William: you know why birds don't have churches?
Mom: why not?
William: Cause they can't open doors.
Of course, how silly of me! How could birds get in?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Moving Day!
Our stuff is all on a truck and on its way to our new house. I'm thrilled and eager to be unpacked.
By the way... our house came with a pet. We named him Bonkers. He is a wild red cardinal, and though beautiful, not so smart. He flings himself into the windows at the back of our house at least 300 times a day. (hence the name Bonkers)..
Come visit us soon so you can see our house and our bird before he breaks his neck or wing on our windows. :-)
By the way... our house came with a pet. We named him Bonkers. He is a wild red cardinal, and though beautiful, not so smart. He flings himself into the windows at the back of our house at least 300 times a day. (hence the name Bonkers)..
Come visit us soon so you can see our house and our bird before he breaks his neck or wing on our windows. :-)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
It's New House Eve!
Sure, I haven't packed even the teeniest bit of our apartment, but I couldn't resist the urge to announce that tomorrow morning (way too early) is our closing day! The house we've been planning, saving and dreaming for over the last 9 months is finally going to be ours! Sure, we're forking over more money than I've ever had to fork before, and we're taking out a loan for a few times that, but we're going to be homeowners again.
No more hearing our neighbors cough in the middle of the night or listening in on the upstairs neighbor's morning pee. No more reminding the kids what it might sound like downstairs when they play hopscotch across our living room rug.
Tomorrow, we get the keys to our dream house! It's exciting and you can be sure that we'll be taking pictures of our palace tomorrow afternoon. We won't have computers up and running to post them, but we'll get there. :-)
The movers are coming on Monday and it's good-bye apartments, HELLOOOO house!
No more hearing our neighbors cough in the middle of the night or listening in on the upstairs neighbor's morning pee. No more reminding the kids what it might sound like downstairs when they play hopscotch across our living room rug.
Tomorrow, we get the keys to our dream house! It's exciting and you can be sure that we'll be taking pictures of our palace tomorrow afternoon. We won't have computers up and running to post them, but we'll get there. :-)
The movers are coming on Monday and it's good-bye apartments, HELLOOOO house!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Our new house.
Let me tell you about the house that we've been dreaming about for the past year. It's almost time for our dream to become ours and I'm getting excited for our March 25th closing date.
We had two main goals in moving from our old house. The first was more space. Space for our kids, space for homeschooling, space for my crafty side and more space for storage. The second was to find a house that we could be comfortable in at least until the kids start moving out. When it came down to time to move, the thought of leaving our neighbors seemed too much, so we talked it over with our friends and since they were feeling a little cramped in their house too, we decided to make the search together. I'm so glad we did. We found a neighborhood to accommodate two budgets and two styles and needs. The Hebert's have already moved in to their dream home and we are anxious to be neighbors again.
Our first house, on Travis Drive, was a very nice house. It certainly was a nice for our "starter home." After 6 years of living in one house, we'd developed a list of things we would change. I think everyone has one of those lists. "When we get our dream house, it'll have xy or z." So, while I feel very blessed to have had such a nice home on Travis Drive, I'm a thrilled with the niceties we will have in our new home on Pond View Lane.
The new Clark home will total about 4000 square feet, as we added some space here and there to the original floor plans. It's large and almost twice the size of our old house. It wasn't that we had a specific square footage in mind, but we did have a list of rooms and spaces we wanted to have available. It all added up quickly. It has 5 bedrooms, a nice sized dining room, a "game room" upstairs, a large storage closet, storage space in the garage, a media room, a nice open kitchen, a breakfast nook that could be extended to hold a large table, a nice master suite that isn't too large, as is the custom these days, a beautiful entry, and a pleasant family room.
The boys will share a room and Mary will have her own. There is room for them all to have their own rooms, but I value the experience of sharing a room with a sibling and the boys seem to get along well for the time being (maybe a little too well for bedtime). They have separate beds, but they always sleep together in one, so to save space, we are just going to put one bed in and add another when one of them complains. :-) Mary will have her own room, part of the privilege of being the only girl, I suppose. The boys have requested a Cowboy room. So, we'll be decorating with ridin', ropin', rootin' tootin' accessories. Mary can't wait to have her horse bedroom back, so her decor will remain the same.
