We're In ~ hip, hip....

HOORAY! Well, we are in our new house ~ finally. I officially got all of the remainder of our things from Abby and Jonathan's today. It was bittersweet really. My little one has grown to really love them both and of course Dakota too. It was nice getting to have social time with friends too. So much has changed since we had Kennedy. One of the main things that changes is scheduling and unfortunately just getting to "hang out" with people like we used to is harder and harder to do when there is a schedule to keep (especially when it comes to sleep). Moms - ya hear me?!? Anyhow - it has been a welcome change and blessing but it was nice getting so much time to visit in the evenings while we were there. We will miss that.

We started staying in the new house on Wednesday night and haven't left really. We have gotten a lot done but there is still so much to do. We thought we would just come in and slather on some paint but it has swiftly turned into so much more. Trim, outlets and outlet cover replacement, fixture and vent spray painting, ceiling painting, door painting and oh my word have I mentioned all the painting yet? Sheesh! I know it will look wonderful when it is all said and done, but boy am I ready to banish the paint and all the paraphernalia that goes with it! Thank goodness (yet again) for my Mother In Law because she has been staying here since Sunday and hasn't stop working since the second she put her things up - SERIOUSLY! It's humbling and gracious and oh my word I just can't even put my finger on it. It's just plain wonderful and we are thankful beyond description.

On Friday night some of our friends came over to help us paint and that was a HUGE help. It got us so much farther than we anticipated. Friends - thank you so very much. I didn't get pictures of everyone but I did get some pictures which I will include below. I am also going to attach a before and after picture of my new pantry which was a coat closet in it's past life. Hello - coat closet vs. pantry? Pantry wins! Tim really wanted to take on this project and I honestly didn't want him to. I could just see Tooltime re-runs in my head and knew it would totally be like that. I am glad to say I was wrong because the pantry turned out fantastic. Thanks to Billie and Derek for some donated materials it is sturdy too!

Not much else is going on in my world besides painting. I will tell you this - I just found out my old dear dog is very ill. I will post more later but please pray for him (Hampton) and me that I will know when it's time to say goodbye. He has been the best dog. I just can't even describe the bond between us. We will do a procedure tomorrow to make him much more comfortable but what he has can't be helped so we are nearing the end and I just need strength to handle it.

I finally registered for my marathon and have an exciting announcement to make in regards to that. You will have to come back to hear more about that!

Hampton has been staying at the clinic during the move - he is now home with me and will stay that way until we bring all our "children" home for good. Here he is observing our paint techniques.

Here is Mom - working hard as usual.

Abby and Courtney - hard at work painting our family room.

Kennedy and her new bff - Jonathan aka Jahsthen (or at least that is how I hear it and can spell it for ya!) carbing up pre-painting party.

*Not pictured are Billie and Derek who were also there helping out. Billie fixed some of my roman shades that otherwise would have been useless and Derek helped Tim finish up our pantry. Without further ado - behold the before and afters!

So....the after picture isn't so great but I was just thankful Tim took the picture for me so I could post it for you. It really does look good.