Home Sweet Home

It has been about a month and a half since we have been back in Spring Hill and in so many ways it feels like we never left!! The hardest thing so far?  Getting Charlotte to stop saying "my old... such and such" and just call it her library or park or grocery store.  haha The only "old" thing she has in SH is her old house she spent her first 2.5 years in. We talk about that house and drive by it often :)

One thing I was worried about is that life for many friends in SH would have moved on and we would feel left behind - I'm very thankful that that isn't the case!  Yes, kids are grown up a little more and life has changed, but thanks to social media and the fact that we visited SH and The Bridge so often while in AL, it really helped to bridge that 11 month gap.

Something I was really looking forward to getting back into when we moved home, was doing 'life' with friends and family on a daily and weekly basis.  Boy have we!  When we moved to Huntsville, I was done unpacking and decorating in about 3 weeks (I had no reason to leave the house!) Now with this house, I'm not even finished and we have been here over 6 weeks!  Charlotte and I have had play dates, park visits, library story time, gymnastics, bible study, House Group, visits with Nan and G - and we have LOVED every minute of it!!  We also love having Jeff working from home again :) On his slower days, we have enjoyed lunches out, trips to the park, shopping, and just hanging out as a family.  It's great to be home.

Even though the house is not 100% done (and probably won't be for months or years with all the things we want to change!) I am finally at a point where I'm happy to share pictures with the world wide web.  I know many of my friends across the country, and across the world, have been wanting to see our new digs!  I'll post some here, but most will be over on Facebook, so visit the album there too :)

Some details on the house: it's a 5 year old, 2 story house with a  french country style exterior. We have 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, a bonus room, and loft. Charlotte is very excited to have her own playset outback too!  We have enjoyed our neighborhood so far -all the homes are unique, it's a great location (just about a mile from our old SH place) and a lot of  young families live here.  All the room colors remained the same except for Jeff's office. I may want to change some at some point, but for the most part, I'm glad we only had to do some touch ups - even that took a full weekend.

We are currently in a bit of a unexpected battle over the remainder of the neighborhood with the developer - there are only 30 homes built and another 70+ lots left to go - and he wants to build rental town homes/aka apartments!  That's a whole long story but there ya go!  Totally not excited about this coming about a month into our home ownership, but it's been a great way to meet the neighbors :)

Anyway, on to what you want: pictures!! I'll walk you though the house

First up - the front of the house





Walk through the front door into the Living Room, I love the 2 story ceiling with loft! We still need window treatments, want to change out the furniture, and will eventually hang a tv down there, but I'm happy with it now! You can see the dining room behind... the empty dining room! Need furniture for that one too :)  (everything looks very yellow in the picture, it's a tan paint)





The next room is the kitchen. I like that it is open enough to the living and dining room but my dirty dishes aren't "in your face" when you walk in the door!  We love bay window and our new kitchen table and chairs and the new fridge! And yes, still need window treatments (you'll see a theme soon...) Pardon the crock pot and paper products, our House Group was at our house the night I took the pictures.  (and yes, this room is a yellow/golden color)







Down the hall from the kitchen is the half bath and garage.



 

Then further down the hall is our Master bedroom.  This room needs a total re-do!! I love the new bedding that we got (it's chocolate in color, has a "ruched" effect) and the tray ceiling with rope lighting.  We need furniture, window treatments, artwork, and maybe new paint.  Total project room.  I do like the master bath, it is a chocolate paint color with subtle glossy stripes.  I have drapes to hang and need to add a few more decorative touches.





 

Heading upstairs!! Love the view from the top.  It also is great for sound - I was a little worried about the 2 story thing, I really loved how connected we all felt with our 1 story in AL, but it is so open I still feel connected whenever we are upstairs or down.  And speaking of sound - one of Jeff's favorite features?  In home audio! I love having speakers throughout the house so we can enjoy it room to room.



 

At the top of the stairs, on the other side of the half wall, is Charlotte's playroom. Another reason I love this floorplan - all the toys are upstairs and out of the way but I can hear her and talk to her when I'm in the kitchen and such.