The 3rd upstairs bedroom will be dedicated to my craft stuff. I am so anxious to design my design-space and continue work on my scrapbooks and crafts. I am thrilled to have the space for my stuff.
Obviously Doug and I will occupy the Suite downstairs, but there is another bedroom downstairs. We call it the guest room, but it will house our exercise equipment for the time being and will eventually be a baby's room when we decide to have our 4th (and likely the last) child. Once Baby is old enough, s/he will move upstairs to the kid-castle and the room will once again be used for exercise and visitors.
Upstairs there is a game room, which we will use for homeschooling. Off of it, is a large storage closet and the walkway to the media room, which won't be a media room at all, but Doug's Dungeon, aka office.
My second favorite room of the house (the first being my craft room), is the breakfast nook. The plans showed it as your standard size breakfast nook, but a family of 5 and growing can not fit a large enough table in a standard nook to be comfortable. So, we have altered the plans to extend the short side of the nook by 5 feet, making it almost square. It is at the rear corner of the house and two of its walls are windows with window seats. It is open feeling and gets the best light, all day long. It faces north-east and just glows so perfectly at all hours of the day.
Of course, the nook is attached to the kitchen. It is large and open to the family room. The cabinetry is stunning. It has a island bar where we can put 3 stools to serve our kids breakfast. I can't wait to have a bowl of fruit for the kids to nibble at all times. And, I finally have my double oven. That was on the list of for things to include in our dream house. I have a laundry room with cabinetry and counter tops!
All around the house, the walkways and walls are trimmed with rounded corners and brow arched openings and niches. The stair case takes two turns from the foyer and is simple, but gorgeous (even if I do say so myself). The ceiling has 9 coffers, which we chose to mirror in wood and tile inlay on the floor. Another one of my favorite parts of the house is the door. The day we made our design choices, a door arrived at the selection center and it was not like any other door they have there. It wasn't even supposed to be allowed in our neighborhood, but our consultant must have really liked us because she fought for us to have this door. It is bronze with beautiful scroll work on the large window. It is HEAVY and just gorgeous with the colors we chose. Unlike any other door in the neighborhood, it has a brow shaped top. I love the door and I love even more that we are the only ones in the neighborhood that has one. I usually don't care much about who has which features on their house, but since it was kind of an ordeal to get the door, I think it means a bit more to me that we are unique.
We will be taking pictures when it is all said and done and you will be able to see them on smugmug. But, I would much prefer for you all to come visit and take a peek around our house. It is such a nice feeling to be getting the house of your dreams. A house that we got to choose each color and surface, one that I get to decorate to my tastes and make our home, knowing that we have the space and features that will allow us to stay to raise our kids. I hope the kids grow up with fond memories of this house.
I've put the basic floor plans below, but note that our house is flipped and has had some additions and changes to these plans.
We had two main goals in moving from our old house. The first was more space. Space for our kids, space for homeschooling, space for my crafty side and more space for storage. The second was to find a house that we could be comfortable in at least until the kids start moving out. When it came down to time to move, the thought of leaving our neighbors seemed too much, so we talked it over with our friends and since they were feeling a little cramped in their house too, we decided to make the search together. I'm so glad we did. We found a neighborhood to accommodate two budgets and two styles and needs. The Hebert's have already moved in to their dream home and we are anxious to be neighbors again.
Our first house, on Travis Drive, was a very nice house. It certainly was a nice for our "starter home." After 6 years of living in one house, we'd developed a list of things we would change. I think everyone has one of those lists. "When we get our dream house, it'll have xy or z." So, while I feel very blessed to have had such a nice home on Travis Drive, I'm a thrilled with the niceties we will have in our new home on Pond View Lane.
The new Clark home will total about 4000 square feet, as we added some space here and there to the original floor plans. It's large and almost twice the size of our old house. It wasn't that we had a specific square footage in mind, but we did have a list of rooms and spaces we wanted to have available. It all added up quickly. It has 5 bedrooms, a nice sized dining room, a "game room" upstairs, a large storage closet, storage space in the garage, a media room, a nice open kitchen, a breakfast nook that could be extended to hold a large table, a nice master suite that isn't too large, as is the custom these days, a beautiful entry, and a pleasant family room.
