Done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our house is finished. We moved in this past weekend.
Also due to some pressure from a few friends, I've now got a myspace.
It's myspace.com/cshawnstinson.
Be sure to put in the "c". My first name is charles and I've already learned that shawnstinson is someone else on my space. I'm still learning how to use it right now, but feel free to drop by anyway.

I wish I had something to do...

So here I am. (My Space).

I've been blogging on Livejournal for a while now and everyone seems to have abandoned it for myspace so I thought I'd try it out.

I've been looking at other people's myspace and theirs are all creative and cool looking. It's gonna take me a while to make mine interesting.

For now, all I have to offer is some basic info about me, my family, and what is going on in my life....

I realize even now that I should stop typing this and do something else. But, I need a break for everything else so here I am.

I titled this "I wish I had something to do" as a sarcastic title.

I should be working on one of these many tasks that I'm involved in right now....

Home.... Finaliza everything with our new house. We moved into the house we built this past weekend and still haven't finished moving everything. plus I've got to get all my financial stuff in order so that I can close on the house early next week. I really hope I have enough money to pay for the closing costs on the house I just built.

Penske.... I'm supposed to ma making and logging 50 in person sales calls and 50 telemarketing calls each week. I've been making the calls, but haven;t found the time to properly log them. I'm supposed to have the past two weeks logs with me at a meeting on Thursday. I hope I can make it happen.

Church..... We're in the process of putting together an Easter drama. There's too much that needs to be done with that to list here. Also, I really need to plan special music for the next two months. That is always so difficult to do. I really wish there were another way to do it than me having to ask people, but having a sign-up sheet has it's own problems.

Storehouse... 1.) I need to find a way to make this ministry more successfule in doing ministry. 2. )I need to find a way to raise $15,000. to help fund this ministry for 2006.

And, one last thing. Today is my 8th wedding anniversary. And due to all of the above, I'll see my wife approximately 20 minutes all day. I'm glad she's so supportive of me.

Did I mention that she's pregnant?....... I may be in trouble. =)

House Update

we're getting sooo close.

Here's what's left:
Pour concrete for driveway and porches
finish plumbing in kitchen (sink, dishwasher, and refrigerator)
put up railing around porches
plut up shutters and other smal vinyl work around front porch.
Finish smoothing dirt around house.
Plant grass and shrubs.

Our builder says he plans to finish all that this week and come in next week to do small paint touch up and finish.
It looks like we'll have a completed house by next week!!!

It's Raining. It's Pouring. The Old Man is snoring.

I hate rain.
The rain is the only thing slowing down the process of finishing my house right now.

They installed carpets yesterday.
All that's left is plumbing, pouring the concrete for the porches and driveway and some pretty severe landscaping stuff including burying our septic tank. Apparently the ground needs to be dry to get any of this accomplished.

Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!

House Update

just an update...
They are bricking again today. It finally stopped raining. They should finish the front today. That will only leave the top half of the back and the miscellaneous steps that need to be done.

They started laying the ceramic tile yesterday.

I went by today and got the process staretd to have a septic tank put in. In two weeks we should have our permit to get it installed.

Thay also started on the back porch deck. It is almost completed.

And power is now on. We can now turn on the lights.

So based on what I can see that only leaves....
Some brick, some ceramic tile, carpeting, garage doors, pouring the cement for the driveway front porch and back deck, bathroom countertops and sinks, septic tank, water line to the house, and heating and a/c installed.

Sounds like alot, but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm so pumped!

I'm a clock watcher

Well, Here I am.
At work.
It's 2:18 and today is "Festivus". (Seinfeld reference)

I've been told I can leave early, but not before 3:00. That means I'll be leaving at 3:01.
I'm so ready for Christmas. I'm really excited about Christmas this year. I can't wait to see the boy's response when he sees all his gifts from Santa on Christmas morning. Of course since he's not even 2 so he currently has no idea that he's going to "rack up" in a couple of days.
Here's what he's getting from us....
A Tricycle
A "swirling sawdust workbench" complete with tools.
A large metal Tonka Dumptruck
An art Easel (Easle?) with a chalkboard on one side and dry erase board on the other.
A remote control Car
A "Little People" Farm
some clothes
some chalk and accessories for his easel.
some bath tub toys
and finally a figure 8 electric race track. You know the kind with the two cars and the triggers to race around it.(The box says for ages 8 and up so I guess I'll always have to play with it with him, for safety of course.)

