It seems so short a time when the boxes were being unpacked for the move into this beautiful home.... and now we are repacking and taking so much more than just STUFF with us. We have to thank our wonderful neighborhood for these memories.
We are starting a new chapter in our adventure...

Boxes, tape and packing materials.....

The rooms are looking bare,

things are ready to be put in their new places,

and we are ready for the moving truck.

We're checking to see that nothing gets left behind,

and want our dear neighbors to know they will not be forgotten and we will not be far! We love you!

Demolition is Fun!

It certainly has been busy around here - between work, prepping for the yard sale this weekend, the farm, yearly vaccinations and day to day life, I haven't had much time to post. However, we did have a great weekend at the farm last weekend and got some things done thanks to our friends.
The brick planter in the middle of the family room is GONE and the tub is slowly being chiseled out....

The family that came and helped us this past weekend has a member taking riding lessons from me. We had our lesson (ladies only) and drove by Moseley's to pick up lunch and then met up with the guys at the farm. The kids had a great time at the farm and even joined in with the demo!
Here is my little student helping to pick up the remains of the brick planter - the riding helmet is doing double duty as a construction hard hat here:

Here's our friend, Scott and the two helpers - who says putting brick and mortar in a bucket isn't fun?!

Here's the tub:

The steps were apparently made with the thought that there might be a tornado, hurricane and earthquake all at once during the end of the world. The guys did not have an easy time getting them out. However, they are gone and there is no turning back now!

Here's the work crew eating lunch outside on a beautiful sunny day:

Soon, we will be able to do this all the time!


We also discovered that the farm is child-approved. Hooray! These two girls had a great time (and I hope they took a LONG nap on the way home!). I'm glad they enjoyed their time and didn't want to leave. Just wait until we get the pool up and running!

However, you just can't be too careful these days... it's just best to keep that hardhat on at all times!

Thank You!

for all of the Happy Birthday wishes, cards and gifts! They made an older (and hopefully wiser) girl feel loved!
Thank you!

Harvesting & Leaving it Behind

It is Spring, undeniably, around here! Flowers blooming, birds chirping, bugs zipping here and there... I love Spring because of it's exuberance after the cold, still Winter and for it's beauty. My bulb garden outside of the kitchen window is finally going through the different stages after years of planning and planting: paper whites first, daffodils (both wild, miniature and standard) second, grape and traditional hyacinth third, tulips currently and who knows what will be next! When we first moved into the house, we planted an asparagus patch. This is the first year they have been ready to harvest and eat! We had our first batch for dinner the other night and they were wonderful - I'm already picking more for our next meal! It was fun to grow something in our own back yard and take it straight to our table.

It is also a constant reminder of how much of ourselves we have invested into this house, the yard and our neighborhood. I try not to dwell on it too much because God has blessed us SO much with this home and our new home and just life in general. No complaints here! However, as excited as we are to live on a farm with our horses we are equally going to miss our life in the city in one of the best neighborhoods ever.
I count ourselves very fortunate to have lived in a beautiful home surrounded by such great neighbors and to be moving on to living on a farm in the midst of His creation!
Thank you, God, for a life full of blessings!

Swing Low...

We bought a swing! My Grams had given us some money for Christmas, and we decided to put it to good use this past Saturday.
I swung on it Saturday, Sunday and Monday and enjoyed every minute of it!

My sweet husband put it together (of course, I helped - I love putting things together, but I lack the brute strength!).
Gatsby took on his usual role as the Grand Overseer of All Projects from a safe distance.

And the swing held! It's just what we wanted. It gives us a reason to get outside and sit on the front porch and get to know our neighbors and the neighborhood better.

Now, I swung on it Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Monday I sat on the swing awaiting my husband's arrival home from work. He pulled up in the drive, hopped up the stairs onto the porch and exuberantly sat next to me on the swing.
CRRRRRACK !!!!!

So sad!!!!!!

It was fun while it lasted. Guess we need to loose some weight.

Happy Valentine's Day

May yours be filled with everything sweet...

And may you be surrounded by those that love you dearly.

Updates! and Flashbacks...

Updates! Updates! Come an get 'em!

I am sure there is a very creative way for me to put this in blog-form, but my brain is swimming with all that is going on and changing, so I'll be simple and to the point.

• I'm still teaching art lessons to my two precious little neighbors every other week. I really enjoy it, especially when they are captivated by what we are doing.


• The business is still. "Still what?" you ask. Just that. It's still.


• I'm now going to be teaching riding lessons at the stable probably 2 to 3 times a week in the afternoons/evenings. I hope I do a good job!


• I'll also help to run the Summer Horse Camps this year - five in all. I'm excited, but also nervous about doing a good job and making sure everyone is safe and having fun.


• Sam and I are trying out a new system between the two of us to try and get our Foursquare contruction projects done more efficiently and with less stress on our end. So far, so good.


• Lastly but not in the least, we have a contract on the Little Cottage - yay! It's very bittersweet to me. I am glad that someone (an individual), not an investor is wanting the house and seems to really want to put some work into it, but as I've said a million times before, I've created a lot of memories here. It will be so strange to say that it is not my home anymore. This is only the third HOME I have lived in for any length of time (I don't count rentals, apartments or dorms). The first I lived in from birth until fifteen, the second for two years before college (still my parents' current home) and then the little house. It's MY first home that I lived in by myself, paying all of the bills and, in my opinion, really growing up. It is time to move on, though. The house is comfortable with just us in it, a little cramped and cluttered with guests and would probably feel very crowded with all of that and a baby, so it's time to go.

Anyway, I'm so thankful to have lived here. I can't even begin to tell you how much I've learned and how I've changed. Here's to adventures and to life. Life is beautiful.

Family, Friends, Dinners, Parties, Birthdays, History, Weddings, Art, Animals and Children.... all such wonderful memories.

Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, and Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, they would be too numerous to count. ~ Psalm 40:5

House of Blues...and pinks too, I suppose

I wrote a post yesterday, but it was yucky, so I took it down.
Yes, we are having trouble with some of the things with the money side of the house. We HAVE the money in a way. It's just the Big Bank's appraiser REFUSED to appraise our future home and they don't want to send out another appraiser, but hey, they want to charge us anyway. The appraiser didn't even go inside of the house and did a write up that basically said the house we want is a crack house and absolutely disgusting. It's dirty, it needs updates, but it was never a crack house and the problems are quite fixable and the house does have SOME form of value.

Anyway, I have been reacting like an angry pit bull locked in a room with Mr.Vick and my poor, Southun' gentleman of a husband has had to deal with an angry coona$$ of a wife.

So that's my update. My blood pressure is going up, so let's move on to a better topic.

My little neighbor friend came over this past weekend to spend the day with me one on one, and we had a great time. We had our "Pink Day" we talked about with my pink mixer, pink apron and pink cupcakes. Little Sally's demeanor is very much like mine, so we get along quite well.

We had fun watering my garden, making "Compost Stew" out of berries and grass, etc., baking cupcakes, painting and playing with the toys at my house. It was a good day, but I was ready for bed with not an ounce of energy left by the time 10:00 rolled around!

Here are some happy pictures of our fun times:
Think pink! It's much easier to smile if you are making cupcakes!

Wearing her hair "Miss Michelle Style" (pre-hair cut) while painting.While watering the gardens, Miss Sally got her clothes wet. The only thing I had was a dress that I saved that I used to wear as a little one - a perfect fit! Sweet memories...

Good Day, Sunshine...

Wishing you a weekend full of sunshine...
Laughter...


Twirls...
Innocence... and Wonder.
If help in this department is needed, consult your nearest four-year-old, sweetheart of a kid.