Drumroll.....

Okay! So I have been meaning to do this last week, but today I HAD to do it for my darling friend and her hubby, our contractor (Thanks, Cokers!) And so, without further ado....

A LITTLE PEAK AT OUR NEW OLD HOUSE!

BEFORE: Random beams that whack you in the head on the way to the door....

AFTER: Wide Open-ness Entryway!!! Whoohoo!

BEFORE: More beam-i-ness in the "Dining Room"...

AFTER: My new "Office/ Mommy Lounge-y" Space!

BEFORE: Living Room view....

AFTER: God Bless, Clivesden Leather and God Bless, Alyshia for also putting in on our fireplace grout!!! Voila!

BEFORE: Kitchen paint color from hell and wacky pantry...

AFTER: Crisp. Clean. Just the way I like it! Ahhhh....

BEFORE: Good-bye tile that was out to get me...

AFTER: Hello, I-Can-Mop-You -Clean-In-Two-Seconds-Flat floors! See my new pantry?? LOVE IT!BEFORE: Waiting for new appliances...

AFTER: TaDa!

BEFORE: No more laminate counter tops and back splash...AFTER: Loving the new ones and my bead board back splash.... (Decorating) Works in progess:

The Kids Bath:

Our Bathroom:

So! I need to take a minute to thank ALL of the people who made our little Dream Home possible: Jason's Mom and My Mom- We couldn't have done any of this without you! Marie and Royce Coker- Also, couldn't have done any of this without you! Alyshia and Stephanie- For being as House Crazy as I am- from paint colors to counter tops, you gave the best advice! Heather- For watching my "chid-wren" for me for practically two days straight, so I could unpack and not kill anyone! LOVE. YOU. Fan Target and Sarah- For being the best sisters EVER and helping me do everything from paint and to watch my kids. I owe you both. Big. Time. My Dad- Who else on the planet would drive back and forth from Frisco to C-Town 8 times in one day? Uh, yea, no one. Best Dad. Ever. The Speers Family, for letting us break out lease, Christina Lancaster, for watching over our house while we were gone, the sweet cashier at Lowes who we came to know from visiting her about 3 times a day...

Jas and I feel so grateful- for our friends, for our family and for the roof over our head.

We are SO very blessed.

Toying With Us!

Ha! Look what we walked into the living room to find! A funny, cute baby doll in the toy bucket!

She screams and cries when I put her in the big porta-crib, but is all smiles when she's contained in at little 12x12 box?!??! Go figure!

For The Price Of...

...two Iced Venti Nonfat Caramel Macchiatos you can find some pretty serious bargains lately!

Lysh had told me about these precious little red BHG pedestal tables she saw at the 'Mart. It would be perfect for in the corner by my big windows! At the time they were about $25. Which is not too bad...but too much for me to get in the car and race out to get one. (I'm super cheap.) Well- then I had to stop at the 'Mart out here to get some painting supplies the week before we moved and what did I see- sitting in a pile up on the Clearance shelves??? A precious little red BHG pestal table with a red $10 sticker on it! What?!?! SOLD! Love it!Theeeen.... Jas and I painted a large chalkboard calendar on one of the kitchen walls. I knew I wanted to trim it out, so when I was at the HL yesterday, I searched through the 80% off open back frames and found this gem. "Please, oh, please be cheap" I chanted as I turned it over! Yes! 10 dolla's!!! Whoo hoo!!! Fifty-smifty...God Bless, Hobby Lobby and their crazy sales.

And theeeeen.... Yesterday, again at the Mart- I had to run in to get the missing ingredients to my World Famous Chicken Nuggest so I could make them for Jas (poor guy had to close two nights in a row, which meant eating dinner at 9:45pm-ugh!)- Anyway! I am walking in, minding my own business when I see a huge black and white "$10" sign at the top of the end shelf of one of the aisles, and then, like in slo-mo, I realize what they are selling for that smokin' price:

Only the huge hurricane candle holders that I have been coveting, but again- I am super cheap, and kept putting off buying!!! Just to be sure, I checked the glass for a big red sticker, and sure enough, my dream came true!!! As Hannah Montana would say, "Wha-BAM!" LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

I have become completely spoiled. Seriously. Deal, after smokin' deal! But its making adding the finishing touches to our humble little home that much easier.... A few more days and I think I'll be able to sit down and put my feet up! (cross your fingers)

Fun On The Fourth

This is a little late- but we did have a great 4th this year! We went to Castle Hills to watch the fireworks from the balcony of the golf club- great location, but next year we will get there earlier and grab a table!

Then on the official 4th, we went out to Lewisville with Fan Target. We went down a road that was closed off (such rebels!) and found a great little pond behind a group of office buildings. Again, next year we will bring chairs to sit and in a a cooler for snacks. We did grab SnoCones on the way which totally hit the spot! The show was REALLY good- I'm a sucker for a big finale and this one delivered!

It was great fun, only things now is that every night Luke asks when are we going to see the fireworks! Ha! Waiting til next year doesn't compute in a 3 year old brain...

Jas enjoying his SnoCone...Fan TargetWaitin'... Foolin' Around....Seriously Foolin' Around- Luke tried to drive off in the car!Always his P.I.C., Morgan thought this was hilarious....

