Where do I start?!

Ethan's room

Living room

Living room, dining room and kitchen looking from the front door.

Garrett and Kayla~

We have moved into our home!!! WE love it! I still can't believe it is ours and that we are paying a mortgage and not a landlord. The house is great and we are soooooooo happy. Would have included a pic of our room but it is nothing but a king size bed:)

Since moving in we have adopted 2 dogs, Bear; 18 month old Alaskan Huskey and Australian Sheperd, and Maddie; a 1 year old yellow lab and pit mix. As well as a 3 month old kitten named Sally! I know we are crazy but the animals are so much fun and the kids love having them.

Garrett is getting back into a normal routine of sleeping during the day and working at night. He was working all day long, on the house, sleeping a few hours, then going to work.

I am getting used to the animals and still moving things around to where I like them!

Ethan~ Is doing really well. he has a few bed-wetting accidents since the move but seems to be doing really well. He is reading really well and doing great in school! What a blessing he is to our family.

Trinity~ Is doing well also. She has wardrobe meltdowns all the time and gets into a bit of trouble at school but is so smart! She sings to her own tune and that is going to be a good thing when she is older!

Penelope~ Had to be re-potty-trained after moving. Normal I know but really hard. She is in Pre-K with Trinity and loves it! We werent going to put her in but she would cry when we left the other two so we enrolled her and she is having a ball!

All of our children are a gift from God and we are thankful for them every day! (Even when they are bad and get on our nerves:))

Just a brief update on the Michigan Balitz family! So thanks for all of your prayers and have a great Thanksgiving!!!

Sharing what I know...

What I know really isn't much. Garrett has a short list of things he needs to get done. ie; front storm door installed, screw down counter tops, instal door knobs in bathroom, and just a couple of other small things.

We signed our purchase agreement today and will be getting our closing papers as soon as we pass inspection. We are supposed to have heating/plumbing as well as electrical inspections done today. If they pass then we can order our final inspection. Once we pass the final inspection then we will get our occupancy permit and get to close on the house. Optomistically, I would like to be moving this weekend. Nobody else is sharing my optomism.

Thanks for all of your continued prayers! We will keep you updated on all that is going on.

With love,
Garrett and Kayla

We are finally coming to the end! Inspections are Friday the 28th! Pray for a perfect inspection!!! Here are some updated pic's. Thank you all for your prayers, keep them coming!

I love my house! I can't wait to move in!!!

Bummer news...

We heard from our project manager yesterday that our cabinets are not coming in until the 14th of August. We were supposed to be moving in by the 20th of August. But since they are late it pushes back the plumbing and the last of the electrical. We are now looking at the second week of September to move in. This may be okay as Ethan and Trinity will both be in school. I am really disappointed that after all of our hard work and Garrett's sleepless days we are still going to be a month behind. What can you do? Anyway, please keep praying and I will post new pictures soon!

Painted and floors are almost complete!!!

The girls room. It's purpleish, Trinity's new color!

Ethan's bedroom.

This is our kitchen and dining room! (Cabinets will be here 7/28)

We are looking at a closing date of Aug. 20th! I can't wait! Will keep everyone uppdated and will add more pictures over the next two weeks. the cabinets and the bathroom will be complete during that time. Love you all, thanks for the prayers!

It is in the 80's today!!!

I can't even believe it, it is finally warmer than 60! I was so sick of the cold weather. Summer is finally here!

Ethan is riding his bike without training wheels! This is a big summer for him, no training wheels, soccer, new tooth, and he can read! My baby is growing up!

Trinity is always the center of attention. She comes up with the funniest things sometimes. Her new thing is to call me Kayla.

Penelope is a very busy two year old! She is constantly going, trying to do all that her brother and sister can do.

House update..

We are finishing up the siding tomorrow so that the excavator can come back out and start on our septic. We will have a raised septic but we will have city water. A raised septic is what it sounds like, but then they cover it with dirt and we can plant and play on it. It will just look like a hill in our back yard. The excavator will also be clearing the rest of the lot for us. Beginning next week we will be priming and paiting our walls as well as putting up the finish trim! There is still a lot to be done but things are going so well. We are truly blessed! God is GOOD! Thank you for all your prayers and help before and during this process.

SOCCER

Ethan scored his first goal this week! He had a belly-ache before the game too and he conquered it. We are so proud of him for getting out there and trying new things. He can't for his next game now:)

Ethan's Kindergarten graduation!

My kindergartner is no longer, he is now in grade school! I can't believe how the time flies by. He was such a trooper during the ceremony even though he had a belly ache from being so nervous.

Can you believe it? It is June 6 and we are doing our siding! We are so pumped. Still a lot to do on the inside but coming along really well. WE are truly blessed. (We new that before this, but it helps!)

The roof is finished, as well as the plumbing and electrical being roughed in. We are looking forward to doing our back poorch and then dry walling into next week!

Anyone wondering about potty-training? Well, Penelope isn't ready yet. Not to mention we are building a house and then moving. Probably not good timing.

We are having fun with the house. We have heard from a few people, "If you can make through building, you can make it through anything." So far, and we have had to pick stuff out and decide how to place the house... things are great! We haven't had any problems. I hope we don't see what those people were getting at.

It could definately be warmer here!!!! It was only 47 yesterday and today. Burrrrrrr! Hopefully we will get a summer...Until next time.

We have walls and a roof! This is so cool!

These are our pre-built walls! This is so cool!

Our floors are in! This is them working on the floor joyces! The walls are going up tomorrow, rain or shine! I am so psyched! What a great experience. Garrett is exhausted and Nathan is just happy to be doing some work after a long week at home with us.

Ceremony is over and we are official partners! Woohoo!

Waiting for everone to arrive!

Ethan is now 6 and going to play soccer this year! We are so proud of him for trying new things, as this is not his strong point. He is doing a bike-a-thon for school and had to step out of his comfort zone to ask for pledges. He did really well with this, it took him a while but he did it!

Trinity is 4 and going on 30! She wants to be just like mom. God only knows why. She is doing well in headstart and will be moving over to the Christian school in the fall for Pre-K.

Penelope is doing great! Still in speech twice a week but coming a long way. Most people can understand her now! Mary is coming this weekend and is going to help me potty train Penelope. I am thinking we are done with diapers. 6 years of it has been a long time!

Anyway, we are doing well and hope that you all enjoy our blog. I promise to update it regularly!

Kids grow way too fast!

Easter Sunday! This is the only "good" picture of the three of them together:)

update pictures...

Flag cutting ceremony!

May 6th is the day! Today we will be cutting the flag for our property! They have already gotten the foundation in and the walls will be delivered on the 14th! I can't believe it is finally here! Thank you for all of your prayers they were and are much needed! We are hoping to move in by October!