“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

We have a home.
There was a bank transaction, a few signatures and the hand off of keys ... and the house is ours! As soon as we left the bank (after getting the water switched) we went to our new home.We marveled in it. We dreamed! We cherished the moment. Then we left... the 'old man smell' was getting to us!

We got the ceiling painted on Saturday and Sunday. That was fun... I helped 'cut in'. That takes more time and skill than rolling the ceiling. Andrew got to roll, he is such a slacker. HA! Just kidding!! He is going to kill me for that. He the hard part of rolling ! He did great... and didnt complain at all. I know his neck and back must have been killing him. He is such a hard worker. I'm very proud of our ceilings. OH what color are they?? They are Ceiling White. We had quite the debate over this. I wanted them to be 1/2 the color of the walls... but he put his foot down (when someone offered to give us Ceiling White) and said that we will be JUST fine with white ceilings. So like a good wife I backed down... I've been told before to 'pick my battles' and so I did just that. I'm sure there will be another one in the next few days worth fighting.

On Monday my favorite person (even though I didn't meet her face to face) came to the house. The cleaning lady. She did a fabulous job. Our house no longer had an 'old man smell' to it. It was wonderful. Then my next favorite person came along... the carpet cleaning man! The carpets were so soft and fresh when we came by last night. I fell in love. Nothing feels better than walking on soft clean carpet.
We both soaked the moment in... knowing this is the VERY LAST TIME our carpets will ever feel that way again.

“Home is the place where it feels right to walk around without shoes”

After we took in the cleanliness of the house we decided to pray over the house. We wanted to set a special time to do this, but decided that this might be the last time we have 'time' to do it. We walked from room to room praying over the things that will happen there.
In the living room we prayed for :

• The small groups that will be held there
• The interactions of friends
• The memories made with family 

In the kitchen and dinning room we prayed for:

• The meals that will be prepared
• The goodies made for others
• The conversations that happen over the dinner table
• The meals shared with friends

In the Bedrooms we prayed for:

• Safety and comfort for whomever they hold
• Joyful times, and laughter
• We prayed for our children, who will someday live in those bedrooms. (yes you better believe that made me cry!) 

On the back porch we prayed for:

• The gatherings that would happen
• The game nights 
• The dinners 

It was beautiful. The house now feels like ours.
We walked around and got an idea of what furniture we want where and how it is going to look. We are loosing quite a bit of bedroom space but we are getting an extra room and 2 living areas!! I'm thrilled! God has truly blessed us beyond what we deserve. My biggest prayer is that we use His blessings to bless others, and that no one will ever feel uncomfortable or be turned away from our house. I want to have memories of laughter and love coming from bedrooms. I know there will be sad times, there will be overwhelming times,  but I hope that our memories are over flowing with the happy times!

This is it...

Plans change. Things happen. Sometimes this is good... sometimes this brings distress and frustration. In this case... it is a little bit of both. Here is what happened:
At the suggestion of Andrew's dad we thought it would be great to get into the house this weekend and get the ceilings painted.  Yesterday Andrew mentioned this to our realtor and asked if it would be possible. She said probably, but why don't we just close early? Andrew said "I don't know, why don't we?"
So that lead us through a busy busy busy afternoon of getting things in line.
All of our paperwork is in and approved therefore... as of this afternoon... we will be homeowners!! WOW... I have had many titles before:

• daughter
• friend
• teacher
• student
• lover
• cook
• cleaner
• babysitter
• assistant
• boss
• dog feeder
• nail biter 
• coffee conosuer 
• eater
• daydreamer 
• slacker
• bag lady
• shopper
• driver
• wife
• fun sucker
• dingy 
• clueless 
• worshiper
• church lady
• (The list could go on and on ...) 

Lots of titles... but NEVER homeowner!! 
This is exciting... this is stressful!!
Here is the plan for the weekend.

After Lunch: Sign the next 30 years of our lives away....
Tonight: We pack like we have never packed before. Our house is about half packed now. I was counting on my extra week to get it done.
Tomorrow: Andrew has clients (including me and a friend) until 11.
Tomorrow afternoon: We paint ceilings and pack pack pack
Sunday:  CHURCH... gotta go to church!! Then MOVE!! We find everyone we can with a pick-up and load up our boxes and get them loaded into the garage. Some furniture will be moved in as well. Garage will be PACKED TO THE BRIM... Rent house... as empty as possible!!
Monday: Someone is coming to the new house to clean the carpets and house for us! (GOD LOVE THEM!!)
Tuesday night: ALL furniture moved from old house to new house!! All beds set up in new house! Bathroom unpacked.
Wednesday night: Inlaws coming to survey the work that needs to be done. God blessed us with two very handy daddies!! Andrew's dad gets the first call to duty. Dinner with them to discuss... the damage!
Thursday: Bible study
Friday: UNPACK
Saturday: UNPACK
Sunday... FUN DAY!! (I think I'll schedule a nap)
MONDAY - TUESDAY : work with inlaws.
Wednesday - Sunday: My mom is here to help get us all unpacked and settled.
Monday: Figure out life in a new house...

