It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

It really, really is - I love the holidays! This year seems especially full of exciting times and cherished traditions. Here is a sample of the fun from this past weekend.

Nathan and David came over to bake cookies on Saturday. This is one of my most favorite traditions. I am the auntie that the boys make cookies with. They both still look forward to coming to my house for this special day. I know how very blessed I am that they still want to spend time with me. They seem so young but I know that in the blink of the eye they will be all grown up will have better things to do than bake cookies with auntie Jess. Oh how I cherish these days...

On Sunday Chris and I had the privilege of meeting our new nephew, Wyatt David, for the first time. He is such an angel. We are so blessed and excited to be a part of his life. I introduced myself to him as auntie Jess and told him I would be his favorite auntie (given my previous auntie experience and the fact that his other aunties live hours away I figure I'm a shoe-in)!

Is this really my house?

We are really enjoying our 'new' home. I still find myself thinking "Is this really my house?" every now and then. I can't thank our designer and contractor enough for the work they have done. I don't even want to think about what might have happened if we had tried to do it ourselves!

So what exactly did we do? It's almost easier to talk about what we didn't do! Let's see, we...

• Painted the walls throughout the lower level and into the loft
• Installed wood flooring throughout the lower level
• Installed new carpet on the stairs and in the loft
• Installed new trim throughout the lower level
• Painted the doors and installed new handles & hinges
• Re-designed our media niche and fireplace with a new granite surround and custom mantel
• Installed granite countertops in the kitchen with the requisite new sink and faucet
• Installed a new toilet in the powder room
• Installed new light fixture in the entry way, hall, kitchen and powder room

We are also anxiously awaiting the arrival of our new window treatments, living room furniture and rug. I think that sums it up. I hope everyone reading this has an opportunity to visit soon. We'll host an event after the furniture arrives but there is no need wait - we'd love share our new home with you anytime!

Another taste...

This weekend we were able to move most of our furniture back into the house - Praise God! It has been a long time since we've eaten a meal at our kitchen table or sat in our living room. We watched a movie on our new TV and started training for our new careers as Rock Stars by playing Guitar Hero.

Looking back at the 'before' pics I am appalled at how horrid the linoleum floors in the kitchen, powder room and entry way were. I knew they needed to be replaced but I really had no idea just how bad they looked! Here are a few more 'before and after' pics - thank you God for the 'after' pics...

Before...


After!

Before...

After!

Are you LOVING the light fixture like I am?!!

Before & After

The first phase of the 2008 Remodel is nearly complete! The media niche and fireplace aren't quite done but I couldn't help myself from giving you just a little taste of our 'new' home!

Before...

After!