Living Room

 So during the renovation the living room was used as the "staging" area for the painting supplies and just about everything else. I have looked everywhere but I can't find the original pictures of the house that show the wall to wall bookcase that was in this room but if you look at that little strip of green there on the wall and imagine a set of bookshelves the length of the room that will give you an idea of what was there. We wanted more wall space, since we have so much art to hang, and the shelving just seemed to make the room feel small. So down they came on the first day in the house. Turns out they weren't even attached to the wall. Kind of held up by paint, if you will. Frankie would have had those on the floor the first week in. Safety first folks!

My neighbor tells me we are the 5th or 6th owners of this house since it was built in 1965. At some point one of the former owners put these lovely lights in the living room. They are each on a separate dimmer which made my Dad and his buddy, our home inspector, chuckle and make a few jokes about evening disco sessions. As an artists family we kinda liked them. We can literally adjust the lighting in every corner of that room and highlight the work that is hung there. Not too much went into this room other than paint and patching and taking down the old blinds and such. Had to put down some new baseboard. Patch a hole in the wall where someone had tried to create a vent that would allow heat from the fireplace downstairs to warm the living room. Nice idea but we didn't want to eaves drop on overnight guests so - patched. Also it was right in the middle of the stinkin' wall. Right above the back of the couch but too low to hang a painting over. See it there in the picture? On the left wall. There were a lot of decisions made in the life of this house that still baffle me. 

Anyway now it looks like this! Again with the lovely windows to look out of. Lots of bird watching here just like in the kitchen. That funny little shape under the rug is a rug pad that was too small. Took these pictures the day after we got the rug and we hadn't fixed that yet. Now it just looks like a plain old rug with a pad that fits it. One of the most delightful things about this house - particularly our things IN this house is how they all seem to be made for each other. We have been collecting mid-century vintage furniture since we got married. We have always liked the style of the 50s and early 60s. Also it used to be the stuff that you could get at Goodwill and that was where we went to find furniture. Now people snag the nicer pieces and and put them on Craigslist. Still I just love the way it looks like we planned the furnishings when really this is just the stuff we had. The stuff we loved then and the stuff we love even more here. The couch is new. We bought two new couches for this house because our old one was just a disaster after three babies and a puppy. But this one is from the early 60s too. It's a sleep sofa that is so old the frame is made of iron and it weighs as much as a locomotive. I found it for a cool $100 on good ol' Craigslist. We have some super awesome friends who love us lots and lots because somehow we were able to find guys to help Stephen go pick up this beast and it's sister and then move them here once we were done with the house. Love you guys. You know who you are.

That is a tiny Ada over by the stairs being my "model" on the day these pictures were taken. This room gets a lot of use as you can imagine. I love the line of sight from the kitchen. The girls love to run the length of the house when they get all worked up and need something active to do in the afternoon on "inside days". There is so much light that fills this room at any time of day - it makes it a super cheerful place to hang out. 

And now since Frankie has been awake for the last 2 hours and I have been going back and forth trying to figure out how to help her get back to sleep.. I am going to bed while Stephen gives it a try.

Kitchen

These pictures are not news to most. If you know me on FB then you have already seen the big reveal. Still I wanted to try to remember the blur that was those two weeks between closing and moving in. So I am going to reminisce one room at a time. 

The kitchen was so much more of a mess than we originally thought when we bought the house. We had two weeks to get the place ready to move in and it seemed the more we prepped to get started to the more mess we found. Mouse droppings were the least of our worries here. The house simply needed a major face lift. The cabinets looked as though they had never been updated. The particle board of the shelves was so filthy with grease and water damage that in some areas it was literally like trying to clean a pile of saw dust. So thankful for my dad. 

