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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Trip #1

I never seem to blog enough so then I have huge "round up" posts - guess you can settle in and catch up!!

The past 2 weeks, Charlotte and I have made 2 trips north!  We are looking forward to a couple weeks at home before Jeff travels to Brunei (on the island of Malasia) for a work trip for about 10 days.  When that happens, Charlotte and I are planning to take some long trips to KY and TN to keep company with friends and family :)  Anyway, back to our first trip.

Jeff had a long week at work, plus a lot of freelance video work to do the week of Feb 20th, so that Thursday - Saturday, Charlotte and I decided to visit Spring Hill.  It actually worked out perfectly, that Thursday morning, my grandmother fell in her home and had to be taken to the hospital.  My dad was in Seattle and my mom was stuck at work, so since I was actually heading up to visit her that morning, I took a detour to the hospital instead.  Since spending hours at the hospital wasn't great for a 3 year old, my dear friend Allison let me drop Charlotte off at her house to spend the day.  I was glad I was able to be with Nana in the ER., she was dehydrated, among other things, so she was pretty loopy and weak.  Though it was not the exact way I wanted to visit her, it was the best thing I could have done for her. After she was moved upstairs to her permanent room, I left so she could get some rest.

At that point, C had just laid down for her nap, so I went ahead to Encores Consignment sale to  stock up on clothes and toys for the upcoming season.  I do this twice a year, and was really glad I could schedule a TN trip during the sale. Before we left, Charlotte was very patient with me and let me try on all of her summer clothes that were 2T so I could make a list of things she'll need. :)

I aways take pictures of the clothes that still fit, so I can match the new stuff!

My mom got off work and picked C up at Allison's house so I had a little more free time to myself!!  After Encores, I went to get my haircut. I had it straightened with my new Wet to Dry straightener so wanted to get it dry cut so I'd know what it would look like straight.  During the haircut, I was told I have thin hair, seriously?? I always thought of my hair as think and wavy - it is as a whole, but apparently each hair is actually thin.  The hair dresser said I need to use a leave in conditioner to make it silkier and shinier. I always wanted that, but thought my dried out/somewhat frizzy hair was just how it is.  After she put on that conditioner, I was sold! My hair looked and felt so much better.  I never buy the products they suggest but I did this time.  How did I go 28 years and never know this!?  Yay for new hair! haha  Afterward, I headed back to my parents house to spend the night.  Mom and I were both worn out and watched Water for Elephants - it was a wonderful movie!

The next day, we meet Allison and her kiddos Hazen and Laney at Let It Shine Gymnastics.  On Fridays, they have open play for an hour, for $5 bucks the kids get to jump on trampolines, try out some of the gymnastics equipment and have a good time getting some energy out!!  Charlotte loved it all!  I am hoping the next trip to Spring Hill will be on a friday so we can go again!!

Falling in the foam blocks

Running down the super long trampoline

Rolling down the mats

Mom took Charlotte home afterwards and let me have even more "me" time!!  I wasn't as successful at the Encores sale as I had hoped, so I visited the consignment shop in town "Here We Grow Again" and found a few things there. My next stop was Goodwill - and I always find good stuff there!  Clothes for C, a shirt for jeff, and of course new toys.  I can't help but buy stuff for Charlotte. I never find anything for myself.  I guess that is part of being a mom!

We spent Saturday with my Dad and just had a little trip to the library (as Charlotte calls it, her "old" library) to play with the trains.



All in all, it was a busy but wonderful visit home!

Halloween Weekend

We had a fantastic Halloween weekend!  We journeyed back up to Spring Hill Friday night, visited with friends to catch some of the World Series, and spent the night at my parents house.  Charlotte looooves sleeping at Nan and G's house up on the Ridge!  Saturday we just got to enjoy the day and prepare for the bonfire!

During Charlotte's nap Jeff and I got to have a little afternoon date - lunch and a movie, we saw "In Time" - it was great!  When we got back it was bonfire time!  I love having bonfire's at mom and dad's house.  I remember when our church was small enough that we all gathered at the Ridge to fellowship around the fire at least once a year!  Charlotte really got into the bonfire this year and was very excited about G starting the fire.  We had hot dogs, smores, and just enjoyed being outdoors with friends and family!

The next morning we got to head back to The Bridge for church - it was like we'd never left!  That afternoon Jeff and I got another mini-date - we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch Titans game!  It was nice just being together :)   When the game was over and Charlotte was done with her nap it was costume time!  She was the cutest ballerina ever!!!!

We headed to the Bridge for our church's annual "Trunk or Treat"  and Charlotte had a blast jumping in the moon bounce, trick or treating around the trunks, petting the pony, and seeing friends.

Our little family was exhausted that night and headed back to Huntsville.

Monday was officially Halloween, and that morning Charlotte and I headed to our public library for their trick or treating!  They had story time, crafts, and of course trick or treating around the different areas in the library.  It was a very nice and safe thing for them to do for our little ones.

Sadly, we got no trick or treaters at our door that night :(  I was all ready too!! I guess we'll just have to eat the candy.... oh well.... hehe

Enjoy the gallery below of all the photos from our Halloween Weekend!

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Emotional Day of "lasts"

Today has been the most emotional one (thus far!) for me.  It is Thursday.  We move on Saturday.  Where did all the time go?

