How I Met My House

I'm joining this party a little late, but I really like the way I met my house and how it all worked out, so I'm joining anyway!

Here is a "before" shot of the house. (House ends just right of the front door).

M and I had been living in AU for about 6 months when I had the pleasure of driving through Cary Woods neighborhood during the spring time. It was BEAUTIFUL. I mean absolutely beautiful. All of the yards and trees were well established, azaleas and dogwoods in full bloom. Dark pinks, light pinks, whites, purples, and even orange Azaleas. I looked at M and said, "Why didn't we see this neighborhood when we were looking for a house?!"

Fast forward a year or two and a good friend (now my next door neighbor) invited me to her house. LOVED her house. Loved the house next to her house. Told her that I loved the house next door. She explained that an elderly lady lived in the house with a caregiver and that she would let me know if/when the house became available. Over the next few years, I'd drive by the house very slowly. As much as I adored the house, the AC window units sticking out of the windows really scared me. I knew it meant that a ton of work would have to be done to the house. And I knew the ages of my children and my energy level. And I knew my husband. I just knew he'd see those window units and look at me like I'm crazy.

But then.

But then the elderly lady passed away and my friend called with the news. My friend passed my interest and information along to the family. I waited and waited and nothing ever happened. I drove by the house every day to see if there was a "For Sale" sign in the yard. Nothing.

Finally, the phone rang. It was a family member asking if I was still interested in the house. I said that I was. But I must admit that I wasn't overly excited. I think my children were ages 6, 5, 3, and 2. Mainly I was just tired! And the thought of taking on a project as big as that house made me even more tired!

I told M about the house and we looked around the outside of the house. He absolutely loved the yard. That's all it took. He didn't even see the inside of the house and was already "sold". I, however, HAD to see the inside of the house.

And guess what.

It was a let down.

I was sad the minute I walked in the house. The ceilings were low, the plaster was peeling off the walls and ceilings, the kitchen was as small as my closet, there was no laundry room, roaches were everywhere, and it smelled old.

I reported back to M that I wasn't happy with the house and if this was going to be our "forever" house, then I wasn't interested. I wanted a laundry room and I wanted a big kitchen. And I just didn't want to compromise those things for a good yard.

He said he wanted to see it. So I arranged for him to see it. He took a friend of ours with him to see. The friend was a builder/developer. They looked under the house and the friend commented that "they just don't build houses like this anymore."

So M tried to persuade me. But I was tired. Truly. I just didn't want to take on this project. And I didn't want a tiny kitchen. And besides, no one had even mentioned a price.

But then our friend said that if we decided to purchase the house, he'd like to do the renovations.

And our friends business partner had a vision. He said, "Imagine your front door being in the center of the house. What if we added on to the right side of the house so that it is perfectly symmetrical." Hmm. Now that peaked my interest. That meant I could add on a kitchen and a laundry room. And no telling what else.

So to make a really long story short, that's what we did!

Back to Back Posts

Since this post goes along so well with the previous post (from 5 minutes ago) , I decided just to post them together.
AAA had her first "real" project due this past week. The title of the project was "Conservation Convention." She decided to make a detailed tri-board about the advantages of growing a garden, then list step-by-step instructions on how to plants your own garden. See the green ribbon?! :)

Sunshine wanted to be in on the action!

Good job, AAA!

Ready, Set, Hoe!

The kids and Mark have been working hard to get the garden growing. When I say "the kids", I really just mean AAA and L'il Man. They both L-O-V-E the garden, but L'il Man seems to take special pride and ownership in it. He and M check it out every day.
AAA had to come up with a conservation project/idea for Earth Day, so she chose to write about "Planting a Garden". So she was a little more involved this year. In the above picture, she isn't just holding a shovel to make it look like she's working. She's preparing the soil by smoothing out clumps of dirt.

But L'il Man looks like he's just holding a shovel to make him look good.

See that whole little patch of green?? Guess what it is!

STRAWBERRIES!!

I can't wait. I gave M a few strawberry plants for Valentine's Day two years ago. They don't produce for two years, so we've patiently waiting for these bad boys to produce. There are hundreds of them! I'm going to be like Bubba Gump with his shrimp. We'll have strawberry pie, strawberry cake, grilled strawberries, strawberry jam, marinated strawberries, strawberry cobbler, etc.

AAA planted seeds along the fence line. And that's Hershey helping her.

She planted okra, carrots, peas, and beans.

L'il Man is helping with the bigger plants: squash, tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, etc.

And there's my hubby digging in the dirt. That man loves to get dirty. I like a man who likes to get dirty. That didn't sound right...you know what I mean.

After all the seeds and plants were in the ground, they laid newspaper on top of it all. I can't remember why.

Looking forward to pickin' day!

