The good, the bad, and the sweaty.

A few entries ago, I wrote about how I'm learning more and more that my adult life consists of simultaneously happy and unhappy events. This weekend was no exception to that lovely life lesson.

Here's a recap: (Again, with no pictures - yikes!)

Yesterday, David and I painted our kitchen ceiling and walls: Good.
This morning, I was terribly, terribly sore because of said painting. (I have zero upper body strength...): Bad.
Yesterday, I spent the afternoon home decor shopping with Andrea. Good.
Crate and Barrel Outlet wasn't all that I wanted it to be, and we didn't wind up buying anything: Bad. (Or good, if your my budget-watching husband. :) )
Last night, David and I went to the movies for the first time in forever. (I think the last flick we saw was 'Juno.' Seriously.) We saw '500 Days of Summer.' In my personal opinion: Good, really good.
We tried to go eat at a random little restaurant around the corner, but they were closed by the time the movie was out: Bad. But really not that big of a deal.
This morning I got to sleep in my cozy comfy bed while David went to play at church: Good.
After I got up and decided to wash the sheets, I unwittingly included my ONE-MONTH-OLD PHONE in the laundry....!!! :( Bad. Very, very bad.
We took the dogs down to the lake to play in the water -- SO cute... :) Good.
Jetta found a few dead fish on the shore and SWALLOWED them whole!! Ugh - bad. And just plain gross.
The afternoon afforded a cat-nap and a shower. Mmmmmm... Good.
When I got out of the shower, I noticed a large puddle of water in our master bedroom... coming from the CEILING!! Our air conditioner leaked and dripped through our freshly textured, primed, and painted ceilings.... Ugh - so VERY very bad. SO very bad....

Needless to say, the evening has been a little sweaty (eww!) while David's been fixing the A/C, but he seems to have solved any problems we were having. Here's hoping. So here I sit on our big, comfy couch (hey, wasn't that a kids' show back in the day....?) blogging and watching 'Dear Genevieve' on hulu while David has the dogs out on the bike. And remembering, especially in light of the sermon this weekend, that life isn't always easy - and thank God that it isn't.

"it may not be the way I would've chosen when you lead me through a world that's not my home. but you never said it would be easy. you only said i'd never go alone."

Day to day things

No new pics at the moment. Just a quick update.

I'm covered in decorator white, semi-gloss paint. Baseboards and closet shelves. Call me a perfectionist, but I can't stand to paint all the trim all over our house pretty new white and then leave our closet shelves dingy dirty white. Besides, I figure I have to look at my closet just about every day, so why not make it pretty too? We're doing a deep espresso in the master bath area, so I'm probably gonna carry that into the closets. And pretty brown walls need pretty white shelves. :)

David's working in the kitchen. We're not completely replacing all of our cabinets, but we're changing the layout a little and giving them a facelift. We're taking out the old oven (the one that doesn't fit my cookie sheets....) and putting in an oven/range. We're cutting out some shelves in some wasted space and putting in cabinets in on the peninsula -- which I think might turn out to be a pretty blue -- eeek! Quite the project, but we're trucking along quite nicely.

We got another dog. His name is Fleck. He's a German Shorthaired Pointer just like Jetta, but we think he's full-bred. He's bigger and brown instead of black. He has a big brown spot on his butt -- Fleck means 'spot' in German -- so there ya go. I like it. :) And I like him. Although, Jetta is a bit jealous of our attention towards him. But she was a little crazy to begin with. A little inferiority complex shouldn't make things too much worse. I hope. :)

And I played Macgyver this morning when I woke up. I went to open the door - and I was locked inside my bedroom. Well, not technically. The doorknob had broken on the inside - where I was conveniently located. Normally, I would freak out at a time like this, but I pulled it together, assessed the situation, and gathered potentially usable tools. Tweezers, nail clippers, and a paperclip were about all I could find. I tried jiggling the knob, unscrewing the knob, tweezing the latch. No luck. After about 20 minutes of fruitless attempts, I called David. "Have you tried using a credit card?" Duh.... One swipe, and I was free. Hey, I was just proud of myself for not hyperventilating or going all claustrophobic. I was a little late for work, but my usually intimidating director just made a little fun of me and didn't scold me for being tardy. Ah, c'est la vie....

"The future is no place to place your better days...."

Home Ownership, part, eh... who's counting anymore...?

