Making a House Feel Like Home

Okay, so this post is LOOOOOOONNNNNGGGG overdue! It's been months since I've posted something. Sad, I know! But here we go...

One of my dear friends, Tricia, flew down to stay with me one weekend back in March to help me decorate the house.  She was absolutely FANTASTIC!  And for all of my Houston area friends and family out there, Tricia has started her own home design and consulting business called Bless'd Nest Designs. Check out here website here. She also has a Facebook page that you can see here. I highly recommend her!  Some of the things I loved about her most was that she geniunly wanted our house to feel like a home- and not just a home but our home.  Plus, she's all about DIY projects (which she definitely took the time to teach me some tricks). 

As we decorated, we incorported some pieces of furniture that I recently inherited from my grandfather.  He was such a kind, caring, and generous man so his pieces are a great reminder that we get to see day in and day out. :)  Despite the bad weather we incountered (including tornado siren's going off a good portion of the night) we got A LOT of decorating done.  Thank you, Tricia, for all of your help!  I had so much fun!!!  Take a peak inside to see what we did:

As you walk in the entry (to the left of the front door).  The green mirror and small cabinet came from my grandfather :) ...

Entry (to the right of the front door and above the coat closet)...

Dining Room (It's kinda hard to see but there is a red buffet table that Tricia and I re-painted)...

We also spray painted the chandelier black (it was brass before!) ...



Formal Living Room (pretty much everything in this room came from my grandfather)...

I know it's a weird angle but here's the living room (it's kind of a narrow room so we had to take a picture looking down to fit everything in one shot)...

We also decorated the kitchen but I'm saving that pic for another post because I painted the walls since then.  The projects seem to be never ending in a foreclosure home so come back to check out more pics later! :)  Thanks again, Tricia, for all of your help! And thank you to my wonderful husband for helping us when we needed it that weekend! Great times! :)



Weight Loss Challenge

It's on! The family weight loss challenge between Nathan, my sister-in-law, brother-in-law, and myself is on! The simple rule is who ever loses the most percentage weight by May 15th is the winner. Each person has committed $100 so the winner will take all... that's $400!!! And believe me, the "friendly" trash talking has already started. LOL! We've all got our eye set on the prize.

My goal for the competition is, yes, to lose weight but more importantly I want to eat HEALTHY and get back to WORKING OUT! I figured, if I can focus on the healthy eating and excersizing then the weight will naturally fall off over time. When we lived in Kingwood, I was involved in Humble Area Adventure Bootcamp... and boy do I miss it!!! I can definitely tell that my body is not what it was just even 3.5 months ago before moving to Atlanta. Bootcamp was great accountability for me. There were three set times a week for me to go workout with other women and an instructor who would give us different workouts all the time. Now that I don't have bootcamp I'm going to have to work extra hard to keep myself motivated. I know it's going to take a lot of planning and a determined attitude.

To get things started off, I've gone on a nice jog around the neighborhood with the dog followed by a homemade strawberry bannana smoothie.

So here's to no excuses excersizing, eating healthy, and losing weight for a healthier me. CHEERS! :)

Honoring A Great Man

Tomorrow, we will be honoring the life of a great man- my Grandaddy, Harry H. Harrell. He went home to be with the Lord this past Thanksgiving night peacefully with my mom by his side. One of the things that I will remember most about Grandaddy is that he was known to be a very generous man. Not only was he generous, but he gave in so many ways with love and expecting nothing in return. There are many stories about how he cared for people and how he even helped people get back on their feet by providing a place to stay when they couldn't afford it. Even late into his life, he would visit elderly friends who were older than he was to make sure they were cared for.

Sometimes Nathan and I laugh, because we went to church with Grandaddy once and the whole time he was introducing us as his grandson and grandaughter... we would then get this funny look because we were obviously married. So we would have to explain that Nathan was technically his grandson through marraige, not blood- no incest here! LOL! But he wanted to make Nathan feel so loved and part of the family that he would introduce him as such. :)

Even in his last days he was so selfless with my mom faithfully by his side... One night, we were told that things were not looking so good for him and Nathan suggested that we call him to tell him we loved him. At first, I was a little hesitent because I wasn't sure if he was aware or coherrant enough to understand based on reports we received about his health... needless to say, I am so GLAD we called him!! We asked my mom to put the phone up to his ear while he was laying in bed with his eyes closed (he had been doing a lot of sleeping at this point because he was so weak). We could hear him struggling to breathe because of his congestion. I spoke first saying, "Hey Grandaddy! We love you!" and Nathan chimed in, "We love you Grandaddy!" Next thing we know, with all his might he responded with groaning and a barely recognizable "I love you"... A memory I will hold close to my heart always! A few days later, we received the news that he had passed.

