I know... it's epic. And Thomas looks amazing.
In short, life on Walton is GREAT! We love our neighborhood and our house. We still haven't gotten to know too many of our neighbors (language barrier) but the early-morning construction has ended and things continue to feel quiet, safe, and looked-after.
The Little Blue House must be feeling special with all the attention we've been giving her: termite tent, re-inforced the rafters, minor roof work, electrical facelift, A/C re-balance, a small plumbing "cleanse," tree trimming, and 8 more inches of fluffy pink insulation. God has been so kind in easing us into homeownership financially. Some of these costs were part of the buying agreement and for the others, He either provided them for free (or nearly-free) from Zack The Seller or very affordably from a friend from church that needs the money. Next up: DIRT! For under the house. And then on to the foundation maintenance.
Here are some photos of things I like to remember from our first weeks on Walton.
Rob couldn't be there on moving day. I texted him "Welcome Home" with this photo to let him know the truck made it to the new house:
We've enjoyed having Lottie and the Fords/Warmaths for grilled dinners, along with some of our single guy friends. One pro-house thing I hadn't thought about is that the house gives us more privacy than the apartment did. Personally, I liked how no matter which room we were in, Rob and I could always see each other in our first apartment. :) But on more than one occassion already, I like seeing how R can sit on the porch with guys from his Bible Study have personal conversations.
Speaking of the porch, here's one of my favorite porch guests, all way from Katy, Texas! :)
I believe this was the Hays first visit post-move-in, and we were so grateful for the dinner they brought over.
They have been back several times, mostly for additional shelf-lining projects and this...
...which there will be much more of eventually. Our walls are SOOO STRONG - these guys were having quite the workout trying to get a nail in there.
And speaking of hard work, here's another favorite photo:
A true big brother, helping out. All the helping hands that day will be glad to hear that our washer and dryer are both working beautifully! It really is a luxury. And I'm so thankful we bought a washer/dryer set that R likes. I am sure he has initiated 10 times more loads than I have. It is definitely worth buying appliances your husband enjoys using. :)
Speaking of sweet husbands, here he is with his perfectly-sized, bargain-bought lawnmower!
I will never EVER forget the time when we got some sad news from a friend and Rob said "I just need to go mow and pray." I still think about it, and what a sweet reminder it was that even the most mundane tasks that homeowners/homemakers must regularly endure are made sweet with prayer.
Rob also embraced my "purging" that came with the move into our new place. Not only did he get rid of about 25 ties (did any of those work for you, Dad?) ;) but he also arranged the ones he kept by season! I was actually embarrassed by how happy this made me...and still does. :)
Our first Saturday at home was a sweet day. I thought I'd miss our Antidote walk but we quickly found a replacement - Shipley's! (I know, you're shocked) ;)
That is one happy homeowner.
We've enjoyed some evening walks in our neighborhood - they give us the chance to look at other houses like ours and get ideas on how to care for and improve it, and to meet other neighbors we can talk to. As a sidenote, we're considering quiting our YMCA membership next month and using that money to buy a dog. We're hoping to replace the (infrequent) trips to the gym with daily morning/evening walks, which will work better with my new work schedule anyways. We'll see how all that goes...
Also in other news - we are going to be hosting a temporary community group for new young couples to Christ the King! The church called us last week to ask if we would be interested. Of course this is EXACTLY the kind of thing we want to use this house for! What beautiful timing, and how sweet of the Lord to give us that desire, give us a house, and then give us a group of 6-8 couples looking to be plugged into the body. CTK is experimenting with connecting new people to other new people instead of asking them to "break into" a group that's been together for a very long time. Pray that we will remain excited about USING our house and not SHOWING our house. But also pray that God will allow us to furnish our home quickly and affordably this month. We may have found a dining room table:
(hahaha :) Just kidding.) The dining table we want is backordered until November so we may not have it this year! We're looking for alternatives in the meantime. But we did order a new sectional (with a pull-out sofa!) which will arrive in about 6 weeks along with our first 4 dining chairs and a rug for the living room.
I wrote most of this post before I started my new job but since I finished my first full day of work today I will go ahead and give you some of my initial reactions:
-the staff is smaller than I expected. Just a school director (my boss), the registrar and 40 teachers. We also have some wonderful part-time front desk staff and full-time teacher support staff.
-I LOVE my front-desk staff!
-I have no doubt that I will pick up a LOT of Spanish very quickly!
-Everyone is running around like chickens with their heads cut off this week. In order for anyone to talk with my boss, you must walk and talk since he's doing 5 other things at the same time. And while you're talking three teachers will also come and ask their questions and he will mention four things he's forgotten to do and ask everyone he passes to do something different as well. Craaaazy!
-There is so much room for improvement in organization and operations. It is both energizing and totally frustrating.
-I am amazed by the attention and help these students receive. I sat in one 8th grade teacher meeting where the 7th grade teachers from last year literally went name by name, telling each kid's strong and weak subjects and describing their personality, home situation, friends, who they should/shouldn't sit next to, how to motivate them, etc... These kids are truly LOVED, whether they realize it or not, and it blows me away.
-Walt will be happy to hear that soccer is one of the two sports offered at my school!
-All and all, I LOVE the atmosphere and the people I've gotten to work with so far. I can't wait to see my school full of kids tomorrow morning!!
That's all the updates from Walton for now. Rob said he might also write a few words soon... And I hope he will!! :)
