Makin' it "Home"

Wow. We were busy little bees this weekend. Last week, in my excitement over our recent move (as in the day before), we eagerly offered to host this week's Life Group meeting at our new house. Well, that put a little pressure on to have the house company-ready before our small group of 15 was introduced to the Mehaffey Manor.

First thing, Friday afternoon, Brad started hanging wooden blinds and curtains on oall of our windows. We dressed the bay window in the dining room as well as each window in the living room and bedroom. What a difference some window treatments make!

Look at our gorgeous dining room. The wall words were a Christmas gift from my grandma, and they say, "The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table." It fits perfectly.

Remember this perfect apartment spot? I'm still sad to see it go...

Moving the aquarium was quite a task. It's a 30-gallon tank (each gallon weighs about 10 pounds) and has three 5-pound bags of rock pebbles scattered across the bottom, not to mention the heavy glass itself. Even with 3/4 of the water drained, I was still impressed by the boys. We stuck it in Brad's trunk for the (very slow and careful) drive to the house.

Here are the new homes for the tank and board games. The fish enjoy the Cubs decor in the office, while the games knocked the extra towels and sheets out of the linen closet. They definitely took over the little nook and left the surplus of linens to reside in the guest room closet. (Hey, we need easy access to our favorite entertainment! And besides, only guests would use those towels anyway. It makes sense for them to be in their room.)
Speaking of the office, here it is. Brad had it basically all decorated when I got home from work on Saturday. (Yes, people. It's tax season. We're working on Saturdays. Booo.) I was really surprised and thoroughly spoiled. I love that we were able to add our personal pictures of us at Wrigley Field to the decor. What a perfect touch.
Since you mentioned pictures.. Look how much better our hallway looks when it's full of friends and family that we love! Yea!

We also hung a collage of prints in our living room. That was Brad's idea. (Isn't he great?) I like the mantle better with the clock above it, as well. It took a little convincing to get Brad to comply, but I think he likes it now. Besides, with those wonderful red curtains up, how could anything look bad?
Needless to say, we were a little worn out by the time the small group came over, last night. (Especially since Brad had to ref basketball games at the church building all afternoon for the Jamaica mission trip fundraiser.) But, somehow we were able to get prepared and even cook the dinner in plenty of time. And, it was exactly the "unveiling" I had hoped it would be! Everybody was overly complimentary, just like good friends should be. Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, we did access that game closet for some rousing rounds of Phase 10. :)

Unfortunately, we didn't have time to put the wall words above our bed. I'm crossing my fingers that we can get that done tonight. That'll be the last big project that will add our personal touches to our humble abode.

Tomorrow, we hand over our keys to the apartment complex. That means we need to have it completely gutted and cleaned tonight before the formal farewell tomorrow evening. I thought it would be more painful, but I couldn't love our new house any more if we had built it ourselves. (Now, if we could only get our hands on a lawn mower for our ever-growing jungle of a yard...)

Of course, there are even more pictures, if you're interested.

(This is my 100th post! Whoa!)

Hammers and Nails

I'm on a mission. A mission to get this house decorated. I want pictures framed and frames hung. I feel like once that happens, it'll be a real home. (And we'll just be waiting on those curtains and blinds, which will hopefully be put up this weekend!) Look how authentic we are with our little name plaque declaring our residence. We're officially a family!

Look at everything else we've been hanging up lately. You'll be proud to know that I, personally, hammered a few nails (with the end of a screwdriver since our hammer is still at the apartment) and hung some of these things up all by my lil' self!

We still have a few more things to hang, including all of the Cubs / Baseball memorabilia in the office. The most pressing project, however, is our hallway. It is my firm belief that every house much have a hallway to display all of their family and friends. What other purpose could a hallway have? But look how empty ours is!

In an effort to remedy this tragic situation, I have embarked on the Picture Framing Mission of '09. I printed over 100 pictures off and am painstakingly placing the best of the best in perfect frames to be strategically placed on the hallway wall. I was sprawled all over the floor past midnight last night working on the task, and will continue tonight to hopefully complete the most important project before we host this week's Life Group meeting, Sunday evening..