We wanted to paint the cabinets white. We knew we wouldn't be able to do it ourselves and get the rest of the house ready to move in. Mom and dad gifted us the paint and one of my dad's painters on his crew. My parents live 90 minutes away. That's a lot of driving back and forth each day. Dad had the bright idea of seeing if Scott would be down with camping out in the house for the duration of the job. Scott was game. So, after I dropped the girls off at school every morning, leaving Frankie with Mary who was packing anything and everything she could get her hands on, I would come to the new house and be greeted by a cheerful Scott who had spent the night in our house. It was kinda crazy but it worked. Scott worked his tail off. So much went into this room I really can't remember it all. I do remember my dad replacing cabinet bottoms and covering others in linoleum to make them usable. I remember the new gas cooktop that Aunt B bought us. The new range hood Dad came back from Lowes with. The remnant granite counter tops from Mom and Dad that replaced the old ivory ones that were there before. I remember Jann coming to help me choose the perfect white that would work for the cabinets and the trim in the rest of the house. I remember painstakingly removing all the hardware from the cabinet doors. We had decided to try cleaning it instead of buying new. I was in love with the design and the look of them. They were original. I was supposed to let it soak in dish soap for a few hours and then scrub each handle, hinge and screw with a tooth brush. I forgot about that little bucket of metal - tucked away in one of the bathrooms on a sheet of cardboard - for three days. Late one night - exhausted and looking for something I could do while sitting down - I remembered that bucket and sat down to scrub. As I scrubbed a layer of varnish peeled off and what was left were bright copper plated handles. It took me several hours to scrub each piece and dry it. Then we had to put them all back on. I think Aunt B helped with the handles. I remember helping Scott to screw the hinges back on barely dry doors and hanging them back on the cabinets - leaving them slightly ajar so they could continue to dry. I remember choosing a dishwasher and then having Dad call me frantic because they had delivered the wrong color. I was walking into the girls Christmas party in their classroom at that moment in mismatched socks and a random assortment of clothes cobbled together to attempt a presentable look. Stephen handled it. Dad bringing his electrician to fix what was wrong in the kitchen. Add an outlet under the cabinets for the range so it wouldn't have to be plugged into the outlet at counter level. Add an outlet inside the cabinet over the stove for the microwave. Take down the poorly wired under counter lights over the sink and redo it properly. Safely. The day the new sink went in to the new granite counter tops. When Brookie came to install the garbage disposal and the dishwasher and check all the drains. I haven't seen Brookie in more years than I can count. He is the plumber my Dad has always worked with, since I was a little girl. I remember seeing him on job sites that my Dad brought me too. Jumping down off the front seat Dad's van and closing the door, hard to make sure it shut properly. He hugged me tight when I walked in the front door of our new home that day. Putting this house together started to feel more like a family reunion than a job.

So much love and work went into this room. I won't lie. There were moments when I looked around and wondered if it would ever be done. If we would make it out alive. Then I would look at my original gas oven from 1966 that worked perfectly and cooks like an absolute dream and energy would rush into my veins and I would scrub the radiator a little harder, a little faster.  And then it was finished.

It is kind of amazing what a little know how (Dad) and a lot of hard work and long hours can accomplish. Stephen coaching swimming at 5:30am practices then teaching all day and running home to change clothes and come to the new house to paint. Matt and Cole sanding cabinet doors in the basement while Stephen painted our room. Matt and Stephen painting the girls rooms. Amy watching all three girls so we could work all morning on Saturday. Friends supported us through this. We couldn't have done it without them.

This room is the heartbeat of our home. Full of light and warm cookies and breakfasts eaten at the butcher block counter top with Daddy every morning. 

We can watch the birds in the bushes outside the windows while we eat lunch. We work on art projects at the table and make granola. The kitchen chairs that I picked up on the side of the road that were always in the way at the old house have their place here. They are a place for little knees to kneel while little fingers steal snippets of cookie dough from the mixing bowl. 

This kitchen is so easy to love. I am so thankful every time my eyes run over the granite back splash, every time I wipe down the cabinet fronts. 

Hope to be less long winded with the rest of the rooms. This room just makes me so happy it's easy to keep finding things to say about it. It's a happy room in a happy house.

Puppy

Frankie recently found Ollie's last can of food under the kitchen sink. She has taken to going around the house calling for him for a length of time carrying around the can and a baby spoon. She peers out the front windows as she calls. She climbs the stairs and checks the bedrooms. Finally she locates her pink puppy from Aunt Heather and settles in to feed her the food. She focuses on getting the spoon right up to the puppy's mouth and then makes little nibbly noises with a concerned look on her face while she holds the spoon there. It's almost as if she wants to make sure puppy gets every crumb before the next mouthful. My heart warms to see the impact our precious Oliver had on the baby. My eyes always well up when I think that she will never truly remember him.

