Too Many House Photos

I was going to wait until we had everything done and up in the house to post any photos. But that may end up being 100 years from now so I decided to go ahead and fulfill everyone's voyeuristic tendencies and post away. Or is it just me that likes to spy on other people?

Quick story: This was not the house we set out to build about a year ago. Originally, we were going to build a two story house that was slightly bigger, and a somewhat different style than this one. But when we started looking at cost, we realized that it just wasn't practical. So we talked to the guy that used to be in charge of building the houses out here. The company that used to build out here pulled out a couple years ago, and now he builds and sells houses on his own. Because he knows us and has worked with Patrick on real estate deals, he agreed to help us find a plan and build it for us. We actually started with a plan that was originally offered out here, and then we had the architect change it and customize it to fit us and our needs. As a result we ended up with a custom house that was right on budget (yay!) and also fits well in the neighborhood. Anyway, the other day, whilst unpacking, I started looking at the plans from the original house we were going to build, and I realized that it had a lot of wasted space that we wouldn't have used (thus making it bigger but not necessarily more use-able) and the kitchen was tiny compared to what we have now. I'm very thankful we built the house we did.

If you want a better understanding of the layout you may click here. It'll give you a play by play of the layout. Otherwise, you'll just have to be content with disjointed pictures.

Starting with the outside. We have grass but no trees yet. We're probably going to wait until it cools down just a tad before we plant any trees.

And now moving on to the inside . . . 

The entryway . . . sorry about the weird glare. I was having light issues. To the right is the dining room.

Two views of the dining room. Please ignore the bare walls. 

The kitchen as seen from the entry. You'll notice we only have two bar stools. Why Hobby Lobby can't keep a larger stock is a puzzle to me. Now we're on a mission to find a third one that matches somewhere in Texas. 

Kitchen as seen from the living room. The open-ness is one of the things I love about this house.

The living room. The little boy with the blue shorts came with the house. ;)

Kitchen . . . as if you'd look at this and think, "Ohhh! This must be the master bath". 

The Butler's Pantry which connects the kitchen and dining room.

The (big) laundry room which will never in a million years be this clean again. So take a good look and stamp it in your brain forever.

This is Allison's future room. We left it as undecorated as possible because hopefully we'll be decorating for a little girl in the very near future. Also, notice all the pictures and paintings that have yet to be hung piled on the bed. 

Kids' bathroom. I stuck with the Dr. Seuss "One Fish, Two Fish" theme from the previous house.

Andrew's superhero room and his new "bump" beds.

Once upon a time there was a couple who lived in a four bed, two bathroom house. They used one of those rooms as an office/exercise room, but then a little baby boy came bouncing into their lives, and they (and by "they" I mean "me") with visions of Pottery Barn play spaces dancing in their (and by "their" I mean "my") heads decided to turn said office/exercise room into a playroom for their bouncing baby boy. Mistake of the century! Do you know how many more toys you collect when your child has two rooms instead of one? And for the record he almost never played in this amazing playroom. Do you know what it's like to cram all of your office stuff into your closet (weird!) and your exercise stuff into your bedroom? You cannot find anything! Ever! Anyway, we reclaimed our office/exercise space, went through Andrew's toys and gave a bunch away, and crammed all his other stuff in his bedroom. And he loves it, and we actually have a place for all our books and files and paperwork. And the angels sang hallelujah!

The master bedroom with it's balance of feminine and neutral. Because my husband doesn't do "girly" very well. 

And finally the master bathroom. You'll notice the his and hers mirrors and vanity spaces. While the separate spaces are wonderful, the different mirrors weren't some sort of genius decorating idea. They were simply because we couldn't find two different size mirrors that were the same. So we decided to go two completely different routes . . . masculine and feminine. And I really like the overall effect.

And that's all she wrote folks. I plan on doing a post where I discuss paint choices, the floor, cabinets, etc. But we'll save that for another day.

Ten Years

Ten years ago we walked down the aisle and said "I do". Although, I'm pretty sure we had absolutely no clue what we were saying "I do" to. 

Three houses, one psychotic cat, two badly behaved dogs, one kid (almost two), and many adventures later we're on the other side of a decade of wedded bliss. 

Has it always been perfect? No. Has every moment been full of joy and contentment? Let's be real . . . not even close. But has it been fun? Absolutely! Has it been worth it? Most definitely! And I . . . I would venture to say we . . . wouldn't trade it for all the gold in King Solomon's mines. 

I received these beautiful roses for our anniversary. 

When opening the door for the roses the two badly behaved dogs darted out and proceeded to run away. So yep, I was the crazy lady, chasing my dogs down the street in my robe and pajamas while my son followed me crying because on top of everything else, guess who wasn't dressed yet? Just a day in the life . . . 

