House Projects: Part 1

By no means would I say that we bought a fixer upper, but Robert and I would officially say that move in ready is only true if you've custom built a new house for yourself. HA!  There wasn't anything that had to happen in order for us to survive, but it definitely wasn't all to our liking, and it was fairly obvious that the previous owners hadn't been into taking good care of the home.  We found a lot of things where they just kind of took the easy way out to survive.  We closed on the house on December 8 and immediately went  to Home Depot to purchase some laminate flooring.  There was already laminate in the living room and hallway, and we were able to purchase an exact match to install in the three bedrooms and closets.

Robert removed the carpet, Dad removed the tack strips, and I removed the staples.  The sellers had two large indoor dogs and three kids (1, 2, and 3 years old).  Needless to say, the carpet was very worn and smelled awful.  Robert and Pepaw worked on the floors for a whole day together, and then Robert took it from there.  The two of them could barely move for several days.  It was incredibly time-consuming, and I couldn't help because I had to keep Sarah away from the loud sawing and hammering.  It was a tedious task, but Robert would say it was work it to save $1000+.

Next came painting.  We picked Magical for Sarah's room and our bathroom, Upward for everything else, except for Naval for an accent wall in our kitchen and an accent wall in our bathroom.

The lady at Lowe's was disillusion (and so were we) for thinking that we could get by with one coat and only 4 gallons.  2 coats and 9 gallons later, we were finished.  We had lots of good help with painting!  Robert painting the popcorn ceiling in several rooms.  Initially, I wanted to remove and re-texture the ceilings, but because we have a vaulted ceiling the quotes were very expensive and ranged from $2,500-4,000.  No, thank you.  The ceilings were dingy and not bright white.  Painting them stunk for Robert, but again, he agrees that they look so much better!  I think the ceiling took 4 gallons of paint.

See the difference?

The sellers had a small hood over the range and a microwave on the counter.  I wanted a mounted micro-hood, so we ordered one, and Pepaw was going to help us install it.  It was kind of time-consuming (notice a theme here?), and in the end they realized we were missing one little nut.  They went to exchange the micro-hood, but there wasn't another one in stock, so we had to order one and wait a few days for it to arrive.  Once we got the new one it was installed quite quickly.

The connection for the fireplace had been shut off, so Pepaw got it cranking for us again.  Sarah loves staring at the fire...and at Pepaw!

In keeping with the fact that the sellers liked to do things halfway, they had nice wood custom-cut blinds in half the windows, and the other half had broken, brown mini blinds, so we ordered more matching wooden blinds for the four remaining windows.  Love it!

Again with the halfway thing, there was a leak with the kitchen sink.  They fixed the leak but didn't fix the rotten wood under the sink.  Ugh.  Pepaw to the rescue!

This is how you get work done with a baby.

 Enjoying our new fridge!  This was the one easy thing to install.

We replaced the locks and door knobs on all interior and exterior doors.  No more brass.  Hello, oil rubbed bronze!

We did some big time furniture painting and painted a bedside table, end table, and a hutch.  I'm excited to finally have a handy place to store Robert's Mamaw's china so we can get to it more easily and use it more often.

Robert organized the garage.  I think the cold weather motivated him to clear up the garage so that both cars can be parked in it.

We also installed a new ceiling fan in the living room.  The old set up was a track light shining on some artwork, a fan with no light, and two brass recessed lights by the fireplace.  We removed and patched the ceiling where the track light was, installed a fan with lights, and replaced the brass cases on the recessed lights with white cases.

Other tiny tasks included:

• Switch fans in Sarah's room and guest room - We thought the lighter one would go better in Sarah's room.  One fan was also missing a pull to turn off and on the fan so every time you turned on the switch the light and fan both came on.  Pepaw and Robert remedied that.
• Fix storm door - It wasn't hanging straight so the door knob couldn't engage and fully close the door.  They had tried to fix it by gluing some stuff together, but it didn't work.  Robert and Pepaw fixed it.
• Close outside crawl space vents to prepare for winter
• Straightened out accordion doors on laundry closet so they open and close more easily.
• Draino all the slow drains.  I found a shoe lace in one drain!
• Wash windows - Inside and outside - They were beyond dirty.
• Install shower rod in Sarah's bathroom
• Attic ladder - shorten, tighten bolts - The ladder was seriously about a foot too long so it couldn't extend safely.
• Install kitchen sink light - The old light kind of looked like a ceramic seashell - picture something from a hotel lobby.
• Put up curtain rods and curtains in the living room, Sarah's bedroom, and our bedroom
• Hang pictures

