Abandoning Refugee Status

The closing of our house went without a hitch and we are now very happy home owners. The only little hang up was that the air conditioning unit quit working the day before we closed, but the owner had someone out to look at it right away and because of a home protection plan it is going to be repaired this week. We have been fortunate that the weather has been fairly cool - especially at night, so we've slept well. Other than that, the house is perfect and we are loving it.

We have great neighbors and all the kids are really nice and Ellie loves playing with all of them. Our yard is beautiful and Greg cut it for the first time yesterday. It looks great.

We stripped all the wallpaper off in the kitchen over the weekend. That was a less then pleasant experience, but it's done, so now the painting will seem easy. I will post pictures once everything is done. Of course, as all projects are like this, it is going to take us about 10x longer then we had hoped. Just a word to the wise, NEVER wallpaper and if you do and then want to take it off, hire someone to do it. Now we can say we've already put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into this house, so it is feeling more like ours.

The big news is that all of our stuff came out of storage yesterday and it was like Christmas - but in May. I know that things shouldn't make you happy, but there were some things I was really happy to see. I'll first start with .....

Our Bed!!!!

I don't think I have ever been so excited to see a physical item in my life. Last night was heaven. I felt like I was sleeping on a cloud. I love my bed - love it!!

Our Couch!!!!

It took us 6 months to pick this couch out when we lived in Michigan and I have loved it ever since. After sitting on the floor and in camping chairs for 5 months, it's so beautiful to have in our family room. Ellie is currently enjoying it while watching "Finding Nemo" for the 20th time this week. I have left the raising of her up to Dreamworks and Pixar this week. That will come to a screeching halt once things settle down a bit. I figure it could be worse. At least she's learning lessons about loving and obeying your parents, the importance of being a good friend and that winning doesn't always matter ("Cars") , and that you need to be honest ("Over the Hedge").

My Kitchen Aid Mixer!!!

Waiting patiently for me at the bottom of the very last kitchen box I opened was my mixer. I have truly missed it. Now I can start cooking again without having to get creative in how I have to mix things.

There are many other things I'm glad to finally have back, but these are the top 3. We are just happy to all be together as a family and to finally settle into our new home. We love all of you and hope to welcome you in for many happy times in the future.