Wild

We now have a yard. This yard is wild. There are benefits to having a wild yard - namely you don't have to maintain it regularly yet since you have never had even a non-wild yard and have no idea where to start with this tangle of 50 year old azalea bushes, pine cones and English ivy. When you have little kids.. this is a wonderland of non-stop fun and adventure. It is finally warm enough for us to venture out in the afternoons. The girls can swing and slide .. and also seem to love collecting the zillions of pine cones in our yard for various purposes. One such collection became a queens garden. Another ammunition stores to defeat the plastic owl that hangs on our tiny fig tree. Still another grouping of pine cones has been used to practice throwing at Daddy and seeing how many he can hit back with a stick. Also they just like to practice throwing them. They stand at the top of this little washed area in the middle of the yard and throw with all their girlish might. They are getting pretty accurate. Tonight Ada built the above "fire" and prepared a pot of spaghetti complete with meatballs and sauce. Here she is showing me her "blow-offer" - an ingenious device that allows you to cool your food without having to blow on it yourself. Simply wave the blow-offer like so and .. voila! Perfect eating temperature. 

Another "fun" thing about our wilderness is the bamboo. We are fighting it where we can which means lots of little baby bamboo on the yard waste pile. Margot decided that this baby tree needed to be a "Queen's Christmas tree" (kind of into queens right now). She then set about carefully balancing those pine cones and sycamore balls on the tiny limbs of said tiny bamboo shoot. It was tedious work and quite honestly I am not sure how she managed it. I tried a few myself to no avail. 

Daddy came home bearing gifts today - well one gift. Rings. Ada waits patiently in line every time we are at Marbles (the kids museum in town) to be able to swing and flip on the rings there. No longer! Thrilled. New swing next month perhaps ;) 

The yard needs so much work and we truly have no idea where to start but it has been amazing how just having a fenced in space to let all of us out in has been so relaxing in the afternoons. Better than going to a park - for right now at least. They have so much to do just exploring and poking sticks into the ground and chasing each other around the trees... paradise.

Peace

No apologies. Only fresh greetings. You have been dearly missed. 

Tonight has been one of much talking. Much listening to bluegrass (more Allison Krauss than Doc Watson) and sipping of hot tea. Much mixing and slow roasting of fresh granola for the granola jar. It has been a peaceful evening and so much so that I am trying desperately to ignore that big 11 over there on the clock. If I try hard enough I might be able to imagine an "AM" in the place of that "PM". It has been one of those evenings you long for, plan for and sometimes have great difficulty in producing. One where nothing happened. At all. I allowed myself to clean the bathroom after the girls went to bed but after that purposed to leave the mountain of unfolded laundry in it's place on the bedroom floor and sit on the kitchen stool and read while I waited for the various times to add things to the granola baking in the oven. Then Stephen joined me. And the night got even better. Sometimes being still with nothing to entertain is so very entertaining. Love that this is something I can get comfortable with. I can get used to nights like these - in this home. In our home.

Overload

The last time I felt this crazy was in the picture above.. surrounded by boxes I was too tired to unpack... massively pregnant with the twins. 

Here's the part where I need to vent.. I was going to write a list of things I hate.. but I came up blank. Instead will you please listen to my sob story of the events this morning? 