I take a billion-gajillion pictures all the time, but always leave them in electronic form and never print them off. I forgot how rewarding it can be to actually hold a copy of your greatest memories in your hands and relive those moments within your fingertips! One thing is for sure, when people walk into our home, they will know, right away, how blessed we are with wonderful family and friends!

If you want to see more pictures of our pictures, you can check out our New House, Post Move photo album. It's constantly being updated with any upgrades and revisions to our home. Remember, the most recent uploads are at the end of the album.

Scrub A Dub Dub

Last night, I had no obligations. Rare. And Heather had no obligations. Also, rare. And both of our boys were spending time together at the Predators hockey game. Not so rare. I was planning on using my non-committed evening to haul and unpack another load of stuff from the apartment and tackle some overdue laundry. Heather was planning on using her free time to get a project done for work. What a great (and rare) opportunity for us to "do nothing" together! We jumped at the chance.

Heather met me at the house and helped me carry in the boxes that I had picked up from the apartment after work (which, by the way, did include my colander as well as our pots and pans - we're good to go for mac 'n cheese, now). I immediately started unpacking and finding homes for everything as she ate the fast food she had brought. Once I was (basically) finished unpacking, and as Heather was working on her project, I started a load of laundry and then joined her in the living room for a leisurely chat session. It wasn't long until my tummy started growling and hollering for me to make it a pizza. Who am I to argue?

When I walked into the kitchen to preheat the oven, I was confused as to why my feet were soaking wet. As I looked around the kitchen, I noticed that the entire floor was quickly filling up with soapy water. AAHHHH!! The next few minutes were a total blurr. I do know I yelled a lot. "What in the world is happening? You've got to be kidding me! Heather! Help!!" I darted into the laundry closet and shut off the washing machine and started sloshing through the giant puddle that was my kitchen. Heather hurried into the kitchen to witness the open flood gates while the current was dousing the entire area. The water was so deep that it literally covered our feet.

"What do we do? What do we do?? How did this happen?" I yelled, as I ran to the linen closet and emptied it of every towel that we owned to haphazardly toss into the lake. Heather (who still had her brains about her) instantly called her dad. He said to calm down, that a hose must have just come detached. Huh. Easy for him to say. He doesn't have to explain this embarrassing situation to his adorable husband when he gets home from a happy, hockey-filled evening.

Once I took a deep breath and stopped panicking, I realized how hilarious this whole situation was, and a light bulb went off: "This is such great blog material!!" What else was there to do but document the whole mishap on camera!? Heather and I laughed hysterically as we splashed through the water scooting around soaking wet towels. After many towel-ring-outs and re-wipes later, we had the main area mostly dried. Heather pulled out the washing machine and wiped behind it while I removed the bottom drawer from the oven and started mopping the floor underneath with paper towels (our real towels were now so drenched that they were of absolutely no use at all). Ew. It was gross under there. But, on a happy note, I did find a little hidden treasure underneath - a random toy gun left by the previous occupants. Neat. We tossed the saturated linens into the sink and called it a night. I could finally cook that pizza my belly had been begging for. Mmm...

Brad came home at 11:00 telling us all about the sudden death shoot-out and tragic loss at the Preds game. He finally asked about our evening, and then noticed the sink. "Why is there a pile of clothes in the sink?"

"Umm, it's not a pile of clothes; it's a pile of towels."

"Okay... why is there a pile of towels in the sink??"

To which Heather and I both exploded with the fiasco that was our soapy-water-filled evening. He didn't quite think it was as funny as we did, and he couldn't believe that we actually took pictures of the episode. (He obviously does not understand the importance of great blog material!) But he did hop right back behind the washing machine and reattach the hose. Thanks, Honey.

And, really, what's a new house without a good, traumatic story, anyway? Maybe, one day I'll be a good domestic housewife. Until that day comes, the practice sure is fun!

Gathered Around the Table

We gathered around our table for the first time, last night, as some of our favorite friends joined us for dinner. Charles and Emily came over so we could listen to the next session of RVL's seminar. Since they were bringing the "entertainment," we were more than willing and happy to feed them. We bought a ready-to-eat rotisserie chicken (which was so scrumptious with very little prep!) and some french bread to go with our mac 'n cheese that we always keep on hand. However, our intentions turned out to be a little nicer than our reality. At the last minute, we had to call them and ask them to grab their pot and colander so that we could actually prepare our mac 'n cheese. Turns out we haven't quite finished transporting our kitchen yet. Oops.

