GIVING THANKS

There is so much for which I am thankful this year that it's tough to begin to enumerate it all. First of all, another year has come and nearly gone and the people I love are all relatively healthy and happy. My family in Knoxville, Los Angeles, Memphis, New York and points beyond are all faring better than most in this screwy economy. We are so thankful for our friends near and far who enrich our lives even when we don't see them nearly often enough. One of the gifts we've been given as a result of moving around a bit to chase job opportunities is that we have friends in all corners of the US (and a few beyond the borders). You know who you are and please know how blessed we feel to have you in our lives.

In June of next year we'll have our first grandchild and we're more than just a little excited about that! We got to see the little guy waving his arms on a recent ultrasound...and what a strong little heartbeat he has. No, we're not sure he's a "he", but my gut thinks so. Doesn't really matter...either way he/she will be the most spoiled, adored child ever to grace the earth.

And, while Thomas and Cheri will be raising their first baby, OUR baby will be tying the knot. In about a year and a half, we will welcome a new son-in-law to the fold. He's already met the "Fockers" and hasn't run screaming into the night yet. Erica and William (or "Cooper" as he's affectionately known by me) will be married in May of 2011. Alexis is still loving life in sunny southern California and was a little taken aback by the rain we got on her visit home for the Thanksgiving.

And...the house...

The house is coming along very quickly and feels more and more like OUR home every day. This week the bulk of the sheetrock was hung on the main (upper) level. Almost all the siding and trim has been finished on the exterior. We're waiting for the final little bit of siding, the garage doors and the stone for the foundation and columns and then all attention shifts to the interior.

My favorite t-shirt says: "I wasn't born in the mountains...but I got here as fast as I could!" Can't wait!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Somehow, having a front door makes the new house seem a whole lot more like a "home". That's the thing we'll open for guests, although most of you will probably use the side door and come through the mudroom like family. That's where we'll hang a wreath at Christmas time. That's where the welcome mat will be!

In addition to the new front door LOTS has happened since my last posting. Most of the siding is in place on the front of the house. In addition to the Bunglehouse Grey covering much of the exterior, we've now added the accent color, Roycroft Bronze Green, to the high peaks. If I do say so myself, I think the Arts & Crafts color combo is quite becoming! The peaks are covered with faux (Hardie board) shakes which is a nice contrast to the lap siding.

Both the interior and exterior fireplaces are in position. The big deck on the back of the house is framed and ready for decking. Most of the plumbing and electrical work has been completed. I am extremely excited about our shower. Showers are now called "vertical spas" and mine has four body sprays, a shower head, a hand-held shower AND a 12" rain head mounted overhead right in the center! If I can find a waterproof laptop, I may start working from the shower when we move!

The central vacuum has been installed. I don't know what we'll do with the Dyson when we move...I feel like we're cheating on it!

We have made a few big choices recently. The floors will be mostly a distressed hickory...awesome! We brought home the sample and tucked it under various pieces of furniture and lived with it for a week. Love it. We selected tile for the mud room and the guest bath...also awesome. Still LOTS of decisions ahead, but that should be the fun part, right?

I'll try to get more photos posted soon...things are changing so quickly right now I can't keep up with the progress!