now i know...

why laura ingalls wilder called almanzo "manly".....



more pictures of our new home soon...

how to save your sanity, your blog and $135.71 in less than 5 minutes

my laptop (really the only way i blog) is over 5 years old. somewhere along the way, a 2 or 3yo boy found out how easy the keys are to pick off and they are really. hard. to get back on.


so fast forward to this year when more than 8 keys were missing (some had been pulled off, attempted to be put back on, but they would stick or not work at all when pushed) and me really, really wanting to get it fixed. robin, bless his heart, had wanted to just get me a new one, but i like this one. i don't want to learn a new windows, and if i get a new laptop i really want a mac like karis, but so many of my things don't work with macs....you get the picture. (plus this laptop is my favorite kiwi color). we asked our computer people in florida how much for a new keyboard: $150.

we asked our computer people here in pennsylvania how much for a new keyboard: $150.

then i asked google. they first sent me to amazon. $19.99 with $4.99 shipping. one of the reviews there recommended ebay.


$14.29 with FREE shipping.

and karis and i replaced it in less than 5 minutes.

now! on to the catching up of the blog! (after making dinner, making a treat for haley's graduation planning meeting tonight and showering and attending the meeting....)

stay tuned...

easing back in....

some things we've been busy with the past few months:

picking and freezing (and eating) strawberries




slamball (basketball hoop pulled up to the trampoline)


field day for homeschool co-op
(jack and mike only)

packages of care

nick's been gone almost 6 of the 9 weeks (but who's counting...) and before he left i tucked a little paper mache box that was wrapped in 8 different colored thread or ribbon. the idea was for him to remove one thread each week, and that would be the color of the package we'd be sending that week. once all the threads/ribbons were gone, then he could look inside the box and read a note of encouragement about coming home. it's been just as fun for us to peruse the grocery store looking for colored items. i thought light blue would be a hard week, but look at all the things we found!

rest of the new house tour

dining room (check out that full floor to ceiling wallpaper with matching orange carpet!)



into the kitchen (notice the very tiny, original, avocado green wall oven)



looking right towards the eating area/family room



looking towards the family room (the only picture i have of it since the woman of the house was resting there and i didn't want to disturb her)



check out the vintage green plexi-glass in the upper cabinets. i'm afraid those cabinets will have to go to open the dark space a bit...

heading into the laundry room. at this point, the garage is the left, the wash/dry are to the right with a door to the backyard, and if you keep going straight there are 2 closets on the left (one for coats and one for cleaning supplies) and on the right is a powder room. there is room for an extra fridge and freezer too (and dog water and food bowls...) love the set up of this room!


more wallpaper....


super big double garage with bump out storage area in the back with a door that goes to the backyard (okay, not as big as our garage in atlanta)

steps leading to the basement (from the bottom of the steps)

these three cabinets stay. they were built by her father who was an amazing woodworker and they are too big to be moved out. lucky us!

looking towards the fireplace


other end of the same room

there's also a full bathroom (with shower) between this room and the other side, but i didn't get a picture of that
woodworkers side. has a door that goes up steps and out a bilco door to the backyard





and that concludes our tour. we may have to start school early this year since i don't think i'll be able to wait until next summer to tackle some of these big projects (like stripping wallpaper, painting, stripping wallpaper and did i mention stripping wallpaper?)

new (eventually) house!

here ya go, barb, pictures of our new house.
yup, we bought a house. but settlement isn't until the end of october.
we were wondering what to do when our lease was up at the end of june.
we looked around, but houses are high. rent is higher.
so i did what i always do when i don't know what to do.

in the words of elisabeth elliot, "do the next thing." which for me was to mow the lawn.
which is when i pray.
and in the middle of the prayer about our housing situation, the man who lives behind us came over and asked if we would consider buying their house. they are in their 80s and think it's time for them to go to a retirement center.

long, complicated story short-- the house has in-law quarters. they built it 36 years ago when they came home from the mission field to take care of her elderly parents.
we could not afford it on our own, so robin's parents, who will eventually move in with us, helped with the down payment, and mom and jerry helped by loaning us money for the deposit and other up front fees. the elderly couple's apartment was supposed to be ready in september, but now has been pushed back til the end of october. in the mean time, we are decluttering and reaping the benefits of the garden that they so generously share with us.

front of the house:

basketball driveway with extra parking (and it's on a cul-de-sac that already has a bball pole in it)

one end of the garden:

middle garden gate and apple tree:


backyard view from corner of our current property:


(thats the house through the trees)
in the front door:

looking left through the living room to the dining room: (just like the tallahassee house)

looking back towards the entrance from the dining room (those ballisters have to go, dont you think?)


looking to the right as you come in, towards the in-law quarters:

bedroom, bathroom, living area



with kitchenette:

up the stairs: (can't wait to pull up the carpet to see if they can be painted)

at the top:

check out the wallpaper that goes all. the. way. up.

the two carpets meet:

looking down the hall:

first bedroom on the left, facing the front of the house (this will be the 2 big boys)



next bedroom down the hall on the right, towards the back of the house (which will be mine and robin's)


one wall of 70s wallpaper, nice big closet

next bedroom down the hall on the left in the front of the house, the little boys (tiny room)



across the hall from their bedroom (toward the back of the house) is the main hall full bath


nice double sinks, tons of storage, and .... wallpaper! (sensing a theme here yet?)


at the end of the hall is the master bedroom/bath which goes front of the house to the back, and will be the 3 girls room. since my conditioner is always disappearing and i occasionally use the hair straightener, i'll be sharing this bathroom for showering with the girls (nice plastic mural on the wall, huh?)





the shower is HUGE and they love the colors. but we'll probably end up painting the cabinets




i'll have to finish the rest of the pictures tomorrow. stayed tuned for kitchen, family room, dining room, laundry and basement!