Call me crazy, but I was totally in the Christmas mood today. It was a perfectly beautiful day here in Minnesota! The sun was shining and it was in the mid-60's! Perfect Christmas weather if you ask me! I even made snickerdoodles.
It was especially nice considering this was the date of the first snowfall last year. I don't know about you, but all I'm asking for for Christmas is more weather like this!
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Big Reveal
Our home's exterior is finally painted! It's taken two years and countless hours of phone calls to contractors who never showed up to get it done, but it's done! Britney and I decided to tackle the repairs ourselves and thanks to the help of our good friends, they really weren't all that bad.
My job was the stucco. Britney's job was the OLD gutters :) We have what are called box gutters on our house. They're basically a wooden box lined with galvanized tin that are built into the rafter tails along the roof line. NO ONE that we called or had out to look at them had ever seen gutters like ours before. That was comforting. Anyway, Britney and Cameron did a super job on them. They're gorgeous and add so much to the character of our old girl.
So, just in case you forgot, here's a before picture. Our house was built in 1885, heavily remodeled in the 1920s and then owned by the same family for over 40 years from the late 1940s/early 1950s until the 1990s. We were very very nervous about changing the color because the house is kind of an icon in Adrian. Everyone knows it as Doc Neely's house and EVERYONE has an opinion about it. So, here you go -
Before
After MONTHS of agonizing over the right color to go along with our beautiful red scalloped roof, I of course ended up with the first color I picked out way back in April :) It's called Roycroft Bronze Green by Sherwin Williams. The trim is Navajo White by TruValue and the windows are (or will all eventually be) black.
We love it! It was funny when we were having it painted, so many people would stop and comment on how good it looked - after just the gray primer coat went on. Then once the color went on and the front was finished, we got even more compliments. In fact we still get compliments on it almost every day.
I think the porch is my favorite part of the whole house. I thought I wanted the trim around the front door to be cream and just the doors to be black, but the painter painted this part when I wasn't home and this is what he did. I LOVE it! When I got home and it was done, all I wanted to do was sit outside and enjoy the new "view." It was so much better than the school bus yellow one before.
I wanted the porch ceiling to resemble those of old Southern plantation homes, but a sky blue would have looked horrible next to the green. So, we went a little more gray and used TruValue Chicken Wire. It's perfect. And I will admit that the painter was not sure at all about my color choice for the ceiling until he got it all painted. Then he actually admitted that he liked it :) It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it's kind of a blue gray. This is my favorite view out the front door (minus all the kid equipment).
That's one big project that we can mark off our list. Of course three more smaller projects were added to the bottom after this big one was taken care of, but hey - at least we have something pretty to look at now!
My job was the stucco. Britney's job was the OLD gutters :) We have what are called box gutters on our house. They're basically a wooden box lined with galvanized tin that are built into the rafter tails along the roof line. NO ONE that we called or had out to look at them had ever seen gutters like ours before. That was comforting. Anyway, Britney and Cameron did a super job on them. They're gorgeous and add so much to the character of our old girl.
So, just in case you forgot, here's a before picture. Our house was built in 1885, heavily remodeled in the 1920s and then owned by the same family for over 40 years from the late 1940s/early 1950s until the 1990s. We were very very nervous about changing the color because the house is kind of an icon in Adrian. Everyone knows it as Doc Neely's house and EVERYONE has an opinion about it. So, here you go -
Before
After MONTHS of agonizing over the right color to go along with our beautiful red scalloped roof, I of course ended up with the first color I picked out way back in April :) It's called Roycroft Bronze Green by Sherwin Williams. The trim is Navajo White by TruValue and the windows are (or will all eventually be) black.
We love it! It was funny when we were having it painted, so many people would stop and comment on how good it looked - after just the gray primer coat went on. Then once the color went on and the front was finished, we got even more compliments. In fact we still get compliments on it almost every day.
I think the porch is my favorite part of the whole house. I thought I wanted the trim around the front door to be cream and just the doors to be black, but the painter painted this part when I wasn't home and this is what he did. I LOVE it! When I got home and it was done, all I wanted to do was sit outside and enjoy the new "view." It was so much better than the school bus yellow one before.