The boys will share a room and Mary will have her own. There is room for them all to have their own rooms, but I value the experience of sharing a room with a sibling and the boys seem to get along well for the time being (maybe a little too well for bedtime). They have separate beds, but they always sleep together in one, so to save space, we are just going to put one bed in and add another when one of them complains. :-) Mary will have her own room, part of the privilege of being the only girl, I suppose. The boys have requested a Cowboy room. So, we'll be decorating with ridin', ropin', rootin' tootin' accessories. Mary can't wait to have her horse bedroom back, so her decor will remain the same.
The 3rd upstairs bedroom will be dedicated to my craft stuff. I am so anxious to design my design-space and continue work on my scrapbooks and crafts. I am thrilled to have the space for my stuff.
Obviously Doug and I will occupy the Suite downstairs, but there is another bedroom downstairs. We call it the guest room, but it will house our exercise equipment for the time being and will eventually be a baby's room when we decide to have our 4th (and likely the last) child. Once Baby is old enough, s/he will move upstairs to the kid-castle and the room will once again be used for exercise and visitors.
Upstairs there is a game room, which we will use for homeschooling. Off of it, is a large storage closet and the walkway to the media room, which won't be a media room at all, but Doug's Dungeon, aka office.
My second favorite room of the house (the first being my craft room), is the breakfast nook. The plans showed it as your standard size breakfast nook, but a family of 5 and growing can not fit a large enough table in a standard nook to be comfortable. So, we have altered the plans to extend the short side of the nook by 5 feet, making it almost square. It is at the rear corner of the house and two of its walls are windows with window seats. It is open feeling and gets the best light, all day long. It faces north-east and just glows so perfectly at all hours of the day.
Of course, the nook is attached to the kitchen. It is large and open to the family room. The cabinetry is stunning. It has a island bar where we can put 3 stools to serve our kids breakfast. I can't wait to have a bowl of fruit for the kids to nibble at all times. And, I finally have my double oven. That was on the list of for things to include in our dream house. I have a laundry room with cabinetry and counter tops!
All around the house, the walkways and walls are trimmed with rounded corners and brow arched openings and niches. The stair case takes two turns from the foyer and is simple, but gorgeous (even if I do say so myself). The ceiling has 9 coffers, which we chose to mirror in wood and tile inlay on the floor. Another one of my favorite parts of the house is the door. The day we made our design choices, a door arrived at the selection center and it was not like any other door they have there. It wasn't even supposed to be allowed in our neighborhood, but our consultant must have really liked us because she fought for us to have this door. It is bronze with beautiful scroll work on the large window. It is HEAVY and just gorgeous with the colors we chose. Unlike any other door in the neighborhood, it has a brow shaped top. I love the door and I love even more that we are the only ones in the neighborhood that has one. I usually don't care much about who has which features on their house, but since it was kind of an ordeal to get the door, I think it means a bit more to me that we are unique.
We will be taking pictures when it is all said and done and you will be able to see them on smugmug. But, I would much prefer for you all to come visit and take a peek around our house. It is such a nice feeling to be getting the house of your dreams. A house that we got to choose each color and surface, one that I get to decorate to my tastes and make our home, knowing that we have the space and features that will allow us to stay to raise our kids. I hope the kids grow up with fond memories of this house.
I've put the basic floor plans below, but note that our house is flipped and has had some additions and changes to these plans.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
"Glad came back"
Our first day home from our trip was really nice.
On Monday, we saw sunrise at Big Ben and the House of Parliament in London, then took a 10.5 hour flight home and saw sunset at the new (and almost finished) house. Whew. It was a long and tortuous day, but we went to bed at 9:00 and slept until 9:30 on Tuesday morning.
We picked up the kids from Michelle's house late on Tuesday morning and they were so happy to see us. They gave us big hugs and told us how much they missed us. We missed them too. They told us all day, about every 30 minutes that they loved us. William told us in his admonishing voice, "Mom, Dad? I missed you for 11 days!!"
