Chistmas and a bad attitude

I'll be the first to admit that I've had a bad attitude - horrible actually. I've been sad and I've been selfish and I haven't been looking forward to Christmas and it's not fun and it's not worth it. Christmas is supposed to be all about celebrating the birth of my (and our) Lord, King, and Savior Jesus Christ. The birth of the God's son who came into this world humbly and beautifully so that He could save my soul and your soul and many others' souls years later - that God would look upon us and see us as perfect as His Son is. And yet here I've been, being upset and sad because I feel like I've had to give up things I don't want to. How merciful my God is that He would humble me in this. Humbled so I can see how selfish I've been in light of the most selfless birth ever to grace our universe. To everyone I've been mopey around and sad around and not very chatty too (though that's probably a perk), I'm so sorry for being selfish and for stealing the joy of the celebration of the most miraculous, wonderful birth ever in the history of eternity. So what if I have to put aside what I want for the benefit of others. I should be gracious and honored to have the privilege to do so.

So now, thankful for the mercy and grace God, Jesus, my family and friends have shown me - I am able to enter this week in thanksgiving. Thankful that I have the honor to celebrate the virgin birth of my King. Thankful that I have things to give up. Thankful that I have family to be with. Thankful that I have time off of work. Thankful that I have the ability to bless others. Thankful that I can be humbled. Thankful that I can be thankful. Thankful that I can learn. Thankful that God is never giving up on me, even when I do. Thankful that God would send His Son through Mary to be born a virgin birth that He would save a heart like mine that so often loses sight of the big picture. Just thankful.

Again, I'm so sorry for my bad attitude and I hope that you can learn from me that it's really not worth it to be selfish, especially when we have the Savior of our souls to celebrate. <3

Peace, love and joy to you. May you have the merriest of all Christmases celebrating our Jesus who loves you so much!

S

JOY Pillows!

Another Christmas Project- inspired by my mother in law (AKA Moms) - because I couldn't sleep as much as I wanted to.

JOY Pillows - front side is grey and yellow and sparkle snowflakes (matches our color scheme), back side is yellow. I know the J is funky - but have you ever tried to do the curves on a sewing machine? Plus I'm new to this whole sewing thing. And anyways, things that don't look store bought are mo' bettah'. ;)

And it's my Grampa's birthday today - so Happy Birthday Grampa :) I love you & hope you have a wonderful day!

It's Christmasy Time! (picture heavy post)

Iiiiitttt's Christmasy Time! 

And that means everyone is busy and people are crazy and I'm totally okay with that! I have been busy with fun Christmas projects and Anthony has been a wonderful supporter of these projects. So this is mainly going to be pictures of things I and we have done to get ready for Christmas :D

AND I'm REALLY REALLY REALLY VERY excited that this year we are celebrating Christmas in our first house! It's exciting and things are going along nicely (the bunnies even got Anthony a gift)!

Christmas Card Photo Shoot with Frank Wise of Digital Obsession Photography (He's awesome. Check him out)

 

Christmas Project: Christmas Cookies Round 1

 

Christmas Project: First time hanging house lights!

 

Christmas tree shopping. Yes, in heels

 Christmas Project: Hershey helping with the Christmas Tree Skirt

Christmas Project: Christmas Tree Skirt

 

Christmas Project: Christmas Tree Skirt

 

2012 Christmas Ornament

 

Placing the angel

And then fixing the angel

Christmas Project: Stockings

 Christmas Project: Stockings

 Christmas Project: Christmas Stockings

 Christmas Project: Christmas Stockings

Christmas Projects: Christmas Tree Skirt and Stockings (made by me with my awesome new sewing machine)

New Sectional

 Christmas Card Garland :)

 Christmas Project: Baby Christmas Tree Skirt

 Christmas Project: Snowmen Cake Pops

Lots of Hot Air Balloons, Ground Level around the corner from our house!

Waves

It's interesting to me how our lives seem to move in waves. We're really not all that busy, but then a wave hits. It seems like we've had a much bigger wave going on lately and we've been moving way fast for awhile now.  I know a big part of that is that I've been working full-time at my nanny job while still picking up makeup gigs and now the holidays are among us!

