Mike Installed the Microwave!

And it works! ;) Our kind neighbor, Marshall, came by just in time to help Mike lift the microwave into the space, while I held the cord. (Most important job.) :) We still need the countertops, which should arrive in a few weeks. We're getting closer to eating in!!



Here are a few other shots, just for fun.

Our yard is filled with these cute little toads. Aaron tried to eat this one. :)



Not surprising, since he eats everything else! :) He likes to eat, eat, eat eeples and baneenees (or whatever this was!)



My friend, Cecilia (insert Simon & Garfunkel song, because she's never heard it before!), came over with her daughters to watch Aaron so I could unpack. Her girls were so sweet with him! (Thanks, Cecilia!! We loved having you guys.)



I love this picture! Here's Aaron and his cousin, Madelyn. Madelyn came over with her mom, Martha, and Mike's mom to help us out. We loved having them! Come anytime!! (You can get a glimpse of our kitchen floor here. Sixteen-inch tiles. Thanks, Melody, for the good advice!)



Loves gettin' in your face!

Kitchen-less, TV-less, Camera Equipment-less, But Not Quite Hopeless:)

We survived the move! That was actually the easy part. :) Now we have to make this house livable!!! We want to thank the many helpers on moving day: Mike's Mom and Dad, Nick and Martha, Nick W., and friends from former and new church congregations. We had so much help, it was wonderful. We definitely could not have done it without these people, and I'm sure they know it!

Now that we're moved in, we're busy patching, priming, and painting walls; unpacking; organizing; cleaning up; picking out new things for the kitchen; and generally staying very busy. Mike has been awesome with home repairs and with crawling under the house to do the necessary plumbing work. Who knew I married a handyman? ;) Aaron's been a trooper through it all. Hasn't phased him a bit!

We decided to completely gut the kitchen. The previous owner kinda pieced it together with cabinets that didn't totally match. They were close, but not close enough. Also, the configuration of the kitchen didn't make sense for its size. Needless to say, we pulled everything out, floor included (the floor "popped" when you walked on it.) So this week we've been kitchen-less. We do have a fridge that's plugged in, thank goodness. Hopefully the kitchen will be done soon! The base cabinets were installed this week, and the uppers will be installed next. We have yet to pick a counter top. Decisions, decisions. We'll take some of the old cabinets and install them in the laundry room to create more storage space. Things are coming together differently -- but better -- than what I had envisioned, if that makes sense. I'll try to post pics soon. The equipment to upload pics is in one of these boxes ...

Thanks again to all those who've provided help!! I must say that our parents, Mike's and my, have been extremely helpful in so many ways and we will be forever grateful to them for helping us get established here. Thanks for all your help!! Our neighbors have been nice and welcoming too. They've brought yummy desserts, lent tools and supplies, and offered lots of help. (I think they're just grateful someone's finally living in the house!) It feels good to be in a quaint neighborhood where people are friendly. Feels like small-town U.S.A. Roseburg definitely warmed me up to smaller towns (or the feel of a small town, anyway!) Feels good to be here. The washer and dryer arrived today, so the pile-o-laundry awaits. It was nice to have an excuse for awhile!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Fourth of July at the Lake

My parents' neighbors graciously offered us their lake house for the festive Fourth of July weekend. The riverfront property is in Palmyra, Virginia, just outside of Charlottesville (home of UVA). We were so grateful (and surprised) they let us all descend on their beautiful home. All 12 of us. Thankfully, no damage was done. :)

When we weren't outside swimming at the lake or the pool, fishing, or taking a walk, we were relaxing in the a/c playing games, watching movies, playing ping-pong, and eating refreshing treats like homemade ice cream, provided by David and Traci. We consumed an inordinate amount of popsicles. The scenery was breathtaking.

The best part, of course, was spending time with family. Mel, Mike, and fam joined us from NY. We missed Jon, Kathryn, and fam. Thanks to my parents for spearheading the wonderful trip! It was the perfect getaway weekend -- the calm before the storm of getting the house ready followed by the the big move (one week from today!!)

Design Question

Okay, all you design experts out there. This is a shot of the living room leading to the dining room. We're considering having some built-in bookshelves installed on either side of the "arch" to utilize that space. Question is, should the bookshelves extend to the ceiling, or just to the top of the arch so that they're all the same height? Hope that question makes sense. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks!

Say

Thanks to Mindy for sharing this great John Mayer song with me through her blog. It beautifully reminds us to open our hearts - and our mouths - and say what we need to say, rather than letting fear or pride block our words. I know I could certainly use the reminder!

So, speak up! That's going to be my new goal - to say what I need to say rather than let the moment pass. Thanks, Mindy (and John!), for the inspiration:)