We went to lunch together in the new shopping center by the new house. It has a WhichWich and cute little play area with a hedge maze, a nice sitting area with an outdoor fire place and some very nice public restrooms with particularly spiffy hand dryers. The kids and I have been several times in the last few weeks and they wanted to show Daddy all of the fun things to do there. They gave him the grand tour and then we walked over to the dog park to watch the dogs from outside the fence.
We left for a family trip to the grocery store and then headed to the new neighborhood for our pre-closing walk through! :-) The house is almost finished and it looks terrific. I'm so pleased with how it is coming together and we are on schedule to close on the 25th. :-)
At the apartment that evening, we dispensed souvenirs (puzzles, wooden tops and a horse) and they got to sleep in their own beds for the first time in about 2 weeks.
This morning, as Robert sat on our bed, he leaned over to hug me and said, "Glad came back." I had a hard time understanding him, but once I figured it out, it was so sweet to hear him spontaneously tell us how much he missed us and that he is happy to have us home. Kids are so sweet.
On Monday, we saw sunrise at Big Ben and the House of Parliament in London, then took a 10.5 hour flight home and saw sunset at the new (and almost finished) house. Whew. It was a long and tortuous day, but we went to bed at 9:00 and slept until 9:30 on Tuesday morning.
We picked up the kids from Michelle's house late on Tuesday morning and they were so happy to see us. They gave us big hugs and told us how much they missed us. We missed them too. They told us all day, about every 30 minutes that they loved us. William told us in his admonishing voice, "Mom, Dad? I missed you for 11 days!!"
We went to lunch together in the new shopping center by the new house. It has a WhichWich and cute little play area with a hedge maze, a nice sitting area with an outdoor fire place and some very nice public restrooms with particularly spiffy hand dryers. The kids and I have been several times in the last few weeks and they wanted to show Daddy all of the fun things to do there. They gave him the grand tour and then we walked over to the dog park to watch the dogs from outside the fence.
We left for a family trip to the grocery store and then headed to the new neighborhood for our pre-closing walk through! :-) The house is almost finished and it looks terrific. I'm so pleased with how it is coming together and we are on schedule to close on the 25th. :-)
At the apartment that evening, we dispensed souvenirs (puzzles, wooden tops and a horse) and they got to sleep in their own beds for the first time in about 2 weeks.
This morning, as Robert sat on our bed, he leaned over to hug me and said, "Glad came back." I had a hard time understanding him, but once I figured it out, it was so sweet to hear him spontaneously tell us how much he missed us and that he is happy to have us home. Kids are so sweet.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
The second time around...
The second time around, Berlin has been just as grand as before, but there have been some differences.
1. It's really cold here! It's been in the 30s and lower 40s all week. Now, for some, that's not a matter to complain about, but for we Texans leaving 70-80 degree weather last week in our cozy air conditioned houses, coming to a city to walk around outside all day in the 30 degree weather has been quite a shock. We left our hotel the first morning, thinking it was cold, but our sweaters ought to do us just fine. We made our first 500m trek down the street and past the buildings that were blocking the wind and turned right around to get our coats, scarves and gloves. That was Monday.
2. Also on Monday, we made the whirlwind tour of Berlin's finest sites in record time. When we were here 2 summers ago, we took it slowly, letting the babies set the pace. We enjoyed the sites and lingered at will, but ultimately, we only spent a maximum of 3-4 hours out doors each day in the warm and pleasant sunshine. This time, due to the time crunch of Doug's conference schedule, we visited all the same sites and were pleased to discover that most could be viewed in one full day. So, we began our trek with breakfast and stayed out until well after dark. The only trouble was that we walked that entire time. We estimate that we walked between 7 and 10 miles that day. Sure, some of us are carrying less weight than we were 2 years ago, but 10 miles is a long way for those who normally travel half a mile or less on foot daily. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were beat. Our feet were swollen and blistered and we were ready to crash for the night. We did enjoy our review of sites, while touring Doug's colleague around for the first time.