The girls cried as soon as they woke up and saw that Daddy was again at Swim Practice. He was just there last night they reasoned.. why does he have to be there this morning too?? Took the time to shower, came downstairs and got everyone dressed and fed. Running a little behind so skipped my own breakfast and coffee while I got Frankie up and packed snacks. Trying to get everyone in coats when Frankie has a fit about something I didn't understand and coughs/screams out a whole mouthful of Cheerios onto her coat and mine. Burst into tears (for no reason?) and run to get paper towels whimpering and mumbling about my inability to do this (the things you said you'd never say in front of your children right?). Clean us up and hurry everyone to the car since we are now running late. Ice all over the windows. Well that's just great. Everyone in the car. Car is on heating up but ice still not melted. Grab baby wipes container and start scraping ice off the windows - it works! Take good care not to scrape away the "pond full of fish" that Ada has scratched into her window. Jump in car and off we go. Arrive at school. Why is the parking lot so empty? Where are the carpool people? Oh.. that's right. It's late start day today. We are an hour (AN HOUR) early. Laugh with the girls about how silly mommy is! Shall we get a breakfast treat to kill some time? Oh wait that place is full to the brim - not dragging the 4 of us in there only to have to re-pack everyone in the car. Drive around North Hills looking for other possibilities. Narrowly avoid getting into a wreck with TWO different women in Volvos who back out of the *&#^$^ parking spaces without even glancing behind them!!! The first time I slam on breaks so hard the girls say ouch! The woman sees me do this and calmly continues to back out without so much as a wave of apology. The second time I have to hit the gas to avoid some woman hitting Ada's door. What is HAPPENING PEOPLE?!?!! By now I am panting in frustration. The girls are asking me what "moronic idiot" means.. whoops. I tell them mommy needs to stop driving around and find somewhere to be still for a few minutes. We drive to the little pond and mill right across from the school. It is freezing outside this morning but I tell them it might be fun to go on a early morning nature walk. They are excited. Dear Jesus how I love those little girls. Get everyone out and take deep breaths while they blow "smoke" and examine the glistening frost on the leaves. We giggle about the pumpkin someone has tossed into the creek. We laugh at how cold the geese look in the water. We get back into the car and warm up again before heading off to school. Frankie is hungry because she didn't finish her breakfast before I forced us all out the door this morning. Ada and Margot both ask for a few of their ABC cookies from their snack bag to give to their baby sister. Their idea. Frankie munches happily and the big girls smile and tell me about how they will tell their teachers about our crazy morning. I quietly pray they have forgotten the "moronic idiot" part.

Now Frankie and I am home and I will gather my strength back and try to get something accomplished before we need to leave to pick up the girls. I am determined to laugh about this morning instead of crying. It wasn't really that bad after all .. everything just seems gigantic when you are exhausted and about to make the biggest purchase of your entire life. I have only just started to get weepy about leaving our neighborhood and our precious neighbors too... Deep breaths.

Three

Thanksgiving was a lovely blur. A blur of which I took not a single photograph. Chasing a Frances Pauline will cause you to forgot your camera. Stephen took some shots of them in the big tub at Nana and Papas house. 

We are three days away from our closing. Three. I have spent just about every single morning of the last few weeks tying up various loose ends. I have to go get the certified check for the attorney tomorrow and after that we wait until Friday at 9am. Ho-ly cow. Should I be worried that I literally have 3 boxes packed? We have until the 14th to be out of this place and the two weeks ahead are going to be slam packed with cleaning, painting, updating and moving. Mom and Dad will be here Friday and all weekend helping. Mary gets here Sunday to start watching the girls while we work away over at the new house. The plan to move one room at a time as each is completed sounds very optimistic from where I sit. I plan to move the closets first. Then everything but the furniture... and then the furniture last of all and all at once with the help of our friends with trucks and muscles. None of this, of course, can happen until we get things painted. Can't really plan too carefully, have to be super flexible. I just keep reminding myself that no matter how much we actually get done we will be spending Christmas this year in our new house. 

The girls are starting to ask questions like "Will we bring our toothbrushes to the new house?" "What about our toothpaste?" " I don't want to leave Oliver all by himself!" This is starting to get real in their little minds. I am going to try my best to take pictures and post as we make progress so stay tuned. 

Homes

More photo stalking from our hard drive. Found these images from Christmas 2010 here in Raleigh. That amazing Christmas that we had everyone here and it actually snowed. We also all got the stomach flu that year but I digress. Look how pretty these homes in our neighborhood are. I always saw myself living in an old Victorian home one day.  Then I married an artist/teacher. Ha! I kid. 

