what i did today

Flight attendants, Stone and Spring

February 18, 2011 by Amy 6 Comments

“HELLO EVERYONE! And welcome to North Rock Hill Church!” I had a super time filming our 5 minute intro video for our church. You can see kind of what they do in the TenBefore video at North Point. I sweat(ed?) a lot, had a hard time remembering to smile, my spandex only made my fat roll more prominent and I’m pretty sure I sounded like a flight attendant most of the time “please take your seat and turn off all your electronic devices” but yeah, I’m not going to lie, it was fun. Even if they scrap it, it was good practice speaking in front of people, even if the audience was only 2 and I was reading off a screen.

Also yesterday we went to pick out the stone that will be on the front of the new addition and around the garage. There are 3 options we narrowed it down to. One is the cheapest but I’m not sure if the stacking looks too too busy. We’ll have even more than this…

The next two are the same price, I’m just trying to decide on color. Also, some of these pictures show a mix between the ledge (small skinny, stacked) stone and the big stones. This is Sagewood color in two different installations:

And this is the Natural Blend color:

Here are the last two samples at our house:

I think my favorite is the Natural Blend but at 50% more cost (about $500) I’m not sure I like it THAT much more than the first one. What say you?

And last thing, we are all in a good mood in these parts because it is going to be 76 today! The kids wore new outfits from my mom, looking very springy and happy! I can’t wait for spring!

Interviews, Banks and Tae Kwon Do

February 16, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

Our Valentine’s Day dinner Saturday at Villa Antonio’s. So. good.

I keep waiting until we are at a good stopping point to give you a good update but I guess I just need to go for it!

The addition

We met with the builder this weekend and have everything set in place. He’s just waiting on a green light.
We are still talking to the bank about the financing. I had hoped this would be a quick process but apparently it is not. It could be another week or two until we are set to start.

The adoption

I don’t think I mentioned it but we couldn’t get in this month’s training at DSS so we have to wait until March 19.

The job

I got the invitation to do my interview on Monday and interviewed yesterday for the position. It went really well and now I just wait to see what happens. I hope it all works out to get my start date before the end of the month so I don’t have to wait an extra month for my benefits to kick in.

Random

We signed Lexi up for Tae Kwan Do last night. She starts today at the same time Emma goes to guitar. She looks adorable in her outfit. I think she will be great at it if it doesn’t scare her off that she doesn’t know anyone in the class.
I’ve continued with reading the Bible in 90 Days. I have enjoyed it so much. I moved into the NT this weekend and can’t recommend reading the Gospels enough. Jesus is just so awesome. That sounds so cliché. But really. He is.
Our church, NRHC, has asked me to host our intro video for our new series Words. I’m so much better at writing than speaking (I say that in all humbleness…if my writing is mediocre then you should hear my speaking HA) but I’m looking forward to stretching myself and seeing how it goes!

All Aboard

February 11, 2011 by Amy 8 Comments

Credit

“How did we even get here?” Scott stared at me with a blank face from his recliner. We were making our decision on the contractor and it suddenly hit us that we’ve been on a train called “Addition” and weren’t even sure how or when we got on.

“I don’t know,” I laughed.

And I really don’t. It seems just weeks ago we were just doing life and suddenly we’re going 90 mph ahead trying to get the house done and get started on our adoption process.

Yesterday we had to get off the train for a second and say, wait a minute. What are we doing? Where is this drive really coming from? Are we on the right train? Who’s leading this thing anyway?

I told Scott, “Listen, I feel like in a lot of ways I’ve been pushing you through all this and even though I’ve felt good about it, I want to know you’re in 100%. Just say the word and right now is the time to stop it all.” And it is. As early as next week we could be digging footings and what’s the point if we aren’t going to adopt? We’re at a serious crossroad right now. We either get back on this train and do it, and do it well, or we leave the station.

“Let me think about it,” he said and pushed the button on his PS3 controller to start another game.

It was hard walking away then. To not nag or prod. To list all the ways I thought God had orchestrated this. But this is the part where the wife submits. To let the responsibility lay with the husband. To trust that God would lay on his heart the same message. It’s not that Scott has been against this. Anyone that knows Scott would know he stops a train in its track with a heavy-duty “No” when he’s not into something. But I’m not sure he had committed to it.

Scott finished a few games and then left to get the kids. When he got back he told me we had an appointment with our chosen contractor the next day.

“So I guess we’re doing this?” I tried to confirm.

Scott leaned down on the floor to pick up a piece of grass, “Yeah, I think we should do it.”

So we are. All aboard. This is about to get crazy.

Change is Gonna Come

February 3, 2011 by Amy 6 Comments

Ya’ll today was kinda a big deal. In so many ways. Wanna know why?

The job

I applied for my job today. Not A job, but MY job. I’ve been a contractor for the bank for 10 years now but because of new rules, I can’t stay a contractor. So we’re looking to pull me into a full-time position. I will be upping my hours from 30 to 40 and some other minor changes but I’ll be doing the same thing with the same group. But as you might not expect, there is a lot of red tape to get MY job even though I’ve had it ten years. I even have to interview. So yeah, I applied for a job today.

