The Pictures I Know You've Been Waiting For!

Without further ado, here are pictures of the new house! We'll start with the living room. The arched window looks out to the front yard. The other side of the living room. The phrase above the piano says, "May our home be warm and our friends be many."
Our bedroom - we bought a new bedroom suite when we moved and I love it!
Sara's room. The flowers on the wall are not stickers. They are plastic flowers with a small magnet in the center of each one. There's special flat-headed nails that come with the set. You hammer the nail in flush with the wall, and simply attach the flowers to each nail! It's one of my favourite new decorations in the house!
Sky's room in the basement.
Other side of Sky's room. We painted another blackboard wall for him because he really missed the other one. As you can see, it's already seen a lot of creativity! The door on the right leads to his bathroom, complete with shower!When you walk down the stairs to the basement, this is what you see first.

To the right, is my sewing table corner and all the stuff that I haven't organized or put away yet!
On the left is the play area and door to Sky's room.
Another view of the play area. When they built the basement, whoever did it, did a great job with the lighting. It's very light and bright and open. The kids have been great about playing, reading and watching T.V. down there.
This is our schoolroom/office on the main floor.

Here's where I'm sitting right now, writing this post!
The family room, that's right next to the kitchen. We've already had a few cozy evenings with a fire in the fireplace!

So, that's it! Hope you enjoyed the tour!

It's Beginning To Look Like Home

We are finally able to see more furniture than boxes these days! The walls and shelves are not decorated yet, but I thought you would like to see the progress so far. First up is the family room. The fireplace is a real, wood-burning one, so we're looking forward to cozy winter evenings by the crackling fire! To the right of this room is the dining nook and kitchen. I love having the family around while I'm fixing and cleaning up meals!
This is the dining room, with a beautiful view of the backyard. We were able to purchase the table with the house, which is stained to match the kitchen cupboards. The chair upholstery matches the window valances.
This is the stairway which you see when you walk in the front door. To the left is the main floor half bath and the office/schoolroom, where I am now typing this! To the right is the kitchen area.
From the stairway landing, this is the view of the front living room. The arched window looks out to the front yard, and the front door is just to the right. This is only half the room -it's really big! The other half is where we put the piano, but there are still boxes piled around it right now.

After a few more days I should be ready to show you the bedrooms, basement and schoolroom. Now that Joshua is home for the weekend, things will move a lot faster! We already got a lot done last night after the kids went to bed. The basement is a huge space (fully finished) and is a huge job! Sky's room is also in the basement. But, right now there is baked oatmeal in the oven and then we're going to head downtown to check out the local farmer's market. Then, some shopping for a few odds and ends that we need. I'm excited to be out and about and away from boxes for awhile!

One Room At A Time...

My main goal yesterday was to completely finish organizing the kitchen and get all the counter tops cleared off. This was what it looked like in the morning....

And this is the picture I took after the kids went to bed!
Hopefully tomorrow there will be at least one more room to show you! Oh, and I thought you might like to know that the train waited until 9:30 a.m. to come through instead of 3 a.m.!!

It's A Mess!

My house is a mess. My emotions are a mess. I really don't like change. It's not exciting for me - or an adventure. It makes me sad. It's hard. It even makes me a bit angry. I don't want to have to find new places for everything in the kitchen, and the rest of the house. I don't like that I have to read the instruction manual just so I can figure out how to wash my piles of laundry. I don't like the train that comes through town at 3 in the morning, blowing it's whistle at every intersection. (We didn't know this when we bought the house!) I was sad that no one even acknowledged our existence at the new church we visited yesterday morning. (Except for Sara and Sky's teachers in their classes.) I don't like how everything is so quiet. The phone doesn't ring anymore. We have not seen or heard ANY neighbourhood children.

I know, this too shall pass. I know I'll get to know people and that the phone will ring again. I know we'll finally get unpacked and everything will find a place. I know the house will eventually feel like home. I know the Lord will lead us to the right church family in time. So, don't tell me all that - please! I just need some support and love and prayers until the storm passes.

Sara and Sky are actually doing very well with all this "newness." They love their new rooms! They each unpacked their own boxes and put all their things away by themselves! I was proud of them. I'll have to do some organizing and sorting later... :-) They got to spend Saturday afternoon with Grandma and Grandpa (Joshua's parents), so that was fun for them. They even had fun at church yesterday, so I was grateful for that. This morning they are doing well playing with each other. It's certainly different not having the playground right outside our front door or neighbourhood kids in and out of the house. Neither one of my sweet children have complained a bit. I can learn from them. In a few days I will attempt to have a bit of schooltime and that will help to curb any boredom that may erupt.

Well, I'm off to unpack some more boxes... Once I find my cable for the camera, I can post a few pictures.

We're Moving - AGAIN!

Yup, that's right, you read it right - we are moving after only being in this house for 10 months! Many of you have already heard this news, but I'm going to answer the most frequently asked questions in this post. So, here goes my self-interview!

Where are you moving to?

