Projection

This week Graham and I have been taking part in some major projection...the act of doing projects, that is. We have resolved never to paint another room again. I don't think we are particularly talented at it; as it took us four (yes, four) coats to get the wall to stop looking streaky. Our dining room is now exactly how we want it; which feels so good. It went from red-horrible-floral-wallpaper-border to red-on-our-terms. Here are some pictures of the process.

Before...ugly wallpaper

I was in charge of peeling off all of the old border

and Graham was in charge of sanding

The end! TA-DA!

Then we got these candle holders at Target to put on the blank wall...we like the candles the best...does anyone want to stick up for the flowers?

Our Newest Addition

Life is extremely busy right now and that gives way to a lot of good posting material...so I will be writing a lot this week.

One of my favorite things about Connecticut thus far is the prevalence of locally grown food. It doesn't seem quite fair that we are able to help the environment just by eating delicious, fresh food! Graham and I went to the Coventry Farmer's Market after church this morning and it was fantastic.

We came home with this eggplant, which is comparable in size

to my niece, Belle. We are having eggplant Parmesan tonight and eggplant/tomato sandwiches on Tuesday....four meals and that honker only cost us $2.

The farmer's market is so close to us, and it is one of the largest in New England. They have fresh breads (yum yum yum yum yum), every fruit and veggie you can imagine, meats, seafood, milk, soap, condiments (we picked up some sweet and spicy mustard, jalepeno mustard, and dill pickles), doggie treats, and much more.

But really...have you ever seen an eggplant this big?

Coming Apart at the Seams

Before our big move my Grandma surprised me with one of the most thoughtful gifts. A sewing machine. I have been trying to teach myself how to use it without patterns...and on smaller things this has been fine...but today I had to un-seam my very first project. It was sad; heartbreaking really. I would have just thrown it away (in my frustration) but I wanted to keep the fabric and try something different.

Here is what is left of your birthday present, La :) But don't worry. Something much cuter will be coming your way. This just goes to show that, in life, sometimes we would all do well to follow a pattern. As one of my professors puts it "Don't re-invent the wheel." Until I get a little bit more experience under my belt I think I am going to be a little less proud about taking help from patterns.

Our New Home

Well...we are in Connecticut and, after a little over one week of moving, cleaning, arranging, painting, and more cleaning, we are about settled in. I am so thankful to everyone who has helped us with this move...my mom and little brother came out to help with the hard work of moving the furniture from Atlanta to Connecticut, Graham's parents helped us move and have been here for about a week helping us with the finishing touches, and Grandma is making us all sorts of goodies!

Here are some after pictures...there is still a good bit of painting to be done, though. More pictures to come later.

Our kitchen...this is one of my favorite parts of the house...I actually have extra cabinet and counter space.

The kitchen again

The TV room
The TV room again, the frames with the plates in them were my favorite projects

Foyer...this piece of furniture used to be brown

Upstairs hall after...we need to get some of Graham's photos framed for the wall

The neighborhood is so nice and the people are extremely friendly. Last week we went out to pick blackberries and then made cobbler...it's like living in Mayberry. Needless to say it is a lot different than California. We are really excited and feel very blessed.

It has been a busy week elsewhere in our family, too...as Graham and I have two new baby cousins. Jake and Mallory were born yesterday - Congrats to J. and Allison!! We are so excited for y'all and will be praying for your new family...whoa, long post...sorry...but it has been a while and MUCH has happened.

Changes

I am sitting here getting ready to move to Connecticut in 5 days, I am reading blogs from various members of my family, and I am mulling over things in my head.

Suddenly, it hits me. There must be a name for this year: the year when FOUR (yes, four) new babies will be born into our ever-growing family, David will have bid farewell to a fruitful 30-year career with AT&T just as Ryan says hello to a new career in teaching (yay!), we will have moved across the country from West to East, and Lauren and Josh will have moved across the country from East to West.

"The year of the change", I think, is an appropriate title for 2008. I am so blessed and thankful that all of these changes have been welcome ones. God is good and faithful.

There's Snow Place Like Home

Over the past few days I have been talking to a lot about our impending move and I am getting very, very excited for our relocation to Connecticut. I haven't lived in a place where it snows since I was in the 4th grade. Now, I am sure that opinion will alter slightly after I strain my back shoveling my driveway for the first time...but, for now, I am really looking forward to it.

This December my little family will have our first white Christmas. Last year I wore flannels for the sake of wearing flannels...but it was probably about 70 degrees outside...now don't get me wrong, I certainly miss California, but that is one thing that I will not miss. This winter I will be wearing flannels because I need to. Chances are I will not use the phrase "unseasonably warm" even once!

We have been so blessed to have the opportunity to live in so many different, exciting places. Life should be an adventure, after all.

Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July to everyone, and Happy Birthday to the United States of America. You are 232 years young today. I am so proud and blessed to be able to live in a country like this one. I cannot imagine my life somewhere else; without so many of the freedoms that I take for granted everyday. My hope is that, if only for this day, I remember how lucky I am to be an American.

It is amazing to think about how different this country might be on July 4th, 2009.

I hope it is safe and fun for all of you.

(Thanks to Graham, an amazingly talented photographer, for the beautiful pictures.)