The House of Bethel- Renovations & Additions

Halloween

Leola the duck!  We had a little trauma with the hat but for the most part she didn't mind the costume.  We had two occasions to dress up:  Trunk or Treat at the church last week and an evening of party-hopping on Saturday.  Apparently she ran out of smiles by Saturday:

 

 

Like I said, we did not like the hat.  But we got over it.

Helping pass out candy to trick-or-treaters at Celeste's house:

 

 

With cousins Mario and Luigi:

 

At Uncle Bob's house:
 

 

Mid-transformation:

These pictures were actually not taken at a petting zoo, but at the tailgate before the Homecoming game several weeks ago.  A pygmy goat is being raffled off as a fundraiser (you can buy a $1 raffle ticket to win the goat for yourself or someone else or a $5 ticket for insurance that you won't win the goat!)  Anyway, as you can see, Leola LOVED the goat.  Needless to say, I haven't bought a $5 ticket.  (Plus, a goat would help us keep the lawn under control in the summer months, right?)

 

 

And, of course, our (second) annual father/daughter pre-game photo:

 

Last year's picture:

Visit from the Perrys

Beth, Maurice and crew (aka includes Laura, Lydia, David and Andrew) came for a visit last week.  We had so much fun and it went by way too fast.  

Leola serves some tea to Lydia.

 

Laura reading a book to Leola.

Leola and Andrew's tea party

 

Sweet brothers!

This was Leola's reaction every time Andrew touched her.  She would also usually scream and cry.  Andrew, who is always smiling, was never phased.
 

Before and After: One Room at a Time...

A realization came to me the other day.  My entire house does not need to be clean and tidy in order to take "after" pictures.  I'll just tackle one room at a time.

So, first up is the formal living room/dining room/foyer area.  Keep in mind that we are still lacking (a) furniture; (b) decorations; (c) style.  Um, okay, that last one only applies to me.  We are also still lacking light fixtures, ceiling fans and speakers, which explains the wires hanging from the ceiling.

BEFORE:  Looking into the formal dining room from the front door
AFTER:  The planter is gone and the hallway is closed off.  We kept the wood ceilings and beams.

BEFORE:  Formal living room:

AFTER:  Formal Living Room:  We added the fire place and changed the windows, floors (carpet and wood) and shelving.

The rock is new too (it also covers the bricks on the exterior of the house).

 

BEFORE:  The Foyer  

AFTER:  Yes, the light fixture was "pimpin'" but it is now gone.... along with the wood wall and the entry into the kitchen.  Oh, and did I mention the tile floor, the door, windows and brick wall? 

 

BEFORE (from the front door):  Please note that you can see clear through to the back of the house!

AFTER:  We took out the striped powder room and closed off the hallway.  We also built out a wall (the green wall straight ahead)to make the family room more intimate and to give the bedrooms on the other side of the wall more space.   

AFTER: With the glass door closed.  The door was one of Bob's many great ideas.  It allows us to heat/cool the "formal" part of the house separately.

If you work for HGTV, please note that we would love new (free) furniture, I mean, we would love any design tips you might have to offer.  Please Candace Olsen, I need your help!!

Labor Day Weekend

This weekend was relaxing, fun and semi-productive.  It started with the high school football game, the first home game of the season (which we won, by the way).  Leola and I went to the tailgate but since I was fighting a sinus infection we headed home before the game started.  The tailgate is in the practice field next to the stadium.  Its a fun time to hang out and let the kids run around.  We saw several of Leola's MMO friends, however I think she was more interested in their sippy cups than in them!   

We had friends over on Saturday night and then on Sunday afternoon visited Grandma B, who will turn 100 in November.  Leola was so good while we were there but didn't cooperate when it came time for pictures.  Here she is with her Great Grandma.

And here is one with Bob's Uncle Bob, Uncle Bill and Aunt Barbara...

We spent part of Monday morning at the farm with Bob's parents and Lynsey, Charlie and the boys.  It was such a beautiful morning to be outside. 

Driving the Kubota with Mimi...

We love our 3 day weekends!

Nothing in particular

I realize I am not very good about updating my blog.  Now that the house is finished (with many "little" projects yet to be done) and the baby is no longer a baby (when did that happen?!) I'm just not very motivated.  And when I do finally sit down to compose, it is usually at the end of nap time, after I've been frantically running around the house in an effort to be productive, and Leola wakes up before I even begin to type. 

I do need to post "after" pictures of the house as promised.  Please see the previous paragraph for the reason why that has not been done.  Plus, I keep thinking I'll do it after "the next" project is done.  And, of course, I would like for my house to be clean and tidy and look like a model home in the pictures.  So basically, it ain't gonna happen any time soon!  

