Finally

Travis found the USB cable last night (I know you were all waiting eagerly for that :) so I am finally able to post some pics. I don't have time to go into a lot this morning but these are pics of the ugly kitchen, the ugly vinyl in the kitchen, the ugly bathroom, and the girls playing in the leaves in the front yard.

The kitchen needs lots of work but at least it's big. I'll take some pics of the island and post those later.
 

I don't have much time to post this morning but Travis finally set up our printer (we've had it for about 3 years) and it has a scanner so I scanned these pictures of Amanda and thought that since most of you weren't around when she was little you might like to see what she looked like. The first one was taken on June 10, 1990 and the second was was at her 2nd birthday party in front of her Big Bird swimming pool.

In other news, Travis and were able to purchase and entire bedroom suite from a guy in Old Hickory that just wanted it out of his garage. We got an armoire (which we'll be using in the living room), a gigantic dresser, mirror, 2 bedside tables, head and foot boards, chair, ottoman and a ceiling fan for $200. I love Craig's List! Anyway the head and foot board are king size and we thought about upgrading but with all of the other furniture there's just no way it will fit. But the guy wanted $100 for just the armoire and when I saw the pictures of it all I figured we could sell the pieces we don't want or can't use and offset the cost of the purchase. Overall, the style isn't what we would have chosen if we were going to buy whatever we wanted but the white washed pine finish is still being sold so it's not out of date and it's the first time we've had matching bedroom furniture since we've been married so I'm excited about that. The guy we bought it from was super nice and has some other things for sale like this Lazy-Boy that's super-cool but out of our price range- I did think of Mary when I saw it though.

It seems like it's one step forward and two steps back here. We finally got the kitchen mostly cleared out and have started stripping wall paper. But last night we had to take the seats out of the van to go get the furniture and so the seats are in the kitchen, the new night stands are in the hallway and everything is in disarray again. And to add to the chaos we rescued a beautiful little black kitten from the animal shelter and she's just as sweet as she can be. Her name is Sophie and she's just great with the girls. She seems to have fallen in love with the entire Button family and we're really thankful to have her.

That's all for now I'm still looking for the USB cable so I still can't post pics. Travis brought one home from work the other day but it looks like the one we had is specifically made for a Kodak camera so no luck yet. I'm sure it will turn up soon. Have a happy Thanksgiving. 

Feather Bed For Sale

Here's our listing at Craig's List. Trav and I bought a Feather Bed a couple of weeks after we bought our new mattress but I hated it. That's a ringing endorsement, right? Well, anyway, I know some people love them and now it's listed on Craig's List. But if any of you wanted it I'd be sure to give you the friends of Travis and Amy special discount rate.

Hello all! I found this a few days ago and thought that if anybody needs a new kitchen you might like to enter. Good luck!

Do Ducs!

Last night Travis was watching the Bucs game and Halle was sitting in his lap watching it with him. It was so sweet, every time Travis would yell she would yell and when he clapped she claped. Finally Travis said "Halle say Go Bucs" so Halle said "Do Ducs!" it was so cute.

Things on the Button front have been very busy as you can imagine. Every day there is a little more progress made on the house but it's still a mess. It's a little frustrating because before we closed all we thought about was painting and the changes we would make but we haven't gotten to that part yet because we're still trying to find places for all of our stuff. We've made a few purchases that have helped including 2 kitchen pantries and a kitchen island. I'd love to show you actual pictures but I can't find my usb cable so I can't uplode pictures to my computer, grrr. The island is truly gorgeous though. We bought it through craigs list and got a great deal on it. We were looking at different places and found different islands that we were thinking of buying but there were about 1,000 pieces to them that you had to put together and we were going to spend more to purchase it through Target. com, JC Penney, or Wal-Mart. Basically all of those places had the same island for about the same price. But the island I found cost less, was from American Signature Home, and is a very well constructed piece. Actually it's the nicest piece of furniture we have in our house. Apparently American Signature doesn't sell them anymore so we couldn't find out what it sold for but it was a much better value than the others we looked at. Travis also finished putting together a bathroom cabinet so we'll have more storage in there and will hopefully put the 2nd kitchen pantry together tonight so I can finish putting the things in the kitchen away. Then I plan on stripping the wall paper in the kitchen and hall, paint the walls in a buttery yellow shade, finish ripping up the vinyl in the kitchen and hallway, and paint the floors in the kitchen and hall with a tan shade of porch paint. We looked into lots of different options for flooring but since we can't afford what we want to do right now we're going to go with the cheapest solution for right now.

