Noni and Papa's visit...

 Noni and Papa were here all week for a visit. They stayed at Jeka's bungalow and went back and forth between our houses every day. It was so nice to have them here and today it was very hard to say, "Goodbye."

 "Muncle" Matt came over this weekend for some Rib Crib and fam time.  We all sat around and discussed each others' Myers-Briggs personality test results after chowing on some BBQ and fried okra...only a family of counselors and analyzers would find this enjoyable.

Noni got lots of bonding and snuggle time with the littles this trip.  The kids miss having them just down the road. It is gonna be an adjustment, that is for sure! At least now when we get together it will be quality time since we are all under the same roof with our schedules pretty much cleared. We didn't get any pics of Papa this time. : (  He was busy putting shelves together for us and Jeka and pretty much being Jeka's handy man for the week over at the bungalow. He also got me and James a scary movie about a ventriloquist dummy and then snuck into our room and made it look like someone was hiding in our bed.  He loves to scare me and it works!

Sweet Tea and New Friends

When Noni called to say she was coming to visit, she asked Shelby if she'd like to have a tea party with some of her new friends. Of course Shelby said, "YES!" So, Noni brought her special tea cups, saucers, pots and Trader Joe's crumpets from Arizona. Tea Parties have become a tradition with Noni and I am so glad they will always have these memories to cherish.

After she arrived, she and Shelby bought decorations and made yummy treats. They also bought flowers, pots, soil, paint pens and ribbons for a craft to do with her friends. Each girl decorated a pot and took home a flower of her own.  Lucy had a little friend and Preslie even got to join for the first time. I was happy that their Mom stayed so I could get to know her better.  Our girls (and Jesse) became fast friends the first night when the church rolled out to help us unload the truck. Their friendship has really helped to make this transition smooth!

Noni also brought us some bookshelves from IKEA. They have made a huge difference with our storage situation. I love them! James painted a chalk board in the dining room as well. We had that huge frame that we bought at a church rummage sale in Anthem and it was perfect to frame the chalkboard. The house is coming together in just our style!

who cares...

Who cares about our opinions, irritations, creature comforts, hairstyles, messy houses, longings for more stuff, hurt feelings or other's opinions about us when something like THIS is happening in our world and needs to happen SO MUCH MORE?! 

Wow...I am so almost speechless with emotions overflowing for our dear friends. So inspired...Praise God!

back to recycling on our own...

Before we moved to Phoenix, Olathe didn't have giant recycle bins for every home and we'd drive our cardboard and plastic to the recycling center once a week. {Remember this?}

When we moved to Phoenix, I was super stoked because we had a recycling container the same size as our regular trash bin and we didn't even have to sort it. {Remember this?} Since recycling was just a given we kind of took for granted what an awesome service it was.

Here in Enid, they don't have a recycling pick-up service, so we have to drive it to the recycling center again. (At least they have a recycling center. My mom said that in Grove they didn't even have one of those.) Having to make a little more effort by collecting and driving it over there ourselves makes me feel very green. {here's me patting myself on the back} But seriously, it is our responsibility obligation  until the city makes it a priority to do it for us.  It also reinforces what I am teaching the kids about being a responsible citizen and taking care of the environment when they get to be a part of the process. And, hopefully, It adds awareness that recycling should be a given in every city, no matter the size. 

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;  for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Psalm 24:1-2  I would imagine that since the earth belongs to the Lord, He probably wants his children to take good care of it!

Today, the Littles both have pink eye.  Shelby had it first and passed it on to them.  I am bummed out that The Littles and I won't be able to go to church for dinner and to hear about missions.  Our church is so awesome!  The kids would go there every single day if we could find a reason!  Shelby is playing volleyball there and we have Wednesday night bible study and dinner together. I can't wait to start serving. I feel like I have been up to my neck in boxes and tasks since we got here and I am ready for a routine and to get to know the families at church. I have already made a few friends and I am excited about spending more time with them...hopefully soon!

Tomorrow, we are going to Stillwater for the Littles' first Dr. appt. with my bff from highschool. Dr. Colbi Smithton is going to be our pediatrician and I couldn't be happier. It is worth the 50 minute drive to go see a doctor that you know loves your kids!

mirror mirror on the wall & other thrifty finds...

