Finishing Work

Well, I promised an update, so here it is...this is the part that is so tedious. Jon has been trimming out all of the windows, closet doors etc. and we have both been doing a lot of painting. Still a few little pieces of trim to do, but we are loving having the doors on the laundry area!

Coming Soon: House Update

We are back on the renovation bandwagon! I hope to have all the trim and closet doors on the main floor done prior to the holidays. LOTS of trim painting going on around here! At least it's big long boards that are not attached to the wall yet!

Ode to Gungor

I have been wanting to write a post about Gungor since last Christmas when I fell in love with their music. I have always been a lover of music - when Jon and I first met he could not believe how many songs I knew of all different genres. So, it is saying a lot to say that Gungor is my favorite artist ever (or at least so far), but I have never had music speak to me the way their music does.

Our friend, Kurt, went to a music conference in the fall of 2010 and came back raving about this new band he heard: Gungor. Because I like Kurt's taste in music, I decided to buy the album Beautiful Things before heading out on a 15 hour drive to Wisconsin. We must have listened to the album all the way through at least 10 times on that drive there and back and we were hooked. First of all, their words - they are so spiritually rich. Second, their music - their musicianship {is that a word?} is astounding. Third, their passion for social justice is something I really respect. Here is a quote from an interview with Michael Gungor: “If leading worship is just about bringing a group of people into a room so we can get goose bumps and sing songs together, there’s not much value in that," explains Michael Gungor. "But if leading worship is a means to an end, that we leave this place as a different kind of people, as part of a new humanity that God wants to create--the people that are caring for the widows and orphans, that aren’t bound by the systems of this world but becoming free, becoming fully engaged in our world--then that matters.” And fourth, and probably most importantly, their philosophy around music which I learned about by reading this article.

In the spring of 2010, we found out that Gungor was going to be playing at a local church and the tickets were only $15 each (not that the price was the determining factor, but still, that's a deal). We went with some friends and could not believe that we could walk in 30 minutes before the show and sit in the 3rd row. The place probably seated 1,000 people and there were only maybe 400 of us there. After sitting through the concert experience - and it was definitely an experience - we all agreed "this is never going to happen again - the next time they are in the area, it will probably be hard to get tickets". We were also introduced to some songs from their old album Ancient Skies at that concert and promptly went home and bought that album on itunes. Oh, and I did buy a t-shirt at the concert - is that pathetic for a 35 year old woman? I don't know...I just got caught up in the moment...

Then this fall, Gungor released their latest album Ghosts Upon the Earth. This album is an absolute work of art. If you want to read all about the creation of this album, read Gungor's blog here. To be fully appreciated, you have to listen to it from start to finish in one sitting. This is when my 1.5 hour commute turns from a curse into a blessing! We learned that Gungor was going to be on tour with David Crowder Band in their final tour - and even though Gungor was only going to get a 30 minute acoustic set - we were definitely going! That 30 minutes was definitely the highlight of the evening {at least for us}. I'm going to attach this little clip from youtube to show you just a glimpse of what we got to experience that night.

And then, the ultimate bonus! We decided to leave the concert early because we didn't really know any of the songs that David Crowder Band was singing and it was a Sunday night and we had to get up early and we're old :-) and as we were walking to our car, Jon sees Michael & Lisa Gungor getting out of a cab. We started chatting with them (along with our friends Tom & Shelby) and got a picture together (Jon was a bit mortified that I asked for this but I just had to!).


They are coming back to the area for a full Ghosts Upon the Earth concert in spring of 2012...can't wait! And this time, we're definitely taking our kiddos as they have become huge Gungor fans too.

House Updates

There are none...we are definitely in a funk! It's hard when you get to this point where things are live-able, but not finished...so.hard.to.get.motivated.

15 year celebration(s)

This 15 year anniversary has been a year full of celebrations! It started back in February when Jon decided to give me an early anniversary present on Valentine's Day. You can read about that here. Then, I recently shared with you what we did on our actual anniversary - it wasn't much, but it was a fun day. But we really wanted to get away sometime near our anniversary just to unwind and reconnect. Jon often says that we really didn't think it through when we picked October to get married as that is football season. As an athletic trainer, it is nearly impossible for him to get away during that month.

So, we planned to get away this first weekend in November because the football team had a week off. Then we had a little surprise snow storm the last weekend of October which made the games get rescheduled to this weekend. So not only did he have to work Saturday, but he even had to work Sunday as well. This made our weekend get-away impossible...or almost.

We decided to keep our overnight babysitting plans in tact (thanks Joel & Shan!) since the kids had been looking so forward to spending time with their cousins and just go out for dinner in the city. I made reservations at a recommended restaurant and that was that.

