Strike a Pose and REMODEL!

Wedding vows, version 2.0:

"..For better or for worse, in sickness in health, and during stages of remodeling."

WE MADE IT! Through every stage of frustration and uncertainty.

 "You know, since we're painting the other rooms, I really don't like this wallpaper anymore."

We spent over two hours a night for a week scraping and picking wallpaper.  Counting the hairs on my head may have been easier.

Hey, it's a clean room!

Don't be deceived; that just means everything had to be shoved somewhere else.  

If I had to endure one more day of living like this I may have lost it.  Where's my spatula?  The broom? That bill we got in the mail last week?  NOTHING was where it was supposed to be.  So if you sent me a message or mailed me something in the past several weeks, it is most likely somewhere in the piles above.  Forgive me.

The construction/destruction started the week after Father's Day, and the goal was to close in the great room and make a 4th bedroom/office, enlarge the upstairs area, and the #1 priority: make it safer for Emerson.

Before:

By day one they were moving at lightning fast speed.  Both sets of our parents freaked out when they saw the picture below.  "How will this be safe?!"

I texted our contractor and asked if they were going to put anything up to cover the hole that evening. He replied with "no" and a few seconds later said, "There should be a floor there already :)." Talk about progress!

It was so weird to be standing eye level with that mirror!  And then later to sit upstairs and look at a wall.

Ryan and I took it upon ourselves to paint the new room and left everything else to the professionals.  We only had a few minor disagreements during this chore.

Our wonderful neighbors watched Emerson while we painted.  They are the nicest people!

In Emerson's mind, having a larger space means one thing: more room for a MESS.

Every day presented itself with a new danger. "No, Emerson, don't climb the ladder.  Don't step on that nail.  Quit sticking your finger in the exposed sockets.  Stop chewing the drywall dust."

Wait, wasn't safety the point of this?  The guys did a great job, but there is only so much you can do with a toddler.

Finally, after almost two months of hammering, people in and out every day, painting, sawing, electrical work, and one carpet crisis it is COMPLETELY finished, and we are thrilled with the result.  I'll start with a downstairs tour.

The new main color in the house is a modern grey, which was suggested by our contractor.  He used this color in a house he was working on downtown, and I loved it when I saw it in person.  He also painted the columns white for some extra contrast and room separation.

The kitchen looks #SoFreshAndSoClean with this sea salt color and no wallpaper. We also changed the knobs to nickel, got rid of the "casket" florescent light in the kitchen, and replaced it with can lights on a dimmer.

I love the new bedroom, which is serving as an extra place to sleep AND my home office.  It's much quieter up here, and it gave me a place to store my peacock stuff, which Ryan adores.  Not.

It's really special to me to be using the same desk I did my homework on as a kid.

And now for our favorite part of the whole project: the media cabinet.  Our contractor (Scott Thrane) did a fantastic job designing this, and now we have a lot more storage for mine and Emerson's unnecessary things.  This room feels so much bigger, and I can't wait to fully decorate it.

I highly recommend Ash Contracting!  They are reliable, dependable, and super to work with. 

So while ALL OF THAT was going on - along with a million phone calls and emails daily trying to coordinate everything- I have also, as you know, been consumed with other projects. The past two weekends have been record busy.  RECORD.  Warning: you're going to be exhausted just hearing about it. 

Let's go back in time for just a moment. Friday, August 7th was an exciting day for our family.  Our remodeling was completed, AND Jay officially became a homeowner of a condo in Chicago.

It's move-in ready!  Now let's see how he decorates it.

But once the contractor's work was finished our work began in getting the house back together, especially since the next day my parents and I would be leaving early for my practice and preparation in Rock Hill.  We had t-minus five hours to get the house completely back in working order.  Not even Cinderella would be singing a merry little tune with all that mess.

Miraculously, we did it.  We were absolutely exhausted, but we got the house back together in a mere four hours, and afterwards we looked the part.

The night of worship in Rock Hill the next day was wonderful.  It was such an awesome experience and an amazing opportunity to be able to sing, speak, and play for His glory for many people that up until that evening I had never met.  It was a very special night and one that will always be close to my heart.  

