We have lived in this house ten years

It's been ten years since we moved into this house.  That feels just astonishing to me.  How on earth did time pass so quickly?  I am certain most of our friends can't believe we function in such a small house, but the thing I love is that our small house allows us to have a small house payment.  I am all about that!  There are so many wonderful memories here, and I'm so grateful for this piece of earth we get to care for.  Even though moving was stressful all those years ago, this move was full of so many blessings, most of which we couldn't even imagine when we made the decision to move.  I love the life we have lived in this house.

Don't want to forget about last weekend

I certainly had intended to write about last weekend before we hit this weekend, but it is what it is.  I loved having a long weekend, and it was exactly what I wanted it to be.  We got so much done on Friday   I'm determined, more than I can even explain, to make our house as it works best.  We got a lot of things pitched and donated, and simply just put away in our garage and made some headway in our sunroom.  Saturday, Thomas had to work all day.  Andrew and I set out early in the morning to visit our former town to shop for some a new cabinet for our kitchen.  While they didn't really carry any of that, we did decide to purchase a recliner and a new loveseat.  We then headed south to visit another store, and also grabbed a quick lunch.  By the time we got home, it was time to go get Catherine from her apartment.  I've been offering to make the trips to get her, and she appreciates not spending her gas or putting the wear and tear on her vehicle.  Honestly, I appreciate the opportunity to chat just with her.  We made frozen pizzas for dinner, and just hung out.

Sunday was the best!  We went to church and Thomas even brought his girlfriend.  We then headed to one of our family's favorite restaurants.  Love those pub fries!  Thomas and Catherine spent some time doing some shopping.  That evening, we played a trivia game I found, and we all laugh so hard when we play.  We love it!  It's one of my favorite ways to spend an evening with my family.  When we got up Monday, Andrew made the kids a decent breakfast.  Thomas went off to work and I took Catherine back to her apartment.  Catherine had some drama that afternoon that made Monday challenging, but overall it was such a wonderful weekend.  I'm so grateful we had fun and made memories!

Our house

This summer, my goal has been to really make the house like I want it, at least as much as I can.  While I would love to gut the kitchen and rebuild it, that isn't happening.  Many things can be done though.  I settled on a new color for the front door, and it has been painted.  I've gone through many things in my bedroom and really made a difference in that room.  Same with the garage, and honestly in just about any room I've been working in.  I've gone through boxes, drawers, cabinets...and I've been happy getting ready of a lot of things.  For one thing, I finally feel that we are in a place financially where if I find I need something after a few years of not needing it, I'll be able to afford to purchase it.  I've also decided to purchase a new kitchen storage cabinet, and can't wait until it arrives, as well as some new furniture to replace old furniture that has seen better days.  Andrew and I work hard, we are going to be here for at least the next seven years, and I want to enjoy our days here and be comfortable.  We love our house, and I'm grateful we are able to to do this!

There's no place like home

We got home about 7:00 last evening.  It was something of a rough trip home, and I was so grateful to finally make it home.  We walked through the house and did some unpacking, and my heart was full of so much gratitude not only for our amazing vacation, but for the house where we spend the majority of our time.  I felt like I was seeing home through new eyes, and I couldn't have been (and continue to be) more grateful for the home in which we live.

I'll write later this week about the vacation itself.  Today, I'm getting ready to face reality again with back to work tomorrow, and I'm enjoying celebrating my husband on this Father's Day!

Some new things

There have been a few changes in our house.  When Andrew's chair arrived, we decided to move his old chair into our front room.  It was in decent shape, and the furniture store couldn't take it, so we decided to hold on to it.  Adding a chair into our front room required rearranging, and ultimately there will be a table headed to storage.

Additionally, we didn't like how the recliner looked, so we ended up completely rearranging our family room.  As it turns out, I really love the arrangement.  It actually really opens up the space.  I love that we can look out the windows, and I love that our fireplace is now "part" of our room.  We decided though, that the table the TV was sitting on wouldn't work, so we ended up changing out a table in the dining room, and we also moved the wine fridge into the dining room.  There were also a lot of decorations and pictures that needed to be moved.  Lots and lots of changes occurred.  

As much as I hated change, I'm enjoying it right now.  It makes things feel a little fresh, and there are many things I appreciate it about the new arrangement.  It feels peaceful.