While they were over, they pursuaded to change the mantle that is above the fireplace to the larger shelf that was above our old fireplace. That, however, was much easier said than done. It took all six hands (and three problem-solving brains) of Brad, Charles, and Emily together to remove the one that was already there. (I was busy taking pictures, of course.) Turns out, it was built directly into the cedar panels and required about 45 minutes of brute strength.

It was worth all of the work, though. They were able to remove the old one without making any damage to the walls. I think the new shelf is more modern, and sleek, and Mehaffey. Don't you?

We were able to get a few pictures hung on the walls, as well as our Mehaffey board hung outside of our front door. I'll have to take some more pictures tonight so I can show it all off. We're quickly turning this little house into our very own dwelling space.

Settling In

We could not have asked for nicer weather during our official move-in-weekend! Spring was continually granting us its approval with each warm breeze and breath of fresh air. Praise God for changing seasons!

(First things first: In the hustle and bustle of loading the truck, my camera was left at the apartment! *Gasp!* I greatly regret to inform you that I have not a single picture of the guys lifting anything big or a truck bed full of furniture. Sad day. Now, moving on...)

Brad, along with a little help from some great friends from church (shout out to Matthew, Brian, and Mitch!) were able to move every bit of our furniture to the house, after work on Friday evening. While they were doing all of the heavy lifting and making the multiple trips back and forth on the five miles of interstate between Old Apartment and New Home, Pam and I stayed at the house and unloaded a couple of the boxes that were squeezed into our cars for our single commute. When we weren't using our expert "female" advice to direct each heavy piece of furniture, we were organizing all that we had unpacked. However, we actually spent the majority of our time leisurely enjoying each other's company and loving on Pam and Mitch's 1-year-old son as he "danced" to the music. What a great way to remain entertained as we passed the time away!

It's a good thing that Brad & Co. were able to move all of the big stuff Friday night, because I was left home alone on Saturday. (Brad had to work, then baseball practice for his T-ball team, then a going away party for his boss, then a fantasy baseball draft with the guys, etc. etc.) Chester and I spent the day hanging around the house with the windows and doors wide open enjoying God's blessings. Chester rarely left the back door. He loved feeling the breeze in his face while he ceaselessly sniffed the air. He frequently stepped outside for a nice stroll in the back yard, but he mostly spent the morning overlooking his new domain.

I, on the other hand, got right to work. I arranged all of the furniture in the living room, made the guest bed, unpacked every single box that had been moved over to that point, and set out each decoration that we had transported so far. The pictures that needed to be hung were placed on the floor against each wall that they would soon adorn. I made another trip back to the apartment for a load of boxes, and was able to meet Brad between work and practice for a little help and lunch. Once he was on to his next "engagement," I was back to work. I must admit, I do believe that the house is looking pretty good for being "1-day-old." One thing I love is making a house a home filled with a cozy, welcoming atmosphere. I can't wait to see it once all of the curtains and pictures are hung!

The only downside was that I never found any time to shower. Hmm... But I still couldn't turn down a girls' night to celebrate the DVD release of Twilight the movie! I'm glad my friends are still my friends, even when I show up un-showered, un-made-up, and in the same clothes as the day before. Wow - If I haven't said it enough before, let me say it again. I have such great friends!

Brad and I wanted to inaugurate our residence here by dedicating our new home, and our lives that will be lived in it, to the Lord. So, last night, we appropriately undertook our first task together by displaying these wall words for all to see when they enter our house. There couldn't be a more fitting christening for our home.

We have until the 31st to be completely out of our apartment. We'll spend the next couple of days transporting the rest of our stuff over to the house and unpacking it all as we find a new place to house, display, store, or hide all of it. Then we'll have to spend an evening "spring cleaning" the apartment before we sadly, yet happily, hand over the keys, never to return.

Now, I know some of you are just dying to see more pictures. If you are one of those people, you can always go to my New House Photo Album. Since I just keep adding more and more photos to the same album, remember to go to the end if you want to see the most recent uploads.