Worshipping with others is SO AWESOME.  Think about it: when you go to a movie, a really good restaurant, or on a vacation...do you want to go alone?  I'd most likely say, "No!"  It's such an exciting time that you want the privilege of sharing it with someone else.  Now multiply that someone else with several others and you are ALL part of the experience.

Yes, some of the most powerful worshipping can be done alone, but few things bring me joy like sharing that moment with other hearts.

 

The next day, Sunday, I was blessed to sing Kari Jobe's "Forever" with a phenomenally talented group at North Trenholm Baptist. I LOVE that song, and what a blessing it is to be a part of another talented set of musicians!  

Afterwards we brought Nanny and Papa over to see the "new(er)" house and had lunch.

And...DRUMROLL PLEASE...later that day we would get to meet Jay's girlfriend Laura for the first time.  They had both flown to Charleston the previous day for the wedding of one of Jay's Wofford friends, and they were now on the way to Columbia!

I had been waiting to meet Laura for a few months now, and everything I had heard about her was just lovely.  She loves the Lord, sews, gardens, just adopted a rescue animal, went to a great school, and the list continues.

My first question to Jay - along with that of his friends - was... "Have you warned Laura about me?"

I could hear Jay smile through the phone as he said, "Well, I told her that you have a really big heart." Whether or not he followed that up with "...and mouth" I'll never know, but in any event, even Ryan warned me that I needed to tone it town several notches before meeting her.

Finally after a long wait they arrived at 6:00 that evening.  For the previous hour and a half I had paced around and looked out of the window a million times as if I was waiting on a pizza delivery car.  I was so excited I couldn't stand it!

And then, I saw a car come in the driveway...it was THEM!

"CAN I HELP CARRY YOUR BAGS?!?!?"

Within two minutes Laura met my parents, Ryan, Emerson, my grandparents, and me.  And she was an absolute PRO.  It was as if I had known her my entire life.  She is one of the easiest people to talk to.  She is absolutely lovely, delightful, kind, and the list continues!

We spent the next couple of days in Dillon where we introduced her to King's pizza, visited with our good friend Virginia, and took a walk around the neighborhood.

Laura's Birthday was that week, so I made her a cake, and we celebrated early.  I also couldn't find a single candle in the house, so Laurel and Joe, this honor went to you!

Laura racked up so many brownie (and cake) points during her time with us.  She is neat as a pin, she didn't mind sitting outside with Emerson when the trash truck was the only thing that would calm her, and when Emerson spilled no less than 500 balls in our den, she picked them up without batting an eyelash.  She is an angel.

Last Saturday I mastered teleportation and managed to be in several places at once.  First up was Lexie's grand opening of her Merle Norman studio and Salon.

It is super nice, and I was so glad my Mom and I went!

Next was Audrey's "Donut and Pajama" Birthday party.  Heather did a precious job, as always!

The fruit loop necklaces were such a hit!

That afternoon I met with two special ladies for practice and video interviews for the night of worship.  Just wait and see who they are! Crissie joined me at 4:00 for the annual Sing Fling at Dillon Congregational.  I love singing with her!  She is a sweetheart.

And finally, that evening we got to welcome home Aaron after his deployment overseas!  We are so happy to have him back on American soil.

I can't stop...next up, much more excitement as I make final preparations for the Night of Worship!!! Check it out here: Night of Worship with Katharine Moody.

Until next time, this edition of Love it or List It is over!

Where Did July Go?

Rule number one of voice message/answering machine etiquette...

"Hello?"
"Hi, ____! How are y- ?"
"I'm sorry.  We're not here right now.  Please leave a message."

We've all been there; victims of the voicemail fakeout.  The phone rings and you finally hear it pick up, along with a "hello."  You start asking a question, going on about something, and then BOOM.  You were punked. The false greeting voicemail: starting one-sided conversations for decades and making the caller feel like a moron. These bother me, and I was recently reminded of that.  If you have one of these voice messages...

JUST DON'T!

We are officially in August, and I am absolutely neck deep in projects right now.  I don't know if I have ever been busier in my entire life, and it has definitely taken a toll on the shred of sanity that I have left.

First off, I feel like we have a newborn at home who will. not. sleep.

Every night at 9:00 we make an unsuccessful attempt to get ready for bed and make it dark- or "cut" the lights off as Ryan says - I say you cut steak and turn off a light- but that's neither here nor there.