Shelby and I found this AWE-mazing clock at the Hope Outreach thrift store for $2.99. {That place is a GOLD MINE for funky vintage stuff!} We took it home and put new batteries in it, but it is toast, so Shelby decided to make it into a mirror.  I let her pick the color and after spraying it with primer, she sprayed it with purple spray paint. (Our grass is purple around where she sprayed it and Daddy is afraid we might have killed it...oops) Then, we got a mirror that fit perfectly at Hobby Lobby.  She had so much fun with this project. She is hanging it in one of the closet nooks upstairs by her accessories. Fancy!

When Jenn was here a few weeks ago we found this BEAUTY at the same thrift store for $4.  I didn't even need to paint it because I love the color! It is hanging in our living room. Fanciful!

 

Hmmm...Maybe there is a trend here??  Jenn and I also scored this splendid specimen at, yep, you guessed it, Hope Outreach Thrift store for $4.  It was gold and Jenn painted it white for me. Fancy Schmancy!

On our first day in Enid, I scored this handsome little cabinet for $20 at Hope. We keep all of our board games in it in the dining room. I haven't decided what to paint it or if I will. Fancy-licious 

All of this fancy talk is for Jesse's benefit.  One day when I was hanging one of the mirrors, he said, "Why are you trying to make our house look like Fancy Nancy's room?"  I definitely took that as a compliment.  I am a huge Fancy Nancy fan and so are my girls.

Jenn painted this wall next to the fridge in our kitchen with chalkboard paint. I think it looks amazing and it creates depth making the kitchen look a smidge bigger.  The kids love it too! 

it's all good in the hood...

The kids LOVE our new 'hood'. I read something Shelby was writing to Noni that said, "I am Loving our new house." They are crazy about this house and love all of the little nooks and crannies, crawl through closets and sharing a room. Yes, all 4 are sharing a room and they love it. They think all of the houses around us are super cool...even the one with the claw foot bath tub on the front porch and the pink and teal house across the street. Notice the picture of them in the tree with the pink house in the background. I wasn't kidding. They are in love with the trees they can climb and the school yard across the other street from our house where they can run around and play tag, soccer or basketball. They are in heaven with their aunt living next door, being able to help her walk her dog for a quarter a day, swing on her porch swing, or just hang out and watch her cable TV.

This is all an awesome adventure for them. For that I am truly thankful!  It makes me love this neighborhood when I can see it through their eyes.  So pure, so innocent, so hopeful, so content.

It's all good...

 

grace for this old house...

When we first moved in to this 100+ year old home a few weeks ago I have to admit I was a little shell shocked.  My eyes have been used to a brand new home for the past year and while I was anxiously anticipating the fun I would have making this place funky and giving it our personality, I was taken aback by all of the little things that you just don't see in pictures or even in a walk-thru of the house...things that I never would have thought would bother me, but kinda do...like the cracks in the ceiling and walls, the windows that won't open or won't close if you get them open, the screens that are rusted, the lack of closet space, uneven floors and the bathroom sink that sits on your lap while you use the toilet...those minor details. So, the first week I spent every moment cleaning, scrubbing, scouring, unpacking, decorating and shopping for things that would make this place shiny, clean and more livable.

The thing is, no matter how much I cleaned, fixed, polished, decorated or bought to spruce the place up, it was still a 100+ year old house with cracks and quirks, issues and character all its own.

It hit me one day as I was cleaning {funky-the gross kind} stuff out of the cracks in the wood floor that this house kind of reminds me of my very own heart...

Boy, have I tried in the past to clean, fix, polish, decorate, or buy things to spruce up my unclean and broken heart. I have even made it look pretty shiny and convinced myself at times that because of my efforts my heart was almost as good as new. But, the truth is, I didn't do a thing to make my crusty old heart new, nor could I if I wanted to.

Yet, God in his grace has given me a new heart and he is forming me {it} to look more like His Son every day through the sanctifying power of His Spirit guiding my steps and allowing my circumstances to draw me closer to Him. When He looks at me He sees my new heart. My cracks and rust, issues and quirks don't bother Him. They are merely areas that He sees need a little extra care, attention and grace. I am so grateful for that!