Another change...Thomas is officially employed and in the system at the university.  He'll start his new job in two weeks.  We are very proud of him!

We have lived here seven years

I can't believe we have been in this house seven years.  That is not a short amount of time, although it has flown by.  I am so grateful for the life we have in this house.  At the same time, this date kind of takes my breath away.  This time seven years ago was so incredibly stressful.  Within seven months we moved, Thomas passed out and taken by ambulance to the hospital, my dad's best friend (and father-like figure to me) died, my dad died, my brother-in-law suffered a debilitating stroke, my mother-in-law was ill and hospitalized, and my mother was diagnosed with cancer.  And there were many smaller things that led up to this!  My mother and mother-in-law have turned out well, but I will never, ever forget how that all felt.  I can't lie, in many ways this year is just as stressful.

I couldn't sleep last night.  Part of it is that my body doesn't seem to be able to regulate my body temp again.  Part of it was Andrew snoring.  Part of it is just the time of year, with school beginning, albeit strangely, and me taking a job unexpectedly.  I'm grateful for the opportunity, but it's all very unknown.  It felt weird being awake so early, but I also reminded myself that what felt "early" when I woke up today will be the time I need to be leaving next week.  Wow.

Andrew is back at work today, and Thomas is still sleeping.  One benefit to being up so early is quiet time.  I very much appreciate this quiet time.  That will also be a benefit of my 30 minute drive each way.  Lots of quiet time for me!

We need to develop a plan

Since we now know that Thomas and Andrew will be home for several months, we need to come up with a plan for everyone to have some space.  Andrew been using our dining room table, but that doesn't seem to be viable for five more months.  I would like him to have a place he can keep track of his things.  We have an extra table in our garage that would make an ideal work space for him, but we aren't sure where to put it.  Additionally, we need some place for Thomas to be able to work as well.  Sitting on a couch isn't ideal.  We also know though, that he does need to be comfortable in order to work well, so we need to come up with something.

Obviously, I am completely unemployed (except for an hour or two each week at church) during this time.  Andrew and I talked before things became official, and we know that we will financially be fine for a few months.  We decided that I would not look for a job until January because we don't want me to have something that might require me to work during the holidays.  We will also hope that school will open again in January and I can sub, but that is definitely no guarantee.  So for now, my "job" will simply be to make sure things runs as smoothly as possible.  Some days that will probably mean I need to get out of the way.  Mom will need things done at her place, so there will be days I am there.  Catherine will have appointments and no car, so there will be days I am dealing with that.  We are also refinancing our mortgage which will significantly decrease our payments, and I am becoming the "electricity monitor" to make sure we are frugal.  We are hanging out laundry and turning off lights immediately.

I love having a plan!  We aren't all the way there, but we are getting there!

Our backyard

Last summer when we visited family on Lake Champlain, there were nine of us staying in a little camp building that could not have been more than 650 sq feet, and that might be generous!  Honestly, I was pretty much only inside to do the dishes, help with any cooking, and to sleep.  Otherwise, we were outdoors.  There was so much space outdoors that I remember all five adults being out one afternoon, and none of us were anywhere near another.  I remember sitting by the water one afternoon, and falling asleep from the peacefulness of it all.  It was truly inspiring to Andrew and me that there was so much more life outdoors rather than indoors.

I have never loved the outdoors.  In fact, heat and humidity are major triggers to my migraine headaches.  At the same time, sitting outside on a gorgeous weather day brings more peace than I can explain.  Our backyard is so private and peaceful, and I really decided I wanted it to be a place I enjoy being.  We can't afford an oasis, but we can make it enjoyable.

It started two years ago or so when I moved our porch furniture onto our patio.  For many years after we moved here, we used it as the furniture in our sunroom.  However, that room has a very fluid purpose, and decided to use the furniture as it was intended.  It makes a lovely little sitting area on our patio.  We moved the picnic table that had previous sat in that spot to underneath a tree.  I don't love eating outdoors, and it's really just extra places to sit when we have people over.

Last summer, I also purchased an early birthday present for Andrew and bought him a hammock.  He had always wanted one, and I found one at an end of season sale.  It was an unbelievable discount, and since we counted it as his birthday gift it was truly win-win!  It is located in a very shaded spot and both Andrew and Thomas love to spend time in it.