The to do list never ends, right?  Here are the remaining projects for the winter:

• Chalk paint the tray ceiling in the master bedroom and write a quote or scripture on it
• Patch a hole in the garage wall
• Caulk around sinks and tubs
• Touch up some spots with paint

Spring projects:

• Paint front door
• Power wash and stain the deck and bench swing
• Install clothes line for cloth diapers
• Extend down spouts and do some grading
• Remove satellite - Anybody ever done this before?
• Landscape - Rake (I don't think they'd done that since they bought the house 8 years ago.  For real.), clear out the garden, trim bushes
• Clean the gutters

I'll do an indoor before and after at once we've done those last few things, and then I'll do an outdoor before and after this spring.

Christmas Parties

On December 1 we had Robert's work Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun.  Sarah enjoyed wearing her first Christmas outfit from Grandpa.

The party was held at a church member's house.  We all met at the church so we could caravan out to her house, about 45 minutes away.  The homeowner is a former architecture professor, and her house proves it!  Every room had a different theme: unicorns, peacocks, castle.  Dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed smothered steak, ham, hash brown casserole, sweet potato casserole, corn, rolls, veggies, and way too much dessert.  After dinner we played Dirty Santa, and we were able to come home with some new toys for Sarah - story book, rubber duck pool toy, and Jenga for Robert.  It was great to enjoy being with his co-workers and families outside of church!

I had my MOPS Christmas party on the 3rd.  Robert needed to go to a middle school orchestra concert for some of our students, so I had to take Sarah with me even though it was supposed to be ladies only.  She's one of the girls, right?  It was just my table group so there were maybe seven of us there.  We enjoyed dinner together, a game, and a gift exchange.  The other ladies were helpful with Sarah and held her while I ate, but Sarah was just on edge the whole evening.  She's such an easy going baby, and I am very thankful that these nights aren't her norm.  I had to leave the party early because that's just what Sarah needed.  Once I got her home she ate and went to sleep.  Maybe it's just me, but when I was pregnant I knew that becoming a mom would be very sacrificial - losing out on sleep, staying in more, doing things on Sarah's schedule - but I'm continually reminded of how many more sacrifices are needed than I ever dreamed about like leaving a Christmas party early, not eating when I want to eat if Sarah needs me, and saying Shh Shh Shh for 10 minutes straight to make Sarah fall asleep.

Last night was our final Christmas party - South Gate Youth.  It was so fun!  It was hosted by one of our seniors' family.  We had probably about 20 students and 30 people total.  We had a yummy dinner of spaghetti, salad, and bread and enjoyed Christmas treats after that.  We had a white elephant gift exchange.  Highlights included toilet paper, a plunger, and a paper clip.  The students are absolutely hilarious and very entertaining.  We also watched Charlie Brown's Christmas and played a game.  Sarah came dressed as Santa Claus.  Her outfit only lasted for a little bit, but it seemed to be a hit!  Sarah enjoyed being loved on by everybody, and I was very thankful for their voluntary care for Sarah while I enjoyed being with the students.

The Christmas parties are over, and we have done absolutely no decorating.  Last year, we didn't decorate for Christmas since we knew we'd be moving shortly after Christmas.  This year we're moving from our apartment into our new house at Christmas.  I'm not sure if we'll end up doing any decorating.  I think we can at least manage to put out our stockings.  It seems weird to not really decorate two years in a row, but it's also kind of a good reminder that Christmas isn't about the decorations or traditions at all.  Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, our Savior, who was born so that He could die to save us from our sins and provide eternal life and relationship with our LORD.  Sarah doesn't care about our decorations or lack thereof.  I don't need to put unnecessary pressure on myself to have our house settled and decorated for Christmas.  There will be many many more years to come where I can do that.  But even during the chaos of moving and having a baby we can celebrate and remember the birth of the Prince of Peace.

