Won't You Be My Neighbor

Remember when I mentioned how much we love our new neighborhood?  Well, we still love it...like the googly high school type of love!  As quiet as it was through the winter, the warmer temperatures have brought everyone outside and we are realizing just how lucky we are to be surrounded by such friendly people.

We have been blessed with awesome neighbors -- one set is young and the other is a local celebrity (ha!).  We have gotten to know our younger neighbors as we have conversed across the fence and shared our dog toys and our love of K-State and golf (for the boys anyway).  And just this morning I had a text conversation with her about the annoying geese that had kept us both awake the previous night.  Koby invites himself to their house and acts like he owns the place.  We've had them over for dinner and just really feel like they are becoming our friends.

We constantly see other neighbors outside walking their dogs or working in their yards and we are always greeted with a smile and a wave.  Our "celebrity" neighbors made sure to inform us of a break-in that happened on the other side of the lake and told us how we could get on our HOA mailing list to receive those notifications in the future -- so thoughtful!

Another aspect we love about our neighborhood are the kids.  There are so many kids of varying ages and they are all so well behaved.  We have not had anyone in our yard, they don't ride their bikes in our driveway , they all sell Girl Scout cookies and Boy Scout popcorn (even though Brandon turned an adorable Girl Scout away -- he later felt bad and purchased a discount card from the next kid who was SOOO excited because Brandon was the first person to buy one from her), and their parents are usually outside playing with them.  While this might sound pretty cheesy and maybe even a bit unbelievable it is pretty close to Mayberry in real life!  In fact, there is a neighborhood Easter egg hunt this Saturday -- see what I'm talking about?!?!  Unfortunately, dogs are not invited so we will not be participating, but I'm sure it will be fun for all!

Needless to say we are thoroughly enjoying our new neighborhood as it is such a drastic change from the old 'hood.  Can you imagine if Koby would have invited himself over to our old neighbor's house????  Oh my!!!

Weekend Wrap-Up and an Admission of Defeat

We had a very busy, but productive weekend.  And, as always it came to a close far too soon!  The past couple of Mondays I have woken up to my alarm going off totally thinking it was Sunday.  Talk about a terrible way to start a week. 

Our weekend started off with Koby having a swollen jaw.  Brandon got home from work before I did and called me because it looked like he was hiding a small golf ball in his cheek.  He sent me this picture, which did not do it justice because I was shocked when I got home and saw it for myself.  We called the vet and they said it could be a bug bite or it could be an absessed tooth but to give him some Benadryl and bring him in first thing in the morning.  So, we gave him two doses of Benadryl and saw a little improvement.  Brandon took him to the vet first thing Saturday morning and she confirmed that it was a bug bite and gave him a shot of cortizone and he was good to go.  We were a little worried we were going to have to pay for surgery to remove an absessed tooth, so needless to say we were very pleased it was only a bug bite.  Now, we just need to figure out how he got bit because he was inside all day...

While Brandon took Koby to the vet bright and early Saturday morning, I headed to the RUN2BELIEVE race.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful tribute to Kylie and Kyle.  Last I heard they had more than 1,000 runners (amazing turn out for a first annual event) and raised close to $20,000!  The Chamber had a great turnout of participants and my co-worker, Pat, even won a medal!!  Brandon also ran in the race and placed 7th in his age division.  Pretty good considering he hadn't run in quite some time.

After the race, I headed to lunch with my good friend and her little girl.  We had a fun time just visiting and browsing Target!  After my lunch date, I headed home to join Brandon doing yard work.  We pulled up a bunch of random weeds/plants that were growing under out deck.  We also pulled out a HUGE ivy plant that was growing into the house.  The back side of our house looks pretty bare now which has got us itching to get plants to fill it up again :)

We spent a nice evening out on Saturday night.  We had dinner at PF Changs, quickly browsed in the new Cabela's, and ended our night with frozen yogurt.  The weather on Saturday could not have been prettier so it was fun to spend a lot of the day outside!

