Settling In

Well, we are finally getting all settled in our new house. We still don't have internet hooked up so I'm playing on Michael's computer at the office. I'll try to remember to bring some pics up to the church to post online for everyone to see. It's so nice finally being able to settle down in a house that is ours. I can't explain the joy of being able to decorate and hang pictures! Natalie is adjusting well to the new place. She loves her new room. She's finally starting to sleep through the night again and sleep later than 5 am. I just have to say that God is good all the time-even through all the crazy plumbing and ant problems we're having. Things are starting to settle down now that youth camp is over. We're taking the youth to Six Flags Thursday. I'm very happy to say that Grammie is coming to stay with Nat so she doesn't have to go. We had a wonderful (but crazy) weekend with family and friends. Natalie loved playing with her cousins, Avery and Lexi. Michael and I also enjoyed getting to play cards with his brother, Justin, and sister-in-law, Valeta. Michael and our friend, David, took out the alternator in my car and hopefully will be able to get the new one in tonight with no problems. I guess that's all for now. I hope things are going well with everyone. Look for pictures soon!

Finally Moved

It is finished! We are all moved into our new house! It's a total mess, but hey everything is there. We still have little things that need to be done, but we can work on that at night after Nat goes to bed or when she's napping. We moved out just in time for the family who is buying the house we were renting. As most of you know, my friend Jennifer, who is buying the house, had her baby girl Kate Marie last night. Both are doing well and Kate is absolutely beautiful! I'll post pictures of our house as soon as Michael gets back from youth camp and we get our computer all set up. Yes, Michael is at youth camp this week. From our short conversations, it is going great. Please continue to pray for the youth and counselors as they finish up the week and come home. Thanks so much to all of our friends who have helped us remodel the house and move. Just to name a few Brandon and Jennifer, Kerry, David, Johnny and Tricia, Matt, Terry, Brandon's cousins (for helping us move yesterday while Kate was planning her arrival), Brian, Eugene and Vicki, and anyone else I forgot to mention (I'm sorry if I missed anyone I'm running on little sleep).

Roommates

This week has been crazy and it's only Wednesday!!! Our friends, the Kindles, sold their house on Monday and have to be out by Friday. They are buying the house that we are currently renting. Our house isn't ready yet. So, we are going to have roommates for a while or they are going to have roommates-whichever way you want to look at it. Their three boys are going to sleep over at their Mimi's across the street and Brandon and Jennifer are going to sleep in their new room upstairs. Hopefully, our carpet will be in today or tomorrow. Then, they can set an install date. Please pray that it's sometime next week. Michael is leaving for youth camp on Sunday. So, it'll just be me and Nat. I'm hoping to get all the painting finished this week. I can only do it at night after Natalie goes to sleep if I have someone here with her. The past two nights I've had wonderful girls from our youth group stay with her. I've gotten a lot done, but I still have a lot to go. Michael and Brandon have been working so hard to get the floor tiled. They're not done yet, but it looks great! Last night and today they've been moving our stuff to the new house and moving the Kindles things in to our current house we're renting. Did I mention that Jennifer is due on July 20th?!? Needless to say it is CRAZY around here. Here are some newer pics of our house. I'll take some later today of the tile and the paint. Natalie is asleep so I think I'm gonna rest for a bit. Until later...

Remodelling Update

Everything is going great with our new house! Michael and Brandon finished replacing insulation and sheetrock. They can finally rest a little bit. The guys finished taping, bedding and texturing this morning. So, we can start painting tomorrow!!! I am so excited! It doesn't even look like the same house on the inside. Michael has the camera at the new house, so I'll have to post pictures later. The only thing we'll be waiting on to move in will be the carpet. They've got it, but it may be a few weeks before they're able to lay it. Michael leaves for camp the 13th, so I'm really hoping that they can get the carpet in before he leaves. It would be even better if we could get moved in before he leaves. We'll have to wait and see.

As I was browsing through my friends' blogs I came upon a newstory where two young men were killed in a drive by shooting. Both were devoted Christians. You can read more about them at http://mrsmommyd.blogspot.com/. Please pray for the Swan and Butler families during this time.

Just like Mom

As I was attempting to do some laundry and change sheets this morning, Natalie came walking by with one of my bras wrapped around her. It looked as if she had tried to put it on. A little bit later, she started playing with my shoes. The child loves shoes. I have a feeling I'm in big trouble. Anyway, she wanted me to help her put my shoes on her then she walked around in them. It seems like not too long ago I was playing dress up in my mom's shoes and now my daughter is doing the same thing. I had to stop doing my housework to watch her for a while. It was a humbling experince to think that she wants to be like me. I hope and pray that I will be the godly example I need to be for her.

A quick house update, as the guys started taking down paneling, they had to take down lots of sheetrock too because of termite damage. Here are some pictures that Michael took last night. We still have a lot of work to do, but hopefully the demolition part is behind us.

Natalie's friend, Crew, had his second birthday on Monday. He got a really cool kitchen that all the kids loved playing with. She just loves the Kindle boys. She thinks she's as big as they are.

On Tuesday, we ate dinner with the Kindles since Michael and Brandon are working on the house late into the night. Parker pulled Natalie onto his lap on the couch and they watched Elmo. It was so sweet!

Homeowners Again

Well, we finally closed on our house! So, we are officially homeowners again. This week, Michael and our friend, Brandon, have been scraping popcorn off the ceilings, taking down paneling and tearing out sheetrock from termite damage. I wish I could say it's been an exciting week now that we own a house, but it's been quite busy and progress is going a little slower than planned. Everything will work out fine, we've just had a few bugs (literally!) to deal with along the way. Hopefully, next week, I can start texturing and painting. Some of our wonderful youth have offered to watch Natalie so I can help work on the house. Here are some pictures before most of the demolition work started. As you can see the ceilings have already been scraped. The first two pics are of our kitchen and diningroom. The next two pics are of our livingroom. I don't know why the dark spot showed up by the fireplace, but I'm pretty sure it's not really there. The pic with the shopvac is Natalie's room. The room with the ugly carpet is the guest bedroom. The next two pics are of our bathroom. The room with the lovely mauve chair is ours, and no we are not keeping the chair. The next pic is of our hall bathroom. I don't know why the color came out weird, but it's all white. And lastly, a picture of our beautiful backyard. I promise in a few weeks I'll post some new pictures and you won't even realize it's the same house. All it needs is lots of TLC and a family to make it a home. We definitely have our work cut out for us, but we are so excited because it is OURS!!!

Stickers and Spaghetti

Natalie loves stickers! She knows that I keep them with my scrapbook stuff. Well, a few weeks ago I started giving them to her every now and then to play with. They're the clear ones that peel off easily. Just a few minutes ago she walked over and pointed to my bag and said, "Peas?" I just couldn't resist giving her one. When she would stick it to something and couldn't get it off she would start screaming. So, the other day I taught her to say please when she got it stuck and I would come get it off for her. When she got it stuck a few minutes ago she so sweetly said please instead of screaming! Way to go, Nat! It never ceases to amaze me at how fast they learn. Here's a few pics of her sticker her treasure on her toys.

Friday afternoon for lunch we ate chicken spaghetti. Luckily, I striped her down to her diaper so she wouldn't get her clothes all dirty. Little did I realize that I would have to give her a bath once she was finished.