Thanking God today for the hard workers in my family, for our big back yard, for the sun and the rain, and for the harvest that is yet to come.

By the way..."we" (I use that term loosely) planted the garden just in time for the rain this past weekend. Yay God!

(Speaking of the rain...I did NOT like being out of town and reading the weather report for AU on my phone , "TORNADOES LIKELY" while my kids were in AU, and M and I weren't! So thank you God, also, for no tornadoes in AU!)

2nd Grade Bible Sunday

All of the 2nd Graders in our church were presented with their very own Bible today. I love the way they come home and spend the next hour "surfing" their Bible! They are finally old enough to read the Bible, and this version makes it entertaining and easy for them to understand.

(A few days after AAA received her Bible two years ago, we were in the Ann Taylor Loft dressing room when she suddenly blurted out (loudly!) "My Bible says that sex is a gift!" She didn't really know what sex was, but she knew it was a word that she was not allowed to use, and she knew it was a subject that I had put off "til you're a little older." When she blurted this out in the dressing room, I sensed this immediate "hush" in the dressing area. All ears on me. So I said, "It is a gift if you are married." "Yeah, that's what it said", she replied. "So what is sex?" , she asked. And once again I said, " I'll tell you when you're a little older." And I did. Right here. )

Hopefully L'il Man will skim right past this part!

Love you, L'il Man. You are becoming a wise little fella, and I am so proud of who you are becoming!

Sunshine's school took a Field Trip to the Montgomery Zoo today. It was a PERFECT day for the zoo.
I was in charge of five little ones, the "Arnall Antelopes":

Standing on one legs just like the flamingos do!

Gettin' ready for the ride!

Enjoying relaxing on the train ride:

Group shot before lunch-

Enjoying lunch:

Enjoying each other!

Thank you, Sunshine, for sharing such a special day with me!

Just a reminder

Good Morning!

I started to blog last night and I was truly overcome with tears as I started typing. I just can't "go there" right now.

Just wanted to remind everyone to enjoy your God-given day. Enjoy and appreciate your blessings. Love your family. Make amends. Smile. Be a good friend.

For those of you who are wondering where this is coming from...I have a dear relative who has been in the hospital and away from her family since December 5th. Out of respect for their privacy, I won't say much more than that. Every single day since December 5th, I have "lost it" at some point during the day. I never know when or where it's going to hit me. In the car. In Kroger. In the shower. In my bed at night. First thing in the morning. Lately the tears have flowed more freely and more often. I'm not sure why. Maybe because I see the toil it is taking on her family. I feel such sorrow and sadness, yet I realize that this is only a small fraction of how her husband, children, parents, and siblings must feel. It overwhelms me. My days seem so easy and it seems so unfair their's are so hard and full of heartache for their loved one. Or maybe the tears fall more often more freely because it's spring. The weather is perfect. New life is everywhere. But she remains in the hospital. And it's such a contradiction.

AA told me the other night, through tears, "I feel closer to God since this happened to Aunt B." AA said that she has prayed more, read her Bible more, and even found some Bible verses that she found comforting. Aunt B would love knowing that she helped bring AA closer to God.

Deep breath.

So please enjoy your day..........because you can.





Just appreciate what you have. If life seems tough or unfair, change your perspective.

Papa's Birthday Party

My dad's birthday is this Tuesday, April 13th. So my mom planned a surprise "party" for him today. I hesitate to call it a party because it was "just us" - my family, Holley's family, and Mary Michael's family. But y'all know by now that my family is fun so it doesn't take much to make it a party!


We headed to Birmingham right after church. We were supposed to be there at 1:00, but traffic on 280 was at a stand still for an hour because of a couple of wrecks. We finally rolled in around 2:00 and "surprised" Papa. By this time, Mary Michael's and Holley's families were already there, so I'm not sure he was really surprised. But I think it's safe to say that he was just as happy to see us as we were to see him!

Lucy was decked out in her party attire while shoving a fist full of ice cream down her throat.
Mary Michael and Papa.


All of the "Grandbrats" (as Papa calls them) crowding around Papa as he opens his presents. Sunshine getting her sugar!

Haooy Birthday, Papa ! Love you!

Lovely Day

The weather here was PERFECT today! Perfect for a day of birthday parties.

AAA, L'il Man, KitKat, and Sunshine all enjoyed birthday parties for dear friends and classmates. AAA bowled with friends, L'il Man had a real-live Club Penguin party, KitKat played at the park, and Sunshine partied like a pirate!