Sunday was pretty low-key.  After church Brandon finished up working in the yard while I painted the stair case, cleaned a little bit and hit up the grocery story.  We ended the day having dinner with my cousin and his family and then it was time to get ready for the week.  I'm hosting Bunco at my house tonight so I did a little bit to get ready for that before I really shut it off for the night.  We slept with the windows open and unfortunately neither of us got much sleep because the darn geese who hang out in the lake behind our house were sqawking ALL. NIGHT. LONG.  So annoying!!! 

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And now it is confession time....

I've obviously not been very good at keeping up with posting the daily devotionals so I am going to try to figure out how to post the pdf as a link and share the whole devotional with you. 

RUN2BELIEVE

Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary (if you can even call it that) of the death of these two young people -- Kylie Jobe and Kyle Thornburg.  Kylie is the beautiful daughter of my boss and friend.  She and Kyle were killed last year on their way home from Colorado when a drunk driver was going west bound in the east bound lanes of I-70.  He had been traveling for almost 24 hours and was almost three times over the legal blood alcohol limit.  Tragic would be an understatement to describe what happened.

To mark the one year anniversary, Kylie and Kyle's families and friends have decided to celebrate their lives by raising awareness about drunk driving.  On Saturday, there will be a memorial 5K run/walk, RUN2BELIEVE, in Maize which will focus on the serious consequences of making the decision to drive drunk.  The families believe if they can help even one person make a better decision then they will be honoring their kids' lives.  The message is not just for high school kids who will be celebrating monumental occasions in the next few months (prom and graduation), but for adults as well.  It doesn't matter if you have had one drink or 10 drinks -- alcohol can skew your decision making process and can lead to serious mistakes.  The decision of one guy has had a domino affect on the lives of so many people.  In fact, as of yesterday there were 800 people signed up to run this race.  That is a lot of people who have been affected.  But, it is also a lot of people who will be hearing the message about drunk driving. 

If you think about it and are of the praying sort, please say a prayer for Kylie and Kyle's families and friends tomorrow and Saturday.  It is going to be an emotional few days.  They are incredibly strong people, but an extra support and love would be much appreciated!

Wordless Wednesday

If only he could speak English....

Devotional -- Day 29

Day 29

• Read John 11:1–45.
• Talk to someone today whose life was dramatically changed by Jesus. Ask them how that transformation came about.
• How has Jesus “brought you back to life”?

  

Devotional -- Day 28

Day 28

• Read Psalm 130.
• Draw a sketch of yourself in the “depths.” Then draw a picture of Jesus pulling you out of the depths.
• How has God shown his unfailing love to you recently?

  

Devotional -- Day 27

Day 27

• Read John 4:5–42.
• Write down the arguments the Samaritan woman gave Jesus.
• Are you giving Jesus any similar arguments?

Monday Monday...

It's raining here today.  The nice gentle kind of rain that isn't violent and doesn't cause you to run your wipers on full blast all the way to work.  I apparently was not ready to get up this morning because when the alarm went off I remember mumbling something like "Oh...it's Monday and we have to get up," and then I heard the rain lightly hitting the windows which caused me to want to stay in bed even more.  Koby must have had a case of the Mondays as well because he didn't crawl in bed with us at all (he usually jumps in about an hour before the alarm goes off).  Needless to say, I'm wishing I was home in my sweat pants cuddled up on the couch.

We had a bit of a crazy weekend!  Between the kitchen re-do and all of the other projects we were trying to accomplish at the same time, a slight stomach bug, KSU losing in the tournament, a birthday party, and spending time with Brooklyn and her parents, we were certainly ready for some down time.  But, it is so nice to have some major projects behind us and we could not have done it all without the help of Brandon's parents.  We are taking the week off from house projects this week to rest up and get rejuvenated and then we'll be back at it to finish up painting our staircase (yes, Craig and Brandon rebuilt the staircase this weekend too) and buttoning up a few other miscellaneous projects and then we are DONE for a while! 

