Well, it has been quite a week! We have completed the painting of EVERY room in the new house. Phew. The carpets have been laid and dear hubby, his dad, and our oldest son are working on laying the laminate flooring...which I LOVE!!!
An interesting thing happened as the paint went up on the wall. I normally prefer darker colors and a rustic look. Our former house was a 200 year old farm house and it was the perfect backdrop for my decorating preferences. I have not changed decorating preferences, but wow, these new colors are much brighter than anything I had before. And I love them! I still think all of my decor will go fine in the new house, but I surprised even myself as I saw those colors go up on the wall. It is a very colorful house!
I am pondering the meaning of this. Perhaps it is just because this house is newer and these colors fit it better, but the way this whole thing "snuck up on me", and surprised me, I wonder if there was an interior change happening that I wasn't aware of. I am not sure, and I am "pondering it in my heart."
We have had the help of wonderful family and friends and we really want to find a way to thank them all. We are looking at a potential moving date the weekend of January 23.
Here is a peek at the progress of the painting.
The kids are excited about their rooms, and each of them is quite interesting! The girls' room is pink (little girl's choice, college girl graciously complied) Little girl also wants polka dots in her room...an improvement over the "rainbow and a unicorn with a rider, and a pony" that she wanted at first! Ethan's room is soccer themed, complete with "grass" that mom painted. We have soccer decals going up on the walls also. Isaac painted white walls, a blue accent wall and blue stripes on one wall. He did a great job! Sammy was so patient, but he needed to be because his room was the hardest. He wanted a bunch of horizontal stripes to match his new comforter. Big brother Isaac and College girl's boyfriend, Anthony, were gracious and oh, so patient, to agree to measure, tape off, and paint those stripes. They look great!
The red living room was quite a challenge. It was not my first plan for that room, but kind of evolved. We had to prime the room first, for the red to cover. Then we had an...umm...issue with the ceiling. It is a "popcorn" ceiling and needed repair in a couple of places. Well, the repaired spots were white and the rest of the ceiling was cream-colored. We did not want to have to paint the entire ceiling, because those popcorn ceilings are tough to paint, and because we had been painting for days and were getting lazy. We actually found a paint that was an almost perfect match, but my dear, perfectionist husband wasn't happy with the "touch-up" job that my wonderful sister-in-law and I did. My sister-in-law is wonderful in many ways, but she volunteered to help paint and ended up with the most difficult room in the house and still, she stuck by me (and was on my side:), so that makes her even more wonderful. After a little grumbling on his part, and a lot more (louder) grumbling on mine, I finally painted the rassafrassin ceiling.
Next, we put a bit of the red paint on the wall just to test it. It was raspberry pink. NOT what I was looking for. So, I put a second coat on....still pink. After a trip back to the paint store to add more pigment, and a THIRD coat of red, the walls look fabulous. Such a deep, rich red...it is very beautiful...finally.
The rest of the laminate flooring needs to be laid, the new countertop installed, some plumbing finished, a little bit of trim and the new stairs stained and polyurethaned, and the tiles in the mudroom put down, and we are ready to move in.
So close, but yet so...tired.
Dining room
We purchased this painting of Our Lady "Queen of the Missions" at a flea market when we were first married. It is quite large and I just love it. It looks great in our dining room against this black wallpaper...yup, black. 
I hesitated a bit about putting black wallpaper up, but I am so glad I did. It looks fantastic and sets off the "winter squash" of the kitchen perfectly. I love it!
Wool felt rug I couldn't wait to hang up!
You are eleven years old today, and becoming a young man before our eyes. We have watched you mature in many ways this year-- intelligence, sense of humor, focus, drive, intensity. You received the 100% award for your soccer team this year, and that is how you operate. It is our wish and prayer for you that you approach your life with 100% of yourself, 100% commitment, 100% integrity, 100% perseverance and 100% trust in God, that His plan for your life be fulfilled. We love you very much. Happy, happy 11th birthday, Ethan.
Here you are doing what you love best!
Happy Sweet 16 to my oldest niece and goddaughter. Unfortunately, this picture is from last year. Since then, she has shed her braces and recently, gotten a perm! She looks marvelous as she enters these later teen years. Much more importantly, though, is the interior growth of this lovely young woman. She is pursuing a personal relationship with Jesus and living out her Catholic faith. God bless you A, today and always.
