Home Tour

Surprise! I told you I wouldn't be back before the weekend but was reminded that I promised someone I would get some house photos up a long time ago. So here it is (part).

We have the pleasure of living in one of the historic homes here on Fort Bragg. It comes with all kinds of funny quirks and lots of beautiful details and character. 6-inch baseboards, crown molding, beautiful hardwoods, built in shelves. It's so lovely and we feel so thrilled to get to be here for a time. Inside the mirror in the basement bathroom, the last 3 or 4 occupants have listed their names and the years they lived here. That is an old Army tradition--my favorite place I've seen that was in OLD quarters at Fort Monroe, VA. when the first few occupants were there during the civil war!

Anyway, for the few of you who haven't been and probably won't come visit anytime soon, here is the main floor.

When you come in the front door, there is a small entry (remember the board and batten treatment I showed you here? Scroll to the last picture) and you choose whether to go left or right. If you go left you will enter the living room and this is your view:

love this room. The (working) fireplace is gorgeous, the built-in bookcases are delightful, it's so sunny. I spent lots of time cuddled up on the couch with my Bible study in the mornings.

Back at the front door, if you choose to go right you will enter the dining room and THIS is your view:

more built-ins (heart)

 Continuing through the dining room, you enter the kitchen, at the back of the house.

the kitchen is ginormous. I am thinking about getting (building) an island to go in front of the stove there.

looking back into the kitchen from the entrance to the living room (Lily has always wanted to be famous)

view from the kitchen doorway across the back of the living room and into the sunroom, which we are using as a school room/den

this room was a challenge. It's long and narrow. I think we've got it now, though. It's actually a great space for school and still comfy enough to enjoy a book there in the afternoons

 And that is the main floor. Notice no powder room? One of the little quirks of living in this old house. :)  Soon I'll get around to taking pictures of the upstairs and the basement/family room. 

view up the stairs from the living room



And just because he's a goof, here is the blue-lipped boy. Either he had a popsicle or he's getting ready to show some Tarheel pride.

Brown paper packages tied up with strings....

Just a few of my favorite things from the past week:


We bought some new rugs for the kitchen. I put them down and came back in five minutes later. Apparently the cats approve of our choice. :)

 



We got to have another dinner party in the back yard. I think it's a monthly thing now. The weather was perfect. Have I mentioned recently how much I love living in North Carolina? I do.
This party was actually our first Hail & Farewell with Dave's unit. We welcomed 3 new families and had a wonderful evening together.

 

So thankful for new homeschooling friends for Joshua. And great weather and a fun playground a block away. And an awesome big brother who is always ready with a fun game.

We all competed in a 5K here on post last Saturday. It was Joshua's first time ever and he did great. His dad did a wonderful job of encouraging him along the route and I loved hearing them calling cadence as they went along. Nick finished with a great time and we are all looking forward to next month's!

My favorite part of the past weekend was that this adorable newly married young couple dropped in for an overnight stay. We had such a great time with them--so great, in fact, that I didn't take pictures! The wife is just the cutest thing ever-so sweet and attentive to her husband. And the handsome husband is her knight in shining armor, always checking on her to see if she needed anything. We watched a movie, played UNO, visited, and took a little walk around the neighborhood. I hope they come back soon!

This is a sweet, sweet picture we took many years ago in Germany when that running boy above was just a teeny tiny newborn. So many precious memories from that time. 

 We recreated the picture this weekend.

It doesn't really have the same feeling.....  ;)

Hope you are all having a wonderful week. The next time you hear from me I will be just back from a weekend away (hooray!) in Wilmington with my soldier....

Random fun

We do have a few other things going on now that the wedding is over and real life has begun. We started school this week. No pictures. But honestly, we did. It really feels good to get back to an actual schedule! This summer was so wonderfully adventure-filled, but there is something to be said for a nice, quiet day to day schedule.
School started, I'm back in Bible study (PWOC), we had the OWC kick off, Joshua's going to start skating lessons (should I make him use hockey skates-is that cooler?), Nick is taking a class at Carolina Institute of Biblical Studies (it used to be Carolina Bible College-much easier to say), Dave has been to the firing range twice in the last two weeks. It's just normal. And nice. I like it.

But here are some pictures of some fun things we did:

We went to Chapel Hill while my mom, sister, and Alyson were still here. Everyone needs a little bit of Carolina blue every now and again...

Danna had to hold all the bags for the picture-taking.

 And this weekend the Lt. Dan Band gave a free concert here on post. For those of you who don't know, Gary Sinise is the bass guitar player in the band. They have played for over 240,000 troops and been a part of over 50 USO tours over the years. Gary Sinise is dedicated to making sure our troops feel appreciated. In addition, he has a foundation that helps provide modified housing for wounded warriors. In fact, you may have seen in the news recently about the triple amputee who was just given a new house for him, his wife, and daughter. Gary's foundation was a big part of that. He really has a heart for our troops.
The concert was a lot of fun-the band is good, and the mood was great. It was really cool looking around and realizing that many of those soldiers there had just returned from deployment with the 82nd in the last few weeks. The boys and I feel so honored to get to be around heroes every day...


 

So that's a little somethin' somethin'. I am so looking forward to being back on here regularly. We are heading into fall. Maybe soon I'll tell you how much I love fall in North Carolina....

now the party...

The reception area at the church was made so fantastically beautiful and drastically different by Rachael's mom, Jill, and her good friend Theresa (along with Dave, Rachael's dad and several others). Jill is officially my hero--I can't believe the amount of planning and organization she put into this affair for her daughter. I would say she is the consumate party planner but I know that the reason she put so much into this is because of how much she loves her daughter. And most party planners do not make every decoration themselves and then cook all the food and bake all the cakes! I am simply in awe of her.





The reception "theme" was a tea party. Rachael loves tea. They collected vintage tea cups for the last several months and the guests were invited to select a cup to take home with them and a tea to enjoy before dinner.



The little cookies (made by Jill) were delcious herb cookies shaped like tea bags. SO cute.

soooo many kinds of delcious foods

the most delicious of all.

 I have no pictures of the cakes! Or of them cutting. Or of the beautiful lanterns hanging along the walls. Hopefully when the official photographs come out....

the introduction of Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett Gercken

first dance

Rachael and her dad dancing to a sweet song he chose

Evan Duncan, a good friend of Jarrett's from way back in our Germany days, flew from Texas with his sweet girfriend Brittany to be there for Jarrett. So touching. What a wonderful man he has grown into and Brittany is a doll.

I love her.

One of my dearest friends....Jan and I have grown our families up together. Almost surreal that they're starting to get married now.

My sister, my mom, and me. Webster girls.

Nancy is our cool cousin. She got an MP escort to our house for the rehearsal dinner (she's proud of that), is a politician's wife, and rocks an immobilization boot with a dress and one heel like no one else.

Bubbles for the bride and groom

sweet smiles

And there they go, off to their future.

I think I'm almost finished processing all these events. Occasionally, if I sit still for a little while, a new emotion creeps in, but mostly this just feels normal already. They are married. They love each other and they love God and I am so completely and decidedly happy for them.