Now, when I see a crack in the ceiling, sit on the toilet with the sink in my lap, or can't open a window, I am going to be reminded of the grace God has given {and continues to give} me and try to give a little more grace to this old house.

Here is a little glimpse of the sprucing we have been doing.  James' mom bought us these shades from World Market for the kitchen and laundry room.  They have made a world of difference in the mood of the rooms.

We love them and how well they go with our nick nacks above the sink.

 Before

After

more mice pics...

Yesterday, we took the kids to Leonardo's Discover Warehouse here in Enid. It is a pretty cool place kind of science meets art meets imaginative play. It also has a huge community built castle play land the kids enjoyed in the afternoon. They loved it!  I went ahead and bought our family a year pass. Whoever comes to visit us from now on can pretty much just plan on a trip to Leonardos!

Last night we hired my sister to bbsit and we went out to dinner at a local Italian restaurant and Irish pub. I wanted to go country dancing, but James vetoed.  At least we talked Jeremy and Helen into dance posing for a few pics. Good times...

This morning was our last morning together and to celebrate St Patrick's Day, we had our usual green eggs and ham.  Well, green eggs and bacon bits to be honest, and cinnamon toast with green sprinkles.  Notice everyone is wearing their green garb and Lucy has her green blanket. There is Coda grubbing under the table as usual.

So, yeah, the Mice are on their way back to KC.  We had a lot of fun and wore ourselves out. We didn't get to the bathroom, but we did laugh a bunch and that was energizing! I have already started making a list of fun things to do when they come back. 

unpacking and visiting...

We moved in 2 weeks ago tonight and it has been a flurry of activity around here ever since!  The first weekend, Jenn and her kids came into town to help us unpack and decorate. She helped me paint a chalkboard wall in the kitchen and we found lots of sweet deals at the local thrift store and Ross.  The kids picked up right where they left off and enjoyed some serious play time. It was a short visit, but we made some real progress in the house and some memories to boot!

Last Friday, the Mice arrived for their spring break and they will be here till Thursday.  Helen and I have some big plans for the upstairs bathroom, but we need some energy if we are going to get it done this week.  We have mostly just been enjoying each other's company and laughing a lot.  The kids are having so much fun together but not getting much sleep. Naps for all may be in order tomorrow after a trip to the church to play and shake their sillies out.

Matt and Kristen came for a visit on Sunday. It is so nice to be back in the same state. They are only an hour and 45 minutes away now! Kristen has promised to drag Matt to see us often, or even come alone to visit me and Jeka if he is too busy "studying." They are such a cute couple The kids and I are so excited to get to know Kristen better, so I am sure we will be making lots of trips to OKC in the near future.

We are putting the littles to work too since we moved in. Before our stuff arrived, we were all cleaning the place like crazy. The littles wanted to help, so we gave them turns with the swiffer.

Bone tired...

(random preslie pics that have nothing to do with the following post.  she was just so darn excited to be drinking from a cup without a lid I had to take some pics. she's also fascinated -as are all the kids- with our new catsup and mustard dispensers.)

I know some of my friends and family are wondering if we ever made it to Enid, because I haven't posted in so long, so I want to put your mind at ease. We are alive and we made it to our new home! We are just so crazy busy I haven't had time to post. I'm not sure where the phrase "bone tired" comes from, but that's what I am.  I seriously feel like I am drugged or have mono.  I really like our house(s) {aside from some old house and neighborhood issues I am trying to get used to}and I love Enid and our church...that's all good, I just literally haven't sat down for a month. Between packing, cleaning, driving, moving, unpacking, cleaning, rearranging, and shopping for appliances we haven't had time for any extras.

I don't mean to complain, I really don't. I love it here, I am just too tired to enjoy it so far. I am going to try rest for the next few days and hopefully I will have pics and stories to share soon. 

This is the first home since we were newlyweds that we have felt like we could really decorate with our personalities. We are just not "new home people." Our stuff simply looks out of place in a new home, but it fits in perfectly here.  Can't wait to take pictures and share.