Big Things come in Small Packages

One of our goals for the new house, is to have a place that friends and family can come to for celebrations.  So as soon as we moved in we worked towards this goal, and we had something major to celebrate...a new family member.  Mommy's brother was having a baby and they were coming to town!  Not only were we all super excited that they were coming to town, we were excited to host a party at our new house.  While it was a lot of work to get the house ready (we had only been here a week!) it was tons of fun.
We strung up lights, put flowers on the tables, and candles everywhere...perfect for a new little girl.
We also built a fire pit to cook smores on (got to get your priorities right).
And set out to celebrate.
All the cousins came and had a blast running around being spies in the big yard.

 

So that was in June, fast forward 3 months and Mommy made a special trek out west to welcome the newest member.  Welcome to your crazy new family Baby Grace...

Your family is already head over heels in love with you.  Your biggest brother can't get enough of you

And you have a big cousin at this house who is beyond excited to meet you...finally a girl to play with.

***A couple of notes about this post...I started writing it over  month ago but just got it finished and apparently we were so excited during Grace's baby shower...nobody took pictures!!!  If anybody has any they would like to share with us that would be awesome.

Gettin' It Done

So when we moved into the new house, there were lots of things we wanted to change...some sooner than later.  Across the front of the house was a very manicured row of boxwood bushes.

 For those of you who know us, you will know that we are not a manicured anything kind of people.  These bushes also got in the way of the sidewalk as we made our way to the front door.  So in true Mommy fashion, I swiped Daddy's Sawsall and went to work. I was able to chop down all the bushes but as I started trying to move them realized they were all grown together so I couldn't pull one without all the others being attached...so what do you do in this situation...

 

well you hook up the lawnmower and pull off the whole batch at once.  It was awesome but also very funny to watch, as a whole trail of boxwood limbs slid across the driveway!  We got all of the limbs pulled out of the way and it has changed the way the front of the house looks.  As with everything else around here, the front of the house is still a work in progress.  So keep watching for the finished product.

As a side note, while I was chopping down the bushes, this little guy appeared.  He hopped out of the bushes and was bleeding, so what do the Fletcher's do???  We chase him down, put him in a box and try to help him.  Abram is an amazing frog catcher!  After cleaning his wound, we released him back to the wild.  I am not sure but I think I have seen this same guy around here several more times since then...or it could have just been another on of the hundreds of toads that seem to be living around here.  They especially like to come out at night when it is time to take Buttercup out.

Everyone Take a Turn

Katie has a toy dog that can swim.  It's neat and all as far as toys go.  One of the accessories is a pair of swim goggles, you know just to complete the look of a plastic dog floating around in water.  Seems boring huh?  Not around this house.

Well, it is her toy.

And well, he is the big brother.

And me...well...uh....I got nothing.

A LIttle Update

When we last saw the vanity it was a plain, unplumbed, yet still gorgeous piece of wood.  Well, after a several coats of stain and poly, some sanding, and visit from our friendly neighborhood plumber here it is:

Yep, it is even more spectacular.  We have it stocked and ready to use now.  Next step is to find a mirror to mount.  Updates to follow.

Birthday Gift

Papaw and GramT so generously gifted Mommy with a new bathroom vanity for her birthday.  The best part is that Papaw promised to make it himself.  I don't know who was more excited Mommy or Papaw.  After and all night planning session and a major search for just right wood, the project was underway.  Mommy and Daddy waited excitedly while Papaw worked.  In a very short time, the call came that it was ready to be delivered.  As usual, Papaw delivered so much more than was ever dreamed of.  After some trimming and straining it was placed in the bathroom.

This picture really doesn't do it justice.  It is made of reclaimed barn wood, completely hand-made, with love!
Now Mommy just has to find the perfect stain.  She is really nervous about messing up something that already looks great.

Oh and a shout out to GramT for all the great supervising she did throughout the project.

First Bounty

Thanks to Papa, we got a small garden patch tilled up.  We really haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to it, but we did find some plants on sale and got them in the ground.  We check on it every now and then.  Today was one of those check-ins, we were already outside and dirty from fixing the fence so that Buttercup can't get out, and I decided to go to the other side of the fence.  Well there were lots of weeds so I started pulling a few and there hidden up under the leaves were these 2 plump, red bites of yummy.  Guess I should finish pulling the weeds and see what else I can find!

Grass, Grass Everywhere and it doesn't stop growing

In case you were wondering, yes we do have a lot of grass and no we do not have a riding lawn mower.  That is until Papa Ted showed up with an everysogenerous housewarming/birthdays/everything for a while gift.

After unloading our new workhorse, we got a lesson, and then set off to start mowing.  The first time we mowed, it took us about 5 hours.  Daddy did most of it but let Mommy try it out a little, Abram and Katie even jumped on for short rides making the 5 hours a little more enjoyable.  Lucky for us our new workhorse come with service calls...which we have already had to put to use.  Good thing we know a great mechanic.

Papa Ted also fixed our blower and brought it back to us with the lawn mower.  Before anybody else to get there hands on it to clean up after the mower, look who got a hold of it.

While it makes me sad that he is growing up so fast, I was also very proud that he wanted to help and be a part of the action (a major change for him).  He is also really good at it, after he figured out that the blower continued to put out air even when the trigger wasn't pulled.

 

 He has become the official blower at our house, now to get brave enough to start up the weed eater!