We are starting to make progress on our house again too. :) We've finally hooked up the new dryer and sold both our old washer and dryer (yay!), we bought a new couch which is amazing and wonderful and fits in our living/family room much better, put away the fall decor and are starting to bring out the Christmas decorations :D, mounted the TV (Anthony is really happy about that).

We will probably get back to painting soon...and maybe, just maybe we'll have the common areas finished painting by Christmas :p

Appliance wise we just need to switch our garage fridge with our kitchen fridge - because the one in the garage is so much nicer and get our oven fixed so I can get back to cooking and baking! :D


The waves are good though. They come at the perfect time so we're not too busy to go crazy, but not too not busy to feel unproductive. We've finished our Christmas shopping (so thankful we got it done early) and are now working on getting things together to donate. It's so much better to give things away than to hold onto to things that wont aren't needed.

I'm missing old friends again. It's hard. We've left so many great, mature, wonderful relationships in Cali - I miss the longevity of them and the familiarity and comfort of them. We've been out here a year and I still feel like we don't really know anyone. I mean, we know lots of people, but we don't REALLY know people - not like California - not yet. I miss all our random get togethers at the apartment or my in-law's or Lauren's or Marina's or Katie's or...or...or... It doesn't seem like that really happens out here...not yet. On the other side of things though, I am cherishing (and cherishing SO MUCH) the relationships/friendships we are cultivating out here and loving getting to know the hearts of those we do get to meet. I know it all has to do with time - time to meet people, time to meet with people, time to grow - and that - all of that - I am cherishing deeply and continue to look forward to.

Another random thing - I bought a book at a garage sale the other day for our kids. I am not pregnant (sorry Bethses, no plans of it yet - I know your ears perked up a little bit at that though :P). I just really wanted this particular book for our babies when we have them and it was a smokin' deal. Originally $40 and I got it for $1. It was exciting. I couldn't pass it up :)

Anyways,  I know this is really all over the place - I'm just writing what comes to my mind and not editing it because I just don't feel like it. Sorry. So I'll end it here.

There's the randomness...I guess my thoughts come in waves too.  I will start posting recipes again soon (I will Kat, I will).

Did I Tell You My Laptop is Still Out of Commission?

'Cause it is - hence no crafty things and no recipes for awhile now.   It will happen again - at some point. Though I don't know when. Right now A and I are currently sharing a laptop because he has the good fast one that works.... So I've hi-jacked it for a moment to share some pictures with you that I said I would get to (eventually).
Here we go!



Faux Wall in the Living/Family Room - the dark spot is a spot on the inside of lens of the camera...it's in all the pictures.

 

Closer up faux wall - ignore the spot it's not really there



"Chai Latte" in the down stairs bathroom - it's like a muted pale orangey color

With our fun Pier 1 decoartions thanks to Jon & Katie and wedding giftcards :)

I repositioned one of the Scripture signs. As cute as I thought it was before, you could only see the Corinthians one when you were sitting at the table.

And the Bunny Gate so they don't go where they shouldn't! So far it's working!!!!

We have finally put together our room & put up pictures :)

We finally put up the guest bathroom picture instead of just having it leaned up against the wall.


Yay! Things are coming together...now if only we could just finish painting upstairs. hahaha

 

Life Lesson (and I promise I'll post painting progress pictures soon)

I'm learning a lesson in life right now and God is revealing to me my fear of man. That's lame. The fear of man thing, not the learning thing. I'm realizing how much I'm afraid to do certain things or be responsible for certain things because they aren't what other people want for me. And that's just ridiculous - because other people can't possibly know me better than God does. I was discussing this with a friend the other day and she, in her wisdom, told me that I can't let people affect me that way. Fast forward to later in the week, I was talking about the same thing with A and he told me that

If I am more concerned about what other people want for me, then I won't be able to find joy in the things that do happen.

 

I think God is trying to get a message through my head. And it's true. Things in life happen and you hae to make a choice - however, DON'T let someone else determine how you react or what you decide to do UNLESS that person is God. We should be more concerned with how God wants us to react than we are with how others will react.

