Thursday, July 23, 2009

Little Updates

The boxes were emptied and those not shared with a friend who's moving were placed outside for the recycle pick-up. The homeowners were nestled all snug in their bed. With visions of visitors to fill the empty rooms! Now come one, come all to our house! We would love to have you!

I don't know what all that was about except that I went from empty boxes to a very, very loose interpretation of "The Night Before Christmas" to "The Day After Moving."


We have had a small flurry of visitors with regular trips scheduled in the near future. My mom was here when we first moved in. Rusty had an overnight last night and we were delighted he stayed with us. The Imkens (Charissa's family) will be here for a day trip and an Astros game this Saturday. Grace will be here next week (can you say 7 days? We've been counting down since May!). Rusty, Stacy and mom will return for Labor Day. Mark's mom will be here the end of September, and Grace will come back accompanied by her friend, Katy, during her fall break in October!

We just love having the space for guests. It is delightful to share our home with friends and family.

Mark has completed painting the dining room. The family room will follow. How do you know the color is just right BEFORE it goes on the wall? I'm not the best at that, and Mark patiently waits while I decide. The problem is if I decide and its wrong........how do I tell him?

I'm still working one day a week at The Feathered Star, a quilt shop here in Katy, as well as beginning to quilt for the public a little more. I've got everything set up and my confidence is building. I appreciate my Hope House Quilter friends for their encouragement and support while learning this new skill. I start on my first paying Texas quilt next week. It feels good to have about 6 quilts on the shelf in line for my work! Hopefully there will be more soon!

Mark and I are participating in a great study at church. It's called "Love and Respect" and is focused on marriage and communication. We are really enjoying getting to know other couples at the church and share our lives with each other.

So this is a short update. More with pictures of freshly painted walls will be posted soon!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Where Do I Begin?

We are settling into our new home. Whew! It was only 104 on the day of the big move. Mark insisted on moving us himself with the help of 2 other younger guys. I'm convinced he had a mild heat stroke as Sunday he was somewhat disoriented, couldn't think straight, and could not get cool no matter what! Several ice packs and some rest later, he returned to himself and, you know him, back to work! He needs to remember that he's not 26 anymore!

We are so blessed and humbled by what the Lord has provided for us. We have a lovely home we never dreamed possible. Already the rooms have been filled with a great visit from my mama, and parts of the Creecy family have spent the night 2 seperate times so far! Such fun.

I'll take pictures and post them soon. We've worked really hard and have the dining room, family room, kitchen, the bedrooms and sewing room box free! There are about 4 boxes in our bedroom in the "why did I keep this and what am I going to do with it" category. But out of 100+ boxes, we are doing pretty good!

We spent the Fourth of July working here at the house. There was a wonderful fireworks display in downtown Houston, and we had an invitation for rooftop viewing from Sarah Creecy's apartment building, but with the heat, the traffic, etc., and we were in the ceiling fan shuffle mode, we did the old people thing and watched it on tv. Mark put up a new ceiling fan (I know its not a designer's dream, but necessary here in HOT Houston!) in the family room then moved the one from the family room to Grace's bedroom. We have plans for a new one in our bedroom and move that one to another bedroom or the playroom upstairs.

We had built in to the budget (yes, I said budget.....Mark is a graduate of Financial Peace University) for a nice patio set for our covered patio. Last Monday I went to arrange for delivery of our new sofa at Tista's Home Furnishings, my new favorite furniture store. If you had seen Mark's face when we tested sofas and he sat in "Lazy Boy" type sofas and recliners, you would know how much that man missed his recliner. I made an executive decision that we would not use the patio set in 100+ degree weather anyway and they would be on sale later in the summer, and bought him a new recliner as a surprise. I will be honest, I'm not a fan of the look of a traditional recliner and tried to find an easy-chair-but-it-is-really-a-recliner-type chair for him, but when I saw the one I bought and then sat in it, it didn't matter. That man needs a good man-type recliner. He deserves it for all the hard work he put in to get us here, so I surprised him. When they delivered the sofa, the recliner came too. If you remember the last time I surprised him with a large purchase without his input, his truck, you will know he was not at all pleased. So, I was a little nervous although a recliner is not a truck as you well know. However, when he saw the recliner and I quickly explained that the patio set was off the table and this chair was for him, he just sat in it, rared back, closed his eyes and grinned that grin I love so much. He was a happy man.

I'll post pictures soon. Come visit! We have lots of room and love visitors! Southwest is having a sale for the next 48 hours! Book your flight now!