Some changes that this new house will bring are:

• Frozen Custard at Jareds every night of my life... (or I'll dream about it at least!) 
• Longer drive to work for Andrew, this means he will not be biking to work anymore. I know he will miss this... 
• Shorter drive to work for me... this is so good... I struggle with punctuality. 
• smaller kitchen... guess that means less space to clean so that is good! 
• Dogs will no longer live in our bedroom!! GLORY BE!! I'm so tired of them being EVERYWHERE!! They are not our children. Even our children will have their own room!! The dogs will get to come inside in the evenings but... they are dogs. They will have a doggy door that will lead into the workshop if they need to escape the heat or wind or cold or rain... or if they just want to be inside. BUT... THEY ARE DOGS!! They will be ok! (well except Cami... she will have emotional damage because of this change... poor girl!) 

 Ok thats all for now... I'm sure there will be MANY funny stories to tell of our adventures over the next few weeks.

Did I mention I get to see my sister-in-law during all this?? I'm so excited!!

Homeowners!!

Guess what...

We can now announce proudly and with joy that we are buying a house here in Bartlesville.
The hubs and I have been looking for about 3 months, not wanting to rush the process or create a stressful situation, we really left it in the hands of our realtor. She was AMAZING!! 
We looked at about 10 houses. However, there were only a few that we were willing to put an offer on.
One day our realtor (who, along with her husband, are Andrew's first Tuesday and Thursday appointments) mentions to Andrew that there is a PERFECT house that she is getting ready to list on the market.
She said that the man living there is getting ready to move into a retirement facility here in town. When she mentioned a little bit about us to him, he got very excited about a 'young newlywed couple' moving in to his house.
Here is a little information... in bullet points... you know its how I think!

• Mr. B purchased the house in 1961just after it was built. That makes this a one owner home. :) 
• He has done many of the updates and repairs on the house himself, which in some cases situations I would be nervous about, but in this case most things are up to par. Minus a little electrical work that he did in the garage that needs to be brought up to code.
• When the house was first bought, there was a field behind it that had a couple horses... now there is a neighborhood full of houses and a school around the corner. 
• Mrs. B passed away this past August. She had an ailment where she lost the use of her legs. However, this did not stop them from getting out. Mr. B would scoop her up and put her in the car and take her to dinner EVERY night! His love for her was quite obvious. He cared for her with love and compassion until she was gone. 
• Mr. B walked me around his back yard, expressing his love for her and telling me about all the plants and details around the yard. He said she loved to be out there and caring for her garden. 
• Mrs. B was a collector of bird houses, therefor Mr. B was a builder of bird houses... he told me with pride, and eyes brimming with tears. 
• The B's also had an unusual taste in paint choice. to go along with the wood paneling, there is also a fuchsia wall in the living room, the first guest room is baby pink, the second bedroom is a rose pink, the master bedroom is light blue, the master bath is light blue and peach, and the guest bathroom is mauve and blue sprinkles on the wall. The kitchen has lovely light yellow cabinets which I love. I am even thinking about keeping the color for a while... just updating it for a while. Then when we get new doors for the cabinets and such then we will do a new color.
• The kitchen has beautiful parky (SP) floors... which I love... but you can't get them wet. So I am wondering what the practicality was here. 
• The carpet is old and miss matched... Much like the colors of the house. My parents are going to come up in the fall and help us put down pergo floors. :) God love 'em!
• The back yard is stunning... seriously... we couldnt have dreamed up a more perfect back yard. it is just big enough for a few kids and dogs to hang out. There is a very nice shed out there that will hold all the yard equipment plus some stuff. 
• The garage has an enclosed shop for Andrew to perfect his handyman-abilities. This will also be our babies new room. YES... thats the truth!! We are cutting the cord. They are leaving our room. They will have a doggy door which will give the access to the back yard at their will, they will have their beds in the room. It will be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. They are dogs. They will be fine. THEY. WILL. BE. FINE. (yes I'm trying to convince myself) Our room is just too small and I'm honestly, tired of our time in our room when we should be sleeping... being focused on the dogs. If the dogs wake up so do we... well so does Andrew. This isnt fair. THEY ARE DOGS! Ok I'm stepping off my soap box.
• The back yard has a tree that was stolen off some property here in town and now it is HUGE. When it was planted, Mr. B didnt think it would last... well it did! It is my favorite thing about the yard. 
• There is a fantastic closed in porch that has a brick flooring and it will be simply my favorite hideaway. 
• The front door is the same yellow as the cabinets and I love it. Our realtor thinks it needs to change... but I love it!