Our garage had been the home for five years of a porch swing that belonged to my parents.  My mother had no place to put it, and I was happy to take it off her hands.  Andrew built me an amazing a-frame for it last summer, and it is just in front of the woods by our fire pit.

Today we continued our quest to trim and work in the yard, and the focus today was on the backyard.  I planted some more flowers, and we did a great deal of mulching.  My favorite part was that Andrew trimmed back the ferns I hate, and I can't get over how much better it all makes the yard look.   We have a hanging basket and memorial wind chimes (from his brother's service) hanging on shepherd's hooks just outside our big family room picture window.

I love our backyard.  It is so peaceful, and I can't believe that I am lucky enough to be able to spend each day enjoying this little tiny peace of earth.  In fact, I am enjoying the beauty of my backyard as I type this!

We have lived in this house for six years

Six years ago today, also on a Saturday, we moved into our home.  I can't believe how quickly these six years have flown by.  I remember how big this house felt when we moved here.  It was only 100 sq ft bigger than our previous home, but it was so much more functional.  The lot is also four times larger than our previous lot, so it was definitely bigger outdoors.  Andrew and I love this house and we love this location in our little neighborhood in the woods.  It helps me to feel at peace.

Love grows best in little houses

Many years ago I wrote about things I love about living in a smaller home.  A few weeks ago, I was shopping one of my new favorite online sites, and came upon this wooden sign.  It was on sale, and I've fallen in love with this particular company.  I was thrilled to purchase it, and I love that it is hanging in our family room where we spend most of our time.  I purchased several other signs along with it.  One is for our hall bathroom, one is for the holidays, and a few I wasn't sure necessarily where I was going to put them.  One of the signs mentioned how "I choose you, and I would choose you over and over and over again."  It is such a meaningful sentiment in our family.  I had it in the hallway leaning against the wall because it is one that I wasn't entirely sure where it was going to go.  Thomas commented on the signs when he got home that evening.  He said he had seen the one in the hallway, and that he really liked it.  That meant such a great deal to me.  It is so important to me that we understand we've chosen to be this family.  I'm grateful he knows how much he is loved, and I love having the visual reminder!

It felt good to cut the cord

We finally got rid of cable...and wow did it feel good!  I'll be honest, I've been tied to cable for several reasons, but mostly because I am a sports fanatic and needed my live sports.  Honestly,  switching also seemed to be such a hassle.  It was what we had, and it seemed to just work.  However, the latest bill increase was ridiculous....absolutely crazy.  Overall our bill (it does include internet and telephone) had increased 44% in five years...well beyond the rate of inflation!  I'm sure we were being offered more, but that doesn't make it better.  We finally found a streaming service that was heavy on sports and also carried all of our local channels.  We signed up for the seven day free trial, and we are SOLD!  We were going to carry a minimal cable package to fill in a few of the channels we like that we couldn't get on our streaming package, but the quality was abysmal.  Of course, the cable company tried to tell us that we needed to upgrade our internet, but the streaming service we are using comes in just fine and we are thrilled.  It felt amazingly freeing to cut the cord to cable for good last evening!

I like the "before"

I think I'm getting old.  There are many indicators of this, but the one that seems to smack me in the face is the "before".  I subscribe to several house magazines.  They aren't all specific to decor, but most of them have several articles on house hold decorating.  I've been noticing more and more lately, that I often prefer the "before" pictures.  I remember being younger myself, and walking into a house and immediately being able to tell it was an older person who lived there.  Those were always the houses that needed "updating".  I couldn't imagine being that person who would ever want my house to look so outdated, and I wondered why the owners weren't interested in being updated.  I'm beginning to understand though.  I realize it may not be that they don't realize...they may just like their decor as it is.  I am becoming that person!  I know that my kitchen could probably use a major update (which we couldn't afford anyway), but I actually love it the way it is (with the exception of our worn out counter top).  I look at these pictures in the magazines, and not only and I not particularly impressed with the "after" pics, I actually prefer the "before".

Bringing joy

Lately, it seems as though the whole "does it bring you joy when you touch it" movement has been surrounding me.  I get it...I really do.  Life being less cluttered certainly can be advantageous.  I don't think people would consider my house cluttered though, and I'll be honest, I love the things around me.  Yes, they bring me joy.

