Finally Ready to Go!

It's been a long time coming! The house has been "Coming Soon" for almost 6 months now, but at long last, we're ready to sell. The realtor came out to take pictures for the listing today and it should be done after the weekend. We've been working so hard on getting so much stuff done around here to make it ready to sell at a great price.

We were blessed to have so much help along the way. We had a group of guys from the church come out to paint the whole exterior as well as trim some of the trees back, and a construction team (paid for by the church) repaired the rotten wood around the outside. (This was, by far, what took the most time-- and patience! It's not easy depending on others to do things when you really just want it done!)

Brett singlehandedly painted the front and back decks. His friend Steve helped him to completely replace the wood on the front, and a couple boards in the back. (It's hard to see in the picture, really, but the "after" is a completely different color, and Brett added the little patio area and the rocks you see on the right.)

He also became quite the accomplished gardener through all this. He originally planted tons of pretty flowers. Then the insects came and the hot weather, and construction workers with little regard for gardens, so he re-planted, not once, but twice. It turned out really beautiful.

My dad helped paint a couple rooms inside the house.

Steve also helped with some rotten wood on one side of our kitchen cabinets and beneath the sink (it's always been sunken in under there, as long as we've lived here, and now it looks amazing-- I can put things in there & they don't disappear!). Andrew "helped" with that project! :)


Our realtor told us granite countertops are big now and we can double what we paid for them when we sell-- we really hope so! They really do look good....

We packed half our belongings on a Pack Rat storage unit months ago (and surprisingly haven't missed a lot of it!) and have made 2 trips back since then-- so there is virtually no clutter in our house. We will continue to live "like we're on vacation" as we do showings and try to get it sold. We're praying it sells quickly and for a great price. (We have no money left to put into it!) We have the advantage of a great location and an inexpensive price for a 3-bedroom. It's not exactly a seller's market right now, but we're hopeful, and we have a great realtor. It's been a long road-- as we've been serving in Newton Grove, though, we know that is where God wants us to be, in order to better minister to our new congregation.

We have a place to move there, too! God blessed us beyond what we could have imagined in this concern. On the very first deacon's meeting Brett ever went to at NGBC, way back in March, a deacon in the church told Brett that he owned the house across the street from the church and that his renters would soon be moving out. He would rent it to us for less than half what we're paying for mortgage now. From his description, it sounded perfect for our family, and even bigger than what we have now. We were so excited-- everything was falling right into place!

Well, a month or two later, this same deacon told us he'd just closed on another house, less than a mile down the street from the church. It's about the same size-- only 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, but it has a formal living room as well as a den, a formal dining room and an eat-in area in the kitchen, and a screened-in porch area. It has a huge yard and is within walking distance from the city park. It's an older house, carpeted throughout, but when we looked at it, it appears in much better shape than the one across the street from the church.

So we were given TWO options of places to live. We couldn't have asked for a better situation. Granted, neither house is one we probably would choose if we were buying a house for our family. However, we do like the second house (the one down the street) and think it will work well for us. When we looked at it a second time, we started to get excited. The deacon even told us he'd put a door up on the den so we can turn it into a bedroom for Leah. (You have to go through that room to get outside through the screened-in porch side door, but there is a front door as well, which we'll use as our primary door.) There's no closet, but we can get a wardrobe. He also said he'd air-condition the screened in porch & put up blinds, so it will work great for a playroom-- about which I am so excited!

So now we're soaking up our last few moments in this, our first home ever. It's a little bittersweet, just thinking about all that has happened in this house. When we first bought it, Brett and I weren't even married yet-- just starting out, so excited about all our future had in store. We spent all our free time the month before our wedding putting our sweat and tears into painting and fixing things up. We moved in right after our honeymoon. We shared a lot of firsts in this house-- our first Thanksgiving, our first Christmas, our first anniversary, then our first pregnancy, our first baby. Our guest room was turned into a nursery. Then, two years later, our study was turned into another nursery as the first was turned into a toddler's room. This house has seen happiness and sadness, tears of joy and tears of frustration. Even though it's only been just over 5 years, they've been the most crucial five years of our marriage and our lives, and through it all, we had this house to call home.

Chronicles of Mischief, Part 2 ("The Climber")

It really is a shame that Andrew is just so darn cute. He's going to be tough to discipline. And he is a troublemaker. His new favorite activity is climbing! If I don't put a gate at the bottom of the stairs, he goes all the way up--on his own-- over and over again. (And I don't think he knows how to go down on his own-- I haven't let him try!) You never know where you'll find him next...

