tate's room

I feel like I've held it all together pretty well through all of the packing, moving, and adjusting to our new life.  But the thing that always tugs at my heartstrings is reminiscing about Tate's bedroom.  I don't really miss any other room in our old house... but there was just something about his room.

I'm missing his room today.  I'm missing us reading books, rocking, and singing songs in his room today.  It was such a happy place.

saying goodbye

We've officially sold our home.  Papers are signed and the boxing has begun.

I've felt an emotional meltdown is right on my heels, and a little leaked out last Sunday.  Tate and I had just gotten back from St. George, while Chase stayed back to head into Vegas for work that week.  Tatum was so excited to be HOME.  It was something he was so familiar with.  He ran upstairs and into his room and was grinning from ear-to-ear.  He was HOME.  Well, between Chase being gone for the upcoming week, me being sleep-deprived from the trip, and all of the emotions of selling the house finally gave in.  I cried many times, sometimes triggered by the simliest things:  Tate knowing exactly where things are... the meer familiarity and memories of our home.  That is when it hit me.  In the rocking chair.  Rocking Tatum to sleep that night.

That corner of his room has become a spiritual space.  It was in that corner in the rocking chair that I nursed Tate as an infant.  It was where I taught Tatum songs.  It was where we would talk about our day, read each other stories, sing, and laugh together.  It was where I experienced the overwhelming nudge to quit work and stay at home full time.  We've experienced a lot in that sacred corner.

And now we will no longer have that corner in the room.  Sure we can make a new corner in a new room, but our first corner will just be a memory.

Maybe I'm too sentimental.  Maybe I don't handle big changes very well.  Whatever it is, it has been hard slowly detaching myself from the house.

I know it it just a house.. one of many we'll have in our lifetime I'm sure.  But this house was our first.  We experienced all of the "firsts" in this house.  And now it is time to say goodbye.

I pray for strength these next few weeks as we slowly say our goodbyes...

Wheat Grass

For Easter this year, I decided to grow some wheat grass. Chase of course asked, "Why?" So I said proudly, "Just for decoration." He rolled his eyes. Men just don't understand. It was however, a cinch to do (see detailed instructions here). I simple took my trifle glass dish, filled it pebbles (for drainage), potting soil, then a thick layer of wheat grass seeds, topped with a little more soil. I lightly watered it daily and kept it near a window.   Within one week, it had gone from seeds to tall grass! I've even given my grass a few haircuts since.  Definitely a low-cost, high-impact idea!

This is my grass at day eight.  I liked the glass trifle dish so you could see the sprouts and roots grow too:

Watch this segment for other wheat grass ideas:

Aside from all the fun decorative ideas, wheat grass is very healthy and good for you too. We blended up a bunch and took wheat grass shots!  Yum!

it finally came!

Tatum's custom poster from Green Lily Designs finally arrived in the mail!
I won this at the Bijou Market back in November.

Love it.

Guess I better finish his nursery now:)

working weekend

I cured my renovating itch this weekend:

• painted our front room
• refurbished some D.I. finds
• was inspired by a visit to IKEA
• started to sew with my new Singer (thanks mom)
  

Today, I'm exhausted. Glad to be back at work.

MOVING DAY...

Friday was spent prepping the main floor before we installed hardwood floors. We ripped off baseboards, pulled up carpet, took off doors, ripped out tile… and sweat a lot! Chase and Ryan (a co-worker) started the wood at 7:30 pm Friday night. Installing the floor was surprisingly easy, just time consuming. We finally finished at 3:30 am. We rushed back to our apartment, showered and hit the sack. BEEP! BEEP! The alarm went off and it was time to get moving. We ran to the house, cleaned up the mess from the night before, just in time for the carpet installer to show up. The next several hours were spent running to and from the Home Depot and finishing boxing. Our families and friends showed up around 3:00 pm. After hours of boxing, lifting, hauling and moving, we finally got everything to the house without a hitch…. Ok so maybe there was one. Our new refrigerator didn’t fit in the space. It was a beast getting to the house and it was even more of a beast getting in the house… just to have it be too wide. Guess we should have double-measured before we bought the thing. Lesson learned. Several of our neighbors came by and brought gifts. They were all so friendly! It was another confirmation that buying this house was the right thing to do! After all was moved, we still had to go back to our apartment and clean. By time the day was through, Chase and I were SO tired!! Our bodies ached. To add to the stress, we still had to get up Sunday morning and prepare a lesson and sharing time for our last day in primary. Fortunately, all went well. Once we got home from church, we spent the rest of the day setting up the kitchen and master bedroom and bath. Although the move was exhausting, it is so fun seeing everything come together in the house. Everything has turned out so well and once all the boxes are put away, the house will look awesome! Pictures are soon to follow…

Thanks again to all of our family members and friends who helped us out. We couldn’t have done it without you: Pops, Lur, Ryan, Rachelle, Matt, Allie, Mark, Shelley, Kallie, Rand, Marcus, Todd, Mark, and Ryan Carter!

We're Big Kids Now...

... WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!! It's been a long time coming... searching, home walk-throughs, failed offers, disappointment, excitement and surprises! But by some higher power, it all worked out in our favor-

The month of July was extremely busy for the both of us, so we kind of put the house hunt on the back-burner. The day before we left on our San Diego trip, I jumped online at work and found a listing in Centerville. I called the realtor to see the status on the home. To my disappointment, the house had gone under contract that morning. The realtor said however, that people were still walking through the house that night and they were hoping for a backup offer. When I got home from work, I begged Chase to go see the house. He was really hesitant because he knew if we liked the home, we didn't have a fair chance at getting it. After some serious persuasion, we went. We drove up to the home and were impressed. The second we opened the door, we fell in love with the interior. EVERYTHING had been updated: paint, lighting, appliances, hardware, sinks & toilets... you name it. The best part was it was in our price range. The couple came down drastically in price from the appraisal because they really wanted to make a quick sell. So after we walked through the home, we debated whether or not to put on offer on it. We finally agreed that we had nothing to lose. The following morning we wrote up an offer and submitted it. That afternoon we took off to San Diego, mentally disregarding the offer and trying not to get our hopes up. Next thing we knew, it was Friday and we were sitting in the airport waiting to come home. I received a call from the realtor stating that the first offer was rejected because their loan was denied. He went on to say that we were next in line and the house was ours if we wanted it. We both were filled with utter shock and excitement. The whole plane ride home was spent contemplating whether this house was the right thing to pursue or not. When we arrived back in Salt Lake, we made the decision to go for! Since then, it has been a two-week whirlwind experience... trying to get everything ready for closing today. We move in next week. So there you have it... we made our goal: Home ownership before summer ended! Next goal: a house warming party!


If you would like our new Centerville address, please email us!