Kara & Friends in Our Backyard!

 

gotta check the lawn

It has been raining a long time. I was glad when it started. Fresh on the heels of several days of sun, I was ready to see the fledgling green shoots of grass in the back yard get a nice cool bath. Perhaps more will be encouraged to join in. Maybe some of the bare patches here and there will be overgrown by a thick knot of fescue and bluegrass.

I spend a lot of time thinking about grass these days. I get up in the morning and look at it. I wander around the back yard peering at corners and guaging the topsoil, squinting at rock, snarling at weeds—and sometimes pulling them altogether. I keep hoping that with enough effort and care, I’ll pull a smooth green lawn out of the lumpy clay square that we bought two months ago. There goes Caleb chasing a soccer ball, and there is Kara throwing a frisbee. There they are in my imagination. But that’s probably not going to happen this year. This year is just pulling suburban hope out of the stubby ground in lumps.

Owning a home should be enjoined by everyone who can, if only for the conversational opportunities. Every man within earshot has opinions aplenty about every aspect of house maintenance and upkeep. And if you can’t find a passerby or the family isn’t answering their cell, then Lowes and Home Depot employ people who would be happy to spend twenty minutes dissecting the merits or demerits of Brazilian versus Italian tile. Owning a home is like paying a fee to relieve awkward silences for the rest of your life. It has been a tremendous relief for me. And, even better, the conversation you’ve purchased isn’t useless small-talk, you actually learn something to boot! Owning a home and buying an iPod: I recommend them both for value per dollar spent.

Braces seem like they might offer the same deal. Financial outlay now for minute-by-minute returns, good returns. A straight investment—even beautiful. Kara got some just this morning, and makes them look absolutely adorable.

One final bit of housecleaning. A recent discovery of bkkeepr.com has got me twittering, so you’ll see my feed on the left hand side. I twitter under the name socialtrinity, same as the LibraryThing account.

It's raining...

well, not really, but you know that expression "when it rains, it pours" today I realized I had taken about us much sadness as I could for one week and it just seems to keep on raining.

after days of holding it together and being ok with this or that prayer request or concern or situation, tonight I just feel like crying. My grandmother...is very likely losing a battle with cancer. She has been sick for about a year, but was only diagnosed a few months ago. She wants to get better, but her body is weak and her mind is growing weaker. She is thin, so thin and so quiet. She is not the person of strength that she has always been. She is frail rather than focused. She is having trouble talking rather than asserting her opinions. She is slipping away in front of us and it is not easy.

meanwhile....one of my best friends is struggling with a very sick little boy who has had a high fever for close to a weak with an unknown cause.... another friend gave birth early, and at home, with virtually no warning and her little one is in the NICU at the hospital... and another friend called me yesterday to tell catch me up on the last year of her life, during which time she has battled with Hodgkin's disease and, praise the Lord -- is in remission... and today, the last straw was finding out that my son's 25-year-old, pregnant day school teacher was just informed that she has cancer.

in the midst of this week, Thom came home one day only to inform me that 10% of Thomas Nelson had been let go that day, and while we thanked God that Thom was not among that 10 percent, the day was hard for everyone as it is difficult to feel for so many people experiencing such shocking news all at once.

so, although I know the adage that when it rains it pours, I'm really wishing for an umbrella or at least an awning under which to shield myself for a while.

Easter Picture

 


After about 10 different attempts, our pastor's wife, Anna, was able to get both the kids smiling at the same time! The only bad thing was that I wasn't able to get my hair trimmed before Easter! Better picture next time!

Hungry Family Housewarming

 

On March 16th, in memory of my godmother, Nancy Goetzen, whose lifelong generosity provided the means for Thom and I to get this wonderful house, we gathered together with my mom and dad and brother and sister-in-law for our first big family dinner. We made tacos, but since I was running a little late -- couldn't find the cheese grater-- oops it was still in the apartment! -- everyone was a little bit hungry by the time I took this picture!! Despite the delay it was a great meal and we all had a great time celebrating our new house!