House Hunting

We bought a house!!!  Before I gush over our first house, I thought I'd recap the house hunting process.  When we moved back to MO we tentatively planned to rent our townhouse for a one year lease and then buy a house.  When we moved in, a church member named Laura helped us some and told us that shes a real estate agent, so we talked a bit about our plans.  We've enjoyed getting to know Laura and her family the last several months, and at the start of October, Laura contacted us and we started talking more about what we were looking for in a house.

• 3 bed/2 bath
• South side of town = short commute to work/church
• Up for a bit of remodeling if it's a good price
• 1500+ square feet
• No stairs

We looked at houses multiple days (October 7, 20, 24, 27, and 30).  It felt like we looked at a billion houses.  In reality, it was probably 20-30 houses.  I think we were able to look at that many because some of them we'd walk in and immediately know that it was a no.  Three cheers for Sarah for being the only 2-3 month old I know who could handle so many house tours.  She really did great!  Yes, we did feed bottles and change diapers in other people's houses.  It was...an experience.  Laura did a great job of not making us go way over budget.  After watching HGTV for years and hearing people say they're budget is $200,000, but then their realtor shows them a house for $350,000 and they fall in love, I was afraid that would happen to us.  We definitely learned how deceptive listings can be.  They show you the good stuff that's for sure.  

Funny sights while house hunting: dirty laundry, active ceiling leaks while it was raining outside, watch dogs, nosy neighbors, paneling, saloon doors, wallpaper, and some bizarre smells.

Robert and I each had a house that we loved and the other wasn't sold on.  We tried our hardest to convince each other of why our choice was the best, but in the end we decided to forego both options and trust that when the house is right we will both like it without needing to be convinced.  We were right!  

Our First House

Home sweet home!  We bought a house!  We can't wait to make this place home.  Trust me, lots of before and after pics and project recaps will be forthcoming.  For now, here are the highlights:

• All brick
• Sidewalks and street lights in the neighborhood
• 3 bed/2 bath
• Gas fireplace
• Fenced in backyard with a deck
• Laminate wood, tile, and carpet (Hopefully replacing the carpet soon.  The sellers had two indoor dogs.)
• Vaulted ceiling in the living room
• 8 minutes from work/church and 10 minutes closer to family

So, who wants to help paint? ;)  We hope to paint the whole house and possibly get new flooring in the bedrooms before we move in.  Everything else can be done while we live there and as we have the time and money.  We want so badly to be semi-settled before Christmas.  We're so thankful for this gift from God and look forward to using it to host others and provide a place for people to feel like they can be themselves and relax.

Sarah At Four Months

No more pillows to prop her up!

Stats
Length: 26.3" (97%)
Weight: 15lb 6oz (73%)
Head circumference: 16.3" (59%)

Sleeping
I'll go ahead and say it.  Sarah is the best sleeper in the history of babykind.  Say what you want - "Wait til your second kid."  "This won't last."  But we're loving every minute of it as long as it lasts.  Sarah's night is from 8:00pm-8:00am without any wake ups.  She usually takes naps around 10:30-12:00, 2:00-4:00, and 7:00-8:00.  She falls asleep quickly by just sucking on her pacifier for 10-30 seconds.  We've started swaddling her with her arms out, and it's working well.  We started with one arm in and one arm out and worked our way to both arms out.  Eventually we'll switch to a sleep sack instead of the swaddle.  She sleeps well in her crib but can also fall asleep in the car seat when we're out and about.  She has a certain cry when she's sleepy, and if you just whisk her away quickly enough and head upstairs to her crib she'll fall right asleep.  We've also started tucking her in while she's sleeping but not actually asleep so she can learn how to fall asleep on her own.  There's never any crying.  She usually just falls right asleep, but sometimes in the afternoon if it's really bright in her room she'll play for 5 minutes or so and then fall asleep.

