Patience

You might be curious to know the latest update on the Lot.... Well, we're still waiting. As soon as the foundation guy wraps up the job that he has in front of ours, we'll have plenty of catching up to do. In the mean time, we've been learning a lesson in patience, and I have found someone who could quite possibly have less patience than me. This guy: 

However, he will have plenty of time to catch up on some glass projects while we wait. 

Check out this piece that he made:

The lines in the glass form the rivers of Alabama and he attached some other trademarks of our state.

Cotton, the Yellowhammer, the Camellia, a seagull for the coast...and of course Peanuts!

Here are some close up looks at some of the stained glass he has done in our house. Below is the front door from outside and inside. **You should see it at Christmas when we have our tree up! The lights twinkle through the glass and look so festive when you drive by**

This window is above the garden tub in the master bathroom and has a similar pattern as the front door.

The next time you hear from me, I hope to unveil the foundation of a new house!!

Afters

I can't believe that it didn't cross my mind to take 'before' or 'during' photos, but I do have some 'afters' to share with you. Last weekend we tackled G's room to make it more open and actually give her some room to move around. We moved her full size bed to Diva's room and put a twin in its place. The toy chest that served as her footboard was moved to our room (for now) and then we did some serious de-cluttering.

(Check out the Pooh stained glass window...made by my extremely talented husband.)

Other (previous) weekend projects included putting pine straw in the flower beds and sprucing up the outdoors with A LOT of pressure washing. We also added some cheerful, orange cushions on the front porch chairs. The roses were planted last year...and we're so thankful they actually survived!

Check out our fabulous find from an impromptu trip to Ozark to Pat's Petals. Don't you love the small white ones? Too bad I can't remember their names!!!

I do hope the next family to live in this house will appreciate all our hard work.

Hello and Goodbye

Meet Gertie. She's almost 4, enjoys naps on the couch, chasing her shadow, and running like a spaz from anything that makes noise or any sudden movements. (She is the complete opposite of brave.)

However, she is my contribution to the family and I'm her favorite. Little Gertie will be spending the summer with my parents....just a temporary relocation while our house is for sale. Gertie has escaped once before and was lost for 2 days! My nerves can't take that again. I feel Mom and Dad will enjoy her company.

Several months ago, Gertie left a little "surprise" for us on the carpet. I cleaned it up and came back to find this:

Me: What happened to Gertie?
G: She's being punished.
Me: Oh, okay...

Gertie: Do these doll clothes make my tail look big?

I spy....

So just how do you build a house in one city and work in another city an hour away? Just like this...

We can peep in and see exactly what those builders have going on at any point in time. I do love that it takes still shots too...not the best quality, but a fun way to measure our progress.

Speaking of progress, let there be DIRT!!! We've actually had big tractors and other tree/dirt moving machines out there.

That's when it became real to me. We're actually building a house!! This house:

Project Dream House

The exciting news is that we've decided to build a new house! However, before we could actually break ground, we had a lot of work to do first. The Lot that we planned to build on was full of trees, weeds, and vines. Oh, and briars...let's not forget those...

     

Too many DIY shows have convinced my dear husband that we could tackle this project ourselves. So, with the help of family and friends with chainsaws and tractors, we began to clear. After ALL day working--we still had a lot more ahead of us.

We had hoped to keep most of the trees, but once the scraggly ones started coming down, we realized that most would need to come out. The next few Saturdays were spent covered in sawdust, but we had plenty of firewood this winter!

One thing that I have discovered is that nothing is quite as rewarding as a before/after picture!! Check out our AFTER:

 It actually looks like a house can fit out there now.

It has to start somewhere...

Okay, so we're officially joining in on all the blog hype. I do think this will be a great way for us to keep our out-of-town friends/family updated, but mostly I think it will be a really easy scrapbook. (I'll get back to you on the easy part.) So, before you start reading you have to know a couple of things.  One: I have no idea what I'm doing. Two: I could quite possibly be the worst speller in the world.

Consider yourself warned.