Farewell Little Apartment

Last night was the last night Brad and I resided in our apartment. The move is bitter sweet. While we are so excited to move into a house (with a fenced in backyard!), we are still sad to leave this stage of our lives. We've been in this little apartment for over two years, now. That's more than half of our marriage spent within these walls. So many memories to say good-bye to. Please indulge me as I bid farewell to our first, real "humble abode."

Good-bye, faithful Living Room, in which we spent the majority of our time. I will always remember the friends that you have hosted for various movie and/or game nights as well random gatherings. I'll never forget the evenings cuddling with my husband on this couch as we watched reruns on tv. And I will always hold the memory of our very first (wonderful) Christmas at home close to my heart.

I'm really going to miss your most perfect (however random) spot for both our aquarium and our collection of board games.
Good-bye, forgotten Dining Room. Even though we seldom took advantage of what you had to offer, you were always there to look pretty in addition to holding our junk mail. However, your scarce usage makes each dinner eaten around your table that much more memorable to me. Our anniversaries, surprise occasions, Christmas dinner and Life Group meetings. You made it so easy to entertain with that convenient "window" from you to your brother, the Kitchen. Thank you.

Good-bye, lonely Kitchen. You, like your brother, were rarely utilized during our inhabitance. But you always remained willing to prepare our mac 'n cheese, bake our frozen pizzas, chicken strips, and corn dogs, and store our milk and cereal. I know that your freezer will feel naked without the multiple magnets (from each place we have visited) and various photographs, but I'm sure your next caretakers will love on you just as much.

Farewell, my holy Bedroom. You have served as our sanctuary for the majority of our married life and have allowed love to thrive within you, never tolerating or hosting hatred or mean spirits. Thank you for always providing a safe haven of comfort and rest for our young and blossoming marriage.

Oh, Giant Closet, how I will miss you so! I know we may not have always cared for you as you deserved, but you never failed to house (and hide) all of our clothes and shoes. I am eternally grateful for your capacity as well as your ability to keep all of our "dirty" secrets!

My dear Laundry Closet, I have spent more than two years appreciating your convenient location right outside of our bedroom, as well as your handy shelf used for storing all of our random items. Thanks to my FlyLady clingy, you were never forgotten. (Well, okay, sometimes you were. Who am I kidding?) But, please, do not underestimate my gratitude for your faithful service.

Adios, crammed Guest Room / Office. You have been many things to us over the years, including temporary accommodation for two of our greatest friends during each summer spent here. You have not only provided a discrete area to display Brad's passion, but also granted us many laughs while gathered around YouTube on your desktop. But, I have great news! In our new home, you will no longer have to share a room with each other! That's right! There will be space enough for both of you to occupy his own area! See? Chin up! This move won't be so bad, after all!

This simple home has been such an incredible blessing from my Father, above. It was every thing we needed, exactly when we needed it. I have never taken this space for granted, and will definitely never forget it or the time spent here.

Little by Little

The new carpet was laid yesterday. Doesn't it look nice?

We took over a car-full of stuff to the house, since we can now officially move in. What do you think of our packing skills?

Miraculously, we only broke a single, non-important glass. Brad refuses to "spend hours and hours packing and unpacking for a measly 7 minute trip." So, this is how we plan to do all of our packing and moving. I believe this could get very interesting...

Spiritual Warfare

I'm a firm believer in Spiritual Warfare. I truly believe, with all my heart, that there is a spiritual battle going on all around us, in which angels and demons wage war against each other in a fight for our allegiance. This is a fairly new concept for me, as I have recently delved deeper into study about the subject. Brad and I began discussing the influence of Satan and his angels about a year ago when he started reading some of John Eldredge's books. Then, the idea started coming up more frequently in church Sermons. About that time, as I worked through my reading list, I got to Screwtape Letters, a fictional book by C.S. Lewis based around the premise of "one expereienced demon teaching a apprentice demon how to triumph over God," and it gave me an interesting perspective on the various techniques that might be employed by the Deceiver. Finally, our most recent Sunday morning Bible class was focused exclusively on Spiritual Warfare. I could tell that God wanted me to get the message. And I listened.

