Some of you may know that I co-lead a youth girls group with my church. Every Monday, 6 or so girls ages 14-18 come to my house. We eat loads of snacks, we chat and giggle wildly like only girls can do, and then we dive into Bible study. We just finished up studying the book of James, and boy is it relevant! We discuss things like what the Bible says about showing favoritism, controlling your tongue, mercy and judgment, the relationship between works and faith. And the girls ask us and each other real questions, hard questions, about what it looks like to be a Christian in their world. I only get them for an hour and a half a week, but boy do I love them!
And I still can't believe I'm doing this leadership thing. I've never been drawn toward teaching, it's just not my thing. I'm not good with words. Plus, I was homeschooled through highschool, so what do I know about what my girls experience every day? But for some reason, God nudged me to do it. I knew it was from Him because the desire to teach could not be coming from me! I feel incredibly blessed to get to know these sweet girls, and incredibly intimidated because I am a role model for them, and I do not want to lead them astray. They are not afraid to discuss the hard stuff and Nicole and I have to be ready to speak truth in areas where the world speaks lies. They keep me on my toes and I find that I am so glad that I was taught the Bible growing up and that I have that Christian foundation to draw from.
Next year we are doing So Long, Insecurity by Beth Moore and I'm looking forward to it!
November 21, 2012
October 21, 2012
Fall update
So I don't really have any actual news, but it's been nearly a month since I posted last, so I figure it's high time to update.
Fall has arrived here in Maryland. Trees are starting to turn colors and the weather is pretty awesome - usually in the 60s and 70s during the day, and in the 40s at night. I don't feel ready for winter, but that is normal. In fact, I find it pretty weird that summer only lasts for the standard 3 months here, I'm still used to Texas weather. I bought some mums and pansies last weekend, but forgot to buy a little shovel (a trowel? a spade?), so they are still sitting on the patio waiting for me to plant them. Hopefully I'll get to that before they die. I don't have the best luck with plants.
We haven't done any more improvements to the house. We still have pictures waiting to be hung from when we moved in. We'll get to them eventually! Having a job has greatly limited the time I have to work on house things. Which is good in that I don't have time to spend as much money, but bad in that stuff doesn't get done for weeks on end, because when the weekend rolls around, James and I want to do fun things.
Speaking of the job, it is going well. Emma is 4 months old now and super smiley and sweet. She rolled over for the first time the other day soon after I left for the day, the little stinker. I don't love being at someone else's house all day, but I definitely love taking care of Emma!
I lead a youth girl's group at my house (through our church), we host our small group here as well, and I have worship band practice every week, so we keep pretty busy during the week. We love having a house where we can host events and have people over! It is such a blessing, plus it forces me to keep my house clean! We are having a Halloween costume party this year and I'm already excited. I'm not a huge Halloween person, but I do love dressing up/wearing costumes, so that is fun. I've got a few fun decoration ideas and I just ordered my fair trade chocolate! It should be fun.
I hope you're having a great fall season!
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| Our ready-for-fall front door :-) |
We haven't done any more improvements to the house. We still have pictures waiting to be hung from when we moved in. We'll get to them eventually! Having a job has greatly limited the time I have to work on house things. Which is good in that I don't have time to spend as much money, but bad in that stuff doesn't get done for weeks on end, because when the weekend rolls around, James and I want to do fun things.
Speaking of the job, it is going well. Emma is 4 months old now and super smiley and sweet. She rolled over for the first time the other day soon after I left for the day, the little stinker. I don't love being at someone else's house all day, but I definitely love taking care of Emma!
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| So adorable |
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| It's superdog! |
September 23, 2012
House update
I thought I'd share a photo update of what we've been doing in the house. It is slowly coming together! We have a long way to go, but it's finally starting to feel like home.
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| I am stumped about what to put on the green wall. |
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| piano :-) |
September 9, 2012
Painting Before and Afters
Last weekend my parents flew up here and helped us paint our entire lower floor. Thank you so much to the best parents ever!! Not only did we get it all done in two days, but we learned a whole lot about painting thanks to their expertise, and my Dad even painted the stairwell all by himself which is almost two stories tall.