I wanted the porch ceiling to resemble those of old Southern plantation homes, but a sky blue would have looked horrible next to the green. So, we went a little more gray and used TruValue Chicken Wire. It's perfect. And I will admit that the painter was not sure at all about my color choice for the ceiling until he got it all painted. Then he actually admitted that he liked it :) It's hard to tell from the pictures, but it's kind of a blue gray. This is my favorite view out the front door (minus all the kid equipment).
That's one big project that we can mark off our list. Of course three more smaller projects were added to the bottom after this big one was taken care of, but hey - at least we have something pretty to look at now!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Recipe Wednesday
Hey - what d'ya know! Two days in a row. That must be some kind of streak, right?
Anyway, I made this soup for dinner last night. I wasn't sure how it would turn out since it had been one of those afternoons and I kept running out of ingredients. Britney went to the store for me the second time :) I think he would say the soup was worth the trip! Hope you enjoy it! It's great for a chilly fall evening.
Creamy Potato Soup
Ingredients:
3 cups diced potatoes, unpeeled
1 cup sliced carrots
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 of a large onion, diced
4 tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
4 cups chicken broth
8 oz. cream cheese, cut into pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Put the potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add pepper and salt to taste. Once boiling, reduce heat and continue to cook until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes). In a small saute pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook about a minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Lower heat, add cream cheese and continue whisking until the cream cheese is incorporated. Add cream cheese mixture to the simmering vegetables. Continue to simmer on med-low heat until ready to serve.
We topped the soup off with some grated cheese and some bacon. Delicious!
I used red potatoes for this recipe, but the recipe says you can use either red or Yukon gold.
Anyway, I made this soup for dinner last night. I wasn't sure how it would turn out since it had been one of those afternoons and I kept running out of ingredients. Britney went to the store for me the second time :) I think he would say the soup was worth the trip! Hope you enjoy it! It's great for a chilly fall evening.
Creamy Potato Soup
Ingredients:
3 cups diced potatoes, unpeeled
1 cup sliced carrots
4 tbsp. butter
1/2 of a large onion, diced
4 tbsp. flour
2 1/2 cups milk
4 cups chicken broth
8 oz. cream cheese, cut into pieces
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Put the potatoes, carrots, onions and chicken broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add pepper and salt to taste. Once boiling, reduce heat and continue to cook until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes). In a small saute pan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook about a minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Lower heat, add cream cheese and continue whisking until the cream cheese is incorporated. Add cream cheese mixture to the simmering vegetables. Continue to simmer on med-low heat until ready to serve.
We topped the soup off with some grated cheese and some bacon. Delicious!
I used red potatoes for this recipe, but the recipe says you can use either red or Yukon gold.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Happy Halloween!
So, I guess I'm back. At least for awhile. Things here were crazy busy this fall. They still are, but I'm finding myself with a little more "free" time so I figured I should jump back into blogging.
This year for halloween, the kids were the Cat in the Hat and a bat. Their costumes were pretty easy to make, and since it's something I like to do, I didn't mind :) Actually, making their costumes is something I plan to do until they want otherwise. Honestly, it's a bit of an ego boost when one of the neighborhood dads has to come out every year to see what my kids' costumes are. Ever since the combine, which he was still talking about at the neighborhood picnic this year.
Anyway, we only took a couple of pictures. Halloween was a whirlwind day with our friends moving to western South Dakota that day. Their kids were here playing most of the day while the parents loaded up their stuff to head out. At the last minute I decided that our porch needed to be a little festive. Ashlyn got in on the fun by making the cute spiders that we stuck in the webs.
Now I guess it's on to planning for Thanksgiving, Christmas and our trip to Georgia!
This year for halloween, the kids were the Cat in the Hat and a bat. Their costumes were pretty easy to make, and since it's something I like to do, I didn't mind :) Actually, making their costumes is something I plan to do until they want otherwise. Honestly, it's a bit of an ego boost when one of the neighborhood dads has to come out every year to see what my kids' costumes are. Ever since the combine, which he was still talking about at the neighborhood picnic this year.
