The House

I'm back, what a busy time of year! Add a quick move into it and it'll nearly knock you out!!!! Remember, I got a picture of Emma Claire before school the first day, but not the boys. So, after school I sat them outside and got a picture of the 2 of them, dirt, kool-aid mouth and all!!!! They have had a great time this year and they are becoming BIG buddies. Everyday when I pick them up, they are playing TOGETHER in the gym, just the 2 of them. It's so sweet. One of my daily prayers for my children is that they'll always be close and that nothing will come between them.

NOW! The house! It's a wonderful house and we are so blessed to have found it and moved in as quick as we did. It is a work in progress. I have been painting and painting and painting some more. We still have a wall to knock down b/w the kitchen and den, so that room is not finished AT ALL, but the other rooms are coming together. I'll start with the outside. It's everyone's favorite!

The built-in fireplace will be wonderful this fall for watching out of town football games and hosting family and friends!!!

All the teak furniture came with the house, of which we are SO THANKFUL!!!!

The outdoor kitchen has already been put to good use - we love to grill around here!!!

Even with all the patio space, there is still a nice big flat yard!!!!!

Some of the other "jewels" that came with the house - there are MANY more!!!!

Secret, "cool" places

Now for the inside, which is still VERY MUCH a work in progress!!! The playroom:

This is the bonus/guest room off the playroom: The children LOVE it b/c it's a long room that's empty except for a bed (and their tents)!!!

Henderson's room: notice the ceilings, that is NOT beadboard, it's individually cut pieces of wood, nailed to the ceiling!!! WOW!!!

Nothing on the walls yet and still have pillows to buy, but it's a start!!!!

Henderson moved to his big boy bed 2 nights ago, so the baby bed will soon come down!!! (Hence the baby bed mattresses under the twin beds that I pull out on the sides of the bed at night, in case he rolls off!)

Emma Claire's bathroom before:

Emma Claire's bathroom after: a little girly touch, the color matches her bedspread

Emma Claire's room before:

Emma Claire's room after:

Wilson's room beforeWilson's room after:

Wilson's bathroom:

Here's a shot of those ceilings, aren't they fabulous!? They MAKE the house!!!

Half bath:

Master Bedroom:

Master Bath:

master bath

I'm pretty sure this is great plumbing hardware, though I know nothing about it. The water pressure coming out of that shower head is AMAZING!!!!!!

More Master Bedroom

Dining Room: (we will eventually paint the ceiling and put in a chandelier) This room was a pale gray with white trim, just dreary. So I warmed it up with Benjamin Moore paint in Free Spirit on both walls and woodwork.

Kitchen:Living Room before: (used to be their dining room, but it substantially smaller than the living room, so we switched them!) The old color was a light gray, which is hard to tell in this picture. I know gray is the new "in" color, but I just can't do it - it's so dreary and doesn't go with any of my furniture or rugs.

Living room after: I didn't paint the trim in this room, but I may go back and do it later!

The front of the house will be an entire post by itself. The sun shines DIRECTLY on the house every afternoon and the front is wood siding and is peeling and weathered. We are hoping to brick it to match the addition on the back. I'll post more about that later!!!

We are so very blessed and fortunate to have found this house and I pray every day that God will use it to bring glory to Him. It's perfect for our family and the children have loved the flat driveway and yard and safe street!!!! I pray that I will always have an open home, for family, friends and strangers alike (within reason), that God will allow me many days to raise my family here and share His love.