Saturday, December 12, 2009

One Year Anniversary

One year ago today we got up early, went to this building, sat around in a waiting room, practiced our signatures what felt like a hundred times and the end result...we closed on our Little Yellow House! One year and one baby more we are still loving it so much.


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House Description~ It was built in 1910, high ceilings, old beautiful doors and knobs, three bedrooms and one bath. The upstairs is fun with two bunker windows, one of the bedrooms and enough room for a sitting area and our great computer/sewing table that a good friend made us. A cute (messy right now) little mudroom that leads out to small deck. Beautiful hardwood floors that I am sure we will scratch up in no time. A one car detached garage. A moderate country kitchen, meaning, our table and chairs are in there. We love this house, and know we do not deserve it.

God amazed us when He gave us this home. For many reasons: like most we had a limited price range (we looked at some homes that were so disgusting inside we did not make it past the front door), this one had ALL the updates for an old house, electrical, central heat and air AND it was beautiful inside, the price had just been reduced, and location wise it is exactly where we wanted to be. We made an offer (which was significantly lower than the already reduced price) and naturally they did not accept it. But we didn't budge, we walked away, a little sad but hopeful God would bring us something else. Three days later they called our realtor to say they changed their minds and will accept our offer! I cried. At the time we were living in this old 1917 farmhouse with NO central heat or air. We did have a wood burning stove that I miss (my husband doesn't --- he was the fire starter :) --- We moved into this house looking at it as an experiment "Is living in the country for us?" We really tried to make it work, my husband bought some laying chicks , because there was a hen house so why not. They loved him --- he would do this crazy whistle and they would flock all around him, there was one that would even sit on his arm! I had a vegetable garden that ended up only producing a lot of tomatoes and cucumbers. The cucumbers took over and killed all the other stuff I really wanted. I ate cucumber sandwiches almost everyday that summer, I don't like cucumbers (lesson: do not grow things you do not want to eat). Now, we went to FLA for a visit, came home to chicken body parts all over the place. Yeh, gross. We had someone taking care of them, but these things (chicken massacres) just happen. Also, there was a wasps problem upstairs (where our bedrooms were) I did not handle this well. Wasps out here are different than in FLA they are big, red, and awful looking. I know there is some movie out there about city folk moving to the country, well we should have been the cast for it. Conclusion...we are city folk and that is ok.

God has given us a gift and we hope to be good stewards of it. And we hope to fill it with happy, creative, God's glory reflecting kiddos!

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Ellie and I enjoying sidewalk chalk on the front porch, we did this about everyday. :)


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This is to the left of the porch, Ellie and I planted some herbs, two sweet pepper plants, and two tomato plants. She had a blast picking the produce. My dream is to make our entire front yard a veggie garden, it would be more than our small family could handle but it would be nice to bless our neighbors with. But that is one day down the road...we will get there!


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These are some Zinnias and Sunflowers Ellie and I planted from seeds. They did so well and we enjoyed them all summer long.


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This is one side of the living room, just so you get a feel of what it looks like inside. Miss Ellie reading Better Homes and Garden, so cute!

7 comments:

  1. I've always loved your adorable house, Brooke!
    What great pictures of it!
    And now... guess what? My sister, Jemima, is moving into another adorable house just a few blocks/a short walk away when she gets married in January! I told her excitedly, "Well, you'll have one sort-of neighbor who you can be friends with - Brooke!"

    :)

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  2. That is so great, we will have to have them over sometime! What is she going to do w/ herself with being so close to everything , no more hour drive to Springfield. :)

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  3. I am enjoying your blog and the pictures of your house and family are adorable.

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  4. I love your house Brooke--and I love that you embrace living in the city. :)

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  5. Such a sweet little house, Brooke -- I love it! Thanks for sharing the adorable pictures. :)

    I hope to talk to you soon!
    love, Apphia

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  6. Oh, and did you make those flowers on the lamp shade? How clever!

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