MOVED IN!

Sorry for the LONG DELAY in posting. We have been busy! WE HAVE MOVED INTO THE NEW HOUSE!!! Oh, the happy dance we are doing. It will still be a while before we are settled but it is so nice to be in the new space. I have some pics I will post of a few of the rooms just before we started moving. My little camera is on the fritz so I am returning it for repair and I don't have a wide angle lens on the big camera to give the full effect. I will post pics as I get rooms settled. I feel like I have a big blank canvas in front of me...the decorating will be fun.

Here are a few things I have learned with this move.

1. When moving to a new house and your husband says we have a few small details to finish, make sure one of those details isn't install toilet seats in all but the upstairs bath (thank goodness it has a seat!). For some reason, this is not a big issue for men. Maybe I will get a good butt workout going upstairs to use the bathroom until the others come in.

2. The intercom system in the new house is nice. I don't have to scream up the stairs to the boys when I need one of them. With this nice feature comes tattling IN STEREO! The boys know how to use the intercom so they use it to "inform" me of the other's wrongdoings. But Andrew did use the intercom to tell me he loves me yesterday so that makes it a keeper ;-)

3. You really can throw away at least 20% of everything you own and not miss it...if the rest of your family isn't looking.

4. The new front load washing machine was like introducing television to a primitive tribe. Everyone had to stand in front and watch it at some point to see how it worked. Yes, we are easily entertained...obviously.

5. That old house had good bones and Mark really made it beautiful, but putting the people I love inside makes it our home. Now I really adore it!

Christmas 2009

We had a busy Christmas this year with lots of company. We love it that way. It started with Kayla and Chad and little Logan (our niece and her family) spending Christmas with us. It was great to get that time with them. Kayla is such a wonderful girl. It is so fun to see her all grown up and starting a family of her own. Her husband is a keeper! The Lord truly blessed Kayla with a loving husband. Little Logan is a doll! Mark and I reminisced while we cuddled him and soaked up that new baby smell.

Then we had a visit with my big sis, Laura and her family. We had a blast while they spent the week with us. We live so far apart it is difficult to always get together but we are committed to finding a way to do this at least once a year. We always have so much fun together and the kids do to ;-)

I put together a little slide show of all our Christmas fun. It is long since I want to remember all the fun. I hope you enjoy.

WISHING YOU A WHITE CHRISTMAS

Years ago Mark and I moved to Kansas with his new job ready to start our adventure together. After growing up in Southwest Tennessee, I was excited at the real possibility of having the white Christmas I had heard Bing sing about my entire life. By Thanksgiving, when it was 8 degrees BELOW ZERO, I knew I was meant to be a Southern girl FOREVER. The snow is pretty but after you have shoveled out your driveway once…it’s enough. As tiring as the snow became, I always had the moment of awe looking out the window to see everything covered in white first thing in the morning. There is just something fresh about seeing the world covered in white and undisturbed. Every home, every neighborhood looked beautiful. The snow covered up any eyesores and all you could see was a blanket of white.
Now that we have migrated back to the South (you can take the girl out of the south but you can’t take the South out of the girl!) we don’t see the snow very often at all anymore but every year we experience a White Christmas. Through the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ and the grace offered by his death on the cross we can hold onto his promise of forgiveness. Psalm 51:7 says, “Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow”. The forgiveness of our sin and the relationship with our Lord that follows gives you a fresh and undisturbed feeling in your soul to which no other Christmas gift can compare. The eyesores of our lives are covered by the blood of Christ and we come before God as white as snow. Our prayer is that you and your loved ones experience a White Christmas this year and every year through your relationship with Christ.

Since we have made several trips to Dallas this Christmas season, the boys and I have done our share of shopping. We have really enjoyed our time together picking out gifts for each other and our extended family. One night at Kohl's, I let the boys get their own buggy and shop for gifts for Dad and I. I told them to stay close but I wouldn't peek. I looked up and couldn't find them so I started to get a little nervous. I walked around calling Mason's name and saw them both come around the corner pushing their cart, smiling and laughing with each other as they shopped. I hope I never forget that sight. They were so happy to be picking out presents for us. When they saw me, Mason pushed the buggy (southern for shopping cart) behind a clothing rack and Andrew ran to me jumping up and down telling me they found my present and I can't peek. I haven't seen them this excited about anything in a long time. I was so glad to see the joy of giving so strong in their hearts. I have to add that they have saved their own money to buy gifts so the fact that they are cheerfully giving from what they have just makes my heart want to burst! I can't wait to see what they are so excited to give me...from boys, this could be interesting!