So last weekend, I gave up.
Since we moved into this house, I kept thinking that our renovations would take much less time than they have in reality. When we bought the house in February, I thought - surely we can get everything done in a month. If we just work work work, we'll get it done. But after two months, I kinda had a breakdown, and cried for like a full weekend because our house was still such a mess. Then, after March had passed, I thought - okay. Three more months, and surely we'll be finished. Not as quick as I thought it would be, but hey, what can ya do? Sure enough, two weeks ago, I had a similar breakdown as the one in March. There was a some crying involved, and a whole lotta, "I can't LIVE like this anymore!!!" Which can be at least somewhat understood, because THIS:



is what my livingroom looks like right now....!! (Notice the dust under the side table and sofa... Even after putting up protective plastic, the dust carried to EVERY single part of the house.... Aye aye aye...)

So. last weekend, I gave up. I came to the realization that it will probably be at the very least six more months before I really feel like this house is "done." That it's at a point where I feel like it's 'home,' and I don't have to apologize every time somebody comes over. And even then, we still probably won't have all the little projects done. And even if we do have all the little projects done -- we won't have even touched the outside..... Living in a construction zone for a year wasn't exactly what I had in mind when we bought our first place, but I just keep telling myself that when everything's finally finished, it'll be worth all the hard work and discomfort, and we'll have a home that's ten times better than it was when we found it.... Here's hoping!

The most recent project - that only took two weekends - was the flooring on the kitchen side of the house. We have a dining/kitchen/eat-in/utility/half-bath on one side of our house, and the floor extends throughout each of these spaces, so to make it feel more open and cohesive, we decided to carry the same staining/scoring treatment all the way from one end to the other. I think it turned out nicely. It's a little darker than our original plan, but I think we can work it out in combination with the other changes we're planning. Here are some before/during/after shots. All of them are taken from our utility room.

This is after ripping up the carpet in the dining room and the vinyl in the kitchen/utility/half-bath, and sanding the concrete down.

After scoring. I know the color looks different, but it's just the lighting. At this point, it was still boring old gray.

This is post-staining, pre-sealing. I loved the color after this step, and I kinda wish we could've left it like this, but since concrete is porous, it's not the best idea to leave it unsealed.

And finally, post-sealer. Again, the color looks super yellow because of the lighting (and because of my camera), but it's a little darker and browner than this. This is one of the first projects that I think David and I worked on together - just the two of us - from start to finish, so it feels really good to look at what we did as a team. :)

Yesterday, we had to clean the residue off of the floor and let it dry for eight hours before we could seal it, so we went to hang out with the Walkers for the afternoon. I gave Josh a haircut, and since I was playing beauty shop, we all decided as a group that I should straighten David's hair with Angela's Chi. David was not so happy with the result, but it makes me giggle. :)

Teeheeheeeee..... :)


"Me and you. And you and me. No matter how they tossed the dice, it's meant to be. The only one for me is you, and you for me. So happy together.....! Bum bum bum bum bum buh duh duh duh duh duh. Buh bum bum bum....."

Family Addition.

Okay, friends. So last week, David calls me at work and asks, "Hey babe, would your day be any better if there was a dog in your back yard when you came home?" David's been looking for a dog for a while now. We mourned our sweet little Derf, and we decided it was time to adopt another pooch. My day, at the time, had been just fine, so David's question left me smirking and thinking, "Yeah right, like he's really gonna bring a dog home..." But sure enough, when I pulled up to our garage, I saw the puppy paws of this:

in our backyard. To be honest, it took me a little while to warm up to the little dear. It's only been a month since Derf ran away. But it didn't take long before the sweetheart won me over. She's a 6-month-old German Shorthaired pointer with the sweetest disposition and TONS of energy. (Thank goodness we have a big backyard!) The family who previously owned her named her Paris - but we didn't like that, so we named her Jetta. Heeheee... :) Since moving into Chateau Smith, she's learned to sit, shake, and fetch. Well, okay, she really already knew how to sit and fetch, but we've perfected those skills since she got here. We love taking her out and playing - she's just the sweetest thing.

Monday night, I got home from work early, and David had to work late. I thought to myself, "I'll just take that sweet little dog for a walk." So I did. I didn't get far before I realized I didn't have my cell phone with me, and I thought David might be concerned to find his wife's car in the driveway but no wife in the house. Once I got back to the house, I didn't wanna walk anymore, so I thought to myself, "I'll just take her out on the bike. I've seen David do it a million times. Surely it's not that hard." ......... Eeesh.

Not 3 houses down our quiet little street does Jetta's leash get caught in my front tire and the back tire leap into the air, sending me straight over the handlebars.... The slow-motion freefall toward the black asphalt sent thoughts of broken teeth and scar tissue through my head, and I landed abruptly, tangled in the leash and front tire. I caught a quick breath, and shortly after, the bike landed right after me - on top of me..... (shakes head, lowers head, giggles...) Seriously, this is why I don't do anything adventurous. This is why I don't ever take risks. Inevitably something bad is going to happen. Some sort of injury is sure to wreck any hope of excitement or fun. I just need to accept this fact....