 

 

In other "news" (because it's not really "newsworthy") - we've taken a LONG break from painting. It's half way driving me nuts, but I haven't been feeling 100% so I need to work on getting the house back in order than painting. BUT our faux wall in the living/family room (because I don't know the difference) is DONE and part of upstairs is painted, but then we ran out of paint.

 

We got our kitchen table and I love it! It was very exciting. It can be a very skinny accent table, a table that seats 4 or a table that seats 6! It's pretty rad and we got a good deal on chairs for it since it originally came with 2. They're slightly different, but I love the effect.

 

We hung our first picture the other day. It was our caricature from Valentine's weekend a couple years ago. hhehehehe.

 

AND I think we've finally outsmarted the bunnies with the additional of a "bunny" (baby) gate. They, so far, have not figured out how to get through it. BUT I'm sure it's only a matter of time before they get through the bars and we have to put up screening.

We are currently trying to organize a BYOP (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) get together with one of our small groups. I'm hoping it'll be as fun as it was when we did it in Cali :)

 

We planted a tree and some flowers in our backyard yesterday - and by we, I mean Anthony. It looks nice and I'm excited to be getting to the front of the house at some point.

 

BUT - now I've wasted more time rambling and really need to get to cleaning the house and putting away laundry and fun stuff like that. SO I hope that you have a wonderful Monday that is full of happiness and joy!

xo

S

My heart

Sometimes -- but in all reality frequently -- I wonder why God created my heart the way he did. I wonder why He created my heart to be so fragile. I hope I remember to ask Him this when I see Him face to face.

encouragement and other stuff

It's been awhile since I've posted on either of my blogs. My laptop is still getting worked on - so I'm left with my phone which is a little frustrating to write with - and I haven't located the Kindle charger which would totally be easier than this. New goal - find the charger.

Anyways, I'm now back to working full-time which is good, but last night it hot me that I'm not doing great with the transition. Prayers would be appreciated . :)

On top of all that, I've been frustrates with my lack of time in God's word. I've been reading, but it's been distracted reading. God has made it clear that a big part of the issue is my prayer life, so I've been reading some books to help me get back into a routine and to remember how important a strong prayer life is and hoe beneficial a strong prayer life is.  It's definitely helping and I'm seeing God more in the little this than before. Praise Him for that!
As I was reading Power Prayers for women this morning, I came across a description of the Bible that brought more excitement in me than I've felt in a long time - so I felt the need to share.

"Adventure, danger, romance - just a few story themes from the beat-selling book of all time. Undoubtedly, billions of copies have been printed and distributed.
Unlike fairytales, this book us true and starts with 'In the beginning.' here you learn of kings and conquerors, love and loss, rebellion and redemption. Turn the pages to discover where you came from, why you are here, and where you are going. You'll find out how to handle money and have better relationships. Most important, you can learn who God is and how you can live with Him forever.
What is this astonishing book? The Bible. Inspired by God, this sixty-six-book compilation is the true story of God's love for all people, including you and me. It's the explanation of a promised deliverance, and freedom for all who obey." -Jackie M. Johnson

I encourage anyone reading this to get a Bible - buy one, borrow one - and open it up. Pray that God will show you who He really is and who you really are through His book,-through His words. Meet God and allow Him to transform your life. It won't be easy and it may not always seem like it's getting better - but its worth it. And when you struggle with how it appears your life is going, take a moment to look back and who you were and where your life was heading, meditate on His promises, and look ahead to where you're going. Look to His glorious Kingdom that is waiting His beautiful children - be faithful and steadfast and cling to the hope that is in the Cross.

I love you all and am praying,
S

Tuesday Night Ramblings

I'm sitting here on the couch next to a mountain of clothing waiting for the monster of a washing machine to yell at me again. I should be folding, but I'm tired. If there's one thing I've learned about owning a house - it's a LOT of work...and this is still the fun stage.

I had great ambitions today - REALLY great ambitions today:

...there's a backside too.