I had to contact the Williamson County Animal Shelter just now.  We haven't been able to find any other options for Brady.  He has driven me crazy lately, but still the thought of him not being around and even worse, being in a shelter with tons of other dogs waiting to be adopted... That awful ASPCA or whatever commercial with Sarah McLauclan is playing over and over in my head.  The lady I spoke with was very positive that being younger, and a small dog, with a specific bread, will find a new home easily.  Plus, they will make sure he gets all his needed shots and whatnot updated.  I think this could be a good thing.... Its just hard to actually do.  I don't want to take him and drop him off tomorrow.  Not one bit.

Charlotte and I went to our last story time at the library today.  Oh, I'm sure we'll find another one at the Huntsville library or Barnes and Noble, but still, this one is familiar and C loves going to Her library.

I have a friend coming over today to pack the last 2 rooms - the kitchen and playroom.  Once those are done, we'll literally have most everything packed.  I'm not ready for it to be done.  That means we have to move to unpack these things in a whole new house. I think the excitement of a new house, a new challenge, etc had taken over the last few weeks but it's a little more daunting now.

Charlotte spend her last night in this house tonight. Ever.  That make me extremely sad.  She has slept in her room since the night we brought her home.  2 years and 9 months of that being HER room and now it won't be.  C is very excited about her new house and her new room, etc.  She doesn't grasp the concept of what that means and what will change, I'm afraid for the time when it does sink in to her that we won't live in the house she remembers anymore.  We won't go to the Home Depot where her Nan works, won't go to the Bridge anymore, won't go to her favorite Target store, won't have her Daddy home every day.... won't, won't, won't.

We had our weekly play date with Allison, Hazen, and Laney Combs yesterday.  Had a great time at their house, and then at the park for lunch and time on the playground.  It wasn't until we were leaving that I realized that's the last time we'll see them as Tennesseans.  We have already talked about plans for them to visit us in Hville or us to make SH trips, but still... it won't be the same as living less than 5 minutes from each other and just getting together to play during the mornings.  Because I didn't realize that this was the last time I'll see Allison for a while (she is leaving to ATL tomorrow and won't be back til after we move) I didn't get to actually saw bye like I wanted.  Maybe that's a good thing...

Our last Sunday at the Bridge was Sunday.  Eesh.  The Bridge is what brought my family and Jeff down to Tennessee/Spring Hill in 2003.  (Jeff and I weren't part of the Bridge for a few years as we leaved in North and East Nashville, we came back in 2008)  Josh recognized all the website, video, and tech work that Jeff has given to the Bridge over the years... it seemed so final.  There were so many people I wanted to say goodbye too, but then it just felt like a normal Sunday and I know we'll be back to visit so in some ways it didn't seem necessary.   And then we were done.

The night before, we had our last "hoo-rah" with a bunch of people from church to hang out and watch the UFC PPV.  We love hosting these events.  I had a moment during the night where I just stood and looked at the full room as we pulled chairs in from all the different rooms so everyone had a seat and I wondered... when will this happen again?  How long will it take us to find a new group of friends, a new church, a new UFC bunch ;0), to fill up our living room?   As my mom pointed out, I love playing hostess, and the thought that I may not do that again for a while was a little depressing.

My dearest and oldest (old like we've been friends forever, not that she is old!) friend Sarah also came down Saturday afternoon and stayed the night and went to church Sunday.  Sarah lives in Bowling Green KY, which is only an hour and a half or so away.  It's totally close enough that every 1-2 months she'll come down for a weekend, especially if it is a birthday or special get together.  And she is friends with Josh and Jana Howerton and loves the Bridge, so that's an added bonus for Spring Hill visits!  Now with us being in Huntsville, it is going to double the drive from BG and not have the Bridge and the Howertons to share a visit with.  We've already talked about how she can still come to Huntsville, but I know it won't happen near as frequent.  I'll miss our times together!

Jeff's parents came down Sunday afternoon for lunch and to watch the Titans game.  They live in BG as well, but sadly we don't see them near as often as we should!  I'm hoping that we'll be able to get a full or queen size bed for a guest bed instead of just a twin, and then they can actually come down and stay a weekend! We will be much more intentional about visits with them.

We had a last dinner with my parents too.  They took us to Pancho's mexican restaurant to celebrate Jeff's birthday.  I'm so used to my parent's being 10 minutes away.  We can just decide, hey, lets do dinner. We see them at church, they stop by the house just to say hi, we go out to the Ridge to use their hot tub.  It's easy and comfortable.  Plus, we have built in free and reliable babysitters that charlotte loves!  I know I'll still talk to them all the time, and we'll make many visits. But it won't be the same.  It won't be the same for my Nana either.  We would make pretty regular trips on Wednesday to play at her house and eat dinner (she lives in Nashville, about 30 minutes away from us)  We are all going to miss our time together.  She has already talked to my parents about making plans for her first trip to Huntsville, so that makes me happy :)  I love my sweet family.  Hannah has already moved to Cincinnati so I know I won't see her til Thanksgiving probably, but still, it feels different now.

Wow... this post went long.  I was just gonna write about Brady and our last story time... oops!  I guess is this probably more of a journal entry than a blog post that people will actually want to read!  So don't worry if you aren't reading this, or if you are and you skipped right over a bunch of stuff!

Oh and no, I didn't read over it and do any type of proof reading so no judgement!!