE ON THE STONES STREETS OF KRAKOW, POLAND

DOWNTOWN KRAKOW, HOME TO LOTS OF WEIRDOS! (Much like San Francisco, if you have ever been there...)

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN KIDS MEAL! AWESOME! (We don't have this in Ukraine, so we ate here twice!)

NATE TOOK THIS PICTURE OF US IN KFC

OUR EVER-ACTIVE NATE CHASING THE BIRDS. HE COULD HAVE DONE THIS ALL DAY!

NATE FOUND THIS "BAD GUY" IN A BOOKSTORE AND WAS MORE THAN HAPPY TO POSE

THE TEDDY BEAR IS BIGGER THAN NATE!

IN FRONT OF THE WAWEL CASTLE

HMMM... DO DIET COKES LOOK THIS IN AMERICA, OR JUST HERE?

THAT WAS A BIG PIECE OF PIZZA!

WE RODE THIS TWO-STORY BUS BACK TO THE AIRPORT AND SAT ON THE TOP, ALL OF THE WAY IN THE FRONT, AND, WOW... WHAT A VIEW WE HAD OF THE POLISH COUNTRYSIDE!