Nail by Nail, Board by Board

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #10

2014-01-12T18:56:00.001-05:00

Today’s post is part 10 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

10. Wedding Season

We are serious about our weddings! Well, not really. But we LOVE celebrating our friends and their happiness!!

Everyone goes through different seasons in their lives, and for Savva and me, we have been going through a Wedding Season of our lives. You can typically see Savva and me at weddings...

Waiting in the shade for pictures:

Helping a bride get into her dress:

Rocking awesome sunglasses:

Putting on makeup or getting my hair done:

Dancing:

Eating:

Making goofy faces behind the bride's back...and having it backfire when EVERYONE tries to cover it up with the same mannerism!

Holding a bride's dress (I've left out the bathroom pictures!):

Enjoying the photo booth:

Making a speech:

Playing with the exit favors:

Catching the bouquet and garter:

Decorating the getaway car/boat:

Below are some of the weddings and beautiful couples we have had the honor of celebrating during the past three years. Each bride was exquisite and each groom was happier than I've ever seen him. Each day was thoughtfully unique and fit the couple perfectly. I think it's safe to say we have the best friends in the entire world!

Yancy and Ben Burklow - June, 25, 2011

Erin and Stephen Snyder - July 30, 2011

Laura and Jeremy Warren - March 17, 2012

Jay and McKenzie Long - March 31, 2012

Melanie and Steven Jones - June 2, 2012

Leighann and Drew Jackson - June 2, 2012

US! - July 21, 2012

Rachel and Brooks Adamo - October 7, 2012

Stephanie and Weston Lovejoy - March 30, 2013

Audri and Jonathan Ordelt - June 8, 2013

Brooke and Weston Haney -June 15, 2013

Kayla and Adam Hill - June 22, 2013

Kyle and Erin Benson - July 13, 2013

Kristyn and Mickey Haywood - September 14, 2013

Matt and Tracy Markland - October 19, 2013

If you made it to the end of this blog, you've got to admit - these are some GORGEOUS ladies!!!!!! They are just as beautiful everyday as they are here in their wedding dresses, but their stunning beauty comes from the kindness, generosity, and incredible spirits that they share with those around them. I have felt so blessed to be able to share with them on their wedding days, but I am even more thankful to call them some of my very closest friends.

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #9

2014-01-11T23:26:00.003-05:00

Today’s post is part 9 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

9. Changes around the house

When we built our house, we had “now” tasks, and “later” tasks. “Now” tasks were what needed to be done in order to move in. “Later” tasks were things that could wait and we could do together as we live there. It’s been a little over a year and a half since the house was finished, and we still have a LOT of later tasks, but that’s ok. We are thankful simply to have a roof over our heads and food in the pantry. We are blessed.

This past fall, we started working on our patio. Unfortunately, cold weather came a little more quickly this fall and we had a busier fall than expected, so it's not quite complete. Hopefully by this summer we will be able to enjoy it more! We chose to use a form to pattern our concrete which was much less expensive and looked pretty neat too. Savva is hoping to extend this pattern on the entire top of our driveway (if you've been to my house you understand what I'm talking about), so I think that will look pretty neat. When it dried, it was a much lighter color than shown here. In this photo you can also see the pole Savva made on our hot tub that helps open the top MUCH easier and more quickly (especially when it's really cold outside!) It also props the top so it doesn't fall to the ground. We are hoping to build steps to the hot tub and do some more landscaping this year too.

One of our indoor projects is something Savva planned for during the building process. He wired the house for a speaker system and was able to start installing them. We now are able to listen to music throughout the entire house as the speakers are complete in our living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and master bathroom. We still have speaker wires hanging in the game room (which you may see in some pictures later in the post), but they will be installed soon. The picture you see below is hilarious to us because it is the first time we heard Holly growl at something. She was TERRIFIED of the "floating head" that appeared when Savva stuck his head through the hole in the wall! Once she realized it was him she was fine, but she was really worried there for a while!

Perhaps my favorite “later” project we have completed is our game room. We wanted it to be a reflection of our lives as student-athletes at ASU and our time as Mountaineers. It’s not meant to be a trophy room, but rather a reminder of a major part of our lives. It’s a celebration of our accomplishments and of our teammates. We love it!


As you walk down the stairs to the game room, you will see 5 of our favorite engagement pictures taken by the beautiful and talented Julia Wade. These were taken on ASU's campus where we both went to college and started dating. You can also see the "Today I give my all for App State