St. Albert, Alberta - a suburb of Edmonton, about 3 hours north of where we are now.

Why in the world are you moving?

During the last week of June, Joshua was invited to be included in an audit to learn about the process. The bank branch that he ended up going to was St. Albert. While there, he really connected with the branch manger, Jeff, who offered Joshua a job there. At first mention of this outrageous proposition (at least that's what I thought!), I was sincerely hoping it was all a joke. But, alas, it was not, and the discussion turned serious very quickly. Right now, Joshua's title wit the bank is retail account manager. He has wanted to get into the commercial side of the bank, as he moves towards his goal of eventually being a branch manager. This new position that he was offered was for commercial account manager. Long story short, he decided to go for it. This move jumps him ahead about a year and half.

When do you actually move?

We already bought a new house in St. Albert (on July 19th!) and the possession date is September 5th. Because we are moving with the bank, they pay for us to have movers! It feels so weird to not be packing right now. I feel like I should be doing something! The moving company packs everything in one day - can you imagine?! So, they'll come Sept. 4th to pack and then we'll be moved into the new house the next day.

How do you feel about this?

This was pretty tough for me to swallow. I cried a lot during the decision making process. I'm still accepting everything - it happened so fast. I would not say that I'm excited, but the last few days have been more positive for me. I would say that I'm mostly apprehensive, sad and stressed out at this point. Change is usually not exciting for me. I am a very loyal friend and it hurts so much to say good-bye. I am spending my summer, hanging out with friends as much as possible, and visiting all the places I will miss most in the Calgary area. I am thankful for the movers, so that I can truly enjoy these next 5 weeks.

Have you sold your current house yet?

Not yet, but we are hopeful! We listed it 6 days ago. Last night we had our first showing. Then there were 2 this morning, and another one this afternoon! Please pray that we will soon have an offer. Showing a house has got to be one of the most stressful things out there. While we were cleaning up the house for the showing yesterday, I kind of lost it. I was screaming at Joshua because I was just so frustrated and mad. Mad that I even had to clean my house, so that I could show it to someone who might buy it. Deep down inside, I don't even want to sell my house. I know it's just a house, but Joshua and I are both having a hard time letting go of this one for some reason. It is "just a house," but it's a house full of memories and maybe that's the difficulty. We have a lot of great memories from this home.

How are the kids taking this?

Sara and Sky are being way more mature about this than their mother at this point! They are excited to move close to Grandma and Grandpa, who live in another suburb in Edmonton. They love the new house and can't wait to move in and have new rooms. They even seem to be O.K. with the fact that we will have to make new friends. I'm grateful for their positive attitudes. It might get tougher for them once we actually move, but for now they are their normal, happy selves!

What is the new house like?

Well, it's beautiful and I just happen to have pictures from the MLS listing! Here are a few of them. There's not a good picture of the backyard, but it's amazing! There's a stream that flows over rocks and runs into a pond. Lots of mature trees, a gazebo, and even a hot tub! We will be quite comfortable, and I know that over time, it will feel like home again.

Updated House Pictures

I took some pictures of the house last week and posted them on my Facebook. I tried to post them on here the other day and it was giving me trouble. Also, there would have been a lot of pictures to scroll through! So, click on the link below to see how the house looks now! The boxes are cleared away and there are a few more pictures and decorations up. It's starting to feel more like home. It sure is a lot of house to clean, though! Enjoy the tour!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=17000&l=f0d9e&id=650007186

Moving In

We've been sleeping in our new home now for 10 nights! I wish I could say we're completely unpacked, organized and decorated, but, I can't! We're getting there slowly, but surely! I'm just so happy to not have the stress of showing a house and keeping it perfect all the time! Now I can go at my own pace. I've found myself wearing out and becoming overwhelmed very quickly in this unpacking process, so I've had to take it easy. The last couple of months were way too busy and stressful, and my body is finally screaming, "Enough!" Anyway, there's not much else to report about unpacking boxes, so I'll let you get on to the pictures! Moving day! Still smiling after a very long day!
Sara on moving day! She spent the day making new friends at the playground across the street! She's my social butterfly!Sara's first night in her new pink, princess room! She was simply glowing with excitement that night and for once, I didn't have to tell her to clean up her room! She already had everything put away just like she wanted it!Sky posing on the first night in his room. We've since decorated with dinosaurs and other animals.

We did something a little crazy and made one of Sky's walls into a blackboard! There's actually special "chalkboard paint" comes in black or green. Sky's favourite colour is black, so there was no question what the choice would be! This is the first day they could draw on it, because the paint had to cure for 3 days first. It's been a lot of fun!
This is the bonus room above the garage. This was like the first day, so a lot more has been done since. I just love the windows!
Here's the new living room right after we placed the furniture. We decorated it on Sunday, but it's a wreck right now and I couldn't take a new picture!