Until the day of (yesterday) when I decided to go shopping for a little something something to wear and came home to quite a messy house. I had a decision to make - - spend the next couple of hours cleaning so we didn't come home to an uninviting atmosphere or book a room in a fabulous hotel downtown so I could spend the next couple of hours getting ready....hmmmm.....I chose the latter. Thanks to priceline, I got a ridiculous deal on a 4 star hotel within walking distance of our restaurant (well, it would have been if it weren't for the heels). :-)

I looked all over the {messy} house to find our camera and was successful, but then left it in the car in the flurry of activity of giving up our car to valet. So, all I have is this pic taken on my phone to remember our special night. It was so good to get away with my love, even if it was only for 16 hours!

New Blog

As if I need something else to do...but in the long run, this new blog is going to really help me out!

15 YEARS

Today marks 15 years of marriage for Jon and I! I took off work this morning to go on a breakfast date but Anthony is home sick, so our plans are thwarted. I decided to spend some of my time this morning reflecting on our marriage and documenting how I feel today.

The overwhelming feeling I have is....BLESSED! Marriage is definitely hard work and lately we have heard so many stories and seen so many marriages fall apart. Our marriage is not something we take for granted, and we know that if it weren't for the grace of God, we too could be one of those stories. Over the years, Jon and I have tried to invest a lot of time and energy into growing our relationship. From a marriage mentorship in our early years with a couple we admired, to hours of therapy with a professional counselor, to most recently taking a marriage course at our church, these are all things that have helped us get to where we are today. But our work is not done - we will continue to pursue opportunities to become better and healthier as individuals and as a couple. Okay, that's the heavy stuff! Now onto something lighter...

I decided to pull out my wedding dress from the attic and see if I could still fit in it! Wahoo! I did not even have trouble getting the zipper up! Sophia was so cute helping me get in my dress and come down the stairs to surprise Jon. She ran outside and picked me some flowers and found "Here Comes the Bride" on itunes.

It's hard to sum up 15 years, so I thought it would be easier to list 10 things I appreciate about my husband and marriage (not necessarily in order of importance):

10 - It's not a glamorous life, but it's a good life! When we were reflecting on our 15 years together, we were talking about how we've lived in the same house for 10, gone to the same church for 12, worked at the same places for 7 (Jon) and 13 (Dawn) years. We have not had much change and have lived what some would consider a "boring" life, but it's our life and it's good.

9 - We are truly partners. From both working full-time to co-parenting and doing everything it takes to run a household, no one pulls rank. It's one of the things I love the most about our marriage.

8 - We have changed so much, but we have changed together. When we think back to the "kids" we were when we married, we can't believe some of the things we thought were important or absolute. Our values, philosophies and beliefs have really changed over the years, but thankfully they have changed together and we are on the same page about the important stuff.

7 - We have a lot of great friends! I think one of the keys to a happy, successful life is to surround yourself with great friends. We have been blessed beyond measure in this area (you know who you are!!!).

6 - We are part of a great church. We have been at our church since 1999 and have met many of our good friends there. We have grown so much because of the teachings and interactions with others in our community. Our spiritual life has been critical to our marriage and we get so much of our support from this aspect of our life.

5 - We have great family support! We are so thankful for the love and support we get from both of our families. From helping us work on our old house, to watching our kids so we can get away and celebrating all of the important milestones with us, our family is such an important part of our lives.

4 - He is a good man. Jon is a behind-the-scenes kind of guy. You're not going to see him on the stage being the life of the party. But he's the kind of guy you want on your team. He does things for the right reason. These are things I can say about him after living with him day in and day out for 15 years. Here's an example - he was spending 1 morning a week working at a local food pantry for months and I didn't even know about it!!! He was quietly giving of himself to something he believed in because he wanted to, not because he wanted people to know or praise him.

3 - We have 2 fantastic kids! {I know everyone thinks this about their kids, and they should!} We are SO thankful for the gifts of Sophia and Anthony. We can't imagine life without them. They are amazing.

2 - He has become such a thoughtful gift-giver. Okay, so I'm not all about material things, but what woman doesn't love a well-thought out surprise from her man? Remember this one? and this one? seriously!!!

1 - We are more in love today than we were 15 years ago. Maybe it's not always manifested in romantic gestures and words, but our love today is definitely stronger and deeper. I love figuring out life with such a great partner.

Happy Anniversary Jon!

Fall of 1993 when we met

Summer of 2011 (most recent pic I could find of us)

Doors - Before & Afters!

I love before & after pictures - don't you?!

I decided to go with a funky green for the exterior doors to spice up the outside of the house.

FRONT DOOR

BEFORE (in the winter...)

AFTER (in the fall...)

close-up

SIDE DOOR

BEFORE

AFTER

BACK DOOR

BEFORE

AFTER (still need to paint trim around door)

The Bathroom is (mostly) functional!

Toilets and sinks are in and functional! Up next: the bathtub!