I'm also trying to figure out a workout option for me since I no longer have a gym. I'd like to have a piece of cardio equipment and have looked at some options but I don't want to shell out a huge chunk of change right now so I'm still working on it. There is a park close by and soccer fields that I could walk/jog at but the weather this time of year is so unpredictable and it gets dark so early that it doesn't seem like a reliable option. I'm very bummed and the availability of a nice gym to workout in anytime I want to is the only thing I miss about apartment living.

Mom and Dad came this past weekend and saw the house for the first time and assured us that it was bigger than their first place- I can't imagine that. They also got these great goblets for me for my birthday. I just love them and now I just need to get dishes to match...it's never ending isn't it?

Anyway, I'm done for now and as soon as I find that darn USB cable I'll post some pics of the place.

I think I've just spent the last hour or so looking through my archives and realized that blogging is more than just letting your friends and family know what's going on, it's a journal that you can look back on and remember things long forgotten. So, I'm turning over a new blogging leaf so to speak. I have much to write about and with the busyness and stress of the last month I've let it go but I plan on being back in action- at least posting more frequently than once a month.

Anyway, for those of you that are wondering, we closed on our house on Friday, October 13th. It's funny that our first home purchase would be on Friday the 13th but we're not superstitious so it doesn't really matter except for ironies sake. One of the reasons that I haven't posted is because I've been waiting to upload pictures of our house but since there are still boxes everywhere I haven't been able to. But we bought a fixer that needs a lot of cosmetic "fixing" but is structurally sound. It's very small and we don't have enough room for everything so we're having to get very creative but we have a plan and at some point it will look amazing.

God has truly blessed us and we're so thankful. I was driving home from Hendersonville and there was a break in the clouds, the sun was shining, and I was on a stretch of road that has, a park, trees, historic homes, trees, hills, and trees and the wind was blowing furiously, knocking autumn leaves all about and it was truly amazing. It definitely seemed like something out of a movie and I've dreamed of living in a place like this for my whole life and I was so thankful for Gods goodness. I'm looking forward to getting much more involved at our church and Chloe has already started getting involved by joining a dance group that's going to perform for the Christmas program. She was so excited and this seems to be perfect for her and her personality.

We'll have a busy weekend traveling to B'ham for my Mom's 60th birthday tomorrow morning and will come back early Sunday morning to catch the second service at church. And then more unpacking and organizing. I promise to post some pics soon.

Has it really been over a month since I posted last? I'd say I've been slacking but I haven't really, it's just that life has truly been a roller coaster and it seems silly to post about the weather when everything is uncertain.

So, I actually have big news- that most of you know already- but we're buying a house! We had no idea a month ago that it was even a possibility but we decided to see if we could get financed and were very surprised to find out that we could. So we actually have a contract on a very small 3 bedroom 1 bath in Franklin. We could purchase a larger home with 2 baths here but we really want to be closer to our church. We have felt very disconnected since we moved back and decided to go to Newsong so we're very happy to be closer. We mapped it last night and its just over 6 miles to church. Unfortunately it is over the river and through the woods so it will still take about 15 minutes to get there but that is much better than 32 miles one way. The house is a fixer so it's not much to look at on the inside but once we strip some wallpaper, scrape the "cottage cheese" off of the ceiling, prime everything (because it smells like smoke), and paint it will be very nice. We also want to re-do the kitchen, knock down 3/4 of a wall that separates the living room and the kitchen, re-do the bathroom and really just a ton of little projects that I'll list later when we get to them.

We're not home free though, the house still has to pass inspection and the appraisal so anything could happen still but we're looking at a closing date of October 11th so hopefully everything will work out fine. I'm excited for sure and even thought it's going to be a lot of work I'm looking forward to it. 

So, I thought I'd post some pics featuring some of the fun that we've been having here at the Button house.

