Whew!

It's been a really, really long time since I posted here. I have missed it, but I've not had the extra time to devote to it. I'll do a really quick run-down of the last 5 months. FIVE MONTHS?!

We celebrated birthdays in October. Hubs got home safely for his deployment in November! We saw most of our family over the holidays. We celebrated more birthdays in December. Hubs' grandfather passed away at the ripe old age of 100 in January. We moved in February.

That's a lot of life!

We live in the Eastern time zone again! We are much closer to our family. We have a fabulous home with amazing neighbors. Honestly, we couldn't have asked for a more appropriate place for us right now. The boys have already adjusted and love it here. We had to think creatively in a few cases, but we're thrilled with the results. Here are some pictures of our new digs!

our front door with lots of new decorations

living room from the entryway

home school area from living room

back toward the living room from the home school area

kitchen with my awesome new rooster in the corner

kitchen from the dining room pass through

dining room 

coat closet to the right as you come in the front door
why yes - my pantry is in my coat closet!

coat closet is to my left as I look down the hallway 

1st door on the right: Bull and Monkey's room

1st door on the left: Gator's room

Gator's room

more of the hallway 

boys' vintage powder blue bathroom (the first door in the previous picture)

it's a long hallway!

Hubs calls it the Phone Booth (his uniforms are in this closet); I call it the sewing room 

our bedroom (last door on the right from the hallway)

our vintage brown bathroom

Eucharisteo!

Christmas Tour of Homes

The Christmas Tour of Homes (formerly at BooMama) is now hosted by The Nester.
Welcome to my home!

Our outdoor decorations:

We didn't get all of the decorations up before it started snowing, so this, along with a wreath on the door, is all we've got outside. The reindeer were made for us by some dear friends of ours.

This is my console/sewing table just as you enter the door:

I was so excited to finally finish all of my sewing projects so that I could dress this table. That's our first Jesse Tree on the left. The small Nativity was a gift from Bull's preschool teachers last year.

Here is the kids' bookcase:

There used to be a whole lot of chocolate in that sleigh. Alas, it is right at eye level for the kiddos. We've been finding lots of empty candy wrappers around the house!

My dining room (with my olivewood Nativity given to me by my grandparents):

I also have a Precious Moments Nativity from my childhood (forgot to take a picture) on top of our TV armoire.

Our Christmas tree and stockings:

We don't have a mantle in this house, so the stockings are hung by the window with care. My mom is bringing Monkey's stocking when she comes. Do you see the blanket of snow still on the ground outside the window?

This nativity is in the boys' room. I let them set it up. When I saw it the first time, I was struck by the statement that my children had made in the way they did it. Look closely at all of the figures...each of them is looking at Baby Jesus, gathered as closely as possible.

What a poignant reminder of the reason for all of the celebration.

...but [Jesus] made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:7

Pillows!

My gorgeous pillows arrived (that I've talked about here, here, and here)! Karen from Elsie Eleanor Designs did a great job.

Here they are on the bed:

The orange ones are reversible:

I also found one pillow that I already had that I might add to the mix:

Yippee for cute, FREE pillows!

My pillows!

They're done...Aren't they gorgeous?! I'll post pictures as soon as they're on my bed!

Quick update

Remember this post? Here are three different posts by Karen showing the progress on my gorgeous pillows.
I can't wait!

Top Ten Reasons...

...that I know Fall is here:

10. I just went through all of the winter clothes. Gator had ONE pair of pants that fit him. So, I hit oldnavy.com and the amazing sales. I got lots of clothes for significantly less than full price (including 4 pairs of pants for Gator)! Bull is set with the hand-me-downs from Gator, and Monkey is set with the hand-me-downs from Bull (worn almost four years ago!).

9. Gator and Bull will celebrate birthdays soon (see #10!).

8. The temperature has been 50* every morning this week. We have left the house with jackets on every morning, and needed the heater and defroster in the van on the way to school. Have I mentioned that there are 6 boys (all in car seats/booster seats) in my van on Tuesdays and Thursdays?!
Proof:

7. The leaves are just barely beginning to turn, but it's happening. Little hints of red and gold are peeking through - which I love because these are some of my most favorite colors.

6. I went to Hobby Lobby (more amazing sales right now). I got a grapevine wreath for $2 and some floral stuff for about $5 and made my own wreath. The best thing is that I can change out the floral stuff according to the season.