Speaking of the kitchen, it is looking so good!  I actually got chills once the tile went up on the backsplash.  I just LOVE it.  However, we have not put the cabinet doors back on yet because they need to cure a little more (a hard lesson learned!).  Once we have those back on and everything is back in its place I'll post pictures, but here is a sneak peek to hold you over :)

One perk of today being a Monday is that the new season of Dancing with the Stars begins tonight!!  I'm so excited to see Laura Ingalls Wilder (aka Melissa Gilbert) shake her bootie with my favorite dancer, Maks! This show really is one of my favorite shows on TV -- sad but true.



{photo courtesy of usmagazine.com}


I'm also planning to do a lot of cooking and baking this week since I will have a mostly functioning kitchen again.  I bet I have 20 frozen bananas in our freezer just waiting to be transformed into banana bread.  And, if I'm feeling crazy, I might even add chocolate chips! 

Hope your Monday is off to a great start!

Devotional -- Day 26

Day 26

• Read Romans 5:1–11.
• Chart the progression in verses 3–4.
• How can suffering lead ultimately to hope?

Devotional -- Day 25

Day 25

• Read Psalm 95.
• Publicly share with someone how great God is.
• Is there any area in which you are hardening your heart?

Pinnable Friday: Spring Has Sprung!

It is definitely Springtime here in the midwest!  The mild temps and rainshowers have caused the plants to sprout, trees to bloom, and the bulbs to pop up out of the ground.  Thankfully, Pinterest has also been full of all kinds of Springy ideas :)

Source: imgfave.com via Tessa on Pinterest

I love tulips and think this would be a great way to bring their beauty indoors.  And, since the back of our house faces west, we have plenty of sunlight for this project!

Source: holiday-crafts-and-creations.com via Tessa on Pinterest

I think this would be a very cute Easter centerpiece using real daffodils (wish I had found this long before now so I could have gotten a few bulbs planted).

Source: thediva-dish.com via Tessa on Pinterest

With Spring, comes fresh produce and yummy salads.  I found this recipe and think it looks pretty amazing. 

Source: tasteofhome.com via Tessa on Pinterest

To me, the perfect Spring dessert incorporates lemon in some way and while I have not tried this dessert yet, it seems like it will fit that bill!

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Spring also means cool evenings and the new house has a big front porch that is calling for some furniture so we can sit out there and enjoy those evenings.  I love the pops of color and fun furniture in this picture.

Devotional -- Days 23 and 24

Day 23

• Read Matthew 17:1–9.
• Sketch what you think this scene looked like.
• How did this experience further reveal who Jesus is?

 

Day 24

• Read Exodus 17:1–7.
• Consider an area in which you are “thirsty.”
• Are you “testing” the Lord by your unbelief?

  

Devotional -- Day 22

Day 22

• Read John 3:1–21.
• List the things in your life that show you love the light. Now list the things that show you love the darkness.
• Which of the things on your “darkness” list can you ask God to begin to move into the light?

  

Sunrise Sunset



{I may or may not have taken this picture on my way to work this morning...}

Have any of you noticed the dramatic sunrises and sunsets that have been gracing the skies lately?  Maybe it is the change in seasons, but I have been finding myself in awe as of late.  The sun has been huge and has been coloring the sky the most beautiful shades of blue and orange.  As I was driving home from an event last week the sun was just setting and caught me off guard as it hovered just above the highway.  I should have pulled over to take a picture, but I didn't really feel like risking my life so I took a mental picture instead (kind of like Pam and Jim did on their wedding day -- this probably only applies to The Office fans).

The sunrises and sunsets serve as God's reminder to me that each day is a new day with new opportunities.  In the midst of crummy days, I should be thankful that I was allowed to usher in a new day.  As the lyrics of "Sunrise Sunset" state, time flies by quickly and soon we'll look back and wonder why we didn't stop to take it all in.