The house looks soooo much better now, no more Kermit the Frog green in the dining room! Here are the before and after pictures for your enjoyment.
Living Room
Dining Room
Kitchen/Office Area
My favorite room now is the dining room. It's a million times better!
The house looks soooo much better now, no more Kermit the Frog green in the dining room! Here are the before and after pictures for your enjoyment.
Living Room
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| Before |
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| Before |
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| After |
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| After |
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| Before |
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| After |
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| Before |
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| Before |
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| After |
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| After |
August 28, 2012
House Pictures
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| Home Sweet Home |
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| Living Room |
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| Living Room |
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| Downstairs Half Bathroom |
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| Very Very Green Dining Room |
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| Kitchen |
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| Bonus Room/Office |
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| Bonus Room/Office |
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| Backyard |
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| Backyard |
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| Laundry Closet |
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| Bedroom #3/Storage Room For Now |
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| Bedroom #2/Guest Bedroom |
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| Very Very Green Guest Bathroom |
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| Master Bedroom |
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| Master Bathroom |
August 24, 2012
I don't like making decisions about paint
Picking paint colors for our house is stressing me out.
First we had to decide what the general color scheme was going to be. I know what colors I like, but I am worried about flow. If I get too many colors going on one floor, it could look disjointed and weird. If I use too much of the same color, it might look boring. And I really don't want all neutral walls; I've had enough of that from apartments. I need color in my life.
Once we talked it over and vaguely agreed on colors, James and I happily brought home paint chips to tape up on the walls, only to discover that we both have very different opinions on what shades look good. He likes dark, I like...less dark. He prefers more primary colors, I prefer muted colors.
Then, once we hash it out and finally decide on a couple of shades that we can both live with, I go to Lowe's and get those little sample jars of paint, just to see what it looks like on the wall. I have done this three or four times now. Every single time the paint color looks completely different than the swatch. I even tried the same color paint in the kitchen and again in the living room and they look completely different from each other.
I don't know if it is the lighting or the color that is already on the wall or what, but I don't understand how the same paint can look so greatly different in two different rooms. So now I'm wondering if I need to prime the whole house first, even on the more neutral walls. But then if I do, the paint that we have picked might look different and then it's not what I wanted.
Bah! It's not supposed to be this hard.
First we had to decide what the general color scheme was going to be. I know what colors I like, but I am worried about flow. If I get too many colors going on one floor, it could look disjointed and weird. If I use too much of the same color, it might look boring. And I really don't want all neutral walls; I've had enough of that from apartments. I need color in my life.
Once we talked it over and vaguely agreed on colors, James and I happily brought home paint chips to tape up on the walls, only to discover that we both have very different opinions on what shades look good. He likes dark, I like...less dark. He prefers more primary colors, I prefer muted colors.
Then, once we hash it out and finally decide on a couple of shades that we can both live with, I go to Lowe's and get those little sample jars of paint, just to see what it looks like on the wall. I have done this three or four times now. Every single time the paint color looks completely different than the swatch. I even tried the same color paint in the kitchen and again in the living room and they look completely different from each other.
I don't know if it is the lighting or the color that is already on the wall or what, but I don't understand how the same paint can look so greatly different in two different rooms. So now I'm wondering if I need to prime the whole house first, even on the more neutral walls. But then if I do, the paint that we have picked might look different and then it's not what I wanted.
Bah! It's not supposed to be this hard.
August 21, 2012
The Shepherds: Homeowner's Edition
First I just want to apologize to anyone who might have been offended by my last post about Chick-Fil-A. If I came off as judgmental, I am sorry. I understand why some would disagree with me and I truly do not judge anyone who supported CFA appreciation day.
Ok, now that I've said that, on to the meat of this post: WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!
It's been a whirlwind of a week, and I still can't believe we own a house. I'm sure it will hit me once the first mortgage payment is due.
