12 New things - Month 2

My new thing for this month wasn't really something new. I have actually been making meatballs for a long time ... but my new thing for this month was to get really good at it.
I can't say that I have become an expert at it ... but I do think that I have gotten better at it. One thing that we rarely have here at our house is potato chips. It's not something we really include in our diets. However, sometimes when my mom comes to visit, she will bring a bag into the house. So, I took the last of the potato chips, crushed them up, and added them to the meatballs ... and ... (perfectly willing to admit that it may have just been my imagination) I think crushed up potato chips make the meatballs better.
However, I do make meatballs once a week - or almost once a week. I am pretty certain they were not better enough to buy potato chips on a regular basis. (my children might beg to differ)

My family loves meatballs. So, I continue to make them. Maybe one day, I will think they are as awesome as they think they are!

Playing in the sand

Fall Fun

Making a corn angel!

Playing in the corn!

Sliding backwards

Working hard at the duck races

A little too much sun? (love this shot!)

What fun this little girl had!!

Fun on the hayride!

Picture with their pumpkins

Ridin' on the train

A picture ... just to prove I was there!

Living Room - somewhat Before and After

This is only a before and after furniture shot. We don't have anything up on the walls yet and we don't have curtains yet. We are also planning to add another accent chair and a couple of end tables at some point.

Kitchen - Before and After

Kitchen view with no appliances

This is a view with the refrigerator - and right next to it - is my bread making station. I decided not to keep my grain mill out at this house. It is housed in the cabinets underneath the counter.

Here is a view with my range and dishwasher installed. We were able to have a gas line installed, so that we could have a gas range instead of electric. I am thrilled about the gas range!!

I am really enjoying the island. It has room for 2 or 3 stools on one side of the island. We haven't gotten the stools yet, but do plan on it. I'll post a picture of that once we have the stools.

We are Home!

We have spent the last month preparing to move to our new house. I started early, so that I could be as organized as possible and get every last thing in a box. I spent an hour to two hours on it each afternoon. I am so glad that I did that! When the day came for our move, we were thankful to have a great deal of help and we were able to move all of our stuff here to the new house in only 3 hours. We were so grateful to have all that help!! There were several things that I noticed about this move that made it better.
1. I was determined to purge things that I had not even looked at since we moved to NC. No more hanging on to things.
2. I was determined to put everything in a box.
3. This was the 5th move we've made since 2003, and the first time that I haven't had a nursing infant to deal with during the move. That made a huge difference and I was so much more able to get us moved in an organized manner!
4. This is definitely the first move we've made that has resulted in a permanent place. Wow. JUST WOW! It's a great feeling and we are so thankful to be in a place that we have no intention of leaving ... (unless God calls us elsewhere)
It's very quiet out here in the country. It's dark and quiet! We have not gotten blinds up on our windows yet, and Martin has enjoyed falling asleep each night while gazing out his window at all of the stars. It's amazing how bright the night sky is when you are out in the middle of nowhere!
The children have adjusted beautifully to the new house. I have all of the boys in what we call the boy room, and Rosalie has a room to herself. I also have a bed set up in our school room, so my mom has a room all to herself when she comes to visit!
We are slowly replacing all of our furniture. As I (slowly) get each room settled, I will post a before and after picture. Our new living room furniture comes today. So, after almost a week of living in our new house, we'll finally have a place to sit down!
We are really starting over as far as decorating our house. I am even reframing all of our pictures. So, it's going to take a long time to get all of that done. I do want to say a special thanks to all of my friends and readers who have expressed such joy with me in this home-buying journey! I do appreciate all of your prayers and hugs!
I also want to say a special thanks to Amy for taking my children and watching them for me, so that I could pack and get stuff done. My children love you and I do too!
I can't believe we are finally home!

Break out the fall clothes ...

... and they might be hand me downs ... but they are like new to us!!
Big thanks to my sister for all the sweet clothes she handed down to us for Rosalie!