The Move… Part 1: Discovery and Remodel

     I should have written this post long ago but have just been too busy enjoying our new home to do so! We moved 3 months ago and have not looked back once. Of course we loved our years with the Echols but it was time for a change and the Lord provided one through Dalton's dad and some land with a house provided.
     We'd been looking for a place to move closer to town (although something affordable was hard to find) and Dalton and his dad had been looking for land to lease so that they could partner in on cattle of their own. It all came together in a piece of land that would serve both purposes…..and all within a week. Dalton's dad called us one evening saying that he'd heard of a property with a house on it and wanted us to go take a look. We went to look the next day and were amazed at what we found….the house was very workable, the land was beautiful and the extras were going to be very useful. We left that day excited and nervous, hoping that it would work out.

The Front of the house

Back of the house and the back porch

Future arena site and view of the barns from the back yard

    Dalton's dad went to look a few days later and put in an offer, which was accepted. After that (which was in January) we started work on remodeling it. We overhauled a bathroom and converted the laundry room into an office/schoolroom. We moved the washer/dryer into the mudroom and painted every room in the house (or actually hired someone to paint). Dalton learned a lot about handy work and remodeling and we were very glad to have carpenters in the family to help with some of the work!

 

The living room

Kitchen and Dining room

 

Master bedroom

 

 

Hall bathroom that we remodeled 

Dalton put new flooring in the bathroom himself

Tucker's room

Boys' bathroom

Cooper and Ace's room

Bedroom hall

Office and schoolroom combo

When we removed all the old paneling in the washroom we found this old wood. 

After drywalling and having it textured and painted it was transformed!

     This post has some before and after pictures of the house and the work we did. The next post will cover the move (which was a bit comical) and our first few days here. Once I finish those maybe I can finally get back to posting regularly about our goings on around here. Seems like we've been doing lots of 'horsey' things and that's been fun. As well as getting to enjoy life closer to town and the perks that come with that.

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." Psalm 127:1

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine (Jesus) and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25

Easter

    

     Easter came fast this year, and we were glad that our Easter baskets weren't packed away so we could find them easily. As the time approached we used some Resurrection Eggs that a friend made us to help prepare the kids for the holiday and what it truly means. These were such a great way for all of us to focus on Christ and His sacrifice for us. As I pondered the crucifixion and resurrection during  Holy Week I found myself amazed once again at Jesus. Amazed at His resolve, His love, His obedience, His discipline, His humility, His example.

     As I discussed it with my boys, using Resurrection Eggs that each contain something that has to do with this season, I was brought to tears at the horror of what was done to our Savior. Opening each egg to reveal what's inside was like opening my heart again to the truth of what Easter week means. The kids were always so excited for 'egg time' as they called it, but as I opened the eggs I felt the sorrow of that time for Christ. The first egg is the Palm Branch that they waved and hailed him as King entering Jerusalem, and we were so excited talking about that. As we talked about Jesus washing His disciples' feet I was humbled at his servant nature and convicted about how I long to be ahead and not a servant. The Last Supper, a Passover meal that became so much more because of Christ, made me see communion in a holier way. When I opened day 5, the sight of coins and a dagger made me cringe at what my sin has done to Him. But when I opened the 6th egg to reveal the crown of thorns, I had to fight the urge to sob. How could I explain to my kids what this meant? To have them understand what mockery and pain and spiritual agony our Savior had to go through to bring us to glory. To picture Him, the true King, wearing that crown of thorns. And Day 8….opening the egg to reveal the nails and a cross, and telling my kids that they nailed his body to the cross even though he had done nothing wrong. Oh I want to feel the weight of this, in history and in my life. Let me live in such a way that I glorify Christ and what He's done and not in a way that makes this atrocity meaningless because I don't change. I was so glad when we came to that last egg…….the empty egg. Never have I ever been so excited to find nothing! Because it means victory for Christ, victory for God's plan, it means that God can be both just and forgiving, and for me most of all it means that I can be with Christ in Heaven one day!     

Opening goodies from Mere Mere and Popsey..new shirts and toys!

   

   As the time came, we readied our baskets, picked out our outfits and practiced hunting eggs in the yard. The boys were big fans of egg hunting and even hid some for Daddy to find. Later that night I put glow sticks into some eggs and we had an egg hunt in the dark….another success. I was especially excited that this one worked out. Then we finally got the boys to bed after telling them that the Easter Bunny might come visit. Once they were asleep my work began! I had two batches of sugar cookies to frost  and some 'other things' to ready before morning. Finally it was time to go to bed, but the work was finished and I was ready to celebrate the Lord's Resurrection.

    The next morning Dalton and I woke up before the boys and went to see if the Easter Bunny had come. He had come and left their baskets outside under different trees (but he did have trouble deciding whether to leave them in the house or not, hehe). The boys woke up and with a little prodding headed out to check. They found their baskets full of goodies and a note to each one from the Easter Bunny. He told them that he hoped they have a wonderful Easter and then reminded them that the reason for all of this celebrating is because Jesus rose from the dead to save them from their sins…..the Easter Bunny is an evangelist for Christ, that's why he travels around on Easter Eve right? 

 Empty tomb rolls and more goodies, personalized Bibles from GG and Papa!

Cooper's waiting to go into Sunday School and Ace gets serious about the eggs.

 Showing off their finds.

    After the boys checked out their baskets, we had a breakfast of Empty Tomb Rolls and got ready for church. We tried to pose for a couple of pics but they were pretty jumpy. We met Mere Mere and Popsey at church and the kids participated in an Easter egg hunt with their age groups. They had a big time. When the church bells rang we went into sanctuary and celebrated with song and worship. After the service we headed to Aunt Ellen's for lunch and more egg hunting. 