I think Jon did an amazing job on the tile...

one of my favorite things in the room:

A visit from Aunt Reebie

Jon's sister, Rebecca, came for a visit this summer - we had not seen her for about 2.5 years, as she is living in South Korea. The kids had a great time bonding with her and it was fun for all of us to reconnect.

Sos and Rebe went on several shopping trips together

and even though he didn't go, Anthony got a couple of treats too :-)

The kids had a lot of good laughs with her - this is a pic of them comparing their very tan arms to her very white arm

While Rebecca was here in the States, we got everyone together to get a family picture.

Updates

we got all of the trim painted on the addition (except the doors which I'm going to change up - I'm thinking of going green instead of brownish-red...any thoughts on that?)

the boy is in his new room! and he is excited about it! we decided to move him in even though the trim isn't done, we just couldn't hold him off any longer! :-)

I have another bed and quilt just like this one that will go on the other side of the dresser once we get another box spring & mattress

the view from his bed, the bathroom will have a pocket door and we still need to get his closet functional

Jon started laying the tile in the bathroom today! I think this is going to be my new favorite room!!!!

Bathroom Progress

Medicine cabinets are in! Next comes the floors and then we get to put the sinks and toilet in!

We got such an amazing deal on these sinks/cabinets! Only $60 each - they are very simple and will really tie everything together w/ the black and white floor.
I cannot wait to decorate this room!

Floors

The addition off the kitchen

3rd and final coat is drying on Anthony's new floors...just need to put up the trim and we can move the boy in!

2nd coat on

Not too much different...I put a little bit of white in it

I think once mirrors are in and I put things up on the wall, it will be just right!

this is the towel that is a couple of posts below...and it looks so much lighter when it's up against the black and white floor - it's hard to capture the true color of the room in pictures - I think it is a little lighter than the picture shows.

Instant Feedback Needed

Too bright? Just right? I only have the 1st coat on so I could have them drop some white paint in to lighten it. What do you think?

Kids Bathroom

Getting excited to put it together...soon!

Summer (stuff we did besides the reno)

I have been so busy blogging about the renovation, that the other life stuff has gone on hold. Since this blog has become a way for me to track our life (who puts photo albums together anymore?!), I want to capture a few highlights...

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Phillies game! This is definitely becoming a family tradition - we love going to games together and tailgating w/ Primo hoagies!

we had to ride out a major storm - Anthony was so freaked out because he had just read a book about tornadoes on our way to the game - and the wind was really strong! The rest of us were having a great time getting soaked as it was super hot that night and the rain and wind felt great!

his spirits were lifted when the game resumed and he saw his name on the board for his 7th birthday!

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Anthony's 7th birthday

the front toothless wonder! :-)

What a fun kid Anthony is! He brings so much laughter and joy to our family. He is always doing something funny like mis-using air quotes. As in - - Mom, I'm going to "brush my teeth" when in fact he is going to brush his teeth. He also asks such funny questions such as, "Dad, what is thinner, a potato chip or a piece of paper?" He is still so sweet and cuddly and we're enjoying that for as long as it lasts.

I got Anthony a Phillies ice cream cake but he was upset because he had a Phillies birthday party last year and didn't want a repeat - what?! Aunt Shanny to the rescue - she scraped off the Phillies stuff and made a skateboard ramp out of peanut butter chips and added one of Anthony's finger boards - he loved it! Again - what?!!

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Father's Day at the beach! We enjoyed an impromptu weekend down at the beach - what a great way to spend Father's Day!

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This was our 3rd summer going up to Rhode Island to visit our friends the Eilbergs. So glad they keep inviting us back as it has become a highlight of our summer. We have such a great time together. These are the same awesome friends that let us live in their house for 4 weeks while our renovation was at its worst.

how cute are they?! playing in the outdoor shower

Mike, Dionne and Q are always a part of the party too! So thankful for these great friendships!

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Our 6th annual beach trip with the Skis! This was bittersweet as we knew they were moving to Georgia in 2 weeks - we enjoyed our time together, but it was hard knowing it was going to be our last for awhile. Greg, Tricia, Lexie and Noah have been such a significant part of our lives for over 10 years now and we already miss them so much! We are hopeful that they will still come up in the summer to visit and we can carry on our tradition of going to the beach together. But regardless, they are lifelong friends no matter the distance!

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2nd Phillies game of the season - this time a day game (we decided we like night games much better)


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Beach time w/ the Rileys - - we had such a blast just relaxing, cooking, reading and catching up with friends we wish we saw more often!

one of the days we picked up our niece Lily so she could spend beach time with cousins.

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Taylor Swift concert! sometime when things settle down, I want to do an entire post about this - it was such a blast and such a fun memory for Sophia and I.

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a quick visit from Grandma & Grandpa!