 

First room down the hall is Jeff's office.  He chose a great blue/grey color for the walls.  It's very cozy :)  All he needs is some window treatments - and maybe a new high tech desk.



 

Next up is Charlotte's room!  It was already painted the lime green color, and it perfectly matched the bedding that we got for her 3rd birthday/big girl room.  How adorable!



 

We have a full bath upstairs, need to find another piece of artwork but otherwise I'm happy with it.



 

Across from the bath is our guest room.  I'm so glad to have an official guest room!  We have had a sofa bed in the loft, and a twin bed in the playroom in the last 2 houses.  I have drapes and side table/shelf thing to put in still, but for now all my pictures for the hallway are laid out on the bed until I hang them up! :)  The guest room will be better put together than our master!



 

Finally, our favorite room!  Our rec room/theatre/TV room/bonus room. Jeff wants to get a projector, we still have window treatments to get, and some new chairs. Oh, and our door! The entrance is a doorway that has a step down in the hallway, so it's an odd 8ft or so high.  Our solution is hopefully going to be a sliding "barn door" type thing. I'll def post pics once it's done!  But, I LOVE our couch and the bookcases we put behind it!!





 

That's it for the inside , the final pics are of the back (unless you visit my FB album!) - We inherited the swing set from the previous owner, Charlotte calls it her playground :)  I enjoy the fenced in backyard - I can send her out to swing and slide while I am cooking dinner with the windows open.  I know it seems silly, but I love our back patio - it is raised like a deck, but is poured aggregate with a vinyl railing so it is totally maintenance free (which is totally what we need!!)



 

So there it is! Love our new house, being back in Spring Hill - can't say it enough :)  :)  :)

 

We're Moving Back to Spring Hill!!

Hello blogging world - if you are still around!  I know it has been forever - I seem to be very hit or miss with House of Lyons!  I had to get back on today to share some fabulous news - We are moving back to Spring Hill, TN!

As you probably know, my little family moved to Huntsville AL from Spring Hill in Oct 2011.  Jeff had a great job offer and we couldn't turn it down.  We have enjoyed our time in Huntsville - it hasn't felt like almost a year at all.  Jeff enjoyed working for Baron, Charlotte and I joined a local MOPS group and got to know some fun places in Huntsville, and we enjoyed living in the home we are renting. But after about 6-8 months, we realized how much Spring Hill really had become our home, how much we missed it, and that we really wanted to find a way to get back.  Then an opportunity presented itself to Jeff and we just couldn't say no!!  Jeff will be resuming full time self employment with his company Light and Story and has some great contract work for a current client heading his way. Charlotte and I are very excited that Jeff will be working at home again!

If you are on twitter or facebook, you saw that we purchased a house yesterday!  We are moving to 1095 Achiever Cir - it is in Port Royal Estates.  We love the home inside and out and can't wait to move it.  Speaking of moving in - September 1st is our move in day! Just 10 days away!  It may seem like sudden news that we bought a house and are moving in just 10 days, but believe me, it has been quite the process!!  Because of the social media we all know and love, we just weren't ready to announce our plans until we were able to make proper notifications our landlord and Jeff's Huntsville employer.  And we couldn't do that until we knew where we were gonna be living and when his new client would be great to start working together.  Can you tell there were a lot of cogs in this little plan!?  Regardless, they are all settled now and ready to go!

We are ready to get back involved with The Bridge Church and it's small groups and bible studies, C and I will be joining a local MOPS group, we'll spend more time with our Spring Hill family, be closer to our KY family and friends, Charlotte is also hoping to start gymnastics soon, and of course we can't wait to reconnect with our friends in TN!  I know things have changed for us and everyone else over the past 11 months, but in so many ways I am ready to step back in to our life in Spring Hill.

I think that is probably about it for now - follow me on twitter or FB for updates.  Now that I can finally start talking about the move, you better bet I will be updating a lot!!  And I'll post pics of the new house with all our stuff in it once it gets pretty looking :)  For now, I'll post a couple photos from when it was listed for sell (with the sellers items in it) and you can check out this video as well.  Talk to you soon!