Master Bedroom - Repainted

 

Master Bedroom - Repainted

 

Master Bedroom

 

As a housewarming gift L's parents hired someone to paint our bedroom for us. You might recall a very purplish taupe color from the earlier pictures. This is so much nicer!!! We love it. We're thinking of adding some our book collection to that top shelf area. We'll see...

Master Bath - Picture One

 

Master Bath - A Weekend of work

 

About ten days ago I picked up a little wooden paint brush and some of the leftover paint from having the bedroom painted. By the time Thom came home half the bathroom was done. That was on a Thursday. By Saturday night we had taken down the border and I had spent most of Saturday on a ladder, but the bathroom wasn't light purple anymore!! The effect I did seems to be a big hit!

Caleb's Room

 

We decided to repaint Caleb's room to cover some wall issues around the room and it really made the room so nice! The blue is very calming and relaxing and matches all of his things. He loves his room, but he loves it most when "Sissy" is playing with him. The rest of the time he's in the living room building a "nice track" for Thomas the Tank Engine.

Kara's Room

 

In reality this room is much brighter than it appears here, but Kara absolutely loves it! She has room to play beside her bed and what you can't see is her desk with her computer! So very grown up!

swiss family robinson

Ever seen one of those shipwrecked movies? You know how part of the doomed ship is always broken up on the reef some distance from shore, and how the survivors, during the first week or so after the shipwreck, paddle out to it to get supplies. Well, that is what it feels like here these days.

The jagged leftover of boat is our apartment. Located only a mile from where the house stands, with just one red light separating, the apartment has lots of little stuff: remaining toys, kitchen equipment, detergents, shoes, etc. For the most part, we've hauled the necessities to shore, but, still, we are paddling out through the surf to get more before the waves pound the hull into bits and it is permanently lost to us.

The house itself is like a rough hut on a lonely beach. We aren't sure where things are; everything is in a different place--scattered. Sometimes you look for something only to discover it is in some box or hasn't made it from the apartment. We're missing the kid-important DVR remote. Also, as of this morning, our washer and dryer haven't made it, nor have the bookshelves. We're castaways, carving out a new life.

1-800-Poison Control

It's 6:11pm. The good news is that we now have all of the family in the new house -- including Go-Go. The bad news is we had to call poison control a few minutes ago. While I was busy prepping Go-Go's tank and Thom was busy holding Go-Go and letting her bask under the kitchen lamp Kara and Caleb were, supposedly watching a program on TV. NEWSFLASH: "Mama! Caleb's in the bathroom!" I told Thom the tank was ready for Go-Go and that I needed to wash my hands before I could deal with Caleb. Next thing you know Thom is telling me to come quickly Caleb has something "unidentifiable" in his mouth--- "Candy." he says. It's pink, it's crumbled around his mouth like chewed up crayon -- just trust me on that one! - and it smells... it smells... well, sweet... familiar... maybe it is candy. But, where did he get candy in the bathroom? And what pink candy do we have in the house?? Hhmm. Suddenly Thom discovers a wrapper by the toilet bowl -- a-ha! Pepto-Bismol!! Pink. Sweet-smelling. Familiar. NOT CANDY!!

A quick call to poison control and we have an answer. Evidently Pepto-Bismol is a distinct relative of aspirin and because of this it is now not recommended for children under 12 because of potential risk for Rye Syndrome, but three tablets won't hurt him, they don't think.

What a day!

Running low on fantastic...

OK... two kids, get 'em while their cheap! It's now 1:30pm and patience is now running low. The sun peaked out for a while decieving us into thinking it was going to turn into a beautiful day. We all got anxious, feeling that we were missing out on something somewhere. Now the kids are playing and we're trying to regroup. We're all a little hungry, too. Lunch plans weren't exactly finalized and so we're running low on energy, ... well, some of us are. The clouds are back and the "Walmart list" is growing... my kingdom for a piece of paper to write it all down!

Thom is busily straightening things to gain some piece of mind. A chair here. A dish there. The empty boxes from the kitchen have been moved to the mounting empty-box corner in the garage. We're all dressed.

The toilet seat has been installed.

