Happy Snow Day.

Today just happened to be one of the

unexpectedly happiest days!! It snowed,

snowed, snowed all night. As a result,

life took place at a snail's pace today here

in Reno. Schools were on a delay and stores

closed for a bit until the roads begin to

clear. I took full advantage of the situation

and stayed in my favorite comfy robe

the.entire.day accompanied by my

cozy Ugg slippers. However, I did move

mountains as I worked through much

paperwork and other tedious "stuff" that

had been waiting for my attention. I

made a vow that tomorrow at 5:45 a.m.

I will promptly head into the shower,

brush my teeth, get dressed, and get

back to life as usual. But, I must admit,

today was a w-o-n-d-e-r-f-u-l change

of pace for this busy, busy girl.

Snow.days.a.win.for.sure.

Pennies.

My friend Cathy says that when she

finds a penny, she says a prayer for

someone. I love that and have prayed

for others when I have found a penny.

We are in the penny-gathering frame of

mind. We went to Mike's oncologist

to receive our monthly blood results,

status report, and lab orders. Mike's

blood pressure, cortisol, and liver levels

were elevated similar to when he had

his tumor. His PET scan has been

moved up and we shall find out the

results early next week.

We are fully relying on God for

positive results and cannot wait to

see how He works through this

situation.

God is good. All.the.time.

Snow?!?

This is what we drove up to when we

arrived back in Reno late tonight . . .

Say what?!? Having just been in

Las Vegas, we were unprepared to

be greeted by five plus inches of snow!!!

We quickly jumped out of the car and

into hot showers, bubble baths, our

pjs, and ready to hit the sack. We

so loved our time with everyone in

Las Vegas and totally excited to see

what our amazing God does next?!?

Fasten your seat belt.

One More Day . . .

So two of my guys and I stayed in the 702

one extra day!! We have had a whirlwind

trip since we arrived here!!! As a bonus, we

visited this bea-u-tiful golf course:

Silverstone. The guys fell in love and felt

that they could play here until the

day that they die. We had a ton of fun

hoking around the course. We then

headed over to Grandy and Bobby's where

we were introduced to SMASH BURGERS.

Holy Cow!! I don't think that you have

lived until you have eaten there. The

guys thought that the burgers were to

die for and the salads, topped with an

overeasy fried egg, are amazing. We

had treats, giggles, and yummy food

and watched the 84th Academy Awards.

As lovers of the movies, we were excited

to see who would win. We guessed

right bunches of times and had a totally

fun family Sunday . . . just the way that

I like it. What a great way to spend

our last full day in Las Vegas.

LV . . . Baby!

A couple of my very favorite peeps and

I spent several days in Las Vegas . . .

Pretty exciting details and decisions

coming down the pike!!

I truly do not know what I would do

without my amazing crew of family

and friends. The love and support that

we have been shown has been truly

remarkable. We are blessed beyond

measure.

God.is.awesome!!!

Happy, Happy 94th Grampa!

Happy, happy birthday to one of

our very, very favorite people!

Grampa is an amazing man!! We

are so grateful that he is ours!!

In 1918:

*The U.S. population was 103,500,000

*Sale of alcohol was prohibited

*Airmail between Washington D.C. and

New York City established

*New York Times began home delivery

*Daylight savings time and time

zones were introduced

Happy, happy, happy birthday

Grampa!! We love you so much!!

Headin' for the 702.

Road trip with two of my very favorite

peeps . . . headed to Las Vegas, Nevada!!!

We headed out as soon as Sam got

out of class at noon. We laughed,

joked, and fought over the radio station

all the way to LV. We are really excited

to see what God does . . .

Big, big decisions ahead for the Tietjen crew!!

Yep, we have a road ahead of us. We are

so thankful for our great family and friends!!

We know that everyone is praying for us and

the choices that we make in the near future.

Exciting weekend ahead for sure!!

Happy Hump Day!

Happy, happy Hump Day!

This was Reno just about one year ago!!

However, today it was a bright and shiny

65*.

Things that I am happy about on

Hump Day include:

*obtaining our C of O

*decisions!!!

*sunshine

*happy family

*weekend plans

*working on the doc

*sewing binding on a new quilt

(hand sewing . . . )

*fun flicks on the couch with

my very favorite peeps

*salad with cranraisins and

balsamic vinegar dressing

*green salsa and chips

Happy middle of the week!! It sure

seems like a fast one to me!!!

The Outfit.

I know that it sounds like a farmer

from the old country in the 1940s,

but I seriously wore this outfit

every.single.day for almost two

months except for Sundays. I even

wore it a couple of Sundays, but not to

church. Early on, it was evident that I

would need one pair of clothing to wear

up to the house to work, work, work and

could get dusty, painted, and dirty. So

I chose a pair of Old Navy sweatpants that

were Luke's when he was eight, a special

sweatshirt, long underwear, and a VERY

special green coat that got plastered

with stain and paint. At this point, I am

not certain just what to do with

"the outfit" . . . should I have a special

frame built like people put expensive

baseball jerseys in?!? Today was the second

day in a row that I actually got dressed

in "regular" clothes. Having this project

done marks a huge accomplishment. I will

need to be acclimated ever so slowly

back into society with real people doing

real everyday things . . .