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Tanglefoot

Hello everyone!  It has been just over a month now that we have called Huntsville Alabama home.  Well, maybe not "home" yet, but it is our new residence!   The house starting to feel homey though, we are getting used to where everything is and settling in well I think.  My mom and/or mom and dad have already been down like 5 times, Jeff's parents are coming down this weekend, and we have a couple friends that are starting to plan visits.  The next thing on our priority list is to find a church and start making some friends!  I have kept myself pretty busy with moving and Charlotte and all our Spring Hill trips already, so I haven't found time to really be homesick yet!  With all the holidays coming up, it may be awhile before I feel disconnected from life-as-we-knew-it, and I'm ok with that!  Anyway, enough of my rambling, I just wanted to share some pictures of the house.  Most of you probably have seen them on Facebook, but I wanted to make an official blog post too :)

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If you ever find yourself traveling down I-65 and want to swing by for a visit, just give me a heads up!  We'd love to see you all :)

P.S. Our street is Tanglefoot, if you're wondering why the blog title is what it is :)

Brady Boy needs a new home :(

I hate writing this blog post.

We got Brady 5 years ago and he has been a great family member ever since!  He has been with us through 3 moves but won't be able to make this next one to Huntsville with us. ;(

We would love to find a friend or friend of a friend to be able to give him a new home.  We are not asking any money or "adoption fee" for him.  We just want to find someone who will love him!!  If you would love a little pup to add to your family, please read below and see if he would be a good fit for you.  We are leaving Oct 1 and hope to have him in a new home by then.

Some info on Brady:

He is a Puggle  - one of those designer breeds of Pug and Beagle.  He is a good sized dog - 25-30 pounds.  Not too small and not too big :)

He was born May 2006.

He gets along great with kids and other animals.

He can be an outside dog, but prefers to stay inside.  He currently uses a lead system in our backyard as it isn't fenced, while it isn't his favorite, it would be an option for your home too if needed.

He loves being loved  - will take all the petting and belly scratching you can take!!

He always wants to lay on something soft - like a pillow or blanket.

He is kennel trained for when you leave the house or overnight - he really loves his kennel and prefers to sleep in there and will go hang out in his kennel on his own.

He is a very good and sweet and kind dog.

He loves his chew toys, but will only play a round or two of fetch.  He loves chasing a laser or light, or just being chased!

He is not "fixed" but we have never had any issues with marking or over aggressiveness, or "acting out" because of it.

He isn't really a guard dog, as he isn't aggressive, but he will make a lot of noise when someone is at the door, so that can be nice!

He will need all of his vaccinations etc. updated.  This is an area where we are not responsible pet-parents :(

If you have any questions about Brady or want to meet him or take him home, please let me know!  I really don't want to go the craigslist route.

Here are some pictures of Brady over the years

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We found a house!

We found a house in Huntsville!  We spent many hours, looked at tons of houses, and had to decide between renting, buying, or building.  We finally decided that while it's more fun to buy, especially a brand new house like the ones we were looking at, it would be best to rent for a bit.  We'll get to know the area better, make sure the job is gonna stick ;), and save up some more money for a better downpayment.  We would also have the flexibility to then build the house that we really want in the subdivision we really want and have plenty of time to get that going.

All that said, we are looking forward to the house that we are going to call home for the next year!  It isn't perfect, I think we'll have some creative space planning things to decide, and it's a little further drive from things than I'd prefer, but it's a really nice place.  It is by far the cleanest we have seen (and boy did we see some icky ones!) it is cute as a button from the outside, its got a great yard, deck, and long driveway for Charlotte to play on, and has some great features like a fireplace, hardwood floors, tray ceilings, big bedrooms, and a lot of storage.  It's a little smaller than our house now - 2100 sq ft vs our current 2600, but it's 4 bedrooms, 2 bath, and has a nice sunroom. OH, and one FANTASTIC thing I'm finding in Alabama - most homes are 1 STORY!  I am so looking forward to being on one level and not having tons of stuff piled on the stairs to go up or downstairs. :)

Here are a couple pictures - of course it will look different with our stuff in it :)

Isn't it cute!  109 Tanglefoot Huntsville AL 35811

It's 1.23 acres... Jeff's gonna love mowing this one!