I'm glad we're building a new house. We're going to need the room for all his stuff. This list does not even include the gifts he'll get for all grandparents and great grandparents and aunts and uncles. It's going to be great.

But also with this fun comes the issue of scheduling the madness. Here's our schedule as it stands right now....

Today... go by Walmart for last minute presents and christmas snack foods. then get home and wrap presents.
Tonight..Possibly open some presents with Ethan and Kristi. (We've always opened one on Festivus because we're so impatient.) The hang out with Kristi's Parents and sister for milk cookies and a ]viewing of the Christmas Classic "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation". I'm laughing just thinking about it.
Tomorrow morning...Go to Kristi's parents and have Christmas with them.
Tomorrow Noon...Go to my parents and have Christmas with My immediate family.
Tomorrow evening.. @ 5pm lead worship at the Christmas Eve Communion service at church. then go hang out at home or with the Allred's some more.
Tomorrow late night... help Santa assemble gifts and get everything in order for Christmas.
Christmas morning...Santa Claus @ our house
Christmas midmorning..Breakfast with Kristi's Grandparents and aunts and uncles on the Allred Side.
Christmas Mid to later morning...Lead 10am worship service at church
Christmas Lunch...Christmas with Kristi's Mom's side of the family..
Christmas afternoon...Crash and burn. Try to get some rest and enjoy the booty we collected over the past few days.

I'm tired just thinking about it.

One final thing....
I can't express how awesome it is that The Creator of the universe did what He did for us. I don't want to get into a heavy theology thing right now, but I've been thinking about the fact that on the one hand God gave his only son to walk the earth like us, experience what we experience, then die a horrible death to save us from our sin. (Even though he did rise again.) I would never give my son for anybody. Ever.

Then on the other hand I realize that because Jesus is God, God sacrificed himself. He choose to come here and go through what he went through just so that we could have a relationship with him.
To know that God came in the humble way that he did says so much about our God and our Lord and the things he finds important.

I am so thankful for the gifts he's given me, including my family, my job, my church, my possessions and my friends. I am so unworthy.

"And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?"


Charles Wes­ley, Psalms and Hymns, 1738.

House Update

Just an update on the house....
The sheetrock is finished and sanded.

Brickers have started working. They don't like the Red Brick with Red Mortar combo, but I think it looks great. They sadi looking at all that red gives them a headache. They 've gotten up to the windows on the back and far side of the house.

Some crown molding has been installed. They've still got to finish putting in the doorways and molding around the windows.

I'm getting really excited about having a new house, but really scared about having a house payment

Appliances

So I'm in the process of building a house.
Man, is it an expensive process.
I had to go pick out my appliances recently. I had no idea there were so many options on a dish washer. I mean, all I really wanted was a button on the front that would say "wash dishes". But we ended up getting the star trek model that's got more buttons that my cell phone.

Anyway, I guess it's all cool. More gadgets for me to figure out.
Our refrigerator has a few cool things on it too. You can set it to alarm if it is opened. That way we'll be able to "come a runnin'" if Ethan tries to get out the pickles or something. (He really loves pickles.) Or I guess I could set it to let me know if Kristi is trying to get into my Moose Tracks Ice Cream.

Anyway, I'm excited about getting the house finished and finally being in a place that is ours.

Here's a status report, Today they are mudding the sheet rock and according to the guy this morning they expect to be finished today. The brick has still not been delivered so I'm not sure when they'll get started on that. But, overall it's still moving pretty fast.

I'm thankful for all the blessings in my life.
God is Good all the time.