KitKat has a new BFF named Ashley. Ashley and KitKat exchanged phone numbers this week and my phone has been ringing off the hook! When Kit Kat came home with Ashley's number,which Ashley had written on a piece of paper for KitKat, I giggled. KitKat asked me, "Is a nine up or down?" She has asked me this question before, so I knew that she was asking me if the number "9" has a circle at the top ("up") or at the bottom ("down"). I replied, "Up. A six is down." "Oh", she said, "that is supposed to be a six then." Then she proceeded to dial the number.

KitKat and Ashley made plans to meet at the park today at 2:00 sharp. I have never met Ashley's parents, and not even spoken to her mom. On the way to the park, I said, "KitKat, she may not even be there. I haven't spoken to her mom." With all the confidence in the world, she replied, "If she's not there, she's probably picking up the cupcakes and Capri Suns." "Cupcakes and Capri-Suns?", I inquired. ""Yes. She said she's bringing cupcakes and Capri-Suns." We finally arrived at Hickory Dickory Park. And guess what?! There she was...Little Miss Ashley ( with cupcakes and Capri-Suns) and her mom. She's adorable and is also missing her two front teeth. After talking and laughing with Ashley's mom, it turns out that missing teeth isn't the only thing these two have in common! Miss Ashley is also a strong-willed child. She's the youngest of five children. (I should have stated, "Thankfully, she's the youngest of five children." Her mom said that if Ashley had been the first, she wouldn't have had any more children! I told her that God gave me Kathryn to keep me humble because I was well on my way to writing a book entitled "How to be the Perfect Parent"!)

We compared "notes" and I laughed hard! Ashley is also a "Fashionista". If you observe Kathryn's clothes on my blog, you're probably wondering, "Does she really think KitKat is a 'fashionista'?" Yes I do! I can't stand 95% of what that child wears, but we have come to an agreement: If I don't absolutely hate it, she can wear it. How do you like that?? Well I don't like it either, but I have to choose my battles with this little one, and this is a battle I choose to lose. And it hurts. You have no idea. Ashley's mom said the very same thing! On Ashley's first day of school, she came down the stairs with a pair of too-tight jeans and one of her mom's scarves tied around her forehead like a gypsy. And Ashley's mom bit the inside of her cheek and said, "Well don't you look lovely?"

I can totally relate. In fact, when I asked KitKat to get ready to go to the park, she came downstairs with a pair of black knit (like sweats) shorts on with a black tu-tu on top them. She paired it with a hot pink shirt with a rhinestoned-flower in the center. She read my mind, but smiled and said, "Please?" I could tell she was thinking, "Please? I look SO cute. You have to let me wear this." So I just bit the inside of my cheek and said, "Okay then. Let's go." Painful, I tell you.

Saturday nights always stress me out because we have to pick out church clothes for KitKat. In fact, picking out church clothes for KitKat is what sends me to church. You see, I have to confess my sins and ask for repentance for the things I thought and , yes, even said, on Saturday night while picking out her clothes. And once the outfit is picked out, we move on to shoes. Even more painful.

So tonight was no different. I picked out a cute knit Old Navy dress (that I would have never let my firstborn be seen in! Oh, how I have changed!). She O.kayed it as long as I let her wear her tall black boots with it. It's a sleeveless dress, by the way. So I nixed the boots. So she nixed the dress.

Moving on.

She picked out a short skirt of Sunshine's with that same hot pink shirt that she wore today. I think I may have said, "Over my dead body." I think she may have said, "Well then it's a deal." Not really, but I'm certain she was thinking it!

Well...obviously I digressed. I titled this post "Lovely Day" because I was truly going to write about what a lovely day we had today. But apparently I'm not over the dreaded Saturday night clothes dilemma.

I hope you had a lovely day too! ;)

Friday Night Fun!

I think I just had the MOST FUN Friday night I've ever had in my life...ever!
The kids put on a "We are the World" impromptu concert complete with a handwritten invitation to the highly anticipated event.

When we arrived at our destination (the playroom!), we were escorted to our reserved seats by the cutest little escort you've ever seen!

The opening act was Sunshine singing "Big Green Tractor" in her white tu-tu with rhinestones. Jason Aldean, eat your heart out - you got nothin' on Sunshine!

Following Sunshine was the star of the show, KitKat, singing "Raining Sunshine". What a performance!

I think I see performing of some type in her future. I'm good with that as long as it doesn't involve poles of any sort.

L'il Man worked the sound and lighting while the girls performed.

By changing the color of the outfit (or by using half of the Zhu Zhu pet ball) in front of the "spotlight", he could change the color of the light hitting the stage. Awesome!

Pretty clever (and pretty resourceful)!

AAA, who, believe it or not, had a case of stage fright, sang "Naturally" (Selena Gomez).

L'il Man surprised us with a solo of "We are the World" (Haiti version - he really like the rap).

Encore!!

(Sunshine burned her hand while working lights during L'il Man's performance).

This was my all-time favorite performance in. my. life,