We got to meet baby Benjamin too, so precious! 

    It was a busy lunch with a houseful of guests and we enjoyed the visit, Aunt Ellen always does a great job with Easter fun. Then we headed outside and the kids hunted eggs. Cooper was with the older kids and hunted rapidly, while Ace tootled around checking out the eggs and getting in no hurry at all. Then the confetti eggs came out and we all smashed each other. 

Even Tucker got some confetti. 

Nana with the great grands, missing Chase, Karper and Sophia Grace 

    After checking out the radar and realizing that it was about to rain we loaded up and took our tired kids home and watched the movie Frozen, that Nana gave the boys. And listened to the rain. It was a great way to spend the afternoon and evening, listening to the rain and playing in it! 

     We enjoyed the candy and goodies for days after the holiday and we're enjoying the gift of a risen Savior each and every day, thankful for His sacrifice and love that allows us to be with Him now and forever. 

"There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became lie dead men. The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; He has risen, just as He said." Matthew 28:2-6  

Strawberries and Seuss

     I know that it's past time to post about the big move, but I have a couple short posts that I want to tackle before the big one. We went back to Mom and Dad's a couple weeks after the move to watch cousin Paige in her school fundraiser musical "Seussical the Musical." We headed out on a Thursday and came back on Saturday night, so it was a quick trip.

 Empty containers, ready to fill.

Mmmm, so good that Ace couldn't wait! 

 It didn't take long to fill the containers

     We had a day to enjoy Friday before the play that night, so we decided to go to "The Berry Patch" in Fairfield and pick some strawberries. It was such a treat! We enjoyed the picking and eating portions of the experience.

GG helped pick out the juiciest berries.

     After we picked, we headed to Ponte's for a late lunch before nap time. It was delicious and we even split a malt before we left.
     That night we headed to Corsicana for the play. We all filed into the crowded theater and found our seats towards the front. I was a little nervous about being in front of so many people but the boys did pretty good. Tucker and I had to leave and finish the second half at the back, but we made it.
    Ace and Cooper were big fans and watched with great interest! They were glued to the stage. Ace was really all about The Cat. Every time he would leave the stage Dad said he'd start asking "Where's the cat?"

After the curtain closed we waited for our actress and took a few pictures. Ace even got his picture taken with The Cat and was pretty excited. 

    Then we braved the late night and headed to a restaurant to eat. Everyone did good and Parker put Tucker to sleep in her arms. Finally, with three tired boys and a baby we headed home. Pearson came back to GG and Papa's too. We thought it would be straight to bed, but no such luck. Once we got home they all played and ran around for a while and then finally settled down to sleep. 

    

  

    The next day we got up and around and headed out. We stopped by the Franks' to drop off Pearson and winded up staying there an hour or more. It was nice to get to visit with them all, and helped shorten the trip. I'd been wanting to get the boys' picture in bluebonnets all weekend and so when I saw some in Corsicana I couldn't help but turn around and attempt. Having Pearson there to help was a contributing factor!

 I won't say it's the best bluebonnet picture ever taken, 

but the moment was captured. 

   
    We made it to Graford without anyone crying, and they napped most of the time; we even made a pit stop at Sonic for a happy hour drink. But at Graford we had to stop and feed Tucker. And you know how it is. Once you stop it all goes crazy. I let the kids get in the very back so that they could stretch their legs while I fed Tucker. As I was feeding, Ace climbed back over the seat and got tangled in the TV cords. Then I heard Cooper say "I have to go poo poo." Great. I asked him if he really had to go and couldn't wait. So I laid Tucker in the front seat, closed the door and went to the back hatch to put the boys' shoes on. They usually shuck them at some point during the ride.
    After getting that done I went back to the front, opened the door and found Tucker on the floorboard on his belly with a "How'd I get here?" look about him. He wasn't crying though so we were good. Then I pulled the car over to the gas pumps to get a little gas before we headed inside. You see, when our car is below a quarter of a tank it won't start up again, so I had to make sure I was filled up before killing it. I put in as little as I could to keep it above the key level, because gas wasn't cheap. Then I strapped on my baby harness, loaded up Tucker, took a deep breath and got the other two out of the car. We waddled across to the door and made it inside, where both boys immediately let go of my hands and attempted to explore. I asked the attendant where the bathroom was and then herded the kids to the small space. Someone once told me that getting kids to go somewhere was like herding chickens, and with my experience having both chickens and kids I'd have to agree wholeheartedly!
    Once into the clean (so thankful) bathroom Cooper got down to business. Meanwhile Ace started unrolling the toilet paper off the roll. As I bent to pick it up and reprimand him, Tucker spit up all over the floor. So I grabbed some paper towels, cleaned up the mess, rolled up the toilet paper and herded Ace to the other side. Cooper then informed me he was finished…..and by finished I mean nothing happened. (I totally understand and know that this isn't something that is in his control, but if I'm going to go through all of this just to take him to the bathroom I'd appreciate some success.) While I was helping Cooper button up Ace was pulling a little trash can over to the sink and had the water on by the time I finished. I got him off the makeshift stool, washed Cooper's hands, wiped the sweat off my brow and grabbed two little hands before I opened the door. Back in the open store Cooper said he needed to look at something, meaning he wanted to buy something. I told him if he didn't have any money in his pockets he didn't need to look so we continued out the door. Back in the car, once all the kids were strapped back in and the car successfully started, I stopped, breathed out a sigh and we headed off for our last leg.
    We made it home and then shortly left again for Mere Mere and Popsey's house to visit with Aunt Kim and Rita, who were in town. It was a nice evening to visit and we enjoyed catching up with everyone. Kim and the boys even played some baseball in the back yard.

"Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!" Psalm 150:1-6