Moving day(s) are here!

Wow! What an amazing couple of weeks this has been for me! I just returned yesterday from New Orleans! I had an amazing trip and have multiple iPhone pictures to share with you! Not only that, but today starts our move into our new house! I'm not sure I'm ready to do this, but we must move onward to bigger and better things! And by better, I mean much better! Since this is set in stone I can finally tell you that our new house was built in 1805 and is absolutely stunningly restored! I can't wait to share it with you, especially after I put my touch into it. 

This will definitely be an interesting couple of weeks, but I am so excited! So...here we go...again! ;)

xoxo

Tim

Where has the time gone??

Well, hello again!! I am terribly sorry for my absence. I'd try to explain, but the whirlwind that has been my life over the past few months, it's not even possible to put into words. Although, when I tell you what has been going on, you may be able to understand what I've been doing.

Now..where to begin? For starters, that home I was so excited to tell you about in the last post is not ours. :( Someone made an offer while we were getting our financing all in order and the offer made the seller so angry that she pulled the house off of the market and rented it out the very next day. So, we said our goodbye to our dream of owning that home (at least for now) and had been looking at houses almost every weekend. Let me tell you, this has been no easy feat. So for the time being, our house search is on hold and we are doing the noble thing (which we were advised to do all along) and saving up a larger down payment so that we can get exactly the house we want the first time around!

I also realized that I never showed you an updated picture of our rental house (other than Christmas) after some changes (cheap and simple) that we made.

The rental house with a freshly painted glossy black door and stained front porch taken last fall.

Along with cleaning up the front, I painted the other two exterior doors the same black, made a walkway with gravel and cobblestones to the driveway and painted much of the interior trim, as well as repainting the entire mudroom.

So far this summer, I've stayed busy as well with work and family visiting. Actually, my brother, sister-in-law, and two nieces are coming up next week, as well! So, I've been cleaning, cooking and playing tour guide quite a bit this summer.

I'll start off in May, when Shaun's parents visited. They came up to celebrate Memorial Day with us, so of course, we had to have some very bizarre weather. In most of the state it rained, but at our house it....

SNOWED!

This picture was taken on May 25th, and we couldn't believe our eyes. While it was most unwelcome and gone by the next afternoon, it was quite beautiful and spectacular to behold!

Here are some pictures to show the rest of of the summer thus far.

A beautiful tree on campus where I work.

Our freshly mown backyard.

Down the street.

At the lake.

At the lake.

A new friend? No. He was kind of angry because I wasn't allowed to share my snacks.

 Nubble Lighthouse, York, Maine.

 York, Maine.

York, Maine.

This is about all the pretty New England life that I've got to experience lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm still incredibly happy to be living here! But this summer has been kicking my butt, and I'm definitely excited to be spending some more quality time with my family.

I think that I've gotten you pretty much up to speed, except for the last bit of news that I'm pretty sad to be writing about. The house that we currently live in (which I mentioned was for sale in my first post about the house) has finally sold. 

Damnit. I knew I made it look too great!

Anyway, so we are on the hunt for a new place to live. We haven't been given a definite move out date, but trying to stay ahead of the game is the only way that I feel I have some control over this situation. I'm a little bummed, except for the house we found. Swoon. 

No details yet. I'm doing my best not to interfere with fate. The new house to rent is not promised to us yet, but we are very hopeful. I should have some details within the week and I DO PROMISE to never be gone that long again!

Here's hoping!

xoxo

Tim

Finnegan.

Allow me to introduce to you our newest family member, Finnegan. He has, without a doubt, introduced us to what it is like to have a puppy join the family.

In the short time he has been with us, he has already brought us so much joy and has taught us so many lessons (Don’t leave the bathroom door open, don’t leave papers that you would like to see again within his reach, etc.) It has been a wonderful experience and so much fun, that I cannot even begin to describe.

I won’t even begin to talk about how many pet adoption websites that I browsed and called and applied to adopt dogs. I finally came across a breeder that had him listed for a cheaper price than most of the adoption places I had contacted! He was 4 months old at the time, and we drove 4 hours to Canton, Ohio to pick up our boy. 

I would make that drive a thousand more times.

The cats, well, let’s just say they are still warming up…three months later. I feel for Finnegan. You can see the love in his eyes every time he sees Felix or Pumpkin, but they will have absolutely nothing to do with him.  They are warming up to him, but it is an ongoing process.

No matter how the cats feel, we love having Finnegan in our home. But no worries, the cats still get PLENTY of attention, when they want, of course. 

xoxo

Tim

Pumpkin.

Then came Pumpkin.

Pumpkin came home just one short week after Felix. They were both from the same litter and we found out that she was the only one left. Well, we couldn’t stand that thought, let alone that Felix was home alone for several hours every week by himself, so we picked up this sweetheart.

She was so scared when we first brought her home, which was surprising! We had only had Felix one week and he never showed a single sign of nervousness. For those of you who think animals don’t have feelings, well, you are mistaken. 

She found safe haven under the couch for a few hours, but when she knew we were okay, she quickly joined our family.

Pumpkin and Felix are entirely inseparable. This fact has brought about some beautiful “Kodak Moments”.

Although they are from the same litter, she is indeed her own person. She has just as much personality as Felix and is just as different. She is still a very nervous animal, and we have no clue as to why, but we just take it as one of her quirks. Every sign of affection is on her terms, but that’s okay. Once she decides to love you, there’s not enough room for all of the love she gives! 

-Tim

Felix.

Felix was our first addition to the family. He came home with us in the fall of 2008. At the time, Shaun was working late into the evening, so I was home by myself until around 1 or 2 in the morning. Well, this being my first apartment and first time living away from home, I was pretty nervous being by myself at night. My nervousness would soon become eased with our adoption of Felix. A woman Shaun worked with had posted a flyer in the office saying that her cat had kittens and that they needed to rehome.

On a side note, I have always been an animal person but never much of a cat person.

I was unsure about getting a kitten, but seeing as how our apartment complex only accepted cats, that would be just fine with me! So, home came Felix.

From that moment on, I was cat person. He was so sweet and calm, but definitely interested in everything! He helped ease my feelings of nervousness because now I was never home alone!

No matter how much I try, I will never even begin to describe the amount of personality this boy has. He fetches (yes, really!), he cuddles, he chases, he naps, he loves having his belly pet…he just loves!

I still find it hard to believe that he is not a baby anymore!  But no matter how much he grows, he is still my first baby boy..the boy that couldn’t even reach his food without standing on the edge of the bowl. How cute is that??!!

He’s all grown up now, with just as much personality as ever!

-Tim