I love the pictures hanging on my wall.  Many of them are from the last family portrait session we had done a little over two years ago.  I also so love the pictures sitting around my house on shelves and elsewhere.  I love the picture of our family at Disney, and I love the picture of my kids decked out in their Notre Dame clothing when they were very young.  I love the photos of my grandparents' high school graduations, and I love the photo of my mother with her mother, brother, and sister.  These are only a few of the photos, and they all bring me great joy.

I also love some of the "things" around my house.  I love the building cut outs from the towns in which I've lived, as well as some of our vacations.  I love the rock on my shelf that is painted red and has the word "peace" etched on it.  Not only is that a lovely visual in itself, but Thomas made that for me at a church activity.  I love the kids' ceramic projects sitting on the shelf, as well as some of our word blocks.  I love the reminders that "the time to be happy is now", as well as "We are so blessed" in front of our kids' pics.  These things, yes, they bring me joy.

Maybe I am way too sentimental.  Maybe I am ridiculous.  But for right now, that's fine with me.  I have room, my house isn't crazy, and I have much joy in my life.

We have lived here five years

It absolutely doesn't seem possible that we have lived here five years.  We are closer to Thomas's graduation date than we are to the day we moved in.  I absolutely love this house and I love where we live.  It has become my home and it brings me much peace and comfort.  The school (particularly the high school) is the center of our lives and I'm so grateful we get to share so much of it together.  I still don't love living in this town, but I try to be grateful for having so much here.  We miss so many people in our former town, but we still see them.  That town still feels much more like home though.  It absolutely does not feel like five years since we left!

Tuesday's track meet

The track meet four days ago was a home meet, and it was our big invitational.  It is always my favorite meet of the year because our former school district is always there as well.  Andrew was disappointed he had to work that evening at his night class.  Thomas volunteered in the concession stand, but I was free to roam around.  I was able to see so many familiar faces, although some of the faces have changed so much in the years I didn't recognize them!  I was able to get some hugs and even meet up with the mom of Thomas's best friend.  We watched her daughter win the pole vault and tie the meet record before coming home.  As I was telling Andrew about it, he also became nostalgic.  Neither of us have ever regretted this move, and I have always known this is the best place for our family...there are so many good things that came from this move and I am proud to be in school where Andrew teaches.  At the same time, even after 4-1/2 years, this place doesn't feel like "home", and the place that does will always hold a special place in our heart.

An entire day of prep

I have decided it is time to paint our bedroom hallway.  It is one of many projects I want to accomplish before Robert graduates.  I decided these two weeks of spring break was the time to get started.  Of course, life keeps getting in the way, but finally yesterday Catherine and I were able to go buy the paint.  We had other things happening yesterday, and it was 8:00 before I had a chance to begin the project.  Andrew convinced me it was too late to get started, and in a way I'm glad he did.  I might have been up all night otherwise!  I knew I wasn't getting up terribly early this morning, but I had been fighting a headache most of last evening so I did go to bed early.  Late morning I got a start on it, and Robert and Catherine helped as well.  I knew I would have to wash all the walls, but I was not prepared for how much scraping and sanding needed to happen.  In addition to the woodwork, there are seven doors in that little hallway.  Based on how much paint came off, I have no idea how the paint hasn't been chipping off as time has passed.  Early evening we finally finished it all up.  I know tomorrow there won't be an opportunity to finish it, but I was hoping to get back at it on Monday.  Thomas has a track meet Monday evening, but I was thinking I could work until then.  However, it is the day I have to get payroll sent off at the church so that isn't going to happen either.  I can get several hours in during the morning, and maybe I can get the walls done and do the doors another day.  As with every house project, it isn't going according to plans!

New furniture arrived

At the beginning of the year, Andrew and I decided we could replace the loveseat in our family room.  In July of 2016, the lever to allow one of the seats to recline had broken, and it's the seat in which I usually sit!  It was also showing lots of age and had some rips and tears.  Andrew's parents had actually given us money for it last year, but at the time I couldn't find anything I liked, and then we found out we needed to replace his car so that was the end of that.  We weren't planning to do it this year either, but since my grandmother gave us more than expected and we didn't use it on rugs like we thought we might, we decided to get a new loveseat.  While we were shopping at our furniture store (we still go back to our old town...you can't beat the prices or the service), we found a chair that I absolutely loved.  I had been looking for a big chair to put in our living room to replace the blue rocking chair.  Blue had long been painted over in that room.  It was a discontinued chair, so it was marked way, way down, and the color would work!  We decided to add it to the order, and they were both delivered yesterday.  Everyone loves them both!  Of course we ended up having some major car repair expenses so it was an INCREDIBLY expensive weekend, but life goes on.