Anyway, we only took a couple of pictures. Halloween was a whirlwind day with our friends moving to western South Dakota that day. Their kids were here playing most of the day while the parents loaded up their stuff to head out. At the last minute I decided that our porch needed to be a little festive. Ashlyn got in on the fun by making the cute spiders that we stuck in the webs.
Now I guess it's on to planning for Thanksgiving, Christmas and our trip to Georgia!
Friday, September 11, 2009
9/11
I will never forget where I was 8 years ago today. I was sitting at work, pregnant with Ashlyn, when I got an email from my sister Jill saying a plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center. I went online looking for more information and then the guys that I worked with came pouring out of their offices and turned on the TV in the conference room. We all sat in stunned silence and watched the news coverage for the rest of the day.
The first thing I remember thinking was, "What are we doing bringing a child into the middle of WWIII?!"
Over the past year, Britney and I have watched several movies about that horrible day. And this summer, I finally read Lisa Beamer's book - Let's Roll - about her husband Todd's role in that day. Going through all of the emotions and thoughts of that day all over again gave me a renewed sense of gratitude for our military men and women who are still fighting for our freedom. And also how God protected some, but chose to use some so that His glory would be seen even on that dreadful day.
All of the events of the last few weeks - thinking of Sept. 11 and our "enemies", adopting a soldier to send care packages to, reading through the Psalms and remembering how David was surrounded by his enemies and crying out to the Lord to save him - got me thinking about how my life is different today than it was 8 years ago.
I now have two children to raise in a fallen world. I have friends with problems so great I don't even know how to begin to help them. I live in a podunk little town that would probably be one of the last places on earth to be bombed by a terrorist. I can let my kids walk down the block with no real worry that they will be taken by the child molester in the white van.
But the true enemy is still around us every day. All of those things COULD still happen here. I'm not naive enough to think that they couldn't.
But the Lord pressed upon me something very clearly this morning on my walk. As Christians, the battle has already been fought and won. No matter what earthly enemy we're fighting - it's done. We win.
So, as we remember this day, let's mourn those who lost their lives, pray for those who are still fighting for our freedom, but most importantly, let's go out and fight for the ones who don't have HOPE - who don't know Jesus.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
First Day of Second Grade
Today was Ashlyn's first day of second grade. She has grown up so much this summer. No more kisses at her locker when I drop her off. But, at least she did still need me to walk her to school this morning :) I thought I was ready for her to be independent, but now that she's actually starting to want some, I'm not sure I'm ready!
As for Carter...well, let's just say school for him starts next Monday and I think this may be the longest week of my life. He's been up since 6:45 and I don't think his mouth has stopped once. Well, maybe once to eat a couple of bites of breakfast. Did I mention he starts school Monday???
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Details, Schmetails
This past weekend we took an impromptu trip to Omaha to see the airshow and go to the zoo after our painter called and said he wouldn't be able to start working on our house until the 8th. We had a great weekend doing fun family stuff. And spent one afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska, looking at minivans I had found on Auto Trader.
After looking at a few vans over the past few months, we just weren't finding one that was what we wanted at a price we were willing to pay. Until we got to Lincoln.
We found a van, equipped exactly the way we wanted, the color we wanted at the exact price we said we would be willing to pay. We weren't in a pinch financially by buying the van, so we figured we'd sell the Passat as soon as we could, but weren't in a rush to do so.
Imagine our surprise and delight when we sold it tonight - for the exact price we said we wanted for it. To the first person who came to look at it, without even advertising it. The guy who bought it works with a friend of ours right here in Adrian.
Now, you tell me. Do you think God is in the details?
After looking at a few vans over the past few months, we just weren't finding one that was what we wanted at a price we were willing to pay. Until we got to Lincoln.
We found a van, equipped exactly the way we wanted, the color we wanted at the exact price we said we would be willing to pay. We weren't in a pinch financially by buying the van, so we figured we'd sell the Passat as soon as we could, but weren't in a rush to do so.
Imagine our surprise and delight when we sold it tonight - for the exact price we said we wanted for it. To the first person who came to look at it, without even advertising it. The guy who bought it works with a friend of ours right here in Adrian.
Now, you tell me. Do you think God is in the details?
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