The first is Chloe on her first day of school. She was so excited and she seemed surprised that it was fun. We've learned two poems so far and the letter I i. A Beka does extreme review and she's a bit bored with that now so I'm sure I'll learn how much review she actually needs but its going well and we're excited. I'm a bit overwhelmed but I'm sure I'll get over it.

The next photo is of Halle and Chloe helping me make cornbread. I use the term "helping" lightly since Halle was sticking the measuring cup in the mix and trying to eat it and Chloe kept taking "pinches" of dry mix to eat. It was fun though and Halle got to wear Chloe's apron.

And last but not least this is what Chloe was wearing when she got up this morning. I don't think the photo actually captures the craziness of her hair but it was very cute. She let me know that her name is "pinky" and she's Chloe's sister. What an imagination! 

More aquarium pics along with scrapbooking with Grandma and a pic with Blackeyed Susans.


 

More Aquarium Pics

So sweet! The only other person that can put Halle to sleep by holding her is my Mom, Halle is very finicky like that. The others are Grandma, the otter exhibit (which I loved) and Chloe and me inside-sort of- a fish exhibit on the seahorse level of the aquarium.


 

The Tennessee Aquarium

These pics are from our trip to the Tennessee Aquarium. I'll post more pics later- I would do a bunch at once but Picasa will only post 4 to a blog (in my experience at least) and I can't get Hello to work. It's probably best like this anyway so you don't suffer from picture overexposure. If I see too many I start just scanning them- I'm sure you're not like that.
So the first pic is of Amanda and Chloe outside the aquarium. I wasn't expecting the fountain and "river" but it was very cool- and hard to keep Halle out of. I let she and Chloe play in it while waiting for Travis to buy tickets but then she wanted to dive in and I hadn't brought towels and wasn't ready to let them get their new outfits soaked. Yes, they were wearing new outfits because Grandma and Grandpa were coming.

We went to the aquarium on a Saturday and I don't think I would do that again. We were meeting Trav's parents there but arrived a couple of hours before they did. We hadn't purchased tickets beforehand so Trav had to wait in line for about 35 minutes. Then we headed to the freshwater side of the aquarium figuring the saltwater side would be much better. We were instructed to go down a level first and then head to the 4th floor and make our way back down. So we headed down to the seahorse exhibit and it was miserable. There were so many people that you had to wait in line for every exhibit. The girls were tired and hungry and so we decided to head down the street and grab something to eat.

We'd never been to Chattanooga before and instantly fell in love with its charm and with the amount of things to do. We didn't have time to explore though and settled on The Mellow Mushroom for some pizza. We had to wait quite a while for our pizza but it worked out great because Doug, Joyce, and "auntie 'Lyss" found us just as we were finishing up our meal. Everybody was excited to see everyone else and I'm sure we were the loudest bunch in the restaurant so we tried to catch up as we headed back to the aquarium.

Thankfully the lines and crowds had dissipated while we were gone so we headed back down to the seahorse exhibit and were able to enjoy things much more this time around. Of course we were trying to take in the whole aquarium- which I was thoroughly impressed with- while trying to reconnect with the Grandparents/Parents/Sister/Aunt. Halle of course didn't remember Grandma and Grandpa and was standoffish as usual. But Grandpa in his great wisdom remedied that by grabbing Halle and throwing her in the air two or three times. Seriously, she was hooked and I was shocked- I didn't expect her to react well to that, but she did and I was very thankful. She was Grandpa's girl after that and Chloe was Grandma's girl so the aquarium experience was much more fun for Travis and me. We actually got to look at exhibits and walk while holding each others hands instead of the little ones.

The aquarium website says that you should expect it to take 2 hours to see it all but it took us every bit of 4 hours and we could have probably spent another 2 hours to really take it all in. I'm sure it was the size of our group but we had a great time. I'd definitely love to go again but I'd like to stay 2 or 3 days and actually take in all Chattanooga has to offer. Maybe next summer.... 

Star Cars Museum

These are pics from our trip to Star Cars Museum in Gatlinburg. I swear I'm a total dork, but when Travis and I saw this on our honeymoon I begged to go inside. They had K.I.T.T. from Night Rider and Herbie the Love Bug outside and you could see the car from the Beverly Hillbillies and from the Flinstones movie inside so I was totally hooked. Amanda has wanted to go since then and this is the first time we've taken her. Since she's a huge movie buff she was soooo excited.