President's Day is Now Known as Family Day.

Today represented my first real day

off from the house project in about six

straight months, although we did run

by to check on things. It felt really strange

to get up, take a hot shower, put on "real"

clothes, Ugg boots that I haven't gotten

to wear all winter, make-up, and run

errands just like in my old life.

It was a really fun family day as each

of us had the day off for President's Day.

We:

*went to the orthodontist

*tried to get Mike's blood work done,

but the lab was closed

*went to the grocery store

*went to the pharmacy

*ran to the mall to check out

bargains . . . scored!!

*got tires that had literally been

worn and no longer had tread

*got haircuts

*went to the bank

*went to a movie

*came home and snuggled

We did not:

*go to Home Depot

*work at the house

It was a great fun day! The first

of many now that the house is

nearly complete. We have some

touch up, bells and whistles to add,

and a punch list that will need to be

completed over the next couple of

weeks. I am glad that we had the

opportunity to spend some great

family time together today . . . That

IS my most favorite thing of all!!!

90 percent.

Here she is in all her glory . . .

The house is 90 percent done.

The next couple of weeks will be spent

putting on all of the bells, whistles, and

final touches.

Ya just gotta love that 12x6 maple

butcher block!!

The cabinet doors, drawers, and

pulls need to be added . . .

I so love, love, love the results and am

so grateful for that we are nearing

the end . . . One of the most exciting

things that happened, was that the

window guys cleaned the windows

inside and out on Friday. It took them

a BAZILLION hours, but they look

marvelous!!!

Pretty.darn.exciting.

Yikes!

Looking back at pics of when we first

started "The Project" is pretty.darn.scary!

I cannot believe that the house is truly

almost done. Building this house involved

14 months of our lives. We all worked so

hard! I am thankful for our boys who

really did give up so much of their time

and energy to help, help, help . . . anyway

that we needed!!! Stay tuned for final

pics . . . It really did turn out absolutely

be-a-uuuuutiful. I have worked myself out

of a job!! In the next couple of weeks, it

will be all done! Our family is excited about

the decisions and road ahead. God certainly

has thrown us many curveballs over the

past year . . . It is going to be exciting to

see just what He does next!!!

The C of O.

Holy smokes!! I can seriously say

that I have NEVER worked so hard

as I have the past several months!!

"The project" has been a pretty

challenging task, but low and behold,

today we obtained our Certificate of

Occupancy!!! We are totally excited!

The house is complete enough to

occupy!! The finishing touches are

being applied as we are now finishing

the pantry, installing cabinet doors

and drawers, touching up,

completing the corbels for the mantel . . .

and similar odds and ends. Today

marks the last of the city of Reno

inspections!!! We were so excited

that we decided to celebrate with

our ever-popular favorite: In and Out!!!

Doggoneit!

We love.love.love our dogs! I love how

our dogs love us unconditionally and are

always waiting at the door wagging their

tails when we get home!! Reggie and Tucker

are perfect dogs and we are so lucky to

have them.

Reggie is so calm and fearful. He is

not as much of a people person as Tucker,

although he is trying to be lately.

Tucker is super high spirited!! He likes

his own way and if he doesn't get it . . .

Watch.out.

I just had to give a little shout out to

our two dogs. I am grateful for their

companionship and thankful that they

are so much fun for our boys.

Thanks again for the terrific pictures,

Sam!

I looked out the window . . .

Oh yeah!! Reno certainly was dumped on

last night . . . I so love to get cozy when it

is snowing at night. We are busily rushing

around as we are going to personally

deliver boys to the university, head to

the project, and drive our errands.

The boys can HARDLY wait to dig into

the freshly fallen snow!! They cannot

wait to make footprints, snowmen, and

slither and slide in it. Luke is convinced

that we should have a "Homeschool

Snow Day"!!! There is no rest for the weary

in my book!!!

Happy.Snow.Day.

Happy Lover's Day!

Happy, happy Valentine's Day . . .

Valentine's Day just has to be one of my

very favorite holidays!!!

It is important to start V-Day with a

huge SUGAR rush, beginning with

homemade whipped cream . . .

. . . to be immediately placed on red

heart-shaped pancakes topped with

strawberry syrup!!

I love, love, love my Valentine, bedhead

and all!!!

Cozy, cozy, cozy Valentine quilt!!

My bucket head!!! Why do boys like

to put EVERYTHING on their heads??

Everyone was straight out of the

rack, except for Sam. He had an early

Valentine's Day class. We had a blast

at our EARLY morning V-Day breakfast.

Everyone woke up in a cheerful mood,

even though it was only 6:27 and

pitch dark outside.

Hugs!! My favoritist part of this

holiday!!!

Yep!! V-Day is just another great

reason to celebrate ALL of our many,

many blessings!!!

XO