Eating
Sarah loves her bottle.  She loves it so much that we even wrote a song about it.  For real.  "Drinking bottles, it's my favorite.  It's a special time for me.  Drinking bottles, it's my favorite.  It gives me all the food I need.  I like to drink my bottles, morning, noon, and night.  I like to drink my bottles to help me grow up right."  We tried the size two nipple when she turned three months old.  It was awesome how much faster feedings went, but she'd spit up a lot so we switched back to size one.  It's okay.  She eats 8 ounces four times a day: 8:00, 12:00, 4:00, and 8:00.  I think we'll be starting baby cereal soon.

Personality
Sarah loves smiling!  She also loves "talking."  She's really been experimenting with her voice this month and making lots of new sounds with her throat and tongue.  She squeals, coos, screams, and makes all sorts of noises!  She likes to stare intently at things and raise her eyebrows while studying.  She likes to tilt her head dead and smile shyly.  She hates the cold and wind.  Stroller rides have become very short even while bundled.

Health and Physical Ability
Sarah is still working on her bottom two teeth, so it's made for a few sad moments, but she's doing well overall.  It's caused her to be a drooling snot machine.  She can hold toys in each hand at the same time.  She still loves tummy time and reading while in that position.  She still loves her activity mat.  She's gotten very good at putting anything and everything in her mouth - toys, books, hair.  She has started getting more hair and it's much blonder than it was at birth.  Baths have become much more enjoyable, and she enjoys splashing around some.  She's in between sizes right now.  Some outfits are 3-6 months, and others are 6-9 months depending on the brand.

Superficial
Sarah is the world's cutest baby.  I'm glad we've established that.  She has gorgeous blue eyes and eyelashes.  She has the softest skin ever.  She loves snuggling and holding on tight to your shirt like she never wants to let go.  We call this her koala bear position.

Highlights of the month

Celebrating Pepaw's 85th birthday

A visit from Grandma!

Sarah's first Thanksgiving

Sarah's first Christmas party

Dear Sarah,
Seriously, you are a cool girl.  It's obvious that all the other babies want to be like you.  I hope you grow up to be a good role model to your peers, those who are younger than you, and even those who are older than you.  You can be a great leader.  If you have Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior He will guide your steps and help you to make good decisions that please Him and will be good for you.  Sarah, my greatest desire is for you to know the unfathomable love of your Heavenly Father and that you will choose to be His servant and follower all the days of your life.  Things in your life won't always be as easy as they are now, but God will never change, and you will always be His precious creation.  God will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go (Psalm 32:8).  Thank you for making me a mom.

November 2015

November was another full month!  We started out the month with Robert having his fall retreat for the youth.  Sarah and I weren't up for the weekend trip, so we went to stay with my parents.  The retreat went well, and we enjoyed our time with my parents.  This was Robert's first time to be away from Sarah overnight. :(

Going to Grandma and Grandpa's house means lots of fun activities!

I've started running.  Eek!  I meet with a group of ladies from church as well as some of their friends on Saturday mornings at 8:00, and then I also run a few times with my friend Madison during the week.  I use the word run loosely.  Right nose it's more walking than running, but the end goal is a 5k.  I've lost the baby weight but haven't lost the flabby belly.  It's time for this mommy to work it!

Robert and I got new phones this month.  I've had a cell phone for nearly a decade now, and I still don't understand why it can't take less than two hours to activate a new phone in Verizon.  Ugh.

Sarah and I started going to story time at the public library on Monday mornings.  It's so great!  It's for birth through 18 months.  The director reads a story, we sing songs with actions, she recites some rhymes, and then we just hang out and talk with each other.  I love giving Sarah opportunities to make learning fun, and I don't mind the interaction with humans who can actually talk.

We enjoyed celebrating Sarah's first Thanksgiving.  We started out by volunteering to serve at our church's preschool party for families.  Sarah and I were in charge of monitoring desserts. Ha!  We spent Thanksgiving with my family.  Sarah got to meet Great Uncle Nelson and first cousin once removed Michael.  This was a topic of discussion, and we established that he isn't her second cousin.  Why was this so funny to me?  We got to spend so much time with dear friends this week!  Again, more laughing and talking than I could handle.  It was awesome!  Grant, Michael, Keegan, and Monica got to meet Sarah for the first time.  It's weird seeing people who you haven't seen since before having a baby.  It feels like a lifetime ago.

