Coach Mom Newsletter - Aug  2012

Furniture Fruit Basket Turnover

We’ve been shaking it up here at the Stull house this last two weeks. Why the need to change bedrooms around? My oldest son graduated from high school, is in Africa for the summer, and will only be home a few days before leaving for college (for those of you concerned for him, yes, he will still have a bedroom…just a much smaller one). It’s time to move our daughter downstairs to the room with the bathroom (she has shared a bathroom with three brothers for the last four years). We also need to give more elbow room to our second born son who has been living in the room we carved out of a closet and attic space (did I mention he’s grown about 10 inches since we moved him in there?). As of the last three weeks we are pursuing the adoption of two Sierra Leonean orphans Chris and Caleb met on a mission trip in June.

Needless to say, I have nesting fever…big time. I’m sure many of you can relate. (Shout out to all the pregnant mommas!) In the midst of moving furniture, clearing out closets, painting rooms, painting furniture, and emptying dresser drawers, I have been reminded of a few things.

Here are some thoughts I’d like to pass on:

• If you are proud of utilizing every square inch of that closet, remember you will have to move it someday. All of it. Simplify to favorites and enjoy them more.

• When going for the “teamwork” mentality and painting a room with three children, be very clear with instructions before opening the can of paint.

• When painting a room, wear socks that can be thrown away. Sweaty bare feet will move the plastic floor drop and uncover your carpet.

• When spray painting a tall armoire on your covered porch attach a large piece of cardboard to the underneath side of your roof before starting.

• Everyone needs at least one junk drawer, unless you’d like to see all the things they want to save all over their dresser tops.

• You can make a lot of progress in short increments if you keep at it. We have had our share of interruptions (I even taught a week-long art camp), but every day we worked on it and got a little further down the road.

• Don’t underestimate those fidgety and energetic little boys when they are preschoolers. They will soon spring into strong men who can manhandle large armoires and sleeper sofas up flights of stairs!

• Working hard feels good. Not in the midst of it -- or it wouldn’t be called work, right? But in the end it feels very rewarding to make progress after hard work. My twelve-year-old, after a long day of packing and moving boxes and furniture told his dad he had a great day. He said, “Days you get things done feel so much better than days of just laying around playing video games.” (Can we write that out in calligraphy and frame it?)

• It’s bonding to work together toward common goals. Even though I heard a few complaints here and there about all the work, we laughed as we found funny things while dumping out drawers and rejoiced together when a room was completed. My favorite was the day Derek was away at choir camp and we decided to surprise him by moving his room next. I loved watching the excitement of Caleb, Micah and Karis as we moved Karis’ furniture out of her room, and then painted over the buttercream wall with tan. At 9 p.m. that night when he arrived home, we were all waiting to watch his expression as he came up the stairs, found his room completely empty, then discovered his new room.

•  Thank God for caring friends who come at key moments. Friends Angie and Rachel dropped by and helped seal the deal on the hope we would get all of Derek’s furniture moved and his room set up before he got home that night. Karen stopped by and shared a great idea on how we could make a bedroom downstairs for the two girls. Instead of the $5,000 remodel plan it looks like we will now be spending $500 (more about that at a later date). Karen also shared a fun idea to paint a piece of furniture I had been trying to sell in order to utilize it in a new way to meet a need.

Only a couple of days more of work and we will reap our reward: celebrating with an overnight at the Gaylord Texan. Thoughts of painting and moving will be far from our minds as we float inside inner tubes on the lazy river at their 10-acre water park.

back to top

Before, During and After

Plenty of effort and teamwork provided new space for our changing/growing family.

back to top