It's a REAL house!

BEFORE
NOW!

I have been so itchy to get the brick up on the house. The TYVEK paper just made it look like completion was so far away. Take a look, now! Beautiful!

The Jack of Everything is the Master of Nothing!!

What a wise quote and something very important for me to remember. I was just sure that I could look at a 1 inch square of paper and choose a color for an entire room. Well... let me tell you. That is harder than it looks. If not for my very patient brother, my entire house would be pink. Yes, pink! On the 1 inch square of paper, the color camel is beautiful. It matched my tile perfectly and even though my builder (brother.. but I hate to give him credit for this) said that "Santa Fe" is the perfect color, I stood firm. I am the Jack of All Trades and surely I can pick out my own colors! Well... no! There is a definite twinge of pink and the more I tried to talk myself out of it, the pinker it got. So I had to grovel and ask Andy to get the painters to start over with... you got it... Santa Fe!
I hate it when he's right!

I tried something new (I'll stick to skills that I CAN do) and made a movie to attach to show off all of our colors and beautiful built ins so far. It is all still very exciting... just a bit more stressful ... to the Master of Nothing!!

What a difference a little board makes!!

I apologize for not keeping up with the blog. We have been having so much fun watching Andy put our home together, but school seems to be eating up every spare minute I have. So... while Sarah Palin hopefully kicks some Biden Booty, I'll share our newest surprises from High Meadow.

First of all, all thanks to God for sparing our poor naked (brickless) house from mean old "Ike". We did lose some beautiful oak trees, but the good thing about living in the woods is we've got replacements! There was very minimal damage to the house that has already been fixed up. So after a couple of weekends of chainsaws and dragging trees to the front of the lot (with LOTS of help from Brian, Liz and Lauren!) we are right back on track.




As far as progress on the house itself, this is absolutely the most exciting part so far. Last week a pile of odd looking boards of all shapes and sizes was stacked in our garage. This week a crew of 4 or 5 of the most talented men have been taking those boards and pieces and creating some of the most beautiful trim I've ever seen. Our blank walls are coming alive - doors are trimmed out and windows are just gorgeous. How I wish I had just a thimbleful of the skills these men have shown us.

Thank God for friends and family!

Friday is Michael's 23rd birthday! How is this possible?! It seems like yesterday (sounds trite, I know... but it does!) that I was getting his little blue and white nursery ready. I read every baby book that I could get my hands on so that I could be the best mom possible. Knowing that Dr. Spock and Dr. Dobson probably didn't know it all, I drove my friends and family crazy with questions. I was constantly asking about how they handled this and did they have this ache and pain and truly, was he ever going to sleep through the night? I shared my plans and philosophies with any poor soul who would listen in hopes of getting their opinion and affirmations that I might be on the right track with this new adventure of ours. Keith of course, being the man he is, chose the "I refuse to stop for directions" approach and forged ahead with our family... knowing that we would figure it all out somehow. He would roll his eyes at the amount of time on the phone I spent with my mom and others asking advice and sharing ideas. When Kristen was born, I started all over again with the search for understanding and enlightenment. After all, raising a girl meant a whole new multitude of challenges and adventures (including I now got to shop EVERY aisle of Toys R Us!) I loved this time of my life, but it was only possible because of all the help and support that I received from everyone.

I have decided that this new dream home adventure has a lot in common with our lives 23 years ago!

Again, I want this house to be a perfect home for us in this special time of our lives. I am so obnoxiously excited about it and am once again, talking to anyone who will listen. I am so hungry for opinions and ideas and we have gotten (and used!) so many. Still, Keith shakes his head at my blabbering, but it seemed to work well 23 years ago, didn't it?

I just want to thank all of you who have allowed me to drag you out there to see the piles of sticks and concrete that we are so proud of. You are patient and tolerant and wise and I completely appreciate you all!

Thank God for friends and family!

Speechless... believe it or not!

For all of you who are tired of my ramblings... You're in luck! Keith and I just got back from spending several hours just in awe at the wonderful job that Andy has done so far. I really can't find adequate words to describe how we are feeling right now, so I will just hush and share the pics. Enjoy!

My Life is Good!!

Can my life get any better??? In the last 6 months...

• I have a beautiful new daughter in law, Terri.
• She and Michael are giving me my first precious grandbaby.
• Kristen is in New Jersey with a terrific beginning to a chance at an awesome career.
• I have completed the first year of my new job and love it.
• Keith is, of course, the most wonderful and patient husband and.....

Only 3 weeks after I took a picture of our lonely outhouse....






...We can actually see our beautiful house!!

God is SO good!

Merry Christmas!

I woke up this morning feeling like I was four years old and Santa had a "Susie Smart" waiting for me under the Christmas tree. We have waited and dreamed for this day and it is finally here. The complicated "dance" that Andy had choreographed was the most beautiful thing. The day was just so perfect! Thanks be to God!