Kitchen is a bit smaller and not open to the living room, but it's nice and clean and laid out well.

Nice LR with hardwoods, tray ceilings, and fireplace. Our biggest challenge is gonna be figure out furniture placement :)

Stay turned for our next blog post: we'll take a trip on our Car Carousel!

We're Moving to...

Huntsville Alabama!

Now some Q&A!

What's in Huntsville Alabama you ask?  Jeff's new job!  Jeff has been fully self employed with his video work for the past 2 years and while we have thoroughly enjoyed this season of life with him home every day, it's time for a change and a little more stability :)  After looking around at multiple jobs around the country, we feel pretty lucky finding a job that is just an hour and a half away from where we currently live in Spring Hill, TN!  We are still going to be close to our family and friends and dear city of Nashville and that is a big advantage to Huntsville.Now for some Q & A!

So what's this job?  Jeff will be working for Baron Services, a Huntsville based company. I'm gonna steal this tag-line from their website because they explain it best: Weather monitoring technologies and applications for broadcast, public safety, aviation, marine, ground, and government.  All that said, you've probably seen their technology and don't even know it!  They have a great video team within their marketing department, and Jeff is excited to be part of a creative team instead of going it alone like the past few years!  Baron is a family company that will only continue to grow as long as there is technology and weather, we look forward to becoming a part of this great company.

Jeff has had a great saying while we have been making this decision over the past few weeks: We are excited to go but sad to leave. I think that nails it to a T!  If you know me, you know I HAD to make a Pro/Con list and we had so very many things make this list.  We are looking forward to the change and excitement of learning a new city and moving to a new home, the financial stability, no more child-care work for me, the benefits (like health insurance!), the fact that it isn't too far away from friends and family, and Jeff's excitement to join a creative team like this.  Huntsville also seems like a great city - it's the 2nd smartest city in the US with tons of bioengineering, aerospace, NASA, and on and on.  It's also made several top 10 lists of best place to live, work, retire, raise a family, and on and on.   It's big but not too big!  The Cons list was of course longer: leaving family, friends, missing our church, having to do the actual move (so much work!), moving a 2 year old from all she knows and loves, potentially being unhappy with our new place, and on and on!  But even with the cons list being longer than the pro, we felt like there were enough major pros to accept this position and move on with our next season of life.

So when do we leave? What comes next?  Well, we are not sure exactly.  Jeff and Baron have talked about the option of starting sooner rather than later and doing some work at home and commuting 1-3 days a week.  We have to look at the ins and outs of that actually working out.  We also have to find a place to live!  We have lots of options open to us right now between renting and buying - and yet more pro/con lists of course.  Jeff and I hope we can get down there 1-2 more times in the next week to two and really make that decision so we can move onto other decisions - like what to sell, what to pack, what about our dog Brady, and on and on and on!  The decisions are a little overwhelming right now but we hope that we can take it step by step.  In general, we are thinking that we'd move in about a month.

So what can you do?  Pray for us!  For these decisions we have to make, for our stress levels, for what this my do to our 2 year old, and for our family and friends that are sad about this transition.  Also, if you have any advice about moving with a toddler, or any knowledge about the Huntsville area, I'd love to hear it!!  We also need more boxes and packing paper if you have any laying around your garage or if you see a neighbor moving in let me know and I can take the boxes off their hands!  We haven't decided what to do about the actual moving - like hiring movers, do it ourselves, etc.  So we may be calling on our church family to help us move... thanks in advance?!?  And finally, we may or may not be able to take our dear Puggle, Brady. So if you would love a sweet 5 year old pug/beagle mix, we may have one for you.  If you are interested in our house... my parents will be looking to either sell it or rent it, so let me know!  I hate leaving them in a possible lurch like this.

Thank you all for being such wonderful friends and loved ones and thanks in advance for supporting us through this new phase!

*photo Credit http://www.Huntsville-Homes.com all rights reserved.