Feels more like home...

Hi,

I don't have much to report...we're kind of in the calm between the "storms" of our summer visitors. We had so much fun with Auntie Carleen and Uncle Jeff. We got to share with them some favorite spots and explore some new ones. Our new home already has happy memories of their visit! We are very much looking forward to the Fiedlers coming to stay at the end of this week.

I've been thinking so much about Richwoods (our IL church) and their dedication service this morning in their new building. I pray it went great and parking was a HUGE problem - a good problem to have!! http://www.richwoods.org/

I'm planning to enroll Brennen in a public school this week - it's a unique charter school with a brand new building a few blocks from our house. http://www.fortcasparacademy.com/ The photo on their homepage shows their old building. After a long visit with their principal, I think this is a good choice for us...my fine print always has to read, "time will tell!"

Kindrid came and woke me in the middle of the night a week or so ago to tell me she couldn't sleep "with the crickets on" and wondering if I could turn them off. :O) I closed her window a bit and she immediately went back to sleep.

We visited an Evangelical Free church for the third time today. I think another visit or two will find us seeking info on membership. It's a growing church with a contemporary service. We feel pretty at home there, and folks have been really friendly.

Todd surprised me on Friday with A NEW LAPTOP!! He knows how much I've missed "mine" from work, and I'm sure he is tired of me borrowing his! I'm so excited as it's little and just the kind I like.

Have I ever shared that my in-laws are hoping to move to Casper when their house sells? It's for sale in Brainerd, MN if anyone knows anyone looking! :O) We'd love to have them here - Kindrid sweetly prays for it to sell often. Here's the link: http://www.positiverealty.com/listings/detail.php?lid=24425800&limit=0&offset=0&&&posc=7&post=16&cfq=searchtype%3D1%26radarea%3D0%26startnewsearch%3D1%26searchtypesent%3D1%26property_category%3D1%26searchtype%3D1%26state%3D27%26state%3D27%26county%3D35%26city%255B%255D%3DBrainerd%26pricemin%3D155000%26pricemax%3D160000%26resident%3D1%26yb_l%3D0000%26yb_h%3D2008%26restype%3D1%26vtycount%3D2%26limit%3D10%26sort%3D1%26b.x%3D17%26b.y%3D11%26SRSearchDate%3D1217214704%26SRRecordCount%3D16%26SRPage%3D1%26SRPageCount%3D2%26SRPageLinks%3D6

Wow! Now that's a link!! I suppose there is some neat way to shorten it and give it a cute name but copying/pasting is the limit of my technical abilities. :O) Anyhow, buy it and let Grandma Mary and Pa Ben come live near us!! :O)

Brennen is currently reading his ninth Hardy Boys book of the summer - I think those and the Indiana Jones Legos Playstation game will define the summer of his 7th year when he looks back on this time of his life! He's so excited to have his friend, Andrew, come visit!!

So, that's news from here. Hope all is well with you all! Thanks for taking the time to read!!
Christy

Ayres Natural Bridge...

Hello!

Todd took off for a meeting in Albuquerque today and Carleen, Jeff, the kids and I headed east about 40 miles to check out the Ayres Natural Bridge park. Cool place!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayres_Natural_Bridge

The kids had fun wading in the very cold water - the river was full due to overnight storms last night. Some pix:

Hope all is well!

Christy

Family, Fun and Flight...

Hi!

We met with Carleen and Jeff in Buffalo on Saturday afternoon and headed up through Sheridan to the Big Horns. Almost to the top, we ran into this guy of questionable sanity! Todd was enthralled and we stayed at least an hour to watch the gentleman set up and take off. Crazy! :O)

We had a great time seeing moose, driving around, picnicking, visiting etc. It was fun to show them the house when we got back to Casper last night. Here are a few more pix - have a great week!

Christy

Back in the saddle again...

Wow! Long time, no post! Thought it was about time to catch you up. Going to take it randomly like it comes at us!! Here goes...

...our last morning in the camper (two weeks ago) I awoke to a mouse attempting to dine on the remains of the angel food cake we'd served the previous evening at the dinner we did for our campground hosts. He woke me because he was having a bit of difficulty obtaining his breakfast due to its tough plastic container. Not that he wasn't trying his best. He's had his way in the empty trailer for a couple weeks but his days are now numbered due to a recent trap purchase! Glad he came BEFORE I cleaned it thoroughly after our prolonged stay.

...our stuff all arrived more or less safe and sound on the big truck a week and a half ago. Three very diligent and tireless men hauled it all in. An old friend, Tim Bailey, once commented on how one never knows how much stuff one has until one goes to move it all - this while helping us move from apartment to house in Fort Smith. It's true! It's hard for me to believe that we need all this junk but it all fits and I've gotten rid of a lot of it during this move. I still have another huge pile by the front door and in the garage to take to Salvation Army tomorrow. Crazy!!