So, there you have it, Karen - even more than just one picture! We have to have the house cleaned up nicely by Sunday because we're having a huge party. I'll be going downtown on Thursday morning to be sworn in as a Canadian citizen. Because it's at such an inconvenient time, we're having a celebration on the weekend when everyone is more available. Joshua decided to take over all the inviting and planning and even the food preparation! What a guy! So far, everyone he has invited, has said they will come, so we're going to have a very full house! It'll be fun, though, and I'm really looking forward to it!

Moving, Dinosaurs, and Craziness!

Just wanted to give a quick update while I have a few moments this morning! We got possession of the house in Airdrie on Friday afternoon. There was a little mix-up with the bank and the lawyer, but we sorted that out and everything else went great. We drove out for the walk-through and unloaded what we had packed onto both vehicles. We'll be taking smaller loads of fragile and awkward stuff throughout the week. (We're renting a Ryder truck on Saturday for the big move.) There wasn't much time to enjoy the new house because we had to rush out for the next thing on the agenda. Joshua has a friend, Ryan, who lives in Edmonton and they've known each other since they were mischievous boys! Every year, Ryan, comes to Calgary for the Labour Day long weekend. We always do something fun with him as a family and then he and Joshua go to the Labour Day football game together. Calgary and Edmonton are HUGE rivalries when it comes to sports of any kind, and every Labour Day, they play a football game (CFL) against each other in Calgary. Then, a week later, they play again, but up in Edmonton. Ryan came in on the bus on Friday afternoon, so Joshua had to go pick him up downtown. He always stays in a hotel, so that was one less thing for me to have to prepare for! (But, you know we would keep you any time, Ryan! ;-)) Joshua dropped Ryan off at his hotel and came home. We headed out again to grab some supper. On the way, we made a stop at Best Buy and made a very exciting purchase - A NEW CAMERA! Joshua took the old one in and found out it was going to be $125 to fix the crazy thing (the shutter was not opening)! So, we got a new one for $199! So far, I love it, but I haven't had much time to play with it!

The next day, we went on our Labour Day weekend adventure for the year to Drumheller, AB. It's about an hour and a half from Calgary and it's known for it's unique hills and dinosaurs! They've found many, many fossils and bones out there, so they built this amazing dinosaur museum. This museum was like Disney World comparable and quality! We couldn't believe this place out in the middle of nowhere! In the town of Drumheller there are statues of dinosaurs everywhere and then, there's the biggest dinosaur in the world! This thing was pretty cool - there were stairs inside and you could climb all the way up and stand in his mouth! (It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex.) Sky has really been into dinosaurs lately and he was just enthralled! We all were enthralled, for that matter! It was a really fun and interesting day! I got lots of great pictures, but I'm going to have to put those up later. I need to install the new software for the camera and everything.

Sunday, after church, we went to the new house and got some painting done in the two bedrooms in the basement. We're also going to paint Sara's room pink and white and do some green in Sky's room. Sara's getting a princess room and Sky's will be dinosaurs! So, along with that painting, there's the cleaning and packing to be done as well. I'm exhausted already. I got the entire kitchen and most of the main floor cleaned yesterday while Joshua was at the football game. Today I have some errands to run, but maybe I can get some painting done later in the afternoon. Anyway, hopefully all the necessary things will be in order by Saturday morning. I'll try to keep you updated, but my computer time will be limited this week!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, our house in Calgary is still conditionally sold. The only thing left is that the lady who bought, has to sell her townhouse by Sept. 24th. We had two showings this weekend, so we're still hoping someone will put down a better offer!

Pictures of Our New House

Here it is....the newest addition to our family! (The home inspection went well, so we signed off on that condition!) We love the rock and neutral colors on the outside.I really like this kitchen! That's an island in the middle and the sink is in front of the window. I love the light wood cabinets and white appliances. I think kitchens should be bright! To the left of the kitchen is the dining nook and living room. I didn't take a picture of the living room because the other people have a few piles of junk still left lying around. There is a fireplace in there.
When you go upstairs, there is a "bonus" room that looks out over the park across the street. It's so big and wide open and I'm excited about this extra family/play room!This is Joshua's favorite part - the soaker tub in the corner with a window! He really wanted this and a garage and he got both! This is in the master bedroom en suite. There is one more full bath upstairs, a half bath on the main floor, and a bathroom with a shower in the basement! So, I guess there's a toilet for each one of us!Here's one side of the backyard. To the left is a wide side yard with three more trees. I'm very excited about the fire pit! I love to roast marshmallows!
And the other side of the backyard. The deck was originally finished very poorly, so it needs to be stripped and stained. Also, for some reason there are no steps or railing. We're not sure what happened there! So, we'll have to get those in pretty quickly. Of course, the kids think it's great fun to jump off the deck and climb back up again! Who needs steps?!
This is the park and playground directly across the street from the house! The kids are very excited about this one! And it will be a good chance to meet the neighborhood kids and parents.
So, that's it for now! It's not too much fun looking at empty rooms, so I'll post more when we move in and get decorated. I didn't take any pictures of the basement. It's fully finished with a large family room + fireplace, a bathroom, and two other smaller rooms! We have lots of room for guests, so you'll have to come visit!