So, fast forward to this morning, and the battle that was waged right around my computer at work. I know, sounds silly, right? But hey, I already stated that I'm a firm believer in spiritual warfare, and, as I understand it, Satan and his followers will do anything and use any situation, even small and insignificant ones, to discourage us and distract us from our Joy and Purpose. He definitely does not want us to be passionate for our Savior in any way.

Well, it just so happens that I've been a little bit on fire about my faith lately. My Father has been working wonders in my heart the past few months. I have the greatest church family that has nourished my spirituality; I have the most incredible friends that have encouraged my relationship with my Lord. And I have been exposed to the insights of Ray Vander Laan ("RVL") and his ministry, That The World May Know, first through friends and then (coincidentally?) through a video series in our current Wednesday night Bible study. I'm pretty pumped about all of the things I'm learning and the different ways in which my faith is growing. Needless to say, I'm anxious to share it with people.

I came to work today excited to introduce Bryan (a fellow Christian with whom I frequently share my faith) to RVL for the first time and specifically discuss the lesson from last night's Bible study. When he passed by my desk as the day began, I mentioned it to him briefly and told him that I couldn't wait to really talk about it later. He was genuinely interested and excited.

I should have known. Not only does the devil want to squelch my enthusiasm, but he also would go to great lengths to keep whatever zeal I had to myself and not share it with anybody else. So, he started out slowly - my email didn't work. Eh, not a big deal. I was a little frustrated, but you can go on with your day even if your email is on the fritz. Just give it time, and it'll work itself out. I didn't think a thing about it. 1st attempt: failed.

It's Busy Season here at the accounting firm (April 15 is coming quickly, people!) and it's kind of like a mad house around here. Even though it was the start of the day, the phone wouldn't stop and clients were filing in one after another. I nearly grew overwhelmed, but the memory of this beautiful weather that I had just enjoyed on my commute in (and my exceptionally short commute, thanks to spring break traffic) was too close at hand. And besides, having a busy job is something to be grateful for, especially in this economy. I still felt Joy. So, that tactic didn't phase me one bit. 2nd attempt: failed.

Here comes the doosey. As I was placing one call on hold to answer another line, my keyboard stand broke. It just broke. It was no longer peacefully hovering under my desk, but was rather dangling vertically as my keyboard slammed onto my lap, and then my feet, before finally landing on the floor. "Whoa! What just happened! That was random..." Hmm. No big deal. Bryan, our resident handy man can fix anything. After I handled the clients on the phone, I buzzed Bryan and let him know about the commotion that had just occurred up front, and he came right up to check it out. Wow, what a great opportunity to talk further about last night's lesson, while he looks at the mangled mess under my desk. 3rd attempt: totally backfired.

Looks like it's broken beyond repair and we'll have to install a new one. As a result, my keyboard is rudely hogging all of my desk space as we speak. That's that. Moving on. It's only 9:10 AM, and time to go forward with the day. After a great discussion with Bryan, I tried to get back on track with my tasks at hand. Wait-a-minute... my mouse is dead. Just dead. As a doornail. Urgh. Time to call Bryan, our IT guy. He can fix anything. 4th attempt: dumb devil, you should just give up and leave us alone.

Apparently, my batteries just died. Easy fix. He gave me some fresh-out-of-the-package AA's and I popped 'em in ready to get to work. Huh, that's weird. Why is it still not working?? The fresh set should have fixed the problem. By this time, I'm getting on to Satan's scheme. A light bulb goes off, and I become fully aware of the situation at hand. I'm not only in a great mood, but on fire for my Lord. And I'm trying to share some sparks with a fellow believer. Of course the Enemy would want to distract and discourage me! I say a little prayer. "Lord, I know that there is more going on here than meets my eye. I'm aware that it's just silly computer problems, but I believe that Satan or, at least, one of his followers is trying to rob me of my joy and steal the opportunity to share my zeal. Cast him away from this place."