Where is Mr. Mom?

Mason and I have a lot of conversations on our trips to therapy twice a week. One day he was talking about work and he said that "girls get things better". I asked him what he meant by that. He said girls can work if they want to or stay home with their kids but boys can only work. I thought that was an interesting observation and I told him that some dads stay home with their kids. He responded with a strange look on his face..."I don't know any of those dads". Maybe the family situation I tried to explain isn't very common in his world. I giggled :-)

It's beginning to look a lot like...HOME!

Doesn't this kitchen look different now. Mark laughed at me when I said the cabinet hardware and faucets were like jewelry for the kitchen. I was thinking we may need to glaze the white cabinets to take away the starkness but now that the walls are painted I think I like it! Mark, you were right...but don't let it go to your head ;-).

One last shot of my FAVORITE room in any house! Floors, tile and appliances and this room will be ready for a party :-)

Here is the view of the den from the kitchen. The fireplace is looking great and the wood floors are coming along. I can see lots of good times and great memories being created in this family room.

This fireplace is a Mark H. original. I LOVE IT! If you look closely you can find a special design that will be a daily reminder to us of our GREATEST blessing.

Next I'll give you an update on the master bath and the front guest bath. They are both looking great. Thanks for having fun with all of this craziness with us. We can't wait to get this place ready to fill with the ones we love.

Powerful Christmas Song

I love Christmas music. There are several that are favorites of mine and this one is now near the top of the list. The lyrics just unfold the picture of the gift the Lord gave us when he sent his son as a tiny baby to bring us home to Him. It is BEAUTIFUL and it humbles me... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I sure can pick'em

Saturday afternoon Andrew and I were heading back home after a day of hard work at the new house. He was getting excited because I had started painting his room so he started to tell me all the things he wanted for his new room. His little mind was everywhere and was really dreaming of all sorts of creative things for his race car room. In his little mind there was nothing we couldn't do. We settled in on a couple of ideas and I reminded him that our new home is a blessing and we are blessed to have Daddy who can build such wonderful things for our family. Andrew agreed by saying, "yeah, I'm glad you picked him to marry." Me too, Andrew...Me too! I'm glad he picked me too ;-)

Join Mary for more Tiny Tot Tuesday fun.

A little eye candy.

This is my favorite development from all of our weekend toils. We did something a little different in the dining room. Instead of a chandelier we went with these amber colored lanterns grouped together. We may need to tweak their arrangement after we move in to achieve this look when you view the dining room from the front door. Mark is a little frustrated when I say that since he hung each light twice already trying to please his little woman. I tried to take more pics but my camera died. I'll take more next week once the kitchen counter tops are in. Things are really coming together. Here is one more picture I was able to get today.
This gives you an idea of how all the woodwork looks now that it is done. Mark has a few trim out pieces to finish around the window seats. I just love how warm it all looks! We will have some beautiful marble tile surrounding this fireplace in a couple of weeks. If you really want a shocker, go back and look at this post with the slide show of before pics of the house. You will truly see we have a SICKNESS for old houses. Mark and I both agree that this restoration and addition has cured us! We won't be doing this again...for a few years ;-)

Unconventional Thanksgiving

We are having an unconventional Thanksgiving to remember. It is just the four of us and we are keeping it simple. I ordered a Greenberg Turkey and bought some pies at fundraisers. The only cooking I will do is my mother's GREAT cornbread stuffing recipe. We will be painting at the new house all weekend long so we will stop long enough to eat our feast. We might even eat our dessert picnic style in the new dining room floor. I hope the boys remember this Thanksgiving we spent painting their new bedrooms fondly. This has been a challenging year for all of us. All of the challenges are bringing us to even more we have to be thankful for every day...not just today. God bless you all and may your belly be full of turkey & pie!