Sometimes I think there just aren't enough hours in a day - other times I realize that I have a horrible sense of time and there's just NO way that I can paint a laundry room in 30 minutes. Apparently, I can't even paint it in an hour - apparently it took about 5ish hours. My feet our swollen, I'm covered in paint from head to toe, and I ran out of paint with a few necessary touch ups needed; but I bet you can't tell.

Ta Da!

Well, that's gonna be there forever

Spiderman's got nothin' on me! Booya.

I love that we're FINALLY getting to the point of putting up our decorative things.

We've been hard at work getting things painted - because a couple of days in a house painted white drove me nuts. I have NO idea how people tolerate that & sometimes I wish I had the ability to...I just need color. The hubster does too and that is just wonderful.

Here's our yellow kitchen - that is waiting for a table & chairs, bar stools, a new refrigerator, a new trash can (we have, we just have to re-mount it under the sink), the removal of the wonderful HD bucket, and some fall decorations ;)

The monster washing machine is calling me again, so I best be going before it breaks or ruins the new paint job in the laundry room.

Until next time,
S

I've been intending on posting pictures and updating on how the house is coming along - it's finally starting to come together (at least downstairs), but the computer has gone unpredictable on me - so I'm left to the phone which isn't much fun to blog on.

But - the downstairs is almost ALL painted - we have a grey living room and dibig room, a yellow kitchen, white trim, doors and ceilings and we've chosen a color for ge laundry room (an aqua type color!). All thats left for downstairs is to decide what color to paint the bathroom and then paint the bathroom and living room - and then the real decorating can start!

So here's to hoping the laptop cooperates tomorrow :D

House work!

Hi Friends!
Things have been crazy busy over the past month and we have taken up ANOTHER residence - this time at Home Depot. My goodness we're there a lot, although I don't think we went yesterday which would be a first since we got into the house. I could be wrong about that though. The employees know us and are waiting for us to bring us pictures of what we've been doing to the house.

So what have we been doing? Painting. LOTS and LOTS of painting.
Thankfully we started with white walls, so it was super easy to cover.
We have almost the entire downstairs painted - I just need to paint the hallway (my job for today) and the kitchen and then the ceilings. So by almost, I mean we have like half of the walls done. Oh and we need to paint the doors too.

We've changed out all the downstairs door knobs so they look pretty & not brass.
Most of the walls are grey.
1 wall is textured that my AMAZING husband spent a LOT of hard work doing.
We've picked out the kitchen color.
I built our extra kitchen storage (it was rather difficult).
We've rearranged the living room.
We've acquired a fun brightly colored canvas painting and a really pretty mirror that goes with the safari theme in our master thanks to Katie & Jon.
We've balanced the pool (finally).
Had to get the AC fixed.
Anthony made the outlets in the master bathroom work again.
AND We've spent a lot of time at Home Depot.

But things are coming along and I can see the downstairs coming together slowly but surely.
Now to figure out what we want to do with the accent wall & locate an affordable sectional...

love until later,
S

Where Have We Been?!

Hi Bloggy & Bloggy Friends!
It's been awhile now, hasn't it? Well, we sure do have some good & exciting news!

We are NOW officially OFFICIALLY homeowners of the most wonderful house we ever could imagine (after a LOT of house drama - you can read about some of it by clicking on the "house hunting" tab at the top of the page)!

BUT - first we went on vacation to Bass Lake and it was glorious and wondering and I'm STILL recovering from injuries sustained on the trip - haha! Yes - I hurt myself. No this isn't a surprise. My boss informed me my first day back that I am accident prone... I think everyone would agree with that. :)

While at Bass Lake, I managed to smack my knee pretty hard on the intertube. And for someone who isn't supposed to smack her knees ever, it felt like I shattered my knee cap. I didn't. But it was painful. This was on day 2 or 3 of the trip. The trip was 10 days long. We've been back for almost a week. I still have a bruise. I also jumped out of a boat, landed on my ankle wrong and ended up spraining it. I've been walking on it, so it's still not healed. This was the same day as the intertube incident. I then insisted on learning to wake board.