Well, up comes Bryan again to wiggle some cords, jiggle some hooks and rearrange my mouse sensor. Huh, that's all it took to make it work like a charm? Very interesting... We both laugh as we acknowledge the triumph that has just taken place in a realm we cannot see, and we happily arrange for me to bring him a copy of the video series from our church library. We're anxious to further discuss our growth in our faith, and we are grateful for the blessing of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

I can't help but find it interesting how God defeated each of the devil's plans. God wanted me to have that conversation with Bryan. Clearly, Satan didn't. I feel a great sense of "neener, neener, neener" when I understand that every attempt the devil made to take me away from the situation, the Lord used it to bring Bryan back up to my desk! I have a big God, and He can do all things, and His Will will prevail. No attempt from the Evil One can defeat Him. Isn't it nice to know that we're on the Winning Team? Now, it's 9:45. What else is the devil going to try to pull on me today?...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The city of Franklin (a suburb of Nashville) is a very historic area that has maintained its small-town feel, and they frequently host various quaint festivals for its citizens. This past Saturday, they held a Celtic Festival to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, that we just couldn't pass up. Matthew, Heather, Alex, Amber, Brad and I all ignored the drizzly weather in order to partake in some holiday festivities.

Upon our arrival, I was immediately impressed by the girls (some were very young) that did a group jig to Celtic music. All of their steps were so quick that it sounded like gunfire. As we left the performance, we noticed that there was some crazy guy dressed up like a Leprechaun walking around. The girls, of course, had to pose for a picture with him. (He must have been wearing some sort of whisky cologne, because he already reeked of alcohol at 3:00 in the afternoon.) In an effort to include the boys in the photo documentary of the experience, they stood for a picture in front of McCreary's Irish Pub, keeping in style with the event.

An assortment of booths and vendors lining Downtown Franklin were available to assist our seasonal spirit. Our group spent a prolonged period of time at the "History of Surnames" stand. We each took turns looking up our respective last names, and despite the fact that 3 1/2 of us have the same surname (Heather -the 1/2- will join the Mehaffey clan in 6 short months), we occupied the booth for well over an hour. We knew our family had some Irish heritage, but apparently, we are Scotch-Irish, because the surname actually originated in Scotland and has derived from the name M'Haffy. Huh. I kinda like that. M'Haffy. Needless to say, Brad and I got the official history of "Mehaffey," along with our Coat of Arms printed and framed with a seal of authenticity. We will proudly display it in our home proclaiming our identity as well as our heritage.

Complete Celtic Festival Photo Album

Final Touches

Well, I believe we are officially done painting. For the time being, anyway. We successfully completed our living room, hallway, entryway, dining room, and master bedroom. It has been a pretty intense experience, as you can see by my demolished T-shirt. (The Lowe's guy informed me that we wouldn't have to come back for more paint so often if I wouldn't get so much on my clothes. He obviously doesn't know me!) Matthew and Heather joined us on Friday as we finished the dining room and began the bedroom.

We chose "Allspice" for our dining room, since it closely matched the accent color in our place mats. At first, I was afraid it was going to be a little too yellow. But it has definitely grown on me. I can't wait to get our red, white, and black "Fat Chef" decor in there.

What do you think of the difference?

In order to pull the sage green stripe out of our bedding, we chose "Cavern Moss" for the wall color in our master bedroom. Matthew taped the room, and Brad did a lot of the trim, while Heather and I shared the bulk of the walls. Oh, Matthew also helped by painting Brad while Brad painted the edges. Thanks a lot, Matthew. However, both boys fell asleep before too long, leaving Heather and me to finish up the room. I guess it was 1:00 in the morning... Thanks, Heather! You are the best!

Here are some before and afters. (The paint is still wet.)

There have been a few casualties during this project besides just my t-shirt. Look at that poor carpet. Thank goodness it's getting replaced! Our sink, however, may never be the same.

We're moving the last weekend of March. We'll see whether or not we decide to conquer the guest room, before then. I can't wait to see what the house will look like when we actually get all of our stuff in it! It's already been so much fun making it our's with just the walls.

27 Years of Blessings

Today, Don and Elaine are celebrating their 27th wedding anniversary. What an incredible accomplishment! We are all so proud and excited to rejoice with them.

Over the years, they have been blessed in many different ways. This year, they are blessed with an empty nest. To commemorate the 27th celebration of their wedding (and their freedom), they are spending a long weekend together in Chicago; just the two of them enjoying the city as well as each other's company. I can't wait to hear all about their trip as we gaze through 100's of pictures (as she was instructed to take).

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad! I love you so much and am so grateful for the example that you have set. I couldn't have asked for a better set of in-laws.