It is because of Grandaddy that I was able to attend college and get my degree in Education. I only hope that I can continue to make him proud as he always told me. He is an inspiration to Nathan and I to be kind, caring, and generous. Nathan and I chose the following verse to be read at his funeral tomorrow and I will share it with you as well...

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.'"
2 Corinthians 9:6-9

We will miss you, Grandaddy, and we love you! You are now with the angels in Heaven. :)

A Day in the Life of a Substitute

This past week I substituted for the first time. It was definitely full of ups and downs but here’s how it went…
Monday- My assignment was to sub for a 10th grade Geometry class at Pope High School. As the students started walking into the classroom I was pleasantly surprised at how nice they were…saying hello and asking how I was. They would also ask me the normal questions, “are you our substitute today?” or “what are we doing today?” At the start of each class period, I would tell them a little bit about myself, that I used to teach math and that I recently moved from Texas. Some of them got a good laugh when I told them that we don’t all ride horses to school and, no, we do not all wear cowboy hats. ;) I think they felt comfortable to ask me questions about their assignment- which I loved and I felt like I was in my zone! It was a great day and went very smoothly. Yay!
Tuesday- No School because of Election Day
Wednesday- I subbed for a co-teacher at McCleskey Middle School. When I got there, there were A TON of trailers in the parking lot. I later found out that the school was being used to house busses and trailers for the production crew and actors of a movie being filmed that Ben Stiller and Vince Vaugh are in. It was so funny to hear the kids tell me all about it, saying that their school was famous. LOL! Most of the day I helped out in an 8th grade Science class (and I learned a little about Acceleration and Velocity. LOL!) There was one class period that the teacher had their own class for students struggling in Math… once again, I was in my zone! Teaching and helping them with their assignment was so much fun! It was interesting to see the math they were expected to do here in Georgia versus what is expected in Texas. Some of the stuff they do in 8th grade in Georgia is not taught until 9th grade in Texas (but that is apparently going to change next year in Texas from what I heard last).
Thursday- I only subbed for a half day in the afternoon at an elementary school for a special ed preschool class. The particular class I was in had 6 students who all had autism- SO PRECIOUS! There are always 3 teachers in the classroom so I pretty much did whatever the other teachers asked me to do. I was able to work one-on-one with a little boy practice his handwriting and do puzzles. Let me tell you, these teachers are saints! The pour things looked so worn out and burnt out. They’ve got a lot on their hands but they were so patient the whole time. It was such a great experience to see how they communicate with the children and what kind of ways they teach them things… very interesting stuff!
Friday- I hate to say it but it was one of the worst days I’ve had in a long time… my assignment was for a middle school 6th grade math class and here is just a little note about the day… I was called a “fool” by one of the students, had a student who refused to give me his drum sticks that he was beating on his desk during a quiz- then he refused to go to the office- then there was NO PHONE in the classroom to call for an administrator to come down. Seriously!? Who doesn’t put a phone in the classroom? What if there was an emergency and a nurse was needed? That probably made me madder than anything because I’ve been in a situation where a nurse was needed for a teacher who collapsed on the campus I used to teach at and they had to use CPR and a defibrillator on her and then rush her to the hospital. The nurse was easily contacted because we had a phone in the classroom! Anyways, I ended up getting assistance from a teacher who was walking by in the hallway... but all of this is just a portion of what I had to deal with. I was pretty EXHAUSTED by the end of the day to say the least.

North Georgia Corn Maze

A few weeks ago I heard on the radio about a corn maze in north Georgia and thought that it would be fun (and different) for Nathan and I to check out. We were going to go last week after church but found out that it was going to take an hour and half to get there so we decided to wait (we have been living with our GPS on our iPhones ever since we got here). Yesterday, we figured we should go since it's a seasonal thing and we didn't have anything else planned. It turned out to be a really fun day! We slept in, ate an early lunch and then headed out. On our way up there we joked about how people would probably think we are crazy for driving that far to go get lost in a field of corn... but hey! Why not? :)

On our drive up there, we got to see all of the BEAUTIFUL colors from the leaves changing... we just don't have a pretty Fall season like this in Texas... I mean you talk about bright yellow, red, and orange! It was gorgeous hill country for sure! This picture does not even begin to give justice to the bright colors.

Anyways, after a slight detour (because we missed a turn) we finally got to the corn maze. Not many people were there and the corn stalks were all dried up and brown but it was still just as fun... They also had a petting zoo, a hay ride, horse shoe toss, etc... When we bought our tickets, they gave Nathan and I a map of the maze. It's hard to see it in the picture below but, on the map, there were six numbered stations that helped to keep you on track. Once you got to each station in the maze you punched a whole out on the left side of your card that corresponded to each station once you got there. I wonder how many people have actually gotten so lost that they couldn't find there way out... I've heard on the news how people have gotten lost and had to call 911! Crazy!

