*come lets take a stroll

Today, the first time in weeks, I got back in my exercise routine. I took a 3 mile jog down the lovely road our home situated off of.  

Here are some of the sights I took in along the way. Some made me smile and reflect on my gratefulness even more and some made me laugh and wonder what they were thinking.  Enjoy!

Alright, so this wasn't on my run today.. but it is pretty isn't it? Henry trimmed one of the Crape Myrtles for us and clipped this off then beheld the beauty!  He wanted me to capture the beauty of the leaf with an image; so glad I did! 

This is the entrance to our house!

One of the neighbors on the road we live on. 

Neighbor.

Neighbor. Uh.. are you getting the drift yet?

Most of the neighbors have horses AND there is a equine refuge right across the road as well.  It is a haven for rescued horses, until placed in a permanent home.

This was what I was so puzzled about. I thought at first is was a whimsical bird house, but no.  The mail box was closed on both ends. (I looked)

*at home

Although very little of our house hold goods are here with us in the Florida house it is starting to feel like home. We all drove down on Tuesday of last week, it hardly seems like we have been here for only 7 short days. Eric flew back Friday of last week, so Henry and I have been working very hard. We have, (I use "we" loosely as far as the flooring is concerned): taken all the baseboards up in the dining room, kitchen, laundry room, living room, den and the bedrooms. Floors has been removed from: kitchen, living room, dining room, den, laundry room, and all three bedrooms.  I have painted kitchen, living room, 2 bedrooms, and all the trim. Also, painted both bathrooms and the trim in those. Henry has been doing an awesome job the last day or so painting his room.  I have used almost 12 tubes of dap, dapping where needed ( I like dap!).  We have cleaned every window jam, every window, power washed screens, power washed the covered area by the pool, power washed the pool area.  We have worked a TON in the yard, sawing dead trees down, sawing large and small branches where needed.  Henry worked tirelessly one day on the roof cleaning all the gutters out which must have had years of decayed leaves in them.  Ok.. so you get the picture.. the list really does go on for a bit longer.. but I will spare you.

I am feeling quite at home here. I ordered these boots a month or so ago from American Eagle because they were 30% off with free shipping. I like them. They have become a part of my every day wear even though I had initially purchased them with skirt wear in mind. They are rugged enough to wear every day I am outside working on the beautiful country home that God has blessed our family with.

This is the real me.

*home sweet home

Here is a sneak peek of our new home!  Today we close on our house that is located near the Gulf Coast of Florida.  When we starting looking for a new home for our family in August, Eric and I had a short list of specific things we wanted, some things that would be a bonus and of course we had a budget.

We selected a fantastic real estate agent to help our buying experience be more enjoyable and boy are we glad we had an agent. He has certainly earned every penny he is getting paid on this particular sale.   I think all three of us are still sort of in disbelief that we are...moving? Moving? Um.. moving? Don't get me wrong, we are excited about the move. We couldn't feel more blessed having the Army move us to the area our oldest son moved to just a few years ago. Eric will finish out his military service of 30 years here in just 5 short years.  We always planned, dreamed and talked about moving to Florida when he finished his service in the Army.  Were just here a bit earlier than we thought we would be!

The pool was on the BONUS list.  (check)

The barn was on the BONUS list. (check)

Acreage was on the MUST have list.  6 acres of mature oaks! (check)

The house need to be in a specific price range and have desired square footage plus- MUST fit the budget. (check)  The price was 40K lower than the range of all the other house we looked at and none of them compared to all that this property has to offer.  The house is older and we have some changes to make.  We can change the flooring, lighting fixtures etc in a house but we cannot make an acre of land have more land.  Know what I mean?  We have fallen more and more in love with the property since we first saw it. 

 

*waiting patiently

Frayja deserves a good treat too right?  Our local commissary carries these HUGE femurs that bring great delight.  Sometimes I can find them already cut into small pieces that she can handle, and sometimes Eric or Henry have to saw them into smaller pieces that she can more easily handle.

(Weight update: She now weighs 102 lbs and still has MUCH to learn and MUCH to surrender to! Apparently we have much to learn as well.)