I was a little disappointed because the last time we went it was larger and had more cars. Madonna's car from Dick Tracy was missing as was the Monkey's limousine- very big bummers. But the truck from Twister was a nice addition as was the Beach Boys mustang that Travis and I are in front of. I got Chloe's picture in front of a squad car from the Andy Griffith Show- so cute! But the biggest thing was that Amanda not only got to see one of the SUVs from Jurassic Park she actually got to get inside and have her picture taken! I should add that she watches that movie EVERY SINGLE TIME IT'S ON TV! It's actually kind of annoying- but anyway- for a small fee you can get inside the car of your choice and have your picture taken. It was Trav's idea and she was so excited. She actually had to climb through the window because it was so beat up but she totally loved it. Travis didn't take a picture of that and I'm not sure why, maybe he wasn't allowed so I don't have a copy of that picture to share but it was very cool.

I think I will share vacation stuff in small bites so that it's easier to digest. 

OK, I haven't posted in about a month and I have much to catch up on. I'm not going to take the time to do that right now because I have a lot of other things to do. I will however make a small announcement...I have finally heard from the Lord on the school issue with Chloe. I'm going to be homeschooling her this year. I just placed the order with A Beka Books for the complete teacher and student set along with the lesson plans! I'm excited and nervous but I know I'm doing the right thing.

I have much more to catch up on- a trip to the Tennessee Aquarium, a visit from Trav's parents, a small vacation in Gatlinburg, and tons of pictures but that will have to wait. I'm going to the gym now, have a great day!

Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Life is just a bowl of cherries- whatever that means. But after pitting a couple pounds of the sweet beauties I guess it could mean that life is sweet but definitely has pits. I don't usually buy fresh cherries but apparently they are in season and since they are definitely good for you I decided to pick some up; oh and they are one of Travs faves. I bought some fresh blueberries the other day too and was at a loss as to what to do with them. I could sprinkle them on cereal or just munch on them for a snack but they weren't as flavorful as others I've had so I decided to make a crisp out of both of them. The cherry definitely is the better tasting of the two due to the quality of the berries but they're both very tasty and are one of the Buttons favorite summer time treats- seriously I love summer.
So I'm sure you're just dying to know how we spent our 4th of July holiday so I'll tell you...drumroll please... we spent it at the Fadelys! With the Kelsos, of course, and Michael and Cathy who are a relatively new addition to our group of "regulars". I can't count how many holidays-or non holidays- we've spent with the Fadelys and Kelsos and as usual we had a wonderful time. There was lots of laughing, lots and lots of food, and lots of kids. We didn't - as we have done years past- spend the evening watching fireworks from the top of HMS' parking garage. I was bummed when I found out that no one was planning on going anywhere to watch fireworks since it's one of my most favorite things to do on the 4th. In many ways the 4th is more fun than Christmas to me and fireworks is the cherry on top. But the guys were set on purchasing fireworks and that was to be our fireworks show. Rembering those kind of fireworks as a kid I figured I would be sorely disappointed with roman candles and jumping jacks but I was determined to be a good sport about it. Well, I couldn't have been happier to be wrong. It seems that the entire Fadely neighborhood- Eric included- had spent a good bit of money purchasing what years earlier would have been considered professional fireworks. And really they were everywhere! We got an up close 360 degree view of really great fireworks. I don't think I could have enjoyed myself more if I'd gone to see a show. Of course the company made the day what it was- a truly memorable day. I just wish I'd gotten better pictures.

Is You Happy Is You Nose

Chloe singing- Is you happy is you nose clap your hands- is you happy is you nose clap your hands- is you happy is you nose then you face shuly shows- is you happy is you nose clap your hands.

I love to hear her sing songs from church and it's hilarious that those words are what she thinks she's hearing. I love kids. 

Happy Father's Day

OK, so I know it's not Father's Day but I should document our fun filled, busy weekend. Of course, I should add that Travis was on call this weekend and it was a really, really busy weekend for that. But he got pages mostly at night so he was working all day Thursday and Friday and then all night so Friday and Saturday he really wanted/needed to sleep so we didn't see him a whole lot on those days. But we still had a great weekend and did spend time together when there wasn't sleeping going on.

