Exciting Times

We are in the midst of very exciting times. First, Roger started his medicated eye drops today in preparation of his laser eye surgery on Thursday. He is super excited. I am excited for him also, but my excitement can not compare to his. He's been talking about how much easier life will be for him to not have to deal with glasses, contacts or eye exams and the like and being able to actually see clearly with no assistance. He can wake up in the morning and see as soon as he opens his eyes as compared to getting up and grabbing his glasses. Maybe this will speed up his getting ready time. We'll have to see about that.

Also, the appliances in the new house were installed last week. And they are awesome! Better than we expected. I guess what we ordered wasn't available any longer so we received different appliances. But it's okay because they are way better than what we ordered. The new house is getting so close to being done. They are working on their punch lists and finishing up all the details. We will have a walk through in about a week or so to give them some time to fix everything we've found to be deficient. We are so close there's only seventeen days until our closing. We can't wait! But on a sad note, we were informed yesterday our builder did another downsizing and laid off our construction manager Eric. So we are now on our third construction manager. Even though they say Austin isn't being hit as bad as the rest of the country with the economic downfall, obviously we're still being hit.

A Blessing for the New Year

Lord,

As a new year begins, we come to You and ask for Your blessing.

We pray that You would give us joy to fill our days, peace to fill our hearts, and love to fill our lives. Thank You for the plans You have for us in this new year.

We wait in anticipation to see all You will do!

Thanking God for you and praying your new year is blessed in every way.

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

*sharing this blessing with you from a Day Spring e-card received from a wonderful friend

It's Getting Close

We went by the new house today so Roger could see it since he hasn't been there in a week. I was there on Monday afternoon to meet another deck guy for an estimate. We didn't think anything had been done since I was there Monday, but we opened the front door and saw hard wood flooring. You can see pictures we took today at the Flickr link to the right. All that's left are the appliances and carpet to be installed and clean up before we walk through and point out things for them to fix. Right now the closing date is set for Friday, January 23rd. We'll probably move the next week. It's getting close.

Reason For The Season

Isaiah 9:6

For a child is born to us,
a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Rejoice in the peace and love of the Savior Jesus Christ! Merry Christmas!

Texas Winter

This is why I love living in Austin, Texas! It was 75 degrees today. It was a beautiful day and I was able to go swimming. I was talking with a guy at the pool and he said it best. He felt like he was "getting away with something" being at the pool on a bright, sun shiny day at 1 o'clock in the afternoon on a Friday in December. People were laying out. There were a couple ladies doing reverse crunches on beach towels beside the pool after they already swam laps. It was a gorgeous day. And to think late Sunday night a cold front came in and put our highs in the 30s on Monday and Tuesday. It started to warm up Wednesday. Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 80 degrees. But another cold front is coming in late Saturday night which will put us in the 30s with wind chills in the 10s and 20s on Sunday. I'm sure it will warm up again. The last few years we have spent Christmas day in shorts. I'm sure this year will be no different. As long as that cold front Saturday night holds off until Roger and I get home from my birthday dinner I'll be fine in my little, black dress.

Closing

Well, we did our part to close on our old house this morning. The buyer will do his part this afternoon. It feels good to have that done. Now all we have to do is wait for the new house to finish then close on it and move. Sometime around January 23rd. More and more little things are getting done every day at the new house. The water and electricity were connected this week. So we have lights and water. The plumbing fixtures have all been put in. One set has the wrong handles, but the builder has been notified and will remedy that soon. There is one light fixture and one door frame and door to be installed. The fence in the back yard was put up this week. And the travertine back splash was installed on Saturday. My mom got to see that completed when she came to visit Sunday. We gave her a grand tour of the place.

We have already made a list of items we want to get and install the weekend after we close since we probably won't be able to move over the weekend. That will give us some time to get those things done before we move in. It's a long list, but just a bunch of little stuff like replace the vanity lights in both bathrooms, replace the shower heads in both bathrooms, install cabinet knobs and drawer pulls in the kitchen, seal the tile and grout on the back splash, install cabinet and pantry organizers, add an extension to the family room ceiling fan and install a TV wall mount in the family room. It would be nice to move in and not have to still do those things while we're unpacking. I can't wait!

Tile And Countertops

It's more exciting at the new house every time I visit. You think nothing has probably been done since the last time you visited, which is about every other day for us. But then you go and you are surprised by something new. I went by Tuesday evening about 5:30 p.m. It was really too late to go because it was already dark. But Roger wanted me to go by and see if anything had been done. We assumed nothing was done since we visited on Saturday. But low and behold, the ceramic tile flooring in both bathrooms and the utility room was installed. I took some pictures with the flash so they would turn out because it was so dark I couldn't see myself. I didn't notice until I got home after uploading them and looking at the pictures with Roger when he got home that the ceramic tile around the second bathroom shower was installed. It was that dark in the house. So we wondered if the ceramic tile around the tub in the master bath was installed also. Since it was so dark inside, I didn't take a picture where we could see that.

So today I went by during the day to take better pictures and check if the tile around the garden tub was installed which it wasn't. This is when I discovered that the granite countertops were installed. I saw a truck with a few guys standing around it waiting out front of our house. I wondered what part they were working on. I said hello to them and they spoke Spanish so I couldn't ask them as I walked in because I don't know how to ask what are you working on in Spanish. So I waited to find out once I got inside. I was so excited. I try hard to contain my giddiness inside so as to not jump around like a school girl. One of these days I'm not going to be able to hold it in any more and I'm just going to blow. I took a bunch of pictures so I could show Roger. It's super dark when he leaves work so I have to take pictures for him and he waits until the weekend or a lunch break every once in a while to go by the house. I thanked the installers as I left. I can basically only greet in Spanish. I can't wait to see what's new when I go by on Friday.