The rugs make me feel grown up

The house in which we currently live, just like our previous home, has absolutely no wall-to-wall carpeting at all.  When we first moved into our first home, we loved it because not only did it add to, and fit, the character of the house, my husband was having trouble being around cats and we thought that was our best shot to him being able to live with them.  It worked out well.  Our living room was very large and we had a large area rug in that room.  The kids rooms had fun little area rugs, and our bedroom had a fairly inexpensive area rug.  It was never very soft and with lots of cat vomit over the years, we threw it out when we moved.

Our second home is 100 years newer than our previous home, but the original part of the house had hardwood floors.  The kitchen and family had hardwood installed sometime before we moved in.  We knew that we liked wood floors, and already had some rugs.  The living room rug fit well into our new living room, and the kids' rugs also made the move.  We ended up getting Catherine a more "grown up" rug about six months after we moved.  Very shortly after we moved, I had found some VERY inexpensive area rugs to put into our family room.  They were a long shag, which is "in" these days, and if we purchased two of the rugs we could put them together and have the size we needed.  We had thought about sewing them together because I loved them and they were SO inexpensive.  However, they would also have been perfect to have on either side of our bed in our room.

Time passed, and nothing changed.  I knew what I hoped to do, but with me being a SAHM, the money just wasn't there.  Finally this fall, we are beginning to slowly rebuild our savings.  We also received an unexpected amount from my grandmother for Christmas.  Around the beginning of the year, I was online just kind of looking around.  I found an area rug that was a good size, and I liked it!  It was VERY reasonably priced to start, and was on sale for 15% off.  In addition, I had received gift cards from my in-laws for both my birthday and Christmas, and had some additional coupons from my Christmas shopping.  When all was done, we paid less than $10.00 out of our pockets...we didn't even need the extra amount from my grandmother!  I was so excited and couldn't wait for the rug to arrive.  When it did, we took the old rugs into our bedroom, and got everything all laid out like we wanted.  It's probably a little ridiculous how happy the new rug, and having the rugs in our bedroom make me.  Seeing something like that come together actually makes me feel grown up!

2017 Thankful post #5

I missed yesterday because it was such a busy day.  If I get a chance somewhere along the line to do a catch-up, I will.

I am grateful for my home.  I loved our first home and have wonderful memories of the time spent there.  It was a beautiful little historic house, and Andrew and I fell in love with it pretty much the first time we saw it.  It was our first home together, and where we brought our children home to, but it was never meant for a family of five in this age.  We literally outgrew the home overnight, but remained another 7-1/2 years.

Finding our current home was such an amazing blessing.  With the exception of the boys' room, our new house is so much more perfect for us.  Our outdoor space is even more amazing then the indoor space, especially compared to our first home.  We absolutely love our house.

Most importantly though, I am simply grateful for having a home.  I am grateful for knowing where I am going to lay my head each evening, and especially grateful for the family that fills our home each day.

It felt like going home

Last week I had to take both Catherine and Thomas back to our former town for a doctor appointment.  We were ridiculously early.  I tend to be an overplanner, and I had a very scheduled day so I we got into town unbelievably early.  It is a 45 minute drive, and I just never know how long it is going to take.  Anyway, we were so early that I didn't want to go into the office just yet because I knew there was no way they were going to be ready for us.  We decided to take a quick jaunt around town and specifically wanted to drive past our old house.  While I loved that house, I don't miss it.  The house we live in now is so much better for us and it honestly feels like a dream come true.  Regardless, we drove past the house and the kids commented on a couple of changes they noticed.  I think Thomas misses the house a bit, and I know that we all miss that town.  As we were driving around town, I couldn't get over just how much it felt like we were "home".  It's different there, and I can't explain it.  Andrew has always said after the kids graduates he wants to move back there, and maybe we will.  It will always be a special place to me.