So yeah, I know this isn't a picture of one of my kids but it's so darn cute! I was trying to get some candid shots- which is difficult once the kids realize you're taking pictures- and he looked at me and got embarrased/confused/temporarily drunk, I'm not sure but it was cute anyway.

So we rented Cornerstone's playground along with the Kelsos and another couple for Father's Day. When Mary first asked if we'd like to do it I wasn't sure if it was something Travis would like but I was wrong. He was so excited about it, even with his lack of sleep. So, we went and played and Travis had a great time and so did the girls. Oh, and I should mention one girl in particular- our little 18 month old daredevil went down the 3 story slide all by herself! What!?! We let her go down the slide by herself? Of course we didn't LET her go by herself she just got away from Travis and slid down head first by herself. So the story goes like this. If you've ever been in the 3 story play area at Cornerstone you know that adults and kids think it's amazing but it is somewhat intimidating for some younger kids. Inside the play area there are several obstacles on each level leading to a 2 story slide and a 3 story slide. Well, if you're a big person helping a very small (Halle) person you either have to go over the obstacle first and then pull her over or put her over the obstacle first and then you go over. Travis chose the latter approach (as I have done also) and had gotten her over all of the obstacles and put her in the entrance of the slide. The entrance is a little area that you sit in to prepare to go down. Well as he was trying to get over the last obstacle she headed toward the slide and Travis told her to stop but in typical Halle fashion, she went down head first. Then Travis said laughing (seriously laughing- I could have killed him) with Kris laughing too, Amy, Halle just went down the slide by herself. I was half way up to the slide and couldn't get to her easily and of course my reaction was "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HALLE WENT DOWN THE SLIDE BY HERSELF- I CAN'T GET TO HER!!!" . OK, I didn't really yell like that but I wanted to. I was trying to use restraint since we weren't the only ones there. So, I tried to get down quickly waiting to hear Halle screaming but all I heard was a little midget voice say "whee". Whee!?! I'm about to have a heart attack and she says *WHEE*! Well, it's Halle, what else would she say?

So, Sunday was spent going to church, my making burritos, chocolate pudding, and flan. OK, you can't really call it flan because it came in a package and it wasn't very good. It wasn't my error this time it just didn't taste good. Really, can you expect to get a dessert like that out of a package? I found a recipe for it and it looks good but the difficulty level is expert. I am by no means an expert baker but it doesn't look all that difficult maybe it's the carmelization process, I don't know but I think I'll try it once.

Anyway, the rest of the day was spent resting and we played our first game as a family! Chloe has been begging us to play Monopoly Jr. with her and I didn't think she was really ready for it but we played anyway and I was definitely wrong. She rolled the die, moved her car the exact number of spaces and when she had to pay for landing on a space she'd say "two dollard coming right up". She was so sweet. The only time she tried to "cheat" was when she wanted to roll a one so she could land on "see the fireworks pay $2". She just barely dropped the die on the board so it would be on one but we made her roll anyway. She didn't get a one and didn't land on the fireworks show and she cried- a lot. But on her next turn she landed on "see the dolphins pay $2" and she was very happy. I think your first family game is definitely a milestone. And everyone on Trav's side of the family will be very proud- they all LOVE games. Overall, it was a great family weekend. 

This is what happens when your 18 month old gets hold of a marker- thankfully it's washable.
I re-made the Jello Jigglers and they turned out just fine. I was surprised at how durable they are when you make them correctly. I think you could throw them and they'd stay
together and they tasted pretty good. The only thing I'd change is that I would pick 4 or 5 shapes and do one line straight down rather than letting the girls do it randomly so that you'd get more jigglers. As it is we got a few jigglers and I had to just cut the rest up. It's not like cookie dough that you can mush back together and cut more shapes.







And finally, after months and months of care my moss rose has finally produced a rose! Seriously, I think I planted these in January. Yes, too soon but the package said you could plant them indoors, blah, blah, blah. The problem is that in January our house is never even in the 70's so they sprouted but they didn't grow very big at all. It wasn't until I could actually put them outside that they grew and finally bloomed. This whole growing plants from seeds is definitely delayed gratification. I think next year I'll buy some potted flowers and some seeds for Chloe to watch. That way we'll have something pretty to look at while we wait.