Please don't cut me...

I'll have to admit that with all the construction going on at our house, things have been really wacky for Emerson, and I guess it's kind of like taking your pet cat to an amusement park and expecting things to be copacetic.

"Put those things back where they came from..."

One night that will live in infamy took place after we celebrated my Uncle David's Birthday.  We ate at Lizard's Thicket, and Emerson had sweet tea.  I would have given ANYTHING to go back in time and put my hand over my mouth as the waitress asked what "the little one" wanted to drink.  Because evidently, their tea was completely laden with caffeine.  I'm sure the Birthday cake didn't help, either.

Neither did our bust-a-gut laughing visit with my personality twin, Rebecca.  She is one of my Mom's best friends from high school, and we act so alike that it's almost scary.  Mama has said for years that she actually gave birth to Rebecca's child.

That evening Emerson was wide open as the clock faithfully turned.  1:00, 2:00, THREE O'CLOCK!!! We tried everything.  Rocking.  Praying.  Yelling.  Six DVR'd episodes of Mickey Mouse.  

Finally, the battle was won during the Land Before Time.  I have never, ever in my life been so completely winded.  My Mom, Dad, and I were completely beaten, and she was still going.

Then there was my brilliant idea of upgrading to the iPhone 6 plus.  You know what the plus stands for?  Additional agony.  #moremoneymoreproblems

"Mama, you can have my phone, and I'll upgrade."  It seemed great in theory, and I entered Verizon with confidence in my decision...until we had to transfer data between phones.  Over the next few days my Mom started getting a million reminders from my phone (DING DING! DENTIST APPOINTMENT!  DAYCARE TUITION! CALL THIS STUDENT!)   Talk about walking a mile in my shoes. 

And to make matters worse I deleted over 300 of my contacts from her phone since she didn't need them, but when I went to make a call on my phone I had numbers for only twelve people.  TWELVE!  Because I was logged into "i-cloud" everything I deleted from her phone also deleted from mine.  THE MISERY!

Today's iCloud forecast: no contacts.  MWA HA HA!

I was so frustrated and frazzled, and then I started getting texts from 2012.  It was like living my life all over again.  Ryan was texting me about paying a bill.  WHAT bill!??  What are you talking about?  Oh, never mind, this is from THREE YEARS AGO!

We were sitting in my car, and I was almost in tears.  "MAMA, THE DATES ARE EVEN WRONG! WHY DOES THIS PHONE KEEP SAYING THAT IT'S JULY 14TH!?!??!"

"Umm, honey.  Because it IS July 14th..."

She looked at me as if I were a sheer lunatic.  Well, if the shoe fits.  Or phone.

So much of my days are spent searching for things that I've misplaced.  One of the hardest things to find some days?   A moment when all is well.  But thanks to Erica Billingsley for capturing these perfect Mommy and me moments.   Now, don't be fooled.  There were plenty of retakes and bribes happening behind the scenes, but these photos turned out better than I dreamed!

Erica B. Studio + Design

Emerson's daycare director also retired in July, and we attended a wonderful dinner and program in her honor in the church fellowship hall.

To be fair, Emerson and her classmates play in this fellowship hall every day, since it's been so hot outside...so naturally, she thought we had come there to throw balls and climb in tents.  Or just take charge of the mic stand.

And subsequently she decided this shindig was for her and was running around, grabbing the microphone, and - my personal favorite- letting out a long, loud SIGH during the official prayer.  Thanks for making me look like Mom of the Year, Emerson.

Sing it, Mr. Ray.

"THERE'SSSSSSSSSS nothing to see."

The program was lovely, but towards the end Emerson had had enough, and I had to carry her outside like I was wrestling an alligator.  There was a small office just outside the door, and Emerson took it upon herself to sort through every item on- and inside- the desk.   Before I even blinked she was throwing around "we missed you in Sunday school" postcards like confetti.

We left shortly after, my face three shades of 'Ronald McDonald' red.

Her daycare is absolutely phenomenal.  Every person there has such a heart for children, and I'm met with cheers of "Hi, Emerson" or "Bye, Emerson!" from everyone upon leaving and entering.  I leave her cuddled up in her teacher's arms every morning.  They also do many fun activities, like decade day.  This was our attempt at 70s style, and the bow just had to go.

