Here's the big news...

WE ARE HOMEOWNERS!!! Can you believe it? It was official last Friday and yes, I promised you this news many days ago (Thanks Keysha) but what a week it has been. We decided that it would be best to get a few projects out of the way at the house and then move in this coming weekend. If I only had known was a toll those few projects would take. Okay, well the original projects didn't take a toll, it was more the side projects. The projects that began with the phrase, "How hard can it be?".

Step 1: Paint

For the kitchen, that is all it took. Anything is better than purple...

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Step 2: Architecture.

I have always envisioned living in a older house and having a dining room with a chair rail. I just love this room.

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After

Step 3: Tile.

Yeah, this is one of those "How hard can it be?"s. I hated the cracks in the tile and figured that it surely can't be that hard to just take them off and stick some new ones on. I mean, I've seen it on all those home shows. Throw down some grout, stick on a tile, wait a little bit and wipe it down. No sweat. Well, what they don't tell you is the hard part isn't getting them on, the hard part is getting the old ones off. Me and my chisel spent more than 6 hours trying to pry tile off cement. Ross took over when the delirium set in. The original plan was only to remove the worst tiles and only ones without holes. With Ross at the helm, there was a little deviation. By the time I came back in to check, those few tiles had become ten. And yes, those ten included the tiles with holes for the faucet and handles. Cue drilling in tile. Now, you will notice that they aren't straight and hardly even, but they aren't cracked and are still on the wall and considering it's my first foray into tiling...I'll take it.

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John had his own tiling experience with stick tiles in the downstairs bath. Why they went with black and white in a brown bathroom, I really don't know.

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After my tiling, all it took was some paint and new fixtures to create a space I love. What we lack in counter space we make up for in style. Well, minus the holes in the tile where I removed the old towel rack but for now they will just have to fall under "character".

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After

Joshy and Ben joined us at the house on Monday. Joshy helped John paint the chair rail and watched as he measured the length for each piece and wrote it in his notebook. I was cleaning in the play room and caught Joshy sitting on the stairs, mimicking his daddy. It was incredibly precious.

Ben was a happy boy as usual. We got him a sun hat for his time outside and couldn't help but swoon over how cute he was.

What warmed my heart the most was watching John and Joshy run in the sprinklers. I feel like I finally live in the neighborhood I always wanted, in a house I love. A home where sunlight pours through the windows and Joshy can run outside.

We move in this Saturday and not too surprisingly, haven't even begun to pack. So that makes tomorrow a long day of sorting and packing but the plan is to purge too. I am trying to go with the "If I haven't used it in 2 years" rule and figure the boxes I still haven't unpacked from when we moved here 5 years ago are probably safe to go. Of course there are exceptions like Mr. Cow and the Bible reading on record John gave me as his first gift but the pantry from the apartment we found in the garage still taped up with who knows what inside should probably be the first to go. I am so thankful for all the people who have helped in so many different ways. This is a fresh start for us and I am more excited than words can express.