Around the House...

We've been changing things inside and outside our house. Hoping to put our house on the market next spring, Matthew and I decided to have hardwood floors installed in the living room, dining room and hallway to add value. This involved moving everything out of those areas and into other rooms. Thank you Matthew for all your blood, sweat and tears. Well, he didn't really bleed or cry, but he did make it all fit and Sunday night it looked like we just moved in (albeit with a lot of carpet stains). The installers have been working yesterday and today and are about half done. It looks great, and the new acoustics have been really fun. Matthew and I were whispering to each other about 20 feet apart, and Philip has found that sad, soulful songs sound great with the echo.

The living room almost clear. Matthew's latest woodworking project is an entertainment center for our new television. We sold the other wall-sized one and tv because he wanted to go ahead and buy a flatscreen tv before the digital switch next year. The loss of the other entertainment center makes our living room look much bigger also.

Yeah, I don't have to cook or wash dishes all week! Just kidding. The installers moved the couch back into our empty dining room as they wouldn't be working in there until tomorrow. Oh, well.

Here's where the bulk of our stuff ended up. Yes, this is the office and the other couch, Philip's train table and our computer desk are still in there somewhere. I'm posting from Mom's house as we've been coming here in the afternoons so the kids can sleep as there is constant pounding in our house right now.

Now for the outside improvements. We've been growing vegetables for the last several years; tomatoes for the past 4 years and attempted squash, cucumbers and some herbs last year. Each year our "garden" has grown in size, and this year's finally deserves to be called a REAL garden. Matthew worked so hard in tilling the ground, mixing in potting soil, cutting the timbers and hammering them in place. We planted the vegetables (squash, okra, tomatoes, and corn) just as a downpouring rainstorm hit our area. I'm so excited as to how everything is growing. We've also added green pepper, eggplant and cucumber plants to it. Matthew works with a woman who is a true gardenered and she gave him the green pepper and eggplants. She grows her own lettuce and broccoli which we've enjoyed too. We pray that the Lord allows our garden to produce lots of produce!!


The garden a few days after we planted everything.

Look how it's grown in just a few weeks!!

Lastly, we're going camping with some friends in two weeks. We "practiced" setting up our tent in the backyard and slept in it Saturday night. I can't wait as I grew up camping every fall with my family. This is the tent we used all those times. Several years ago, my parents were getting rid of all their camping gear so Matthew and I bought it. This will be our first camping trip so it's about time. Philip can hardly wait!!