Anyways, once I realized I was still alive, no bones were broken, my face was unharmed, and sweet Jetta was still content, I sat on the side of our street laughing and shrugging my shoulders until my phone rang. David called to tell me he was on his way home, and of course, that sent me into weepy little girl mode. I hung up the phone, bit my lower lip and held it together until I got in the house - where the waterworks let loose. I'm telling you, the word, "Waahh," literally came out of my mouth. I heard, coming from my 26-year-old self, the same noises I heard a few weeks ago when my friend tried to put his 3-year-old to bed. I'm such a little kid....

So now I have a busted knee, a twisted ankle, a skinned elbow and a bunch of bruises. I've been wobbling around my office like an old woman for the past few days, but really I'm doing just fine. I probably won't be taking the dog for a bikeride anytime soon, but nevertheless, I'll survive. :)

By the way, apparently this whole dog bike thing is an actual sport called bikejoring. The video below is in a language foreign to me and it has pretty obnoxious music - but it shows you what I attempted and failed at miserably.




Notice the HELMETS and the PADS. Ugh...... :)

"...that we are blessed beyond what we could ever dream in abundance or in need."

Home Ownership, Part 3.

Okay, home ownership update. We've scraped our ceilings, re-textured the walls, and now - we're finally down to the floors... Eeeek!

A few weekends ago, the Walkers helped us out big-time around the house. Here's Josh with the sander we rented for the day. The boys had fun trying to control that thing. It's really powerful!!

This is kind of a before and after shot all in one. The part on the left is where David and Marc sprayed/scrubbed the stain and left it to dry -- looks gray and cloudy. The part he's scrubbing in the pic is what it looks like when all the film is washed off. The part where his feet are is what it looks like once the scrubbed part is dry.

And then THIS is what it looks like now that we have the sealer over it. It's so amazing to me -- like a science experiment that looks totally beautiful when it's finished!

This is what the other room looks like. The previous room is really a deep deep brown. This is called "cola." I just call it "pretty." :)

A few other great and not-so-great things happened this weekend as well.

While chopping onions for a tuna salad, I basically cut straight through the side of my thumb - including half of my nail. Aye aye aye - I've experienced some ouchies before, but this one would just. not. stop!! It throbbed for a good portion of the day, but thanks to my sweet sweet husband, I have a nice little bandage to protect my boo-boo.

This is my Memaw. She turned 84 last week, and we celebrated her birthday on Memorial Day. Now, this picture kinda makes her seem really frail, but she's really doing well, I think. She's pretty much the sweetest woman in the world - and I'm probably not exaggerating. I love this woman.

Ugh, and now for the part I debated about leaving out. This is a photo of Derf, David's dog, while the two of them were in Alaska. So last week I told you guys that we picked up Derf from David's dad's house in March. Well, Derf thought it was time for an adventure of his own, and he ran away on Saturday night. He dug a hole under our fence and took off on a stroll. We've called the pound, we've posted signs, we gone on Derf-hunts. He's just gone.... And I try to stay light-hearted because, in all honesty, I've been a little heart-broken. He's only been my dog for two months, but he's a great little dog... a sweet, old little dog..... And my only hope is that some sweet family rescued him off the street and just decided to keep him and not tell the pound. At least that's what I keep telling myself to keep from imagining the worst. I've been pretty torn up about Derf's disappearance, and I still have a tiny bit of hope that he'll come home. But until then, I'm trying to remember that God is big and can comfort me way more than a sweet little dog can.

It feels strange to write a post about losing my dog and staining our floors in one. But I recognize that this is life. Imperfect and ever-changing. Good and bad happens every day. And I don't mean to get all philosophical on ya. I'm just learning to thank and trust God in the small things and the big things... Not an easy task, but He's good. For sure.

"...just wanna know you're gonna hold me if I start to cry. Oh great God, be close enough to feel you now..."

Three months, seriously?

Oh my goodness gracious... How the time flies when trying to renovate a home...

Well, since my last post, quite a few things have gone on. The main one (or at least the main thing that we actually have pictures of...) was a little trip we took down to sunny Guatemala. Here are a few of my favorite pics. Above is a picture of our dear friends Josh and Angela. The stinking adorable child in Angela's lap is Selena (Selenita). She's the little girl they're trying to adopt, and the family bedside them is a group of sweet Guatemalans who are taking care of Selena in the mean time.