*a season for everything

Ready for the next chapter. This place has been a real haven to our family. Our boys grew up running through those woods. Eric and I put our touches into the house that is on this land and formed it into the home that we now live in.  We must pack our things now and move our home into the house that is awaiting us in Florida.   We have always loved the beauty of our yard here in Fayetteville.

In the winter it occasionally became a ski slope..

January 2010

In the spring it is abundantly full of life waiting to burst forth...

Spring is a delicious (I like that word) time of the year when new life burst forth after a long cold winter.  To sit and listen the birds chirping throughout the morning is such a peaceful activity. 

 By summer everything is in full bloom and the grass is begging to be cut weekly.  The swing in our back yard is often filled with someone along with a feline of course, simply enjoying the finer things in life.

Don't you simply love four seasons? I do!  As you begin to get a bit forlorn about the hot sweaty days of summer, fall meets you around the corner!  Fall itself has to be my favorite of all the seasons here in North Carolina.  Fall, I will miss you terribly..

I do enjoy raking, as it is something my mother and I always did together in my youth. However, as I mentioned here once before this activity has not been my favorite this year!  We usually wait until the end of the season to rake ALL the leaves at once, but since the house is on the market... well it is another story all together!

Enjoying each season as it rises up to meet me, one day at a time!

*our gentle giant

Frayja, our beautiful Great Dane, turned 7 months old just a few days ago. She has been a great source of joy to us (for the most part)!  When we first brought her home at 8 weeks old, she weighed 16lbs. She was chubby, clumsy and adorable to say the least.  She is no longer chubby but she is still a bit clumsy and certainly still adorable!  She was weighed a few weeks ago and she is approaching 100lbs.

Just a few days ago we were in the back yard playing one of her favorite things, fetch; on her return with the ball it appeared that she was going to trample me.  I thought surely she is going to swing to the side and pass me by. Nope.  She, running at full force up the hill, ran into my upper thigh.  My leg immediately had that "frogged" feeling.  I am sure to have a bruise there.

Some days I wonder why we acquired this beast of a canine in this juncture of our life, but then I look at the positive she has brought to our family and I am settled with our decision in that moment. She is a sweet dog and though she can be high energy it is not her modus operandius.  She has proven to be just what this breed has been dubbed as: gentle giant. 

*good Morning Sunshine

Having grown up on the coast, I am happy to be returning to it in my forties!  The ocean will be just under an hour drive, so much more doable than the drive to the ocean from where we currently live. Thankful for God's handiwork all around us!  It has been a great ride living here in North Carolina.  I have been the partaker for many years of the glorious show of Dogwoods here in the area, that I will miss.  I am convinced that each place on this creation has beauty just around the bend - waiting to be discovered and appreciated! 

Our oldest son lives only ten or so minutes to the beach, so this week while staying with him so we could look at some properties, I  cheerfully awoke just before sunrise each morning and started my day with  the ocean sun rise.  The beaches on the gulf coast  are powdery, not the grainy sand that you will find on the east coast.  This, my friends, can make jogging, walking or even running on the beach next to impossible.  I ended up walking on the sidewalk among many early risers who were getting their exercise in on those mornings as well.  If you park you car and walk two and half miles in the opposite direction, there is no doubt you will get your five miles in on that particular day!   Eric even went out with me on one of  those morning, and while he doesn't usually do the five miles that I try to get in each day, we walked three and a half together.  I was loving every minute of it. 

..maybe, just maybe

We have been away for a week, and are finally back to our lovely home. A house is not a home until you spend time putting your special touches on it.  Although we went to Florida this past week to look at houses for our upcoming move, it was really nice to get back to our home here in North Carolina.

We did look at houses. And more houses. Remember a while back I posted an entry on my love for barns and a desire to have one on our property?  Well, if all of the inspections go without a glitch, and our financing does as well, we will have the desires of our hearts!

I am trying not to get too attached at this point since we have many hoops to jump through until things are finalized.  Our house is still on the market (we are prepared for this.. so don't be fearful for us), we would much rather it sell quickly, but God's will be done.  Prayers welcome!

Have a great weekend.