And then we moved. We moved all our stuff into our first home and I have never been more exhausted and my body has not hurt so much (at least not in a LONG time). It's a good hurt and a good exhaustion because we're being productive and VERY active. We haven't stopped moving. Wake up, unpack, put things away, go to work, come home, work on the house, figure out dinner, eat, work on the house, go to sleep. Repeat. It's a ton of work, but it's good. We have a LONG way to go, lots of empty bedrooms, lots of empty space, but it's going to be good & we can't wait to see how God is going to use our home for His work!

We will post pictures when things are a bit settled down - some from vacation (maybe even a video) and some of the house...when it's a little more in order. :)



AND - my awesome in-laws moved to AZ today! Woot!

xoxo
S

Drama. Drama. Drama.

The bad news: we will not be closing on our house today and we will not be moving into our house on Wednesday. I feel defeated. I want to go home and curl up with new jammies and cookies. I want to cry. Oh wait, I already did that. My disappointment and tears are selfish though. They are present because things aren't going according to my plan.

There is good news though. We should be able to close in the next week or so and move ib shortly afterwards. Woohoo!

There is a reason for all of this, but right now I am looking forward to this being the only house we will ever buy. There has just been way to much drama and it has been way too much of a roller coaster. I am thankful for all of it, but now I'm just tired.

Saturday Shenanigans, Sunday Funday & All Its Crazy!

It's Sunday (although almost not) & my has it been crazy as we get ready to move in a few short days. This is way bigger than I think I ever expected, mainly because I don't think I expected us to be here so quickly.  Due to words said to me in my past, owning a house just never seemed like a possibility, but I am so blown away, blessed and amazed by God's provision through our entire lives, our relationship, our marriage and just everything, we will move in to our very first house before we were anticipating even starting to look. I think I have reached the denial portion of this moving into a house thing.

A month ago, I was totally accepting of the moving into a house thing. A month ago I started packing. And now, we are 1 day away from signing papers, 2 days away from receiving keys and 3 days away from moving in and I am sitting here going, there's so much to do, but we can't really be moving into a HOUSE can we? The moving thing seems normal - the house thing seems surreal. But here we are, days away from moving into our first house - the apartment in complete shambles, the bunnies a little more curious and a little more on edge because we destroyed their home with boxes they aren't allowed to play with. I bet that's how it is with kids too. Yes. Yes. I just compared our bunnies to the likeness of children. They're toddler attitudes are at least similar. The moving ability is extremely easier than that of a toddler (at least I assume because I have no real experience with that one yet and hopefully when the time comes, we won't have to move with toddlers).  Anyways...

Saturday we had our final walk through. I had no idea what to expect. Well, we pretty much walked through the house. I guess that's why they call it a "walk through". Then we spent a long time talking with the tenants, D and AM. They are seriously SO sweet. They are supposed to move out the 31st so we can move in the 1st - and even though they are having issues with the property they are moving into - they have assured us that they will be out on the 31st, even if it means staying in a hotel for a night and they are taking care of all of the cleaning for us (which I don't think is required of them as they are renters in the house), but it's great knowing that they have removed 2 hornets/wasps nests for us, sprayed for bugs, had the gardener come out, the pool guy come out, and are getting the carpets professionally cleaned for us and personally cleaning the the rest of the house. I really don't feel like that should be their responsibility as renters, but AM said that she is so excited for us and very happy that we are the ones getting the house and not an investor or another family. She even brought up which room would be best for a nursery...even though that is not happening for at least a few more years.

A also told me on Saturday that we are being gifted a pool guy for a couple months while we get into the swing of things, which is awesome - one more thing we don't have to worry about while we get used to living in and owning a house (Thanks!!).

We've ordered address announcements which should be here in the next few weeks - hopefully we ordered enough.

And did I mention the apartment is a disaster? Because it is. But Pocket is determined to climb on top of the boxes so that adds to the cuteness and entertainment around here these days. I may have already mentioned that in an earlier post, but it really is entertaining.

Today we spent mostly packing, then decided to roam around Costco, The Room Store, and Home Depot. Walked out of HD into a monsoon which was wonderful- I like to pretend we live somewhere tropical when that happens. Went to church which had an awesome and convicting message on living a life of faith daily, not just when it's convenient and then In N Out for dinner because I didn't throw the crock pot meal in the crock pot. Genius. right here. Thank you.