We are currently working on getting the aquarium set up.  We bought it last week but will need some changes made to the cabinets before we can put it in place.  I'm looking forward to no longer having a gaping hole in the middle of our cabinets!  Bob had last minute thoughts at the store:  salt water or fresh?  A salt water aquarium would of course be so much more exotic but also more expensive and high maintenance.  We were intrigued by the idea, for sure, but ended up going with fresh water as originally planned.  I told Bob that he could switch to salt water after he retires and the kids are grown.

As I type this, Leola is walking around "babbling" with a book in one hand and a sock in the other- currently her two favorite "toys."  The other day I caught her putting her socks in her bathtub- one by one.  She gave me a smile that said:  "This is such a fun game!"  It is so fun that she now loves to sit in  my lap and read books.  Here she is with my mom:

Another favorite "toy" is the blow-up duck formerly know as her bathtub.  Now that she's outgrown it, it serves as a fun toy to (a) sit in and look at books, (b) sit in and play with her doll or (c) fall backwards out of on purpose.

 

 

Ponte Vedra Vaca

In July we went on our annual Bethel Family beach vacation in Ponte Vedra, FL.   Leola was only 3 weeks old when we went down last year and so my anxiety level was slightly elevated (although looking back I do find that a little ridiculous).  This year, on the other hand, could not have been better as Leola was old enough to play in the sand and in the water with her daddy.  Her cousins were extremely attentive and gave her the time of her life...

Bob had fun torturing her, I mean, playing with her in the water.  Actually, I have come to realize that there is a reason that mommys and daddys are made so differently.  What Mommys (at least this one) consider to be heartless and cruel, daddys deem to be a learning experience, possibly because Daddys have a higher tolerance for hysterical crying.  At the beginning of the week Bob took Leola down to the water's edge and would dip her down into the water until a wave came.  She would cry and hang on to him for dear life.  Within a day or two she cried only when taken OUT of the water and loved being splashed in the face.

The Bethel girls...

 Leola is soooo big...

 

Watching her cousins play in the water...

Summer's bittersweet end

We have had a fun summer and although I love the fall and the start of school and the sounds of Friday night football, I am dreading the weather change.  I realize that comparatively, I live in a fairly mild climate.  I just really dislike cold weather ("cold" being defined as a temp lower than 50 degrees).  That is why I don't live in Sweden, Russia, Canada or Tennessee.  Yep, even Tennessee is too far north. 

Granted, I much preferred the winters in Miami to the summers (I'll take 75 degrees over 95 with 100% humidity any day!), but I don't think I will ever complain about Georgia summers.  I love the feeling of being smacked in the face with hot air as soon as you open the door at 7am.  I don't even want to have to wait until 10am, like in the Spring when the day starts out chilly.  I don't want to have to put on a jacket or sweater, especially when I'm inside.  Our air conditioning is currently set on 77 and I still get chilly when it comes on. 

All of that to say, while I'm not looking forward to having to bundle up every time I step outside, I am looking forward to some of the opportunities that fall brings.  I signed Leola up for MMO (mothers morning out) at our church for one morning a week.  Today was her first day and she was so excited...

 

It was very strange leaving her there, even though it is in the church nursery, where I leave her every Sunday morning.  I even got a lump in my throat as I said goodbye and was a little hurt when she looked at me and said "Bye mommy.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out!"  Okay, she of course didn't really say that.  In fact, she didn't look at me at all!  She just got right in there  and started to play without even giving me a smile, nod, or "da!" (which is her current favorite word and has a multitude of meanings).  

All of that was quickly forgotten, however, when I got home and hit the ground running.  I accomplished more this morning than I had since she was born.   I  did laundry, cleaned, re-organized several rooms and even practiced my cello (I know, that was truly amazing!)  Still, I couldn't resist arriving slightly early to pick her up-- you know, just to make sure she was being nice to the other babies.  She did great, though, and is now taking a marathon nap to make up for the lack of one this morning.  So, my productive day continues.  But first, I need to grab a sweater.  The air conditioning just kicked on.

First Birthday!

We celebrated Leola's first birthday last weekend.  Although its hard to believe that she is a year old, the past year was extremely long!  One year ago...

  

First taste.  Yummy!

Sampling the big cake as cousins look on...

 

Cousin Margaret gave Leola a pink teddy bear.  Margaret and Leola share the middle name Ruth and so Margaret decided that all cousins named Ruth needed a pink bear.  A keepsake for sure!

Bob's parents gave Leola a baby bed and my parents gave her a doll.  Both were a hit!

Yay, cousins!!

Leola Ruth and Margaret Ruth with pink bear.

More pictures...

Aunt Lynsey, Henry and Jeb brought over a fun playground (slide on one side, steps on the other with a tunnel in the middle) that the boys have outgrown.  Leola loves climbing the steps and even crawling up the slide (with me as a hovering spotter, of course).  But, we have the most fun playing peek a boo thru the tunnel.  The first two pictures were taken right before bedtime.