...we went to the county fair last week which was a quite usual fair affair with the exception of two things. One, there was hay bale judging. Two, cowboy boots with shorts were OK attire. :O) Oh yes, and the folks directing traffic in the parking area were on horseback!

...we had a snake visit our deck Tuesday evening. No rattles on it's tail, thankfully. My guess after some brief Internet searching was that is was a bull snake (gopher snake). I don't mind snakes so much and will hold/pet them when they are handed to me, but they are most definitely not welcome on my deck! Hope he was just passin' through!

...Todd had late meetings last night so I told the kids they could pick out their supper at Wal-Mart when we were there. They love Lunchables and only get them as special treats so that is where they headed. While walking in I asked them what kinds they were going to get and Brennen said, "I don't know, my tummy will decide for me when we get there."

...A week or so ago I was pouring my morning coffee when I heard what sounded like a small explosion and Niagara Falls all at once in the basement. The water softener blew up. Well, not exactly blew up but it was A LOT of water blowing out the top where a pipe broke. It couldn't have been going for more than half a minute before I found the shut-offs but A LOT of water can come out in a half minute! SO GLAD it was when I was home!! REALLY BUMMED that it was SO SOON after we moved in. We've also had a leak under both the kitchen sink and basement bathroom sink. The plumber fixed one and told us what to do for the others. Ah! Home ownership! :O)

...Other than those observations, my life has been very full of unpacking and organizing. I'm almost there! It's a good thing since my sis and bro-in-law are coming for a visit this weekend. I'm excited to get to show the house to someone! :O) Here are some before/after pix so you can see my progress. We ended up painting both kids' rooms. After Kindrid realized we were going to do B.'s room, she decided hers should be pink, not orange, after all! All in all, I'm so pleased with how our stuff fits in this house, and I'm still so very happy to get to live here! The children are enjoying having their own rooms again and becoming reacquainted with their toys. We're slowly settling down into a routine and are quickly feeling at home. We've eaten on the deck several times and can't believe what a mini-paradise that feels like. The nights are so cool and humidity-free here. What a blessing!

Living room before our stuff:

Living room with our stuff:

Brennen's room before:

Brennen's room after: (I still would like to find some orange/blue curtains for him.)

Kindrid's room before:

Kindrid's room after:

I would show you more rooms but they are all still in various states of being unpacked and wouldn't look all that great! :O)

I would like to send out congrats to the Kurtz fam on their new grandson! Hooray for babies!! And, a "Way To Go!" to my friend J.O. after her surgery - you are a hero!!

Love to all my fam and friends!

Christy

Raindrops on Roses...

Hi All,

It's been a busy couple of days at the new house. I've been cleaning and prepping the kids' rooms for painting. I love getting to know a house and making it our own. These are some of "my favorite things" about it:

His and her closets in the master!

This darling row of built-in flower pots along the deck! Having a laundry sink again!
This large counter for folding laundry and SCRAPPING!
This tile detail above the kitchen stove!

The kitchen planning center!
The built in wine rack and all the wonderful kitchen cabinets!
The island dining counter in the kitchen - I can already see this is going to be the center of our home! (Note Brennen's Hardy Boys book and my book - he's taking after my questionable habit of reading while eating his lunch.)
The character the dormers lend to the upstairs bedrooms!
You can see it's kind of a mess and will be even more so once our stuff gets here but it's a happy mess and there's method to our madness. :O)

Some random things:

1. Sam's Club carries ground buffalo meat here. :O)

2. Kindrid saw a fly the other day in the camper and asked if she could get the "fly swapper."

3. The poor waitress at the restaurant we went to on Tuesday night dumped a huge glass of ice-water all over me....now I know how the coaches feel when the Gatorade comes over them!

4. Kindrid was wondering something the other day about when a "bride marries the broom."

5. We are making dinner tonight for the folks that run our RV park. There are two couples that do it and they are really fun. One of the men is going to grill steaks Todd bought on the big grill they use for the Buffalo Grill for the weekends meals they do and we will have our meal there. Brennen is really impressed that "just us" get to eat in the little restaurant with "no one else there."

6. God Bless America! Happy Independence Day to you all!

Love,

Christy

There's No Place Like Home...

I should have posted yesterday but the day just got away from me. I'll post a short one now and a longer one later...

Yep! We are now home-owners again! The closing went very smoothly and we enjoyed visiting with the former owners. The kids and I spent the afternoon at the new house and, later when Todd was done working, we hauled several loads over to the house from our storage unit here.

I'll be there most of today cleaning and putting away the stuff we hauled over last night. The bulk of our belongings comes Saturday. That is when we will begin to "live" at the house.

Fun stuff!
Christy
PS Can I just say one more time how much I like this house!! :O) Thank you, God!