I will miss being able to take walks though this neighborhood. Particularly at night in the summer time. The girls are so big now we can't do the old after dark stroller adventures anymore anyway but that is ok. We have moved on to bigger and better things. Still I will miss this neighborhood and it's historic grandeur. Also I like to play a little game called "Wonder how much they pay to heat and cool that place?" when we pass on the humble sidewalk out front. 

My transition skills are not getting any better for anyone who is wondering. I really do suck at this. I have packed 2 boxes thus far and those are full of toys and were packed primarily to make it easier to clean up the living room on a daily basis. I don't feel guilty packing away certain toys because I know they will feel new again in 3 weeks when they are brought back out in the new house. 

I am weary but happily so tonight. Having finally ironed out another wrinkle in the buying process. We have granite chosen for our counter tops (a precious and super exciting surprise gift from Mom and Dad). We have paint colors chosen for each room (another precious and tremendous gift from Mom and Dad). We are starting with several new (to us) pieces of furniture that are actually period specific to the house and that makes my heart sing. Still every day is a battle lately. Take yesterday for instance. Stephen left for swim practice at 5:30am and Ada woke me at 5:38am. She wakes us every morning crying about her hair and how it is bothering her. I was able to settle her down (no easy feat.. can you imagine what it is like to start your day with a dear child fussing next to your head every morning over something that she won't let you fix? It is a hurdle.) and had her reading books while I showered and dressed.. was drying my hair when I head Margot's foot steps coming from her room to ours. Peaked out the door just in time to see her step on a pile of puppy poo and look up at me in horror. Oliver is feeling worse each day and has started pooping at random times in the house. I am not sure whom I felt more sorry for at the moment. Margot who was bleary eyed and shocked at what was happening. Oliver who was curled in a ball on our bed looking ashamed and shaking, or myself who was just reminding myself how productive it can be to wake up before 6am. I stopped and dealt with what needed to be dealt with. I regathered myself and began repeating the mantra my dad had told me the day before about how each day has enough trouble for itself. I didn't dare imagine what lay ahead. Just hold Margot tight and dry the confused tears as I bathed her soiled heels in warm soapy water. Next we were out of oatmeal. No matter since I wasn't that hungry anyway. Then Frankie woke up and refused to eat her breakfast in the high chair. Choosing instead to spill her Cheerios across the floor, carpet, table, couch at least 5 times before we left for school. The girls cried about their shoes. They cried about their coats. I kept my spirits up and prayed it would help theirs as we drove to school singing Shoo Fly and talking about what we were thankful for that we could see out our windows. Then I went grocery shopping at Aldi and remembered why I used to love that store so much. Spent half what I would have normally spent somewhere else. Then I came home and the house drama started. It wasn't that big of a deal but there was something we two parties needed to come to an agreement on and we just hadn't found the right scenario yet. Took the rest of the morning to find it. Then time to get the girls. Then home and so worn out my body was aching. By that point in the day I want so badly to be able to accomplish things while the girls rest but I am bone tired and can do nothing but sit and spin my wheels about where to start .. or lay on the couch and doze to the sounds of Curious George. Some days I just have to laugh. I laugh at how overwrought I get over the tiniest wrinkles. I know this is because my life is currently very wrinkly. I laugh at how I can prepare delightfully homecooked meals one week and then tonight I was so drained from the day that they got peanut butter and jelly and I just stared off into space. I laugh because I turn on the news and always wish I hadn't. Tonight I am not laughing. I am giggling. Giggling at the thought of what new wonders await me in the morning. Giggling because my husband will never EVER stay awake long enough to watch Boardwalk Empire with me. Giggling because this Christmas we will have our own door to decorate. Some things are worth feeling scattered for.

Wee Hours

Why is it so hard for me to go to bed on Sunday night? I know I will be tired tomorrow morning. Yet I can't stop rifling through photo files on the computer. Checking FB to see if there is anything new there.. making sure my email inbox is telling the truth about not having anything new in it. Sigh. I am not ready for the week to start. I am never ready for the week to start. The weekends are always too short. Tonight I even found an old picture from Stephen's trip to Greece several years ago. Look at that guy standing there in .. Corinth? Worlds away from where I was at that moment. I was here, moving us from one townhouse to this house down the street (with the help of friends and family of course). Tomorrow I go with my Dad to look at the new house one more time to see how much paint we might need and take some measurements and such. Three weeks.. the closing is in three short weeks. I have got to get it together and start accomplishing some things around here!!! And on that note I will end this achingly dull post and go to bed.