Almost There

The house is almost done.
The workers are gone.
The walls have been painted. Twice in some cases.
Pictures have been hung.
Royce is finishing up little things here and there.
There are more flat boxes in the garage then full ones in the house.
Olivia's room is the last one left to be unpacked.
The kitchen table is covered with the most random things that don't have a home yet.
We still do not have a fridge. Or stove. Or a dishwasher.

But we have new floors, countertops, faucets, lights, moldings, doors...
We have a beautiful "new" home that we walk from room to room in and are reminded of the joy we felt when we first got it: When there were just 4 of us and Bubs was younger than Morgan is now. We are reminded of the birthday parties and holidays we celebrated here. We smile at our first attempts at landscaping and the Smurf blue paint debaucle. We look out the drive-way and remember walking Olivia up to school on her first day of Kindergarten. We all grew up alot in this house in the short time that we were here at first.

And now we are back. A bigger family, with more love for each other and for what this house means to us. It is our center. Our "home plate". Our refuge. I have always wanted a home that when I walk in I feel like it is where I truely want to be. Where every room I walk in just feels right. And I wish that for my family and friends who come in as well. That they feel welcome and comfortable, that they want to stay awhile and visit. And its almost there.

Is it possible that the picture of my kids are even cuter when hung on these walls? Do my old curtains really look better over these windows? Does my coffee pot make better tasting coffee when sitting on these counters? Does sitting in the furniture on this patio night make the summer air smell even better? I think so, because in thier own way, they are adding the finishing touches to our Home, Sweet (Old/ New) Home. And we are almost there.

Mr. McGee

I have been brought up and uphold to the ideal that treating people with respect is just something you do. It doesn't have to be earned, its just a given. Whether its the girl taking my order at Starbucks ("please" and "thanks you"s - ALWAYS!), or the old man who sits at the stop light a little too long (I'm never in too big a hurry to honk)- I am kind, have patience and give people the benefit of the doubt because sometimes you just don't know the whole story, and when you do, you sometimes end up having a little more kindness and a little more patience.

But as quickly as I give that common respect, it can be lost.

And as of late, I have lost a lot of respect for a lot of people. I can't understand their actions, because I don't treat people the way I have been treated my them. I sit and scratch my head, and wonder how in the world can they go through life acting the way they do and not think twice about it? Being rude. Being shady. Acting as though so many things are owed to them.

I have tried to turn the other cheek. Tried to understand where they might be coming from that would justify their actions. But all that that makes me do is get more and more angry. It just reminds me of why I am mad in the first place. It brings back the sting of what has been said. And worst of all, it makes me sit here and feel like an idiot.
How did I let this happen?
Why was I so trusting and easy-going, when I otherwise would have been very cautious?
Why, still after everything that has happened, have I not taken the action that I would have if it had been anyone else?
Why do I CARE SO MUCH what they think?????

Its too late at this point to do much more. And I hate that for that reason too, all I do is sit and be hurt and angry. I can't shake it. Because, it seems like any time I am this upset over a situation its because its been someone close to me that has caused the hurt. In this case, it was family (and I use that term in the loosest sense of the word). So, now, if I choose to distance myself from them- I am the crazy one. I am the one being overly sensitive. I am the one who should buck up and get over it, so I don't upset the balance of things.

I wish I could say I have given up on caring what anyone else thinks of me. That it doesn't matter- but this time it hit a little too close to home, literally. I couldn't sleep last night. Its the stress of moving, getting everything ready, shuffling between two cities with 3 children in tow. I am just worn out and worn down, so of course everything seems 15 million times worse than I know they really are. I sat there telling myself, "Get over it. Let it go. Forgive them. Pray for them because they obviously need help in the moral compass department."

Nothing. I woke up in such a foul mood.

And then, the funny thing is, as I checked my Facebook this morning, an old friend from high school had written this quote as her status:
"Satan's formula for self-worth being the sum of your performance plus the opinion of others." Robert S. McGee

It was just the message I needed. That was the bottom line of all of this. I felt insulted by the opinion of someone whose opinion really doesn't matter. AT ALL. I have since written that on a Post-It and it is stuck to my computer. I've read it about a million times and have felt a weight lifted off of me. I've been able to clear my mind. Focus on the blessings we have been given over the past few weeks that we wouldn't have had if these things hadn't happened: A beautiful new home, the out-pouring of support and love of our friends and family to help us make it happen. The joy of coming back to a place that is special to us in so many ways, and knowing that so many new memories will be formed there. That's what matters. What truly matters.

(Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig breath out.)
(Shoulder shake-it-off)
Thanks, Mr. McGee. I owe ya one.

Happy Father's Day

To our daddy who...

Gets up at 4:30am to go to work.

Puts up with Luke's feet in his face. Every morning.

Can make throwing a ball on top of the roof and watching it roll down the funnest game. EVER.

Will sing and dance to "Bop To The Top" for a few laughs.

Wore a suit and tie to Miss O's Open House at school because she asked him to.

Lets this tired Mommy sleep in once a week (and makes coffee for when she wakes up.)

Will sit through iCarly, Hannah Montana and Suite Life without complaining.

Smiles when he walks through the door at the end of a long day.

Tells our kids he loves them and hugs them a million times a day.

Plays the same Guitar Hero song over and over because its the kids' favorite.

Sets a great example for our kids. Everday.

I am blessed beyond words to have the father of my children be so patient, selfless and loving. I know that they feel it, even if they don't know it- and that's all that matters.