Well, we were successful and made our way out! We took turns leading the way between each station... and in the back of my head I was thinking this was probably an argument waiting to happen- kinda like when you're driving around with your spouse and they think you need to turn left but you think you need to turn right- all you couples out there know what I'm talking about! LOL! Thankfully, there was no arguing what so ever! We didn't care if we got lost. :)

Afterwards, on our way back, we stopped at a couple of local shops on the side of the road...one of which sold home made jarred pickles, jams, salsa, cider, and more... we definitely bought some of that! Pickles and peach salsa to be exact... Yep! Peach salsa- if you've never had it you need to try it because it's good stuff. The pickles were awesome and the peach salsa was okay (not like what I've had before). I was really hoping that it was going to be better since Georgia is known for their peaches but it was still pretty good. They had so many jams to choose from- even "Georgia Moonshine Jam"!!! Haha! Between that and the huge twang the seller had, we knew we were in the c-o-u-n-t-r-y!

They only took cash, though, so we couldn't get any jam since we didn't have enough with us. If we ever go back, we will definitely buy some (berry, not moonshine though)! Talk about pure, real ingredients- none of that fake sugar and flavoring stuff! It's bound to be delicious!

Take a Tour

Here are some pictures of the house we are buying (descriptions are on top of each picture)...

Front view:

Back left view (you can see that the basement has an outside entrance):

Back right view- LOVE the deck that wraps around the corner of the house! (there is more to the yard behind where this picture is taken):

View from the front entry (to the right is the formal living room, directly in front is the formal dining room, to the left in front of the stairs is a hallway that leads to the living room. You can't see it in this picture but there is a door on the other side of the stairs that leads to the kitchen):

Kitchen:

Breakfast room with a door on the left that leads to the deck (this picture is taken from the living room):

Living Room:

Master Bedroom:

One of the bedrooms (it's huge!!):

Unfinished part of the basement (against the far wall you can see a section that sticks out- there is a door along the side of it that leads to a room- one of the two finished rooms down there):

One of the finished rooms in the basement that also leads out to the backyard:

We are so excited to get moved in and settled! Closing will be December 9th or earlier (all depends on Fannie Mae). Our realtor said it could be as early as right before Thanksgiving... so we will wait and see. :)

One step closer!

Happy, happy!!! Joy, joy!! We are so excited that we are now officially under contract on the house we wanted!

So here is how things went down...

Monday morning, our realtor submitted our offer (even though we were ready Saturday, Fannie Mae does not work over the weekends). She's also really good about keeping us informed... so she told me that she called the selling agent to confirm that they received our offer (which they did). However, the interesting thing that worried me at the time was that the selling agent said she had 52 new emails when she got to work that morning- many of which were concerning the same house!! All I could think about was that it meant we were most likely going to go into a bidding war. I found myself trying not to get too excited about the house so that if we didn't get it, then I wouldn't be as disappointed... do you ever find yourself doing that?

Then on Tuesday, our realtor called again and said that they needed a letter stating that we did not own any property in the United States to help prove that we are not investors. The letter had to be from us with our legal names written and signed. (Side note: Fannie Mae rather sell their property to residents rather than investors who would flip the house. So when they put a house on the market, they usually have a time frame this is initially only open to residential buyers. After that time, if they haven't received an offer they like, then it's open for investors). I asked our realtor if this was a good sign but all she could say was "you never know and they will never say" and that we just needed to "continue to sit tight".

Then on Wednesday, the Fannie Mae agent received our paperwork (aparently this is a different person from the selling agent) and that ours was the first one he had received on that house so far. Our realtor also said that she knew the Fannie Mae agent and that she had a good rapport with him (good for us so she could make sure, in her words, that "we don't get ran into the ground." i.e. that we don't get lost through all the paperwork)... but we still didn't know anything outside of that.

Then Friday, our realtor called at about 4:00 pm and said they couter offered on the house! Can you imagine my happiness to hear that they did NOT just ask for our best offer and that we did NOT have to go into a bidding war!!!! PRAISE THE LORD! A huge thank you to our realtor too for being proactive with all of this... she called Fannie Mae on Friday to check up on things and there was a counter offer "sitting in the computer system" waiting to be dealt with the following week.

Boy did that week of waiting seem like an eternity! In fact, earlier this week I thought about how I have been doing a lot of "waiting" over the last few months. (Think God is trying to teach me something?) It goes all the way back to the beginning of the summer... waiting to hear if Nathan got a promotion...waiting to sell our house back in Texas...waiting to live under the same roof as my husband again (longest 2 1/2 months of my life!)...waiting to hear about the house here in Atlanta... do you see the pattern too? It never fails that God is faithful.

Picture will be coming soon...