Life as we know it...

We've been so incredibly busy the past few months. I've been working hard at graduate school. I'll be half way done in about two weeks. My official graduation date in May 2012. Unfortunately, Winthrop wasn't offering enough classes for me to take this summer to be able to graduate in December.

We've been busy working in our yard. It's been a lot of fun making it ours. We started a little herb/veggie garden. I grew up gardening with my parents and grandparents. I hated it then, but its so therapeutic now. The previous homeowners had rosemary, cilantro, and parsley growing. I thought that they died over the winter, but it all came back to life! I added tomatoes and peppers. I'm ready for lots of fresh salsa and fresh tomato soup.

We've also planted hydrangeas, blueberry bushes, and a blackberry bush. When we lived in Clemson, I visited the Happy Berry Farm almost twice a week. I knew that I was destined to have blueberry bushes once we owned a home... and now I have them. I don't know if they'll make blueberries this year, but I'm hoping!

Our family is coming in this Thursday. Dan's mom and dad are coming down to see our house. They haven't been able to come down since Christmas 2009, so its going to be so great to have them down. They haven't seen our new house or really Charlotte at all. When they came in 2009, we had just moved to Charlotte, seriously, 5 days before they came. So, we are really excited to just show them around Charlotte, take them to our favorite restaurants, and take them Elevation on Easter! It's going to be a fun weekend.

We also had the pleasure of having Vanessa Schrotenboer take our pictures as a gift to us. She's amazing! I'll leave you with couple of pictures.

Blizzard of 2011

Here we are... on a SNOW day! It started snowing around 4:30 this morning and has not stopped at all. I don't think I've ever seen snow fall for this long in my whole life.

It's crazy to think that two weeks ago, we were enjoying snow. And one week ago, we had a cookout for lunch. Now, there is inches of snow on the ground again. I love snow and its always magical in the South. But, I am a Southern girl through and through, and I'm beginning to dream of Spring.

It's been a little bittersweet. Dan had to go into work today. We played a little bit this morning and made a big breakfast- so that helped make me feel better!

I do love snow, but as a teacher, it is different. I've been thinking of my students, hoping that their eating and warm, and thinking about how much we needed to get done this week in class. Overall though, I'm overjoyed to have an extra day off (maybe two!). I hope that you enjoy your day of snow, if you're in the area, and if not- soak up some sunshine for me!

Home improvements Pt. 2

Pictures of our recent home improvements...

Our living room is finally finished. It was one big open room, we finally got new furniture. The Christmas tree looks so small here. We bought the tree when we lived in our 500 sq. ft. apartment... now it looks so tiny here. I'm such a bargain shopper that I can't bring myself to buy a new one right now... I'll get a new one during after Christmas sales. :)

New couch and ottoman! We love it and it is so comfy! There is walking space behind the couch and book shelf. Dan built the bookshelf a couple of years ago for us. I am still so impressed by him. He can do anything that he sets his mind to- and does it GREAT.

Our new GREEN kitchen. I've wanted a green kitchen for at least 7 years. The color is bold, but not overwhelming. It's my favorite shade of green and we couldn't love it more. I think we did an awesome job of painting for our first time with no help. :)

We also painted an accent wall in the guest room. I love it so much- sometimes I want to stay in that room instead!

We've been so blessed in our new home. We are praying that our home will be used to glorify Jesus and that people would feel His love and presence when they walk in the door.

Home Improvements

This weekend Dan and I finally got some things done around our home. We got our guest room put together and started painting it. We also painted our kitchen. If you know me at all, you probably know how much I love the color green and how much I love to cook. My favorite room in the house is the kitchen. For years, I've wanted a certain shade of green kitchen. Well, we found that shade in paint and painted it this weekend. We used our extra hour last night painting away. We both absolutely love it. It's really earthy and vibrant... I'll share pictures one day this week once we completely finish both rooms.

I love working with Dan on something like this. It's fun to spend the time together and we make a great team.