Happy Anniversary Honey!

Busy Days

Good morning all! I promise to do a house update really soon. We're still finishing up a few things around here.

Right now I'm working on our second home study update in less than three months. The update itself should be really easy, and we're only doing it because we moved. The main focus is safety and fire prevention. Knowing that we would have to pass a home study, I unpacked accordingly. The problem is we're still waiting on my FBI fingerprint approval. Our adoption agency will not approve the home study without it. I'm getting antsy because we're getting awfully close to time to file for our NBC extension. Without our home study we can't file for our NBC extension, and Bulgaria does not like expired NBC approval (there is a possibility of being removed from the waiting list). So yeah, I'm antsy and trying not to stress too much. Any and all prayers will be much appreciated.

Yesterday, we went with my sister's family to Schlitterbahn. They have season passes and go all the time, but this is the first time Patrick and I have been since before we were married. Of course, Andrew's never been. He had a blast and was completely wiped out last night. I only got a few iPhone pics at the end of the day when he was playing in the pool because water and cameras generally don't mix well. But Andrew did his share of rides and was shockingly unafraid, and since it was cool (for July) and cloudy I think that helped keep the crowds at bay. Either way it was a lot of fun.

Now I'm off to finish my home study paperwork and try not to freak out anymore than absolutely necessary. :)

The Fourth of July

Hope everyone had a great Fourth. Ours was nice and relaxing. After a busy week moving and unpacking it was just what we needed.

We went to my parents' a little after lunch and spent a while cooling off in the river. After that we went down to their picnic area, my grandparents came over, and my dad barbecued steaks. Every time we go to my parents' for a holiday, I eat until I'm almost sick. It's like an unspoken rule. We're what I call a "chips and dips" kind of family. Meaning we snack all afternoon and/or morning leading up to the big meal, proceed to eat a huge meal even though we're already full, and just for good measure follow it up with dessert. Yesterday, was not an exception to the rule.

Check out the shoes . . . I bet you're jealous.

Andrew loves drinking coke. Unfortunately, Mom won't let him. Mimi and Aunt Sarah will. 

Sitting next to my grandmother . . . my grandfather is in the background.

This was so funny. My dad was standing by the pit with his leg propped up, and Anthony walks over and stands beside him in the exact same way. Like grandfather like grandson I guess.

Taking a break from all the fun.

After we left my parents', we went to the city park and met Patrick's parents to watch the fireworks.

Sitting with Papa-Doo and waiting for the show to start.

The ducks and geese did not appreciate the fireworks, and once the show started they raised quite a ruckus.

Skydivers coming in at dusk.

And of course, the main attraction.

I hope everyone had a fun and safe Fourth. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. 

The Things That Suffer

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth . . . I have moved . . . we're finally in the house. It may not be organized, but at least we're in. Pictures to follow once we're all unpacked.

In the midst of the packing and the moving and extremely long days . . . getting up before seven and going to sleep around 2:00 a.m. . . . a lot of things suffer. We ate fast food more times last week than I usually do all year, working out was far from a priority, blogging didn't happen, laundry didn't get done, groceries didn't get bought, and our routine was completely shot. But one thing that suffered that absolutely shouldn't have was my quiet time. I read snatches of scripture here and there, and there were quick prayers between moving from house to another . . . mostly things like, "Lord, please help me not to lose my patience and strangle someone." Super spiritual stuff like that. But my quiet time, my few minutes alone with God didn't happen for quite a few days, and by last night I was feeling it.

It's important to understand, lest anyone think more of me they should, that my quiet times are relatively short. They don't last an hour or even half an hour. On a good day they may last twenty minutes, and on a crazy day ten (don't judge), but y'all those ten minutes are life giving. Like I said, it's not that I don't pray. I pray all the time. I've joked that I should write a book called Praying in the Bathroom because when things get stressful, I've been known to hide in the bathroom and pray. Can I get an "amen" from all my fellow moms and teachers. I also read scriptures throughout the day. Mostly, because I get about five different "daily scriptures" emailed to me. But there is something about taking a few dedicated minutes to just read a passage of scripture (notice I didn't say a chapter . . . it depends on the day . . . ) and talking to and spending time with God. It helps to set the precedent for the rest of the day. It helps to remind me Who it is I belong to.

I used to think quiet time was something we do because we are supposed to spend so many minutes everyday talking to God. As if He needed us to do it. I've finally realized that it's something we do for us as much as for Him (can you say dense much?). It's communication with our Creator. It's Him breathing life into us moment by moment. It's Him guiding us and teaching us. Is it possible to do this in snatches of scripture and quickly breathed prayers? I'm sure it is. God meets us where we are, but for me, at least, I need just a few quiet minutes before the craziness of life begins. Because there are some things that absolutely shouldn't suffer.