Ok here are a few pictures. I'll update them or write a new post with the house empty and obviously before and after pictures from the painting and flooring projects. 

The front of the house. It is beautiful. I think we will pull out the shrubs there in to open it up some.

The living room looking in from the entry way. Curtains swill go. There is also a 1980's hanging lamp in the corner that will be going as well. There are no other lights in the room as of yet, so we hope to add something (lamps for the time being) more permanent down the road.

This is the 'den' it is at the other end of the living area. There are some FABULOUS bifold doors that you can shut between the rooms... they will be going. This is the wood paneling that we will be painting on Friday night... before we move on Saturday.

Looking out the window in the Den to the screened in back porch. :)

The kitchen. Its not big, but boy does it have storage. :) The fan hanging there, is from the old Phillips Hotel in town.     Mr. B bought it for $4.00 and fixed it up. He bought 4 or 5 and gave them to friends. That will making cooking in this little kitchen much more enjoyable.

Our sweet dining room. The Chandelier will be replaced soonish... This is right off the Den.

Guest bedroom 1. Baby pink with orange carpet... LOVELY!! :) See the off colored spots... HELLO termites!

The next guest room. Decent carpet. 2 windows. Right across from master.

Master. Blue. My room was blue when I was in Jr. High. I was in a 'I hate everything the shade of pink' phase.

The garage. (Honda not included).  The workshop is to the right.

This picture doesn't do the tree justice but this is the tree I love. The bricks around it are crooked and some are falling apart but it is perfect. So cute. There are so many opportunities for this fantastic back yard.

This section of the yard will be the Dog's run. They will be fenced in here so they can do as they want. Tear up what the want and poop where they want. It will not get in my way any more. :) I will enjoy this back yard!

The door to the left is the porch and the door to the right heads to the shop/dog's room.

The back porch... the rug will be pulled up... just brick! It will be amazing!

The laundry 'room' or closet. It is outside by the garage doors. It will be a cold chore but it will need to be done. And there are many organization options here!! Look at those shelves... don't ya love 'em?

That is our new little house. We will take possession on June 30th after we sign our name a million times. Then will begin a weekend of whirl-wind of moving mayhem. Anyone that has a truck and fairly strong arms is more than willing to come hang out with us. We will have all the water you need and if you are lucky we might even feed you some pizza.

seasons of change

This time last year, my world was in full change mode!
When I find myself thinking about this time last year it is with a smile and a tear. It was so much fun to experience and watch all my dreams unfold.
3 years ago if you would ask me what my idea of the perfect life was, it would have looked like this... (I'll use bullet points, its how I think!)

• I will live in Midland
• My husband will work an 8-5 job
• I will work as a teacher but my job will be totally extra 
• We will be expecting our first child, I will be quitting my job when the baby gets here
• I'll be a size 8 and tan year round
• We will live in a gated community 
• We will have a 5 bedroom house 
• We will have a made come and clean every weekend 
• We will have 2 dogs 
• We will have dreams of having 3-5 kids 
• We will be picture perfect. 

HA! Boy was that fun to relive. NOT! I would have been miserable. Who in their right mind wants to be that stinking perfect!?!?! NOT ME! 

Now my life looks nothing like this and I love it. I wouldnt change it for the world! 

Again with the bullet points

• We are buying a house this month in BARTLESVILLE OKLAHOMA! 
• It will NOT have 5 bedrooms
• We will NOT have a made
• We have 3 ROTTEN dogs
• We are not expecting a baby and I am ok with that! 
• we are anything BUT picture perfect
• I am not a teacher, this is hard for me sometimes, however, I see that God has me in this spot for a reason. And His plans are GOOD! 

That is just an update... I wanted to share the beautiful picture in my head that I saw today... the picture of what we are today... and I love it. I'm so glad God has changed the desired of my heart. 

Just to add some fun here... I'm going to include some pictures from the move up to Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The move that changed the rest of my life!! Thank you Jesus!!

This is me, out side of my empty classroom. The first thing we loaded up was my boxes from there. Then I said good bye to all the friends that had grown to be family through the 4 years of my teaching career. Such an emotional time!

So I just realized that this picture is sideways but I like it... it was from the start of our trip... about 6 in the morning. See.. we are smiling... everything is great!!

This stop included frustration, tears and possibly a temper tantrum... but I got some McDonald's and it made me happy!

Ba-da-da-da-da I'm lovin it!