Last month was also filled with Birthdays, and we celebrated Thomas the Train style for Trace's second.

How adorable are these kids?

We had so much fun, and the homemade cake was delicious!

Another one of my ideas lately that didn't go as planned...I wanted to buy Emerson some kind of inflatable pool.  Not your typical round one, but something really neat.

Then I spotted...the Mermaid Kingdom!  That's what I'm talking about.

My Dad drove me to Ryan's house so that we could use their electric pump.  I was so thrilled as each portion of it inflated and came to life, that it didn't hit me until the last minute...

"How are we going to transport this thing back to my parents' house?"

A few eye exchanges later I was nominated to hold this thing down on the back of my father-in-law's truck for the one mile ride back to my parents' house.  This was not part of my original plan.

Imagine a single soul trying to hold down a float at the Macy's day parade.  That pretty much sums it up.

"Oh, come on.  I'm not all that heavy."

I was missing a shoe, resembling a weather man reporting in the midst of a wind storm, the mermaid castle was bouncing with every rock in the road, and the whole time I'm thinking of two things: A) We're going to get pulled by the police, and B) I can't believe I don't have my camera to get a picture of this.

So for Emerson's senior year of high school page I can check the box that says "ride in the back of a Chevy with an inflatable Mermaid kingdom" on my list of things that I've done for her.

And really, when your 21 month old wants you to get in the pool fully clothed, you just do it.

As the days tick by, Emerson's bangs keep growing.  I finally made an appointment for a professional to do the trimming.  We all remember what happened last time Ryan got a hold of her...

But sitting in the chair at the booth is for amateurs, so Emerson decided to make Lexie work for it by running all over the shop, rummaging through drawers, playing with the broom and dust pan, and whatever else she could get her little hands on.  Lexie used the "stop and snip" approach every time Emerson paused for a moment.  Thanks for putting up with us, Lex!  Your customers from here on out should be much easier.

Dawson just turned NINE, and we celebrated his Birthday last Saturday.  I remember meeting him for the first time, and that was almost a decade ago.  Holy cow!

Both of our baby girls.

And our first borns!

Please remember Meagan's family, as they experienced a heart breaking loss the very next day when her brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly.  He leaves behind his wife, Lyndsey, and a beautiful little boy with a wonderful spirit, so please cover them with your prayers.

That evening I had my first selfie stick experience with Dorothy and Joy.  And they look like they're standing on stools next to me!  Love them so much.

Earlier this week I was out and about in what's known as the Columbia Oven with the constant 105 degree heat, so I decided to get lemonade from Chick-Fil-A.  A car started honking behind me, and it was none other than MY GRANDPARENTS out of hundreds of thousands of people in Columbia.  What are the odds?!  So we ended up visiting at their place and catching up for a little while, and Emerson and I took the world's most ridiculous picture.  I was sick of the heat, so I piled all my hair on top of my head. 

 The Marge Simpson look was not my intent.

And FINALLY- the big announcement - since May I have been preparing for a "Night of Worship" / Concert at my church.  I am absolutely OVER THE MOON excited about it and am leaving no detail overlooked.

This idea came to me several months ago, and before I knew it things were coming together, and it was becoming a reality.  Because you see, this was in His plan all along.  This is His doing and not my own.  Things will go according to His will, and the next thing you know I have many people involved to be the feet, hands, eyes, ears, and hearts of this massive project.  

Every waking moment I'm running through song chords, lyrics, creating promotional materials, most importantly- PRAYING - and seeking His will about every single detail of this evening. 

Sunday, September 13th, 2015 will not be a 'performance.'  It will be an experience...a time for one and all to stand before Him, bow our knees and hearts and humble ourselves before the one who gave us His all from the beginning.

For one hour and fifteen minutes I hope that you will join me.  There will be so many special elements of this night that I don't want you to miss.

And TONIGHT the Lord has blessed me with the opportunity to bottle up some of this message and take it to India Hook United Methodist in Rock Hill.  I can't wait to be with the people there tonight.  God is preparing the hearts of those who will come.  I'm just fortunate enough to be used however He sees fit.

And you thought July was busy!!!