Live version

Frankie in a vest

Post bath Frankie wearing my vest. Pretty sure that is something everyone needs to see.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from your friendly neighborhood Rainbow and Ariel. The girls have been waiting for this day to come since November 1st, 2011. They actually thank God in prayers some days "That it will be Halloween soon!" .. I have stifled a giggle hearing them pray this over their peanut butter and honey sandwiches.. in April. This year they were certain about their costume choices. Ada wanted to be Ariel and Margot wanted to be, and I quote, a rainbow. We talked with her and figured out that this could be successfully accomplished with a blue shirt as the sky, a rainbow (of course) and a rain cloud tutu. Et Voila! Stephen made her this costume and she has been in love with it from day one. Halloween is a fun Daddy holiday don't you think?

 Ada got lucky when one of our new teacher friends at school offered to give us her daughters Ariel costume that they didn't use any more. She was over the moon.

We did not tell them how to pose. These girls are just naturals.

Margot, the less affectionate of my twins, actually kissed Ada this afternoon because she was so excited that it was almost time to get dressed up. This might be the sweetest shot of them hugging ever taken. 

We got to party with two sets of friends tonight. The Reds came for dinner and the pre-game action and then Stephen and the girls actually went trick-or-treating with another precious family we are get to be friends with. Missed getting a picture of them which is a damn shame since the parents were dressed up too and they were the best looking zombie and David Bowie (yup! you heard it here first!) I have ever had the pleasure to meet. We are overly blessed and we know it.

Frankie stayed home with me to hand out candy and I am sorry to say that in all the excitement the girls and I did not dress her up this year. The girls wanted to put her in a tutu and a hat but it just didn't happen. She had a great time grinning at all those kids who knocked on our door and waving hello and goodbye. She will get more into the fun next year. It was kind of nice to focus on the big girls this year. After all I am pretty sure Halloween is a 4 year olds Christmas.

Farewell

I have been getting into a file of old family photos that I scanned in several years ago while working on a project for my brothers birthday. They are just so beautiful to me. Beautiful and preciously nostalgic of course. 

This is a note to say farewell to the life we have been living since school started back. Swim season is upon us and tonight was the first evening practice. Tomorrow will be the first "morning" practice, if you call 5:30am morning. I call it dark. Dark and cold and, frankly, lonely. I have been spoiled these last 2 months. I wake up to Stephen getting the girls ready for school and fixing me breakfast every morning. I get to take a shower and come down and face the day prepared. That has been our rhythm. Now I have to figure out a new rhythm as twice a week I will wake up alone when the girls come in our room at 6am and try to figure out how to shower and dress and feed and pack backpacks and get to school on time solo. There was a time that I just got up when he left at 4:45 or whatever. Maybe that's what the future holds. Not sure yet. I do know that it means that I am up way past my bedtime right now. Boo. I like being up at night. It's just about the only free time a wife and mother gets. To see that limited to two hours (maybe three if I am feeling dangerous) makes me a little sad. But I digress. The afternoon practice today went well and since they start at 5:45pm he was able to come home and eat dinner with us before heading back out. The girls and I had a pleasant evening and he came home just in time to read Frankie one last story and help get the girls out of the bath tub. I will figure out a new normal. I have just been dreading this season a little for some reason. Not sure why. It always feels like the beginning of a marathon. Once those practices start they don't stop for four months and standing at the starting line that's a long ass way off in the distance. Sigh. My way out of my dreary heart is gratitude. So! Here I go! I am grateful that coaching gives Stephen a little more $$ each month. Super grateful that the school divides it out over the entire 12 months they he is paid. I am excited to plan something fun on the evening practice days that Daddy doesn't come home for dinner. I see dessert playdates in our future and lots of story time. I am excited to have such a regulated sleep schedule. Thankful in advance for the wonders it will do for my migraine management. Thankful for the inevitable organizational systems that I will create while figuring out how to get it all done in the mornings. Here's hoping that thankful thing lasts when all 3 girls wake up tomorrow missing their Daddy : /

Sandy

Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends in New York and all along the East Coast tonight. The images coming from Facebook and Instagram are truly freaking me out. 

