Emma's Birthday

Emma turned 1 year old on the 20th and she didn't have the best birthday. She had to go to the doctor and get her shots which she didn't enjoy too much. She has discovered that it is fun to climb on things. I was making cupcakes and since our cupboards are so high I have to have a step stool so I got it out and got down the cupcake papers and put them in the pan then was going to put them back up and I turned around and Emma had climbed on the first step. I didn't think that she would go up anymore but she climbed to the top. She still isn't walking but she can sure climb.




I got the cupcakes made and I did a mini loaf size cupcake for Emma. She didn't quite know what to do with it at first. She picked at the sprinkles one by one and the frosting. It took about 10 minutes before she went for it and then she had a great time.

Our Home

Sorry it has taken us so long to get these pictures up. It is always crazy when you are moving and we still have a lot of work to do as you can see.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Home Sweet Home

To all who read this. Sorry for the delay. The internet installation took 4 days longer than scheduled, and Jaynee has been working me really hard trying to get the house ready for our first visitors (some friends over for dinner this upcoming weekend). The house is nearly put together, and once it is done, I take several pictures and make a collage with them so everyone can see what our home looks like now that we have space. This place is nearly the size of the last three places we have lived combined (West Jordan townhome, on-post housing at Ft. Stewart, and the apartment near Ft. Gordon).

I have also started my job, as the "glorified secretary" and I am loving it. Jaynee has been rather busy trying to make this place a home, and Emma loves to move about and up. She does not like to go down the stairs; it is funnier to climb up them. Well, more to be added this weekend.

Formal Walk Through

Friday we meet with the foreman for our home. He took us on a tour of our home and allowed us to point out anything that did not look right, such as chips in the wall, painting errors, carpet issues, missing screws or faceplates. He also explained how everything within the home worked. Jaynee and I are now experts on controlling the A/C and heat within our home, as well as the water controls, electricity, and even the garage door. We will meet with him on Tuesday one last time to review the work that they performed since this walk through to ensure everything was repaired and then we are off to go and sign for a home. I guess it is a little late to have buyer's remorse. I think this feeling will last until we are out of our little apartment and into our new home so we can finally see what we actually have in all the boxes that are everywhere. All that is left is for the appliances in the kitchen to be delivered and installed. That will happen early Tuesday morning.

One More Week Left

In just over one week, we will be closing on our new home. Over the last week, loads of work have been done: The brick on the front was laid; kitchen cabinets installed; first layer of paint on the walls; bathroom cabinets and countertops installed; lights hung and bulbs inserted; driveway poured; toilets and plumbing installed; water heater hooked up; and the final electrical work completed to include all outlets, switches, and plugs.

This next week should be the carpet, tile, wood, and bathroom floors; final layer of paint; kitchen countertops and sink; AC units installed; door handles placed on all doors; landscape the yard with sprinklers, grass, and shrubbery; final clean; and any other minor item that we have not mentioned. We hope you like the updated photos.

For the 4th of July, Lee ended up getting off of work early on Thursday, so we traveled to Alabama to visit Lee’s brother, Dennis and his family. Dennis just recently returned from an oversees assignment and will be moving to Kansas in August. This is the first time Lee and Dennis have spent some time together since they were both in Iraq a couple of years ago. This is also the first time Emma got to see her cousins in person rather than through a webcam.

Friday morning we went to the local pool and relaxed there before the day started to heat up. Then there was a local firework show that night with loads of fun activities and lots of displays before the fireworks. On Saturday, we spent the day doing some shopping and then eating at a pizza place for 3 hours. It is a lot like Chuck E Cheese’s but there were very few people there. Emma had a great nap while we were there. That evening we just spent time relaxing and enjoying time with each other. Lee and I returned home early Sunday morning so we could teach our primary class, but we were lucky enough to bring our little niece Katelyn home with us for the week. She has been such a great help in watching and taking care of Emma. Emma sure loves to have other children around.

Less than 2 weeks of work

Two weeks ago our home consisted of a slab of cement on the ground. So much has happened over the last two weeks: house framed, roof placed on home and shingled, siding completed, electrical and plumbing installed, heater/AC installed, insulation added to the walls and attic, sheetrock hung and mudded. The next couple of steps should be the brick the front of the home, sand the mud off the sheetrock, and lay the tile in the kitchen and laundry room, paint the home, and prepare for the cabinets and carpet. Our home should be ready in 2 weeks and in 3 weeks this blog will be updated in our new home. We hope you like the pictures.