The Stockings Were Hung by the Chimney With Care

My amazing husband has been working so hard on finishing off the interior of our house. He finished the fireplace wall and mounted the mantle before Christmas so we could hang our stockings. What a guy. Here are before and after pictures.

Before:

After:

We had an extended Christmas celebration. Chris' parents drove down Christmas morning to spend the day with us. Hannah was so excited to see them, as were we. We had dinner with them and my grandmother Mimi and her husband Tommy. The next day my dad, stepmom, and sister Colleen drove down with their dog Kodi and spent the day with us. Again, lots more attention and present opening for Hannah. She very much enjoyed opening presents. She would rip off the paper and toss the box aside to go to the next gift without seeing what's inside. Kodi helped too.

The fun will continue tomorrow when my mom, stepdad, brother and sister-in-law all come to town for a visit.

House Update

So here is the long awaited post of the "move-in" condition of our house. Chris has been working so hard, and we are blessed to have many handy friends who have helped us with projects. We have had our share of surprises after moving in, like the downstairs toilet overflowing because of tree roots in the pipes, the pilot on the water heater not staying lit, and the kitchen sink backing up with water. Praise God for our home warranty! Two out of the three issues have been taken care of and hopefully the sink will be fixed today or tomorrow. But my dishwasher works! It's quite the luxury after almost 5 years without one. All the floors have been replaced, except for the tile in front of the fireplace. The kitchen cabinets have their first coat of paint and just need a stain finish. Hannah's room still needs a door. Hannah has adjusted well and is enjoying her new house and all the space to play in. Her favorite spot is to be on the step stool in front of the pantry. Since the door is off she has easy access to snacks. Enjoy the slideshow. Below it is an updated picture of the fireplace. Chris plastered the wall last night and it looks great! The dark spots are where it is still drying. We plan to have a mantle up by Christmas for our stockings.

Give Thanks

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanksgiving.

Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth!
Worship the Lord with gladness.
Come before him, singing with joy.
Acknowledge that the Lord is God!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with THANKSGIVING;
go into his courts with praise.
Give THANKS to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.

A Leopard and her Pumpkins

Ok, here's the very late, standard kid post of the halloween costume and pumpkins. Hannah was VERY in to pumpkins this year. She would point them out all the time, and even called and orange sandbag a pumpkin. A highlight was painting pumpkins with Ali. She also loved trick-or-treating on our street. The whole concept of knocking on a strangers door, having them tell you how cute you are and then drop candy in your bag was absolutely thrilling for her. After each house, she would look in her bag at her goodies and say, "Oh boy Hannah!" The only candy she got to eat was half a fun size 3 musketeers.

A Toddler's Mind

I've learned that toddlers make associations for everything. Like riding the train, twice Hannah has been on a train with Ali, once on Amtrak and once at the Underwood Farm. And now when she hears one blow it's whistle or (even better) sees one go by, she says "Ali, choo choo." It's very cute to hear, and you know it must have been a highlight of her life to this point. You can read about it here too.

The other association Hannah has made is in the bath. Whenever she is taking a bath, she asks for a cheeseburger. I'm really not sure how that one came about. It's not like she eats a lot of cheeseburgers, and she's definitely never had one while taking a bath. We still can't figure out the connection.

We Bought a House!

Ok, so it's not a single family home, it's a condo. Well, it's not a condo either, it's a PUD (Planned Unit Development). That was a very important distinction during escrow. Had it been a condo instead of a PUD, we wouldn't have been able to get a loan because of new restrictions. But by the grace and abundant provision of God, we bought our first home. Let me tell you, if you ever want your faith stretched or want to learn how to trust God more, buy a foreclosed house and go through escrow in this market. It was a huge learning experience!

When we started looking seriously with a realtor back in June, we prayed for a fixer on the east end of Ventura, and that's exactly what we got! It has 3 bedrooms, two baths, a yard, a laundry room and a two car garage. The catch is...it's a disaster on the inside. The slideshow below is how the house looked when we made an offer. After closing escrow on Friday, Chris and a bunch of our wonderful friends had "Demo Day" on Saturday. A lot of the inside is torn apart now, on it's way to being fixed up. This house is going to be a labor of love, and we're so excited to have a place to call our own. God has provided so much for us already to make that happen. I'm trying to document the whole remodel process, so stay tuned for more updated photos.

Summer Wrap Up

Nothing says "Summer" like a toddler running through the sprinklers in a diaper. Somehow I didn't end up with a lot of pics from summer. It flew by too fast. We did manage to spend some time at the beach, play with the neighbor boys, have coffee with Ali and friends at the "Dolphin Starbucks," go to the Santa Barbara zoo with the Hawkins via Amtrak (Hannah still talks about riding the choo-choo with Ali), take a teeny weeny wigglers class and a swim class. Fall has already proven to be just as busy a time for us. More to come on that later.

So how do you stay cool on a hot day when you don't have A/C? You stand in the refrigerator, of course!

I just had to throw these pictures in of my diva daughter.