This is a picture of my Nanny climbing Kitty Hawk with John in the Outer Banks many years ago. Not even sure this hill is still around after so many storms have battered the area in the recent years.

Thinking of you guys up there in Manhattan and in Queens and in Brooklyn, the Bronx.. Jersey. 

Stay safe.

House

Well we have our closing date set and the due diligence runs out in 3 days so I am going to risk it and go ahead and post this picture of, dare I say it, our new house. This is it! What do you think? We think it is incredible and one of the largest (physically at least) blessings in our family to date. I mean.. it's even our style you know? It is unique in a neighborhood that was built in the 60s and has many lovely split levels and brick ranches. To be honest the first time we saw it on the site we were sure it was too good to be true. Turns out, it wasn't. 

I haven't written much about this process because it has been so new and different which, inevitably, sends me on a roller coaster ride of emotions that no one wants to be a part of.. seriously! Stephen is a saint. In a nutshell once we were under contract and had the home inspection done, there were things that needed to be fixed. Big things like the roof. Oh me of little faith lost hope right away and figured we would need to move on. Our financing is structured in such a way that the only way we could purchase the home, was if the sellers were willing to do all the repairs. All of them. Most minor things but the list was twenty some items in length. It would take a miracle and as it turns out the sellers were(are) that miracle. They agreed to make all the repairs. We have the re-inspect on Tuesday and I can't wait to see the results. The appraisal came in where it needed to be so we are well on our way to the new closing date on November 30th. We are so excited. 

Last week was apparently the week of furniture. We will have a living room and a den (with a fireplace!) in the new place and we were hoping to have a least a few things to move in with. Another couch, possibly two end tables and a credenza of some kind for the TV. A wish list since none of it was essential to life but each of which would have been a nice addition to the comfort of home. I have been looking for weeks in Craigslist - casual browsing of all things vintage (since we are so picky about appearances). Suddenly I found a vintage sleeper sofa, a credenza, a fabulous vintage lamp, and 2 end tables (one of which is Lane and worth about 5 times what I paid for it) in the space of 48 hours! For a total cost of a little over $200 since we need every penny we have for expenses related to this process. See how good God is? Not only has taken care of our every need but suddenly even our wants have come to fruition! Not just stuff we can live with.. stuff we are psyched to find! Stuff we would have paid more for but... didn't have too :)

The last thing I will say about this process is that it is taking a tremendous amount of trust. Something I am quite the novice at. This home buying thing kind of came as surprise for us. Didn't know we were even good candidates, had no idea it was even a possibility.. thus we were unprepared financially. We had our emergency fund. That was it. We were blessed with an incredibly generous check from a beloved family member and though I thought it might be extra, it has turned out to be just what we needed to make this happen. We are going to coast into this closing on grace. But His grace is sufficient and I am clinging to that promise.

Anyway, just wanted to give everyone an update from the home front. I am having trouble with all of this info backing up in my brain so I am challenging myself to write something every day from now until the closing. Hold me too it you guys! Please! I really need this outlet right now.

Eighteen months of Frankie

Our mighty toddler turned 18 months I we took no notice. In fact I have been telling people she is 16 months for several weeks now. Shameful but true. Frankie won't mind though, she is very forgiving. A few other things about our favorite baby sister... she loves that Rody Horse thing she is riding here. She carries it from room to room and then goes to town bouncing on the poor creature. But if Toy Story is any indication of how the real world of toys works (and I think it is I mean come on!) "Strawberry" is having the time of her life. Here they are playing war steed and warrior princess with the Nerf Hatchets the girls use to attack their Dad with. Admit it.. you are a little nervous. You should be. 

Our girl is also wicked smart (read "smaaaaht" to those who know their film quotes and I don't have time for the rest of ya').  You can tell her to put something in the trash and she does it. Here she is when I discovered that she had mistakenly put the girls trash in the colander by mistake.

