Happy Birthday Mom!!!!! We missed not being there to celebrate on this day, but were glad we could celebrate together when they were back for a visit in June. We had a cake and homemade ice cream…Meghan kept calling Mom the Birthday Girl…priceless! I hope that today Mom gets to do something fun with Dad…or at least enjoy a nice dinner out.
We’ve had a couple of busy weeks around here and I just haven’t had much time to write an update. Things are going pretty well for the most part, just really starting to ramp up the house plans. We decided shortly after Matt’s surgery that we were going to replace the cabinets and countertops in our kitchen and bathroom in preparation for listing the house. They were the last things that really stood out as old and needing to be updated to us. So we worked out a deal with Matt’s dad for some nice maple cabinets which have a finish similar to the woodwork in our house…they totally fit the era of the home. Well, last weekend was our big project weekend. Hope and Chad came down to help George with the work.
We’ve had a couple of busy weeks around here and I just haven’t had much time to write an update. Things are going pretty well for the most part, just really starting to ramp up the house plans. We decided shortly after Matt’s surgery that we were going to replace the cabinets and countertops in our kitchen and bathroom in preparation for listing the house. They were the last things that really stood out as old and needing to be updated to us. So we worked out a deal with Matt’s dad for some nice maple cabinets which have a finish similar to the woodwork in our house…they totally fit the era of the home. Well, last weekend was our big project weekend. Hope and Chad came down to help George with the work.
They ripped out the old cabinets and countertop in no time and they managed to get it all done in two days!!! Hope and I worked on cleaning up the basement, organizing the closets and storage areas, as well as doing yard work and just pitching junk into the dumpster. She was on a mission, I swear! It was SO great to have their help!!!! Saturday night we took a break from the work and went out to dinner with Matt’s Uncle Denny who was in town working on a Habitat for Humanity house. We enjoyed a nice dinner together with Matt’s parents and grandparents, and then Denny stopped over to lend a hand on the kitchen Sunday morning. (He TOO was a kitchen salesman who recently retired…so we knew we were in good hands between him and George.)
By the end of the day on Sunday the kitchen was complete. All the cabinets and countertops were installed, our stuff was put away, and the dishwasher was working…did I mention we also added a DISHWASHER!!! Can I just say that I love, adore, am enamored with this dishwasher!?!? It was another thing we thought would help make our house stand out…so we decided to add it and boy am I going to love using it until we do move!!! I can’t believe we went nearly NINE years of married life without one!! I feel like I deserve a badge or something! It’s a pretty major deal this day in age to not have one…especially for someone who enjoys cooking as much as I do. We have just been dirtying dishes left and right…and I never have to worry about washing them. What a concept!!!
So the kitchen is pretty near completion. I have some touch up paint to do, and George has to come down and put the finishing trim pieces on…but even without those details the kitchen looks like a million bucks!
This week George will also work on replacing the bathroom cabinets and then we should be good to go!! It is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time to think about listing and showing the house.
I just pray it all works out smoothly and we don’t have any troubles!! We are slated to sign on the dotted line this coming week…and finally close on the new lot in Ankeny! How fantastic is that!?!? We are so ready. I can’t wait to drive by there and see PROGRESS where our new home is going to be! I’m sure Matt and I will make regular Sunday drives past it after church! I can’t wait!!!!
We’ve got some pretty exciting stuff going on around here, and it feels good. Matt’s sister Lissa is coming home for a week between assignments and will be staying with us, we’re having one last party at our Des Moines house this Saturday night, we’re making plans for vacations in August (Matt to Minnesota on a guys’ trip, me to Texas for some quality time with my parents), we’re making plans for our new house and things we might need for it, we’ve been enjoying a new members class at church getting to know our Pastor and some other members better…the list goes on. Things feel good right now. Even though we had our ninth anniversary this week, I didn’t have that feeling of loss and sadness like I did last year. Matt and I talked about watching our wedding/reception/honeymoon video together…and I think we will, and it won’t be sad like it was to me the last time I watched it. It will always make me smile and think of how happy and carefree we were…it will always make me so thankful for a wonderful day surrounded by friends and family…it will always remind me of how strong our foundation and our marriage truly are. We were, and still are, best friends. I know there is no one who could ever know me like Matt does, and it is truly a blessing. We were lucky to have those early years of happy times, where life was simple and easy (I didn’t even have a JOB yet!!)…we were blessed to know successes, and to have each other’s support during any failures. I still look back and smile, knowing that even if I had known the path our lives were to take, I wouldn’t have done any of it differently. Matt and I were meant to be together – I have no doubt. God meant us for each other. To know that…to really KNOW that, is what gives me strength to endure the tough times, and faith to trust that we will overcome it.
So the kitchen is pretty near completion. I have some touch up paint to do, and George has to come down and put the finishing trim pieces on…but even without those details the kitchen looks like a million bucks!
This week George will also work on replacing the bathroom cabinets and then we should be good to go!! It is exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time to think about listing and showing the house.
I just pray it all works out smoothly and we don’t have any troubles!! We are slated to sign on the dotted line this coming week…and finally close on the new lot in Ankeny! How fantastic is that!?!? We are so ready. I can’t wait to drive by there and see PROGRESS where our new home is going to be! I’m sure Matt and I will make regular Sunday drives past it after church! I can’t wait!!!!We’ve got some pretty exciting stuff going on around here, and it feels good. Matt’s sister Lissa is coming home for a week between assignments and will be staying with us, we’re having one last party at our Des Moines house this Saturday night, we’re making plans for vacations in August (Matt to Minnesota on a guys’ trip, me to Texas for some quality time with my parents), we’re making plans for our new house and things we might need for it, we’ve been enjoying a new members class at church getting to know our Pastor and some other members better…the list goes on. Things feel good right now. Even though we had our ninth anniversary this week, I didn’t have that feeling of loss and sadness like I did last year. Matt and I talked about watching our wedding/reception/honeymoon video together…and I think we will, and it won’t be sad like it was to me the last time I watched it. It will always make me smile and think of how happy and carefree we were…it will always make me so thankful for a wonderful day surrounded by friends and family…it will always remind me of how strong our foundation and our marriage truly are. We were, and still are, best friends. I know there is no one who could ever know me like Matt does, and it is truly a blessing. We were lucky to have those early years of happy times, where life was simple and easy (I didn’t even have a JOB yet!!)…we were blessed to know successes, and to have each other’s support during any failures. I still look back and smile, knowing that even if I had known the path our lives were to take, I wouldn’t have done any of it differently. Matt and I were meant to be together – I have no doubt. God meant us for each other. To know that…to really KNOW that, is what gives me strength to endure the tough times, and faith to trust that we will overcome it.
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