And lastly on this random rambling bloggy post - have I mentioned the wonderfulness of freezer meals? Totally have to utilize this and get into the habit of it before we start having munchkins. It's fantastic. I spent a couple hours on two different days preparing meals that could be frozen for up to 3 months and either tossed into a crock pot or into the oven. It has seriously been amazing! I think this was the first time that A went out of town that I actually ate a legit meal instead of some store bought freezer meal or Ramen noodles and it has kept the cost down on the restaraunts on the couple weeks before our move. I LOVE it. It's healthier, there are left overs which are great for lunches, elevensies, or midnight snack/meal.  (FYI that's probably the only LOTR reference you will get out of me - mainly because I think that's the only part I was awake for in 2 of the movies and I haven't tried the 3rd one yet, gotta actually see the entire first 2).

SO that's all that's happened. I feel like this was a very informational post. Hopefully I will be able to post a recipe or something soon. I keep forgetting to take pictures.

 Loves to you all my family and friends and random internet people who come across this!
-S

Oh - did I mention we sign tomorrow, get the keys Tuesday or Wednesday and move in on Wednesday? Cause that's what's going on. I can't wait.

And we have some paint colors picked out.

Seriously?

I had something better (and possibly wittier) written, but then the power went out and didn't save anything so now you get this. My apologies. Why are there SO many blackouts/power outages in Arizona? I think I've experienced more outages here than my entire 22ish years in SoCal.

Anyways, I have accomplished two things today.
1) Cleaned the bathroom more thoroughly than I think I have ever cleaned anything on account of move-out day is coming and I was so disgusted by the cleanliness (or lack there of) of this apartment when we moved in, that I figured I'd help out the next renter.
2) I have completely destroyed the bedroom as a result of cleaning/packing the bathroom. So that's fun.


Other stuff:

• I was supposed to hear back from my manager on Monday - so I will be calling him in a little bit to see what the next step is as far as training goes and give him the dates of our vacation days. 
• I really want garlicky scrambled eggs. I packed the frying pan. The pasta pot thing is not packed. This will happen. 
•  Do you know how hard it is to NOT eat frozen cookie dough? The fact that I haven't yet is a miracle and an incredible act of God.
• Pocket is STILL trying to get on top of the boxes. She refuses to believe this is an impossibility
• There are 3 things that could hinder us from getting the keys on Wednesday. Wednesday is the ONLY day we can move. Prayers are appreciated.
• I've started Christmas shopping. This is ridiculous. But I think I will avoid the holiday shopping madness that cause me to not feel well - I may have a small anxiety issue with crowds. 

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT NEWS OF ALL:

Our good friends, Trevor and Stacey, welcomed their handsome SON into the world on July 22! He was born at 11:53 AM, weighing 6 lbs 15 ounces and measuring 19 inches long! And let me tell you, he is the absolute cutest thing on the planet!

Anthony was able to meet him when he was on a business trip in CA earlier this week. I cannot wait until it's my turn to meet him! Congratulations again to you, Trev and Stacey! You guys did a good job :)

Older brother - if you read this, call me because I haven't been able to get a hold of you any other way and I would like to talk to you because I miss you and I love you and I miss you.

Dear Anyone Who May Visit in the Next Week and Those Evil Evil Boxes

Dear anyone who may visit in the next week,
I'm apologizing in advance for when you enter into our home and discover a mini-house (an apartment really) in shambles - completely destroyed by an epic disaster. I trust that, given the circumstances, you wouldn't have done any better. On the bright side - it has kept me from being anti-social as I want to be as far away from it as possible...forever....FOREVER. So, if you do feel the sudden urge to drop by, maybe we should go grab coffee or something instead. Take a nice long walk in this beautiful Arizona summer heat - oh wait, that was the boxes talking. I have every intention of being out of boxes ASAP. I don't do boxes. I hate boxes. I may even loathe them. They give me a special kind of anxiety. A very, boxy boxed-in kind of anxiety - like I can't breathe because they are just growing larger and larger.