Morning Hawks

It didn't take us long to realize we weren't in the city anymore (not that we moved from the city but we are much farther out in the country than we were before).  Little clue started us off like the lack of every hearing any cars, the sounds of chickens clucking in the distance, and the total silence at night.  We signed the papers, had new mattresses delivered, and slept in the living room for our first night. When we woke up the next morning, we noticed large birds in the back pasture.  The more we looked the more we realized they weren't just another big bird visiting us.  We watched them fly around chasing mice and snakes and listened to their very distinctive call and knew that we had a family of hawks living nearby.  Of course, we were super excited and tried to be quiet not to scare them off.  We watched them that morning and every morning for the next 2 weeks.  Every morning when we would wake up they would be out there either sitting on the fence post or flying around chasing their own breakfast and hence they became known around here as the Morning Hawks.

They hung around for about 2 weeks and then they just disappeared.  We really don't know why but their disappearance did come about the same time as we started getting lots of rain.  We continue to glance out the window toward the fence post every morning waiting for the day they will return.

Daddy's First Home Repair

When we bought the house, we knew there were some immediate things that had to be done.  Close to the top of the list was take care of the roof, so before anything was moved into the house, Daddy climbed up there to start his list...

 

Yeah, flip flops maybe not the best option but when that is all you have because everything else you own is in storage...you make do!  He did a great job and got what he could without falling off the roof in flip flops and in case you were wondering he did put on tennis shoes and go back up later to finish what he started.

Some More Befores

 

The Kitchen

 Abram's bedroom

 Katie's bedroom

 Sunroom

 Front of house

 Tool shed with pole barn in the background

So this is where we are starting!

A Few Befores...A little taste.

If you read yesterdays post, you know we are all getting used to lots of new things this summer in the Fletcher house.  Tonight has been a much better night and all are sleeping soundly (literally I hear snores coming from every room in the house!).
I wanted to go back to the beginning of this latest adventure and give you a little taste of what it looked like around here.

 

The lovely wallpaper in the living room.

The den, notice the lovely carpet.

So this is where we started about a month and a half ago.  It's funny because we keep getting overwhelmed but then I look at these pictures and think about how far we have come, it is kind of amazing.  We also have to keep reminding ourselves everything doesn't have to be done today so take our time and do it right from the beginning. 

Wishful Thinking...

So, I really wanted to put up a new post with lots of great pictures and information showing all the things going on around here....but if you will notice the time on this post, it is 1:00am and I am just settling down because someone (cough, cough, Buttercup) just can't seem to get settled for the evening.  Yes, imagine Mommy outside in the rain in her pajamas trying to figure out what this animal needs so we can all get some sleep...not a pretty picture.  So, please check back tomorrow and hope for a settling of the canine members of the family!

New Family Member

Today was another big day in the Fletcher family.  We added a family member, now before you get any ideas...we are out of the gene pool when it comes to children but we can add animals.  So today we returned to the Humane Society to pick up our newest member Buttercup.


She is a 5 month old hound/retriever/boxer/who knows what else mix.

 

So far, so good.  The kids are beside themselves with excitement, she is beside herself with excitement!

 

The first time we met her, the kids decided we should name her Hyper because she had so much energy.  Daddy decided that might not be the best name for her, so today while Mommy did paperwork everyone else decided that maybe Buttercup was a better name.

When we got home this afternoon, Abram looked at Mommy and said, "Mommy, our house is kind of like a zoo now!"  "Yeap, 2 cats, 1 dog, 1 fish, 2 kids, a Daddy and a Mommy...it sure does feel like a zoo!"

As just a little background, this all came about because Mommy and Daddy decided that when we had more room and space for animals Mommy could have chickens in return Daddy could get a dog, soooo we now have more room and space for animals to run around.  Daddy got his dog...stayed tuned for Mommy's big day.  Oh and did I mention, Katie has been asking for a dog from Santa for at least 2 years now (that and a horse...hhhmmm).  Abram on the other hand wants a turtle, still working on that one.

 

Welcome to the family, Buttercup, we think you are going to fit right in!

As a side note, we have to give major props to the Blue Ridge Humane Society.  Their animals are so well taken care of, the people who work their truly know each animal and really want to match the right animal to its right person.

 

And we are back...

Okay, so we kind of disappeared for a while but hopefully we are back.  Things got a little crazy at our house (and still are) but I think we are getting it back under control and want to share with all our friends and family how we are all growing and changing.
Since last we posted, lots of things have happened.  The kids have grown up so much.  Abram is now 7 and getting ready for second grade, Katie is 6 and getting ready for first grade.  Daddy is teaching special needs high school kids and Mommy has moved out of the regular classroom and is teaching reading.  The biggest change for all of us has taken a year of hard work...after spending 35 years in our house it was time for a change.  We decided as a family that we needed something different, so we started packing and sold our house.  There were lots of stumbles along the way but a year, lots of camping out, help and encouragement from lots of loving friends and family, 3 PODS, 3 storage buildings and several relatives' garages later...we are in our new house.
On April 26, with mixed feelings, we said good-bye to an old friend that we had cussed and yelled at but that served us very well.



Since things don't ever work out for us like they are supposed to, we spent the next month with our wonderful and ever so gracious cousins...who might I add thought we were only going to be there a couple of days!
Fast forward to the first week of June and we finally closed on our new house...same town, same basic area, new house for the Fletchers.

 

And so, this is where we start our new adventures.  I hope to keep you all up to date on the goings on at our new abode (did I mention it is a fixer-upper), as well as with our wonderful family, sometimes known around here at Team Fletcher because we all work so much better when we work together like a team.  Go TEAM FLETCHER!