Sunrise, sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly flow the days

Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers

Blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, sunset

Sunrise, sunset

Swiftly fly the years

One season following another

Laden with happiness and tears

Happy Tuesday!  Enjoy the beauty of your day today :)

 



Devotional -- Day 21

Day 21

• Read Romans 4:13–17.
• Think back to a time you tried to keep “the law” and failed.
• How is Abraham the father of all?

  

Devotional -- Day 20

Day 20

• Read Romans 4:1–8.
• Thank God for giving you something you don’t deserve.
• How do works and faith intersect in the Christian life?

  

House Updates

It is finally time for a much needed house project update!  We got the pics downloaded and organized, so I have no excuse to hold out on this post any longer.  Let's cut to the chase....

Here is our dining room, right before we painted the trim and the walls.  Picture light grayish beige carpet underneath that drop cloth.

And here is the same corner after paint and our new floor!

A broader shot for a better view.

Looking back towards our staircase and kitchen (we are redoing our stair case this coming weekend).

We painted the walls Mega Greige (Sherwin Williams color mixed with Benjamin Moore paint) and our trim is Dover White (Sherwin Williams color mixed with the Benjamin Moore Advance paint).  Our wood floor is a maple engineered wood with hand-scraping.  I believe the stain color is Espresso, but I'm not totally sure.  We (I use this term lightly -- I picked out the floor and Brandon and his dad installed the floor) put this floor in the entryway, dining room, half bathroom, kitchen and eating area.  And....we LOVE it!!  It is exactly what we had in mind and looks awesome with the new trim and base.

Here are a few in-progress shots from the floor installation weekend.

Here is the eating area with the kitchen to the right.

Here is another view of the eating area.

We've also started painting our cabinets.  Thankfully, Brandon has some connections and we were able to get the cabinet doors and drawer faces sprayed (for FREE!!) which has saved us A LOT of time.  

Now, welcome to our messy cabinets... (this is a full disclosure post so please ignore the dishes in the sink and the clutter covering the counters.)

Cabinets before, just for reference.

After we took the doors to be sprayed.  Yep, if you ever want to know what the inside of our cabinets look like, here you go.

{Pssst, those are my yummy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip muffins cooling on the counter.}

And, here is what the cabinets look like as of this afternoon.

{I didn't realize he was taking a pic...this is my "Deer in the headlights" look}

Our goal is go get everything painted by Thursday (we are using Sherwin Williams Anew Gray mixed in Benjamin Moore Advance paint) so Brandon and his dad can redo the countertops and start the backsplash this coming weekend.  Woo hoo!!  

So, there you have it.  A quick glimpse into our home improvements.  I can't wait to show off the finished kitchen :)

Editors Note:  As I finished this post, which took me about 5.35 minutes, I realized that I should really do a more thorough job when blogging about our projects.  This is a monumental time in our lives as we are transforming this awesome house that we love and I want to remember what we did and the funny stories that go along with the projects, because I know there are some pretty funny ones to tell!  So, I promise to do better...for me and for the readers, whoever you may be :)

Devotional -- Day 19

Day 19

• Read Psalm 121.
• Find a photo of hills or mountains online, in a magazine, or in your own albums, to give you a visual picture of this psalm.
• In what area do you need God’s help to keep your foot from slipping?

  

Devotional -- Day 18

Day 18

• Read Genesis 12:1–4.
• Consider how the Lord’s promise to Abram was fulfilled.
• Is there anything God is telling you to leave behind or move forward on?

  

Devotional -- Day 17

Day 17

• Read Matthew 5:1–11.
• Jot down what you think each of the Beatitudes means.
• Which of these would you most like to be true of you?

  

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday... (On A Thursday)

I got an email from the K-State Alumni Association this morning and when I opened up it I saw this picture.  It sure made me miss that place.  Isn't the campus so beautiful?!?