5. Call it hormones or nesting, but I have been very artsy/creative lately. Some of my other creative endeavors: baby quilts, fabric beach balls, pentagon balls and wool felt blocks (wool purchased here) with jingle bells inside,

decorating Monkey's room, and plans for and execution of new artwork for our home. This book, this book, and this lady have inspired many of these little projects. Monkey and I at 27.5 weeks (I got a new haircut too!):

4. Apple Days (annual Fall Festival on our post) was this past weekend. I bought 4 frozen, homemade apple pies. I can't wait to taste them!

3. I bought Gator's costume, and figured out Bull's costume.

2. Gator football! Oh, how I long to be in The Swamp (on the Alumni side though - I'm pregnant!). It's a good thing that we're doing so well this year. That means major networks carry the games, and that means that we get to watch the Gators 1,260 miles away.

1. The inside of my house is really dirty/messy because I have not wanted to spend any time inside! I'm cleaning this weekend though!

Monkey's Room

Here is the beginning of Monkey's room:

A close-up of the main fabric:

I will be adding some photos of real animals (monkeys, zebras, elephants, giraffes, etc) as art work, along with some animal silhouettes (there is a lot of wall space in his room).

I'm so excited!

Where I live - part 2

Here's the rest of our house. For pictures of the downstairs, click here.

Upstairs landing

The landscape was painted by Hubs' grandmother. This is where we display our family pictures.

Gator and Bull's room

The valance is made from old bedskirts, and the closet covering is made from twin sheets. Sliding doors used to be there, but I was scared of them - little fingers and all. I'm still working on the art for upstairs. I have some ideas for this room. I just have to get around to it.

Boys' bathroom

Gator picked out this shower curtain a couple of years ago. I still think it's adorable, and it will work for a couple more years. Then we'll get something a little more grown-up. I removed the shower doors b/c they grew mold like nobody's business (thanks for the tip, Brianna and D!)

Monkey's room

This is obviously a work in progress. So much has already changed since I took this picture! I made the valance from old bedskirts. We got a daybed and a crib. I snagged an antique oak dresser for $150! The glider and ottoman are in here too.

Our room

I seriously need some art in here. Also, I really want grown-up end tables - I'll find them one day! The valance is a window mistreatment thanks to the Nester - just a huge remnant of fabric (Hobby Lobby) that I folded a bunch of times. I didn't want to cut it because I never know what the windows will be like at the next place! The pictures are from our Israel trip.

Our bathroom

Again, I took off the shower doors.

That's our house. Once Monkey's room is complete, I will post pictures of it. I'm becoming inspired!

Where I live - part 1

Here are the photos of our house that I've been promising for four months.

Living area

There's another bookcase with all the art supplies and puzzles tucked to the left of the window on the left. All of the tablecloths are made from sheets. That table in the right bottom corner is my sewing table. My kids' art decorates the front wall.

Half bath

This is as Americana as I get - with a nod to Hubs' submarine service.

Eat in


Kitchen

The valance over the sink is made from a sheet. It's teeny tiny, so only one person can fit in there usually. But sometimes that is kind of nice! For such a little kitchen though, the cabinet space is absolutely amazing.

Landing

This little space houses some of my pictures from our Israel trip and a quilt that my grandmother made out of dresses that she and her mother used to wear. It's the first thing that you see when you walk in the house, so I couldn't leave it bare!

There's the downstairs...upstairs is tomorrow!

Busy bees

We have been buzzing all over the place the last few weeks!

Pictures are being uploaded now from our Go West vacation, our Florida vacation, and the first week of school.

More to come soon!

Oh my goodness!

My sister is having another girl! We're going to have a very busy end of the summer! As I've already posted here, Hubs' sister is having a boy. I need to get moving on their gifts!

Gator is still getting used to his new school. His teacher is wonderful and two of his classmates live on our street! Bull is getting used to not having Gator around. He says, "I wahn my bruver." It's precious and I love it! I'm so glad that my boys love each other and get along well.

There are no more boxes, but the house is not put together yet. I had to stop putting things away and start making things pretty. I lost my motivation to tackle the big jobs! So, I'm taking a break and hanging curtains and art.

True to form, our calendar is filling up very quickly. In the first week we were here, I was invited to three coffees (Army spouse get-togethers), the first of which is tonight. We're up to five coffees now! This weekend, we are going to a Strong Bonds retreat. Hubs will have to facilitate these in the future, so we look forward to the hands-on learning experience. Next weekend, we will be heading to Spring Canyon for the advisory board meeting. Can't wait to see those mountains!

Pictures will come soon!

On the way to school...

...I snapped this picture. Did you know that Kansas looked like this? (Click on the picture to make it bigger.)I didn't! I can't wait until it's full-blown spring here!