I love this. This is a group of students at the church in Huehue who had praying to start a worship band, and the majority of them didn't even know how to play music. But the Lord provided a school for them to learn how to play, and through random people all over the states, the Lord provided these instruments (and a few not pictured) for them to play on.

This photo was taken at the orphanage where most of our teams from the Village go to do some work. These children were dropped off by their mother the day before. Supposedly she will return when she has more money to take care of them. I pray that she does.
This is Selena and her awesome AWESOME pout. Seriously, it's amazing. And even though I know she's crying, and she's sad and all... it's probably one of the most adorable faces I've ever seen.
This is a view from the top roof. (There are two.) But this is house over the way. So interesting...

This is the clear roof that David built. When it rained, the missionaries and mission teams couldn't do their laundry without getting soaked. But now they can - and they can still see the light! :)

We were still smiling by the time we got home, so I figure it was a pretty great trip. We met some really great people - including some folks from Kentucky - who have challenged and sharpened my thoughts on God, the Spirit, the Scriptures, and my heart. I got to see one of my best friends hold her hopefully-future daughter. We got to experience another culture and stretch our perspective on the world a little bit. I praise God for the opportunity to go.

Home update?

This is David's garden on the side of the house. It's pretty impressive if you ask me. It's got just about everything. If you need any extra lettuce, please come take some of ours. Really.

And this is what our livingroom currently looks like. From the last photos I posted, we've sprayed texture, primed, and painted the walls and the ceiling. The furniture is from my mom and dad. They got new - so we got the hand-me-downs. Not completely my style, but after a little work, I'm sure we'll funk and mod it up a little. :)

Now, don't be entirely fooled. The rest of the house is not nearly as furnished. The majority of our house is still pretty much a construction zone. We're current working on the floors. We've pulled up all the carpet, and we've started scraping and sanding the concrete in preparation for stain. We've tried a few samples, and I'm really looking forward to getting that done. Once we know how the floor colors turn out, I'll be able to aptly choose wall colors - and then maaaaaybe we'll start to bring the rest of the furniture in.



So much else has gone on, but I just really don't feel like typing it all. Home Group is flourishing. Work is actually going REALLY well lately. AND we got a dog! Well, sorta. When David was like 10, his mom thought her son should get a dog. And David thought his dog should be named Derf. (Fred, backwards.) And so this is Derf. He's got to be like 14 years old, but he still acts like a puppy a good amount of the time. I like having a dog around. :)

So that's it for now. Hopefully my next post won't be such a long time coming.

"Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee. Ponder anew what the Almighty can do if, with His love, He befriend thee."

Home Ownership. Part 2.

Alright friends. If last weekend was popcorn scraping awesomeness, this weekend was a sanding extravaganza. As you can tell from many of the following photos, this was the weekend of prepping for texture. Already we're a little behind schedule... but such is life, right?? Here are a few of the weekend highlights:

This is what the boys look like after just a few hours of sanding. From left to right: David, James, Cody, Jordan (the brother-in-law)

This, my friends, is what my living room walls currently look like. After many hours of sanding and re-sanding, we've filled in all the nooks and crannies with buckets of joint compound. Again, check out the awesome scaffold -- the husband's idea.

This is what my husband looks like when I say, "Hey babe, go stand over there and stretch out your arms so people can see the difference between the old opening and the new one!"

This is what our pantry looks like at present.

This is what I look like when I'm sanding the ceiling. In my head, I'm singing, "I hate. this. part. right. here.... I hate. this. part. right. heeeeeerrrreeee!!!

This is what my husband looks like while sanding the ceiling.

This is what I look like after a day's worth of sanding. If someone had told me how I look a lot more creepy than cute, I might have chosen a different task for the day. Eeeek!

So we didn't wind up tackling the texture. I had hoped we'd get that done this weekend, but it'll all get done eventually. Our new goal is to texture this Saturday. Here's hoping!!! So far nothing catastrophic has happened, and we've really been humbled and blessed by the situation. We have far too many people helping us out than we deserve - and it's such an encouragement to have friends who are willing to get messy and yucky -- just so we can have a cute house someday....


Speaking of dear friends, some you know the Sandlins, some of you don't. But they're very near and dear to us Smiths, and we found out recently that Dustin's (head honcho's) job is taking him in a new direction. He'll be living up North during the week and flying down home every weekend. If you pray, I hope that you would pray for the Sandlins. They're friendship and family-ship (not a real word) is so valuable to us... Look how cute they are:

This is what they look like when I say, "Hey y'all get together so I can take a picture of you guys!

And this is what they look like on a regular basis. :) Just kidding, guys... Love y'all!!

"We. Are. Fam. A-ly!"