Andrew's 1st Birthday Party

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Andrew, who was turning one year old. Although you might not be able to tell, he was quite excited about all the goings-on. He watched Daddy put decorations up with quite an intensity. He chased balloons around in awe. And, he took "streamer-eating" very seriously.



Grandma & Grandpa and Uncle BJ came and there were lots of cool decorations. And food.



He didn't really care for his hamburger lunch, but he was really quite curious about that stack of cake-looking things.





At first he wasn't quite sure what to do with his very own cupcake...

But then he took a taste...

And then, he got the hang of it...


Then it was time to open presents! He got quite a haul...

His big sister didn't quite understand that Andrew didn't really need help opening his gifts, and, no, there weren't any for her.

Even though she did get a princess skirt from Grandma (which she didn't take off the entire time, and begged to wear to church the next day!).

Mommy & Daddy got him a train with blocks to stack. (And he's very good at stacking things.)



Grandma & Grandpa got him a toy lawn mower-- which may have been one of his faves. He actually walked a few steps holding on to it.

Uncle BJ & Aunt Chela got him a Mega Blox boat for the bath.

Yet at the end of the day, his favorite thing to play with was a broom and dustpan.

What a great time this little one-year-old had! And how blessed he is to have such great family & friends!

Andrew- 1 Year in Pictures

For the records:
Andrew weighs 21 lbs., 1 oz. (25th%) and is 29 1/4 in. tall (40th%). He is nursing now only 3, sometimes 4 times a day. He eats a jar of Stage 2 baby food per meal, plus finger foods (mac & cheese, chicken, veggies, bread, crackers, Goldfish are among his favorites) and 2 snacks. Still no teeth!!

He generally sleeps through the night now, waking up between 5:30 and 6:30 in the morning. He takes a pretty good morning nap, 45 min. to 1 1/2 hours, and afternoon naps are usually short. He gets really tired & grumpy by about 6:30 but usually we keep him up till about 7:30. He hates getting his diaper changed because it requires him to sit still, and he hates sitting still!

He doesn't have many words, but he has actually started saying "Daddy" when the Daddy walks in the room. He is great at fine and large motor skills-- he can stack blocks well, pick up cereal with his pincer fingers, he can climb all the way up the stairs, he can roll a ball around, and he walks well with help (although he's not taking steps on his own yet). The doctor said he's developing perfectly well!

To My Sweet 1-Year-Old Boy

Dear Andrew,


Where has this past year gone so quickly? Are you really no longer my little baby? It's amazing how much you've grown over the past year. And even though I knew it would happen, it's still bittersweet to see how big you are. I still remember the first time I saw your sweet little face. No one could really tell whether you looked more like Mommy or Daddy, but we could tell you were a perfect combination of both of us. And now, your personality is developing in the same way. This first year with you has been quite an adventure-- having a little boy is so different from having a little girl, and having a little Andrew means new experiences every day.

Andrew, I love how even though you really don't like to snuggle at all, you still love to be held and rocked before bedtijme, especially by your Mommy. You tend to be so fussy until someone comes and scoops you up-- you just like to know someone's nearby. You love to be around other people-- everyone at church thinks you never cry. You don't really sit still long enough to have a love of books yet-- you'd much rather be standing up and cruising around. You do love music and dancing and clapping and you love to be outside! You love water (especially in the toilet) and dirt and blocks and any kind of toy you can put "in" something else.

Getting you on a good sleeping schedule has been a challenge from Day 1. Many times you fight sleep or take short naps, but it's probably because you love life so much. You are such a BUSY boy, and so curious. There's barely time to sit down when you're awake-- you're always exploring something or another and I'm always having to get up and chase you around.

Though you haven't a single tooth in your mouth, you love to eat and you'll eat almost anything put in front of you. After our first few weeks of issues with nursing, you've become such a great nurser and now I'm not sure how to get you to stop!

I can tell you absolutely adore your big sister, even if she does hit you and push you around. (I know it won't be long before the tables are turned!) You follow her all around the house and want to be a part of whatever she's doing-- even if that means eating her crayons or beating her Princess figures against the wall or throwing her books all over the floor. There's no doubt you're a little BOY-- fearless in many ways, "stubborn", and full of energy.

Oh how much you are loved, my little boy, my second born. I am so excited to see you grow and become a young man. I pray we will always see the potential you have and remember you are not our own-- you are a child of God and only ours for a little while.

Love, Mommy

Wordless Wednesday