3. We've spoken more German this time around too. Partly by necessity, as last time we travelled with native speakers and relied on their expertise. This time, I've found myself in conversations with several others and have enjoyed the practice, though I feel myself butchering the language as it comes out. I hear it correctly in my head and even dream in German while I'm here, but it falls apart somewhere between my head and mouth.
4. I've explored a bit of Berlin on my own this time since Doug is at the conference each day. I'm reminded of my first travels to Europe. I rarely travelled without friends, but I did take a few lonely adventures to Germany when my friends didn't want to return with me. I've decided that I like having a travel partner and the sites and surroundings just aren't the same alone. I did enjoy the audio tour through the Palace Charlottenburg today. It was the perfect leisurely stroll for my sore feet and the voice in the headphones kept me company while I admired the Baroque and Rococo delights inside the restored palace.
5. Since the near foot explosion of the first day, we have made more use of our 7-day transportation passes. Wow, what a difference! My feet have not recovered fully, so I'm so glad for the relief of walking across the city.
It is late at night here now and I am waiting for a load of laundry to dry in a dryer designed in a culture that line dries their clothes. Given the cold and rainy weather outside, we don't stand a chance of wearing those jeans tomorrow unless the dryer kicks into gear soon. Hopefully, I will find the dryer has done it's job and I can go to bed!
1. It's really cold here! It's been in the 30s and lower 40s all week. Now, for some, that's not a matter to complain about, but for we Texans leaving 70-80 degree weather last week in our cozy air conditioned houses, coming to a city to walk around outside all day in the 30 degree weather has been quite a shock. We left our hotel the first morning, thinking it was cold, but our sweaters ought to do us just fine. We made our first 500m trek down the street and past the buildings that were blocking the wind and turned right around to get our coats, scarves and gloves. That was Monday.
2. Also on Monday, we made the whirlwind tour of Berlin's finest sites in record time. When we were here 2 summers ago, we took it slowly, letting the babies set the pace. We enjoyed the sites and lingered at will, but ultimately, we only spent a maximum of 3-4 hours out doors each day in the warm and pleasant sunshine. This time, due to the time crunch of Doug's conference schedule, we visited all the same sites and were pleased to discover that most could be viewed in one full day. So, we began our trek with breakfast and stayed out until well after dark. The only trouble was that we walked that entire time. We estimate that we walked between 7 and 10 miles that day. Sure, some of us are carrying less weight than we were 2 years ago, but 10 miles is a long way for those who normally travel half a mile or less on foot daily. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were beat. Our feet were swollen and blistered and we were ready to crash for the night. We did enjoy our review of sites, while touring Doug's colleague around for the first time.
3. We've spoken more German this time around too. Partly by necessity, as last time we travelled with native speakers and relied on their expertise. This time, I've found myself in conversations with several others and have enjoyed the practice, though I feel myself butchering the language as it comes out. I hear it correctly in my head and even dream in German while I'm here, but it falls apart somewhere between my head and mouth.
4. I've explored a bit of Berlin on my own this time since Doug is at the conference each day. I'm reminded of my first travels to Europe. I rarely travelled without friends, but I did take a few lonely adventures to Germany when my friends didn't want to return with me. I've decided that I like having a travel partner and the sites and surroundings just aren't the same alone. I did enjoy the audio tour through the Palace Charlottenburg today. It was the perfect leisurely stroll for my sore feet and the voice in the headphones kept me company while I admired the Baroque and Rococo delights inside the restored palace.
5. Since the near foot explosion of the first day, we have made more use of our 7-day transportation passes. Wow, what a difference! My feet have not recovered fully, so I'm so glad for the relief of walking across the city.
It is late at night here now and I am waiting for a load of laundry to dry in a dryer designed in a culture that line dries their clothes. Given the cold and rainy weather outside, we don't stand a chance of wearing those jeans tomorrow unless the dryer kicks into gear soon. Hopefully, I will find the dryer has done it's job and I can go to bed!
Friday, March 6, 2009
Berlin, here we come!!
We're packing and bustling to leave for Berlin tomorrow. See you in a couple of weeks!
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