This month we started Parents As Teachers.  The public school district offers this service.  I school employee comes to our house once a month to check in on Sarah, give me ways to challenge her, and talk with me.  Our first appointment was mostly just a time to get to know each other, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to the next appointment.  Sarah showed off, of course.

Elise, Leigha, and Tarah came to town for a girls' night out.  This was awesome.  My only question is why on earth did we not start doing this months ago???  The next night is already scheduled.  Tarah's husband, James, hung out with Sarah and Robert.  It was so perfect!  I hadn't laughed that much or talked that quickly in way to long, and I know Robert enjoyed spending time with James.  He didn't have too bad of a deal since Sarah went to sleep shortly after I left.

Thanksgiving 2015

This Thanksgiving was so much fun!  Robert and I recounted our previous Thanksgivings from our married years: a meal with another newlywed couple (2012), Alabama with R's dad's side of the family (2013), and church friends (2014).  This was our first Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family.  We were so thrilled to see the usual crew of my parents, Memaw and Pepaw, and Jim and Taylor, but it was also great to have my aunt, uncle, and cousin in town.  Sarah's first Thanksgiving was a success!

Robert, Sarah, and I headed to town Tuesday after work to have a meal with friends.  This was Michael, Keegan, and Monica's first time to meet Sarah.  It's weird to see friends that you haven't seen since before you became a parent.  The circle of life, man.  It's weird.  Time marches on.  The plan was for Sarah and me to spend the night with my parents and for Robert to go back home so he could work on Wednesday.  Robert got back home only to realize that he had forgotten his house key.  Wah wah wah.  I met him halfway and gave him his key.  Since I was already out late I decided to stop by Leigha and Elise's duplex to hang out more with Keegan and Michael and to see Grant for the first time.  It was such a great time!  I can't say that I've stayed out til midnight since Sarah was born, and I probably won't be doing it again until the same crew is in town for Christmas, but it was so great!

Sarah, Mom, Dad and I hung out Wednesday morning, and we girls ran some errands to Walgreen's, Wal-Mart, and a flea market.  Fun!  Robert got to the house in the late afternoon, and we enjoyed a trip to the park to see our friends.  Emily had gotten in late the night before and was able to join us.  I'm so so so thankful for faithful friendships that have lasted decades.  I fully recognize how rare that is and don't take it for granted.  There's just something to be said for having such a rich history...and being able to tease each other for something funny that happened in 4th grade.

Meeting a Barbie for the first time

The rest of the family crew got in Wednesday evening, and it was another late night of chit chatting.  I'm not sure I've talked or laughed this much in months!  Daily conversation with Sarah is somewhat (completely) one-sided.

First cousin once removed, Michael

Thanksgiving was a day of family time.  Sarah and I joined the boys for frisbee golf at the park.  After that, Sarah and I went over to Memaw and Pepaw's house to hang out and eat lunch.  The big Thanksgiving feast was held at my parents' house.  The food was delicious, and the house and decor looked great!  We played a few rounds of the traditional family game: Catch Phrase.  Still note tired of it!  Watched some football and had another late night.  That seems to be a theme here.  It's worth it when you're getting to spend time with people you rarely see!  Sarah is such a great sleeper that we knew we'd be able to sleep in.  She's been clocking 12 consecutive hours lately.

Reading about Noah with Grandma

Today was full of more friend time.  We saw the regular crew as well as Jen and her husband, Garner.  We wrapped up friend time by singing about 50 Christmas songs around the piano.  This is weird, I know.  It's also totally awesome.  Robert's dear friend, Josh, and his wife, Christina, stopped by to meet Sarah on their way home to Oklahoma from Illinois.  Another friendship for which to be thankful!  The whole fam (minus Michael) ate pizza and played spoons at Memaw and Pepaw's house.  We wrapped up the visit and enjoyed a quiet, rainy drive back home while Sarah slept the whole time.  I'm thankful for so many things - a healthy baby, the opportunity to watch my daughter grow, a husband to share my days with, living close to family, food and home, laughter, faithful friends - but most importantly I am thankful for God's never-ending, unchangeable love and that He loves me enough to send His only Son to die for my sins so I can live eternally and have a personal relationship with the Father.