Only smoke came out our mouths on all those hooded sweatshirt walks

I'm ending an epic fail on blog updating...right here, right now.

This morning me and Dan drove to work separately for the first time this week. It was kind of lonely and it made me realize that I really like driving together. It's nice to share the morning together...not to mention saving a crap ton on gas by only using one car for the whole week. Nice. Anyway, the roads were snowy and it was cold as all get out, so I felt it was appropriate to put some Oasis in the CD player. It took me back to high school/early college winters and it was quite a treat for the ears. (That reminds me of that Friends episode where they go to Barbados and Monica gets those beads put in her hair and says to Chandler, "Listen!" and then shakes her head. Chandler says, "Oh look. It's a treat for the eyes...AND the ears." Love it.)

So we moved in on December 18th and it's been CRAZY busy ever since. There's literally always stuff to do. We've been so busy living in the house that I haven't had a chance to take pictures since we got all of our stuff in it :) Sometime next week I'll go through and snap what we've got. I'm warning you though, the walls are super empty and will be until I patiently work to find wall art that's both aesthetically pleasing, as well as affordable. (Challenge? I think so.) On that note...this meager photographic offering of the house is what I've taken since the last update with pictures...(then there's a TON of pictures after it of misc. stuffs)

Kitchen drawer with pots and pans. Why did I take a picture of this? I don't know. I've been SUPER tired lately.


Our bedroom after our wood blinds and drapes were put in. Obviously before we moved. Now there's another night stand, a bed and a dresser. It's by far my favorite room in the house. A clean, organized oasis in this, my hectic life.


Another b.r. shot


Our wood blinds. I love 'em. I can't wait to complete the window treatment saga and get our roller shades put into the living room. Right now I feel like we're living our home life publicly because at night, you can see STRAIGHT through our house.


And then there was Christmas morning...

Jessie, Dan and me @ Mom and Dad Schu's for the traditional Christmas morn (Jessie's holding Ramon's stocking since he wasn't there...but he got off work early and was able to come like six hours before we thought! He's in the Coast Guard...so his work schedule is pretty un-flexible.)


Probably Dan's favorite gift. By far. His own used basketball. (He's pretty low maintenance when it comes to gifts.) We have a basketball hoop smack dab in the middle of our lovely exterior. I HATE it and Dan refuses to take it down. It's such an area of debate that Jessie photoshopped it out of our Christmas card for me. So Dan's dad, in a successful effort to taunt and provoke me, officially handed down the Schumaker basketball to him. Ugh. Thanks. Thanks a YAHOO.


My Good Morning coffee mugs! I bought these for a friend as a wedding gift a few months back and had more than half a mind to keep them. Alas, I didn't. So I asked for them for Christmas. Ask and ye shall receive!


Presh! Right after Ramon arrived for the festivities.


Thank you, brother Ramon!! Woo hoo!!! My very own Harry Potter sticker book!


And then there was our trip to Waxhaw...

We all hoped it would be a relaxing time of post-Christmas rest, movie watching, cookie making, sleeping in, etc. But at the almost last minute, Jeff and Kristen had to leave for PNG on 12/31 instead of 1/4. So there was a mad rush of packing, cleaning, small kids dealing with transition, car juggling, Chick-Fil-A wanting and more. We got to be together and we're all grateful, but family gatherings aren't what they used to be...they tend to be a little more chaotic these days. (That could be due to the fact that none of us have had a house/residence big enough to comfortable hold 8 adults and two small children...three now. Hopefully we can host a reunion in our new home in 2014 and things will be different.) Anyway, all in all, it was a good trip and it was GREAT to be with my parents and sisters again. I feel like they understand my odd sense of humor and inside jokes.

We arrived on 12/26 to a snowy Waxhaw. I know, unbelievable.


Two old souls. My dad and Ben. Ben has the face of someone who knows all about life.


Mercy on our Christmas morning, passing out presents.


Nate. I love this picture - he looks so introspective, so thoughtful. Just like he is most of the time :)


Mercy's new ornament...I think from Amanda and Jason?


Ben hugging his lavender koala bear from my parents. It's this stuffed animal with a little pouch of lavender that you zip into its back. You can heat up the pouch, so it feels warm and smells wonderful. I want one, for real! (A&K..."Why did the koala bear fall out of the tree?...")


Amanda wearing Mercy's new tu-tu as a lion mane. Classic.


Me and Ben-a-boo. Such a happy baby...


Nate & Merc with the snowman "they" built. Nate was starting to destroy its face at this point, so I'm lucky to have intervened to stop the destruction and snap a quick pic.


Aunt Funny. (I LOVE that hat!)


The sibs out on a walk (Jason, Dan, Jeff, Kristen, me...A-train taking the picture)


Sists


Mercy snuggling on the awesome JAARS apartment couch


Amanda and Ben. We found that when babies whine and cry, it makes it hilarious instead of annoying if you pat their mouths and make them sound like they're making Indian cries. That's what's happening here...


Poor guy. He doesn't like getting his hair cut. Such a trooper. (Kristen said that the trimmers and the slight discomfort of them rubbing again his head used to scare him when he was little and that some of the fear has stayed with him, up to his sixth year of life.) I can't believe how tall and lanky he's getting. I can hear his squeaky voice in my head, "Hey Merc!"


Amanda told Mercy to give the peace sign and this is what she did. So...peace, I guess?


My mom spelled a bad word while playing bananagrams. Hey...whatever it takes to win.


This is what you'ns get for taking pictures of yourselves on my camera without me knowing. I hope you enjoy this.


The night we said goodbye - Amanda, Nate and Mercy getting ready for the traditional last-minute family photo. Ben almost stayed asleep and if he had, he would've been in the picture in his car seat, as not to disturb his slumber. Yeah...that's how we do "family photos" in this family.


Blueberry Muffins. Love you, gels.


Leaving Charlotte on my birthday morn


Charlotte from the air. Dan kept calling me a rebel because I had my camera on while they told us to turn off electronic devices. I embraced the accusation, seeing as my camera model is the Rebel. Heh, heh. And it all comes full circle.


My dad made us wake up at 2:30 to leave for the airport. I had a SUPER long birthday.


And then there was my birthday celebration...

Congrats, kitten, for capturing this awesome candle shot


Me and boo in our house :)


Just a couple of kittens...


SO excited about light bulbs! They were to a light fixture that I got for the entryway :)


Opening the t.v. for my exercise room that Dan, Jessie and Ramon got me!!! I was SUPER surprised!


My husband and sibs...so classy and beautiful...

More moved-in house pictures to come. Since our house will be a work in progress for the next...decade, it seems like...expect lots of pictures :) We're going to start drywalling the exercise room soon, too. (Pray with me that the treadmill saga ends well and that when we call Nordic Track we get an awesome, super nice person on the phone.)

OH! Last night we swung by Sears to look at their clearance Christmas trees. We need a 9' tree for next year to accommodate for our high ceilings...anything smaller would look like a joke. So we got a 9' floor model tree for $62 that was originally $260. NICE. I also picked up some silver, red and green Christmas bauble ornaments for 75% off! I'll thank myself next year. We're going to set the tree up next week to see if we like it. Like always, there'll be pictures :)