12:08pm - Fantastic!

We're running out of Fantastic -- the cleanser not the feeling around the house. A Cable TV jazz station is playing. Caleb is the only one who's had any lunch. Kara is helping Thom clean the pantry and is still wearing her purple fleece jammies -- Mommy's favorite. The kids and I built a giant train track in the living room earlier when Thom was in the shower. All of the boxes of kitchen things which have made it over here have been unpacked. Now the rest of the apartment kitchen needs to get packed up and come over.

Caleb's clothes need to be moved from a box into his dresser. Caleb is presently exploring the possibilities of playing with his trains on the stairs. We should nip that, he just discovered that the wide flat wooden rail makes a great downhill ride for Toby the Tram. Last night I installed a new toilet seat in our bathroom and in a few minutes I'll install the one for the kid's bathroom. Kara is loving an art toy from Grandma and Papa and Thom and I are enjoying Kara's room staying clean for a few days.

Last night I discovered that Caleb had found the perfect spot for two kitchen sponges -- the toaster -- praise God it wasn't plugged in!

More later.

Saturday March 15, day three in the new house

10:55 a.m.: Well, here we are, day three in the new house. It is simply impossible to sit down and blog length-wise everything that has gone on. And so, in the interest of doing something rather than nothing, L and I are going to attempt to sort of "live blog" the day.

Thunderstorms rolled over us all night. Fantastic sleeping weather. Kara woke up early. We resisted until Caleb woke up as well and used the magic word "poopy!" I changed him, L got online, and everyone managed to get breakfast despite nothing being where it ought to be (or even here!)

The goal is to do some cleaning here and to send L out into the wide world to do some shopping and to vacuum the apartment. We'll see how it goes. Keeping the kids from destroying the house or each other is a given.

First Night!

Well, last night was our first night sleeping in our new house! My brother and Thom spent most of yesterday moving all of our bedroom furniture into the house and setting up the dining room table so that we could begin life in our new home. We were originally supposed to move last Saturday, but a Southern snow and ice storm changed those plans, and according to the weather forecast a rainy weekend ahead caused us to consider a mid-week move. J. had some time and Thom was able to get the day off and BAM -- moving began! It's been 65 and 70 degrees yesterday and today -- absolutely perfect moving weather, not too hot, not too cold or wet or wind. Birds chirping in the air. Dry grass and no muddy foot prints. Yesterday Comcast was scheduled to get things hooked up and after a second visit from Comcast today we are up and running with Internet, Cable and a brand new phone number. == for everyone who needs that we'll send out an email or give you a call ==

Anyway, Kara was at school and Caleb was at my parents for the day during the move, but late last night, a little later than we all had hoped for we actually all arrived at our new home for bedtime. The kids were SO excited about their new rooms. Caleb was uncommonly hyper and, oddly enough, Kara was uncommonly relaxed. In fact, she was really pleasant, sweet and, I think, joyful about the whole thing. I had given her today off based on the lateness of the hour, but she was very calm and restful and sweet about her room. She asked us nicely if she could lie down on the bed and look around the room in the dark BEFORE she got ready for bed, just to see the room from the angle of the bed I think. Evidently it passed inspection. There was enough light from the bathroom to satisfy her fears and no weird shadows to speak of. Her big comment of the evening was regarding her new bed with headboard and footboard -- "Yeah! A Grown-up bed!" She loves it! Of course, she was especially happy about the Hannah Montana bedsheets, too -- thanks Auntie Kara ;-)

Caleb was happy -- at least we think he was -- he was bouncing off the walls so much it was hard to tell. First Thom sat with him for a bit and then I did and then when I left he cried for about one minute and then silence -- until 8am! Underneath all of that energy was absolute exhaustion!

Today was Mother's Day Out for Caleb and Kara and I spent some fun time together. We moved some more things and she got to ride her bike in her garage and down her street for the first time! My parents stopped by for lunch and all in all it's been a great first day.

Maybe by tomorrow we'll even have our sofa here!

Stay tuned!

All Our Time, All Our Money, and a Few of My Finger Nails!

