Next...the Mudroom!

One of many things I have loved about our house is the extra large laundry/mudroom/office and 1/2 bath. But for nine years we have looked at rose and cream colored torn vinyl, and it was time to update with some ceramic tile...Carolina clay color. As with the roof, tearing out the old flooring created a big mess, and at one point there was actually a toilet on our deck! At the end of it all we wondered why on earth we hadn't done it sooner. Isn't that always the case? Have a great weekend everyone!

New tile

Our appliances taking up our eat-in kitchen area

Pulling up the old

 EZ got in to the action too

Getting there

Mess!

Toilet on the deck anyone?

A muddy mess...

The floor is done!

Newly painted cabinet doors that EZ added to cover my "stuff"

First Things First...the Roof!

Before we could list our home, there was the matter of some major and minor projects, beginning with a new roof. Our house was built in 1988 and the roof is original, so it was time. I had no idea what a mess it was going to create, but the end result was definitely worth it and we knew it would help in the sale of the house. The architectural shingles were nailed down by hand, so there was ALOT of banging. Four days of banging to be exact. Those men were amazing up there on that roof!

Shingles, shingles and more shingles

The old roof...ugh!

The mess

Off with the old, on with the new (glad they had safety lines, but I still couldn't watch)

Old on left, new on right

Done...and we love it!

 

Time to Move On

Change is never easy, but beginning last Fall it was becoming increasingly obvious to us that it might be time to think about downsizing. We bought our house in 2004 and so many memories were made here. It has been a season in our lives that brought much joy with college graduations, Leah's wedding, and the birth of our five grandchildren, but also much heartache with my father's passing, and EZ's diagnosis of Multiple Myeloma and subsequent job loss. The sun was setting on this chapter of our lives.

Little did we know nine years ago how important it would be to live next door to our daughter, Tara, and her husband, Jamie. We wouldn't, in a million years, ever dream that they would become the parents of not one, but two sets of girl/boy twins! They needed all the hands we could provide and we loved every minute of helping with those precious little ones. And of course we never anticipated that we would need them like we did when cancer entered our lives three years ago. It was 3/10ths of a mile from our front door to theirs, and what a comfort that was to all of us. We could be there for one another in a heartbeat, whenever the need arose.

Jamie was pastor of our church, and their family lived in the parsonage on one side of the church, and we lived on the other...just through the woods. My mother moved in with us after my father died, and Nick moved home from California to work and help out however he could. The church body and our friends rallied around our family for these life events and supported us in so many ways, from prayer, to providing food, to raising funds for EZ's medical expenses, and taking care of our yard. We will never forget the endless kindness and love that was shown to us, in good times and in bad. We feel so blessed.

We have loved experiencing the changing of the seasons in this home with our own little forest of trees. We will certainly miss the beauty of looking out our windows onto this:

It is now almost three years post transplant (8/25) and EZ remains in complete response. However, there is much upkeep with a 25 year old home on three acres, especially when he battles fatigue brought on by a daily chemotherapy pill. Jamie resigned as pastor, and is now the Dean of the College at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. They moved to a home within walking distance of the campus, so we are no longer each other's closest neighbors. Nick moved back to Chapel Hill a year ago to begin his four year journey with the UNC School of Dentistry. Our daughter, Leah and her husband, Kyle, moved back to North Carolina from Georgia, with our precious granddaughter, Emery. This house is more than EZ, Mom and I need, and difficult for us to maintain, so we knew it was time to move on. So began the long process of completing projects, listing, showing, offers, counteroffers, inspections, repairs and house hunting. It is emotional and stressful, to say the least, but hopefully on August 8th we will close on our current home at 11:30, and buy another at 12:30, embarking on a new season of life. We are certainly praying that it comes to pass. More details to come...

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. Psalm 37:3-5

Woah, Long Time No Blogging!

I really can't believe it's been three months since I blogged. As our routine became more "normal" and issues related to Multiple Myeloma became more mundane (and that's a good thing!), the busyness of life just took over. So much has gone on these past three months it's hard to know where to begin!

We had a wonderful Easter celebration with the whole family able to join us at home. We even had a special guest...Nick's girlfriend, Anne. We were all smitten, and very thankful she could join us for church and Easter dinner. Anne has just completed her second year of dental school, and the two of them really compliment one another. We have enjoyed having her at many more gatherings since Easter and already feel like she is part of the family! (She was a brunette with straight hair when we met her, but has gone back to her natural color and curls. All of our curly haired granddaughters are thrilled!)

(Lovely dishdrain,..hostess fail!)

 EZ had his 6 month check-up at Duke (4-4-13) and all is great. No M-spike detected, continue on 10 mg. Revlimid daily, and come back in 6 months. We were thrilled! This August will be three years post transplant. We continue to have confidence in the oncologists that are determining EZ's plan of treatment, and pray that this complete response hangs around a long time. We also attended two seminar/dinners put on by the ABMT Clinic at Duke (in April and June), and were able to hear from them about all the latest research and clinical trials. It is always a blessing to re-connect with other survivors, new and old, and see them doing so well!

Our son Nick was presented with his "white coat" during a special ceremony at the UNC School of Dentistry (4-5-13). This signifies his official entry into patient care at the clinic, and it was quite impressive. We are so proud of all the hard work he has put in studying this first year in order to reach this point. He will be leaving on July 16th for a month in Nepal, to participate in a humanitarian project with four other students and a faculty member. They will hold dental camps providing much needed dental care such as extractions, fillings, cleanings, and sealants. They will then travel on foot in the Annapurna Ranges, providing oral hygience education and supplies to villages along the route. This is an amazing opportunity for Nick and we can't wait to see pictures and hear about his experience.

We celebrated EZ's Dad's 90th birthday (4-11-13) with a visit to the mountains. His father continues to amaze us with how active he is mentally and physically. He loves nothing more than riding tractors, four wheelers, and bulldozers in the woods. We just recently celebrated EZ's Mom's 89th birthday (6-18-13) and feel so blessed to have both of them in our lives, married 67 years!

 On 4-25 we headed for Jacksonville, FL for the wedding of a longtime friend's son. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there, seeing friends from our years spent in south Florida. It was a beautiful rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception and we are thrilled for Daniel and Rebecca!

 

The biggest news for April involved all the preparations to list our house for sale. It is sold, and we are officially closing in a month, both on our current home and a new home...yikes! More on all that coming soon, but for now I've got to start packing!