Now you see it..

Now you don't. 

Having a job makes a girl feel good inside.
She puts her shoes on the shoe rack at the back door when we come home. She will also bring them to you when she is ready to get some fresh air. 
She loves to put her dirty clothes in the hamper in the morning and before bath at night. Woe to the man or child who puts these items in the hamper without her help for her wrath is swift and often extremely loud. 

She also says "Peese" and "Tankooo". For reals. I said "What do you say?" when the pediatrician handed her a sticker last week and she smiled and offer her thanks. That is unheard of in this house of children who scowl at "strangers". This kid is friendly. Never fusses at being left.. anywhere! Waves hello and goodbye to anyone and everyone. Says hello and goodbye to anyone and everyone. Blows kisses to passing cars. She is our little socialite.

 She hasn't mastered crayons yet but man, she is trying her hardest.

Still naps twice a day and sleeps hard when she does.  She like to sleep shoved up against the left end of the crib. With her quilt tucked in around her. She likes to put her hand in between the crib and the mattress and stroke the sheet with her fingers. Her strawberry lovey has a fuzzy side and a soft fabric side and she likes the fabric. Not the fuzzy or the silky edge like her sisters, the fabric. When you read her stories before nap and bed you have to spread the lovey over her lap with the strawberries facing up so she can touch the fabric with her right hand and suck her left thumb. She is very particular but we are used to that personality trait.

Only kid in the house who sleeps hard enough for me to be able to take a picture without waking them. Look at that little face.. doncha just wanna kiss it?!

When I go get her out of her crib in the morning, she likes to give me kisses through the bars and hang onto the rail and bouncy up and down for awhile while I try to mirror her bounces. She giggles and grins with those baby teeth of hers. She thinks everyone in her family is hilarious, particularly her sisters. Her sisters continue to adore her even though she is getting to the age she can get in their way and mess things up.. and does. She is fearless and will go up a ladder and down a slide (no matter how tall or curly) all on her own. In all honesty if you look away you might miss it and she doesn't care. She is in it to enjoy every moment and she is not gonna wait for you to catch her if she falls. When she does fall sometimes she cries a little more than her sisters did, but love on her a minute and she is back in the game. 

Favorite moment of the week. I was watching the girls play on a jungle gym and I heard Margot call out "Hey!! Don't push my baby sister!!!" Another kid waiting their turn at the slide had given Frankie a friendly nudge to get her to go ahead down the slide instead of pointing at all the birds in the trees. My heart swelled listening to Margot come to her sister's defense. Later she asked another child to stop climbing up the slide "My baby sister wants to come down right now!" I remember how it felt when my little brother would defend me to other kids. It felt so good. Like we were a team and in it together even when it didn't look like we were even playing within earshot. These girls are tight and I like that. I didn't have to teach them how to care for each other.. they are just doing it on their own. You don't wanna cross Margot either. She is one tough cookie. 

Frankie, we love you. You brighten our days with your smiles and your laughter. Your eagerness to learn reminds me of just how short these years will be. Watching you sit on the couch with Margot and read books melts my heart and causes me to do silly things like stand in the middle of the living room staring at the two of you. You are so precious to us. Our family just wouldn't be our family without you.

Happy

It's hard not to be happy these days. Somehow I manage it though. Then I look back at pictures from the last few days and the stress fades from my mind and I am just, happy. How could you not be? 

A red wagon from the city, made much happier by a smiley baby in the mountains next to her Papa in his hammock. 

Twin darlings happy to be wading in frigid water with their Grammy and Grampapa.  The contagious excitement of little girls convinced they can build a dam with their Daddy large enough to stop the entire river. And they can. And they did.

Water and rocks and sunshine and family. My family. 

You could stay forever in a place like that. I think I will. 

Or here. At the North Carolina State Fair on the busiest day. Despite Ada's forlorn look, so much happiness that day. So much wading through people and eating good (not fried.. honest!) food. So many smiles and baby screeches. Sunshine and that honest tired feeling you get after that long walk to the free lot. And it was worth it. 

No excuses. Just me. Happy.