Since moments after the ink dried on the home loan documents and before we had actually unlocked doors of our dreamhome, my father began proclaiming his new favorite moniker "You do know that a house will take all your time and all your money, right?" After a week of home ownership, I added the part about fingernails.

Things I never knew...

...how excited I could be about a side-by-side refrigerator! (My dad actually got to witness the dance that went with this when I had finished cleaning the fridge!)

...that all Wal-mart paint dries one shade darker than what it says on the little piece of paper and nothing like the drop on the top of the gallon

...that toilet seats go on sale sometimes

... how many different shades of white exist in the world of house paint and how poorly painted the interior of an expensive suburban home can be (seriously-- one coat of ugly white over drywall doesn't look so great after 14 years!)

... the difference between rye, fescue and bermuda grass.

... that you have to tip the cup just right on the water-dispenser on the fridge to keep it from raining and throwing ice cubes onto the linoleum.

... there is actually a cleaning agent that you can use to clean the appliance that is in charge of cleaning your dishes. Talk about a great add-on sale. The marketing department must've gone nuts with that one!

And last but not least... I learned that...

... Kara is an awesome assistant painter! And Caleb actually understands the words, "You have to drink that in the kitchen!"

It's Official!

We're homeowners! We closed on Friday morning and had the keys before noon. And, seriously, we are totally happy, content and at peace about the whole thing. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us during this long, patient move in the direction of home-ownership. I've often heard people speak of buyers-remorse, and honestly, we haven't felt anything like that at all. I suppose it's still possible, but given all of the houses we looked at before seeing this one and everything about our response to this house, it really turned out to be a pretty easy decision. When Thom and I first started discussing the notion of buying a house seriously, we reflected on one thing that has been true throughout our marriage. We make major purchasing decisions really well together. We have bought a variety of pieces of furniture and electronics and every manner of home decorating notion and we have never been displeased or felt that the decisions was one-sided, so, we concluded that our home-buying should be no different. Now, back in September when we considered settling for an older home that needed a number of fixes, that was gut-wrenching and neither of us felt any peace about it until we both decided it was NOT the right house for us. Now, here we are with a beautiful home that we both love and we're both fabulously comfortable about the whole thing.

A few tidbits....

The house sits on a corner, so the driveway has a very open feel to it, I think. Although the house faces a side-street, it is beside a fairly busy entry street into our subdivision and I would want Caleb out of my sight in the front yard.

We painted Kara's room this weekend -- well, actually Kara and I painted her room. We chose a bright Spring green. Her room doesn't get much direct sunlight except in the early afternoon and this brightened up the space quite nicely. Her new bedroom furniture will be white and her bedding includes both white, green and pink. It is very pretty and I'm quite excited about seeing the finished product. Tomorrow painting begins on our bedroom. My parents offered this to us as our housewarming gift. Since our bedroom has cathedral ceilings, it's best to have that professionally done, rather than to pay in the with me stuck in bed for a week for pulling out my back.

Thom and I spent a good portion of last weekend looking at paint strips and teasing one-another about how tremondously grown-up and mundane we sounded. We can both remember the days of not understanding why anyone would spend money on matching furniture when there are starving, homeless people in the world. Well, we now have an answer -- a comfortable room certainly makes extending hospitality a lot more fun! And we are definitely looking forward to having people over in our new home.

We're keeping with the sports theme in Caleb's room and looking forward to seeing that take shape. We just figure it's easier to go with it, than to try to get that border down. I found some cute sports things at Target yesterday and Auntie Kara's getting a new valance to match Caleb's room. Mostly, Caleb is just happy to be jumping around in a big empty room.... and I do mean jumping!

Well, that's the housing scoop from us. In other news, Thom and I are both miserably sick and neither of us would feel up to speaking as many words as I've just typed. I took some kind of killer cold-medicine last night that literally knocked me out for about 15 hours. This morning I could think, but I couldn't speak or really move. Then around 1:30 this afternoon I started to feel the medicine begin to let go of me. So, warning -- don't take Chlorotrimeton alone.

More later.... L.