The call

It’s official. I made the call to DSS today to schedule our orientation meeting. I actually said to someone official “we’d like one child, a 3-5 year old male”. Part of it felt a little icky, like I had just called a catalog order in but ya’ll, when I think about the fact that I just made the first phone call to find my son that is not under my roof, well, it’s a beautiful, big deal.

The house

The bids for the houses should be coming in today. So excited to get that ball rolling. And by the way, I think we settled on that last floor plan. It feels good after staking it out outside and staring at it for a few days.

The car

Somewhat less major, today we also had some car issues. We took the van in for a recall and asked them to figure out why our engine light kept coming on randomly and Honda wanted to do $2700 worth of work on it. Unfortunately $1500 of that is probably legit work that needs done.

Today feels like 2011 is going to be quite the ride.

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Also before I go, you just have to see this video about the Blood:Water Belt. Sarah, Amanda and Mandi had it at Blissdom and it put me in tears to think of all God has done with just an ounce of obedience. All the ladies that have it mean a lot but this is the first I’ve seen anyone talk about it with as much passion as Dani and I have about it. Three more ladies and we have over $2,000 raised! Consider joining?

Daily Floorplan

January 31, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

Did you really think that that would be the last floor plan? I mean really. I’ve posted 52 different versions and we haven’t even selected a builder yet. COME ON.

OK, yeah, I sort of thought we were set. But then Mom came to visit and pointed out a few issues. And then New Old Homes sent over SEVEN new floor plans to consider last night. So, this might be a new feature for a while… Daily Floorplan. So here’s today’s:

This one changed up the bathroom entrance and the linen closet which I LOVE . Makes that entrance much less awkward and it’s a better use of space I think (thanks, Mom). Also, this one we added a fireplace in the bedroom (!). This is wishful thinking and only if it’s in budget. But we have the room and if you know me, you know how cold I get in the winter and would LOVE a fireplace surrounded in stone. I think it would tie in the stone from the exterior really well. I checked out a few Architectural Digests at the library this weekend and it looked so yummy. Here are a few ideas I took snapshots of.

The fireplace/TV idea with the chairs. We’re thinking stone around it but I like the wood too.

Another fireplace idea

I love the idea of having curtains around the bed.

And I love this lighting thing going on in the living room. It has absolutely nothing to do with the addition 🙂

I’m so anxious to get the floor plan settled and get goin’!

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus – Charlotte Review

January 28, 2011 by Amy 2 Comments

We made it out to the circus last night. The kids were pumped and they pretty much stayed that way. They were the perfect age for the circus and Lexi especially enjoyed it. She was pulling us down the corridor during the break trying to get back before they started again. It was the classic circus with tightrope, flying trapeze, motorcycles, the strongest man, and yes, elephants and tigers. They had so many supplies and props with them that they needed to hire this motobike courier called Shiply to help them move their really heavy motorcycles and other items. Walking away though it was the talent of the people that blew us away. People bending this way and that way and swinging high and low. It is truly awe-inspiring to see what the body is capable of.

The circus will be in Charlotte at Time Warner Arena Wednesday through Sunday January 30. I have a coupon code for you to use to either have a fun date with your significant other or take your kiddos.

Check out this page for more information, a show schedule, and how to purchase tickets.

I received this opportunity including tickets to the show because of my participation in the NC Blog Buzz network. I have pledged to give my honest opinion of the product/event. All opinions are my own.

Dragging and Flagging

January 24, 2011 by Amy 7 Comments

Today was the first physical change to the house for the addition. Scott pulled out the bushes we had on that side of the house. I really thought his truck might split in two dragging the second one out. In fact, it only took out half of it the first time. Here is a video of the second half coming out. You can tell Scott is in his element, I even got a thumbs up and a few Tim the Tool Time Taylor grunts right before the video went on.

In other good news we found a survey in our closing packet so A – we did not have to pay to get a new one and B – we didn’t have to go to the courthouse and get it. We found out we have exactly 20 feet to build on, right what we needed.

Knowing that, he put some stakes and string out to show where the room is going to be. The fence is basically our back wall and the string in the middle is the divider between the bedroom and bathroom/closets. 20×28 sounds big but really I think this whole thing is going to close in on us pretty fast. Not that I’m complaining, it will definitely be bigger than what we have. And our comfort is not really what this is about. But yeah, smaller than it looks on paper.

We also started the process of moving all those pipes and wires from the side of the house. And PS, not really cheap to do all that.

One more update..the designer is still working on the floor plan. Hopefully we’ll have it by the end of the week. We spent some time this weekend looking at materials for the bathroom and trying to figure out what the exterior of this thing is going to look like.

Exciting stuff!

Barbies for Sale – Again

January 23, 2011 by Amy 1 Comment

I thought this was a pretty ingenious idea from Lexi. She packaged a doll and dress in cut up tissue and shoe boxes and wrapped it in plastic wrap to make it look like it was for sale. They lined them up on my bookcase and priced them, pretty close to actual price, nonetheless. Possibilities are endless. Well, as endless as your supply of boxes. Have fun!

Posted via email from Amy’s posterous