I have to start out with bad news.  Christian, who I have been asking for prayer, passed away on Saturday evening at 10:42PM.  Please continue to pray for the family as they go through this difficult time.  Christian and his family have been incredible witnesses of faith.  God bless them all.

Also on Saturday my parents had to put the cat down.  She was approximately 17 years old, had diabetes, and her kidneys were beginning to fail.  The doctor said she had at best 6 months left to live.  However, we could tell she wasn't herself nor was she feeling good.  She was an awesome cat that gave us years of enjoyment.  She was a diva and incredibly stuck up....she let you know when she had time for you, otherwise let her be.    We will miss her tremendously!

Yesterday I spent the day with a bottle of Diff.  No, Diff is not alcohol, it is wallpaper stripper.  I always get inspired by the new year to get my home remodeling done.  I bought my house several years ago before I met my husband.  The house was structurely sound but needed updated.  I planned on living in it for about 5 years and remodeling it during that time frame and then selling it and moving somewhere else.  Shortly after buying the house I met my husband, we dated for a few years and then got married.  Alot of things changed with the most major raising 4 kids instead of 1 so we decided we would stay in this house until our kids were out of high school and then move.  God bless my husband's pointed head...his remodeling time schedule is incredibly slow.  So I do what I can on a remodeling projects and then wait for him to fall behind me to get what is either physically impossible for me or requires some sort of machinery that I do not know how to use properly.  I am the third owner of my home so I am not sure which owner was wallpaper crazy but one or both of the two before me was.  There is wallpaper in every room of the house.  And we are not talking pretty wallpaper.....this is some ugly stuff!  I have racked up more hours of stripping wallpaper than I ever cared to.  I am currently working on the upstairs bathroom and have about 45-55% of the wallpaper stripped.  I pretty much have the places done that are easy to reach.  The hardest part is going to be in the shower/tub area because my step ladder will not fit in there and above the wood wall cabinet.  My goal is have it completely done including repainted by January 31.  I have picked out a bold gray color called Amazon Stone that I think I am going to paint it.  I have bold colors throughout my house.  You will never find a white wall in my house.  I like each room to be rich and make a statement.  I am also looking into laying some new vinyl tile in the kitchen as a temporary fix.  I cannot stand the vinyl that is currently in the kitchen.  It is a yucky teal color.  I prefer white kitchen floors.  Our goal is to put down ceramic tile but do not have that portion of the kitchen budgeted yet.  At the time we put in the ceramic tile we will also be putting in new kitchen cabinets.  That is all still a few years off.  I have put up with this ugly kitchen vinyl for long enough that I need something better to look at until it is time for the final remodel.  I picked up a piece at Home Depot last night but I am not 100% happy with it.  We are going to go look around this weekend to see if we can find something better.  As soon as we get that down we will start putting up the wainscoating on the lower 1/2 of the kitchen walls.  I cannot wait!  I have had the kitchen painted for probably close to 6 months and have been waiting for my hubby to put up the wainscoating!  I will take pictures of our progress!

Wishing you a happy and safe New Years!