Ok - that was a little overly dramatic. They don't give me anxiety to that level. But they make me want to run away. Maybe that was their plan all along. Multiply when I'm not looking so they can eat our things and drive us away. Well boxes, you won't win. We're bigger than you, well maybe not me, but I know people bigger than you. Plus, we have more man-power than you. I knew it was a bad idea letting you pop in for a quick dinner. Well boxes, you can take over the apartment, but you can't have our house. You're not allowed. Nope - not allowed. Access denied. Once you have returned all the items you have stolen from us, we're kicking you out. Sending you back to where you came from. Well, I don't think we can turn you back into a tree - but we're sending you away none-the-less. I will give you 3 days to spit out all your treasures that have been entrusted to us and then you're out.

Tough love. Someone's gotta do it.

Sincerely,
Sara

Things I've learned with Packing

Here's a randomly compiled list of things I've learned through the packing/moving process (this time) because our neighbors are being ridiculously loud and the police haven't shown up yet to break it up. Yes, I'm that person. It's 1:00AM go be loud somewhere else.

• AMAZING snack combination: Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies and Sour Cream & Onion Pringles. Layer them. Eat them. Enjoy it. It's amazing. 
• I'm actually pretty good at packing. The whole apartment is almost done.
• I hate the end of packing - all the random stuff - totally gives me anxiety. 
• My OCD tendencies are thrust into turbo mode when I'm feeling overwhelmed. Not only have I packed most of the house, but I've organized the hangers, over labeled all the boxes we bought (not the ones we are borrowing), made lists of lots of things - daily to do list, things to leave unpacked, things to purchase, things I would like for the house, I've done 18 zillion loads of laundry.
• I love our bunnies. They are good company. 
• Our bunnies love the boxes in the apartment. Pocket keeps trying to figure out how to get on top of them. It's not gonna happen, but she's determined to keep trying. 
• Pushing Daisies is not a terrible tv series once you get over the cheesey-ness. 
• Watching Pushing Daises is NOT conducive to packing.
• Watching iCarly is. 
• Unless you're tired, then it just serves as a distraction.
• Freezer meals are the best idea ever. 
• I'm most productive with a real dead line and not one I tell myself is real, but really has no consequences. 
• This is the LONGEST week ever. 
• Apple Juice and Starbucks (not together) are life savers. 
• I think I packed up all the caffeinated tea. 
• Nevermind, I think I packed up ALL the tea - even the tea that will help me sleep
• Packing leaves my body in the same condition the following day as if I had done a session of Insanity. I'm not sure what that means. 

We're Moving!!

     In a number of days (more than a week, less than two - can't calculate the exact number with my post-packing mush excuse of a brain), we will be moving to here:

 

We are both very excited - it's a stressed excitement, but excitement none-the-less. BUT - before you can move, you have to pack and that means our apartment looks like this:

And that we look like a combination of this:

oh hey! This one actually is us!

And I am currently sporting the "moving grunge" look. It's quite flattering - no makeup, no hair product, slouchy clothes... and if it's not flattering, it's comfortable and I reserve the right to be comfortable - and no photos will be taken.


I counted the number of boxes we have packed/almost packed today. The number is 71. 8 boxes are not finished and remain open in our kitchen waiting for the last few items to be put away. And I just want to run around the house screaming because I don't do commotion well - and while it's not noise, I'm counting the clutter as commotion and it's making me crazy. I even broke down and bought a Starbucks today (I haven't had coffee in months...like lots of months...I think 6 months, but don't quote me on that).

So that's where we are at now! I'm excited to be in our first house (though NOT our first home). I'm excited to paint the kitchen yellow and for being able to host shindigs at our house and have people come because we'll have the space; instead of volunteering my in-laws house like we did in California. I'm excited to have pool parties and fondue parties and game nights and I'm excited for all the space our bunnies will have!

And through it all, we are praising God for His faithfulness. While we only looked for a few weekends, there was a lot of unknowns in this house and God has been merciful and gracious in allowing us to have this house and in showing us His blessings when we are faithful to Him. There is no way we could have gotten this house without Him, all of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, our friends and lots and lots of prayer.

Thank you Jesus for our first home, we can't wait to live in it!

-:- The Colellos -:-