We had a stressful moving day because we were supposed to close on the house at 10 a.m. but at 7:30 a.m., we got a call from our realtor saying that the title company had never received the loan package from our lender. Several phone calls later and all was resolved, but we had to move the closing time up to 3 p.m. This was a problem because we had planned to start moving right after lunch and we had friends coming to help. Fortunately everyone was flexible and willing to help us into the evening, and all went well. We even had friends load our truck for us while we were gone at closing! Our church family is awesome.
Since then we've been unpacking boxes (so many boxes...how do we have this much stuff?), organizing piles of stuff, and enjoying our new digs! I am especially loving the nicer-than-apartment-grade appliances and extra cabinet space in the kitchen. We had to make some big purchases recently as well; a lawnmower, microwave, and new door locks. And we've been deciding on paint colors! We pretty much have to paint the entire house. The previous owner really loved bright colors, and they are not working for us. But I'm excited to really make this house reflect us through paint.
Also, we have a yard! With a shed! Casper hasn't figured out that he is supposed to do his business out there yet, but we're working on it. He's been programmed to do his business while on walks, so it will take some re-training, but I think we'll get there. Meanwhile, I am enjoying it for its garden potential. I have grand dreams of growing herbs and veggies next season. I might kill them all, but it will be fun to try! And the other awesome thing is that we now have curbside trash pickup so we don't have to walk our stinky trash bags a block to the dumpster anymore!
Of course, we have discovered some less fun things about the house. I love the look of the laminate hardwood on the first floor, but it doesn't hide Casper's fur at all and he sheds. A lot. Vacuuming is probably going to be a daily task. And we also found out about the fun of trying to cool two stories with one AC system. When it is comfortable downstairs, it is warm upstairs. We have a ceiling fan in our bedroom, so that has saved us from having to set the thermostat really low at night. We'll have to see how our first electric bill looks and adjust from there.
When we get the house a little more settled I will post pictures. Until then, you can find me scampering around with a mile-long to-do list. I am so excited that we won't have to think about moving for a long while!
Ok, now that I've said that, on to the meat of this post: WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!
It's been a whirlwind of a week, and I still can't believe we own a house. I'm sure it will hit me once the first mortgage payment is due.
We had a stressful moving day because we were supposed to close on the house at 10 a.m. but at 7:30 a.m., we got a call from our realtor saying that the title company had never received the loan package from our lender. Several phone calls later and all was resolved, but we had to move the closing time up to 3 p.m. This was a problem because we had planned to start moving right after lunch and we had friends coming to help. Fortunately everyone was flexible and willing to help us into the evening, and all went well. We even had friends load our truck for us while we were gone at closing! Our church family is awesome.
Since then we've been unpacking boxes (so many boxes...how do we have this much stuff?), organizing piles of stuff, and enjoying our new digs! I am especially loving the nicer-than-apartment-grade appliances and extra cabinet space in the kitchen. We had to make some big purchases recently as well; a lawnmower, microwave, and new door locks. And we've been deciding on paint colors! We pretty much have to paint the entire house. The previous owner really loved bright colors, and they are not working for us. But I'm excited to really make this house reflect us through paint.
Also, we have a yard! With a shed! Casper hasn't figured out that he is supposed to do his business out there yet, but we're working on it. He's been programmed to do his business while on walks, so it will take some re-training, but I think we'll get there. Meanwhile, I am enjoying it for its garden potential. I have grand dreams of growing herbs and veggies next season. I might kill them all, but it will be fun to try! And the other awesome thing is that we now have curbside trash pickup so we don't have to walk our stinky trash bags a block to the dumpster anymore!
Of course, we have discovered some less fun things about the house. I love the look of the laminate hardwood on the first floor, but it doesn't hide Casper's fur at all and he sheds. A lot. Vacuuming is probably going to be a daily task. And we also found out about the fun of trying to cool two stories with one AC system. When it is comfortable downstairs, it is warm upstairs. We have a ceiling fan in our bedroom, so that has saved us from having to set the thermostat really low at night. We'll have to see how our first electric bill looks and adjust from there.
When we get the house a little more settled I will post pictures. Until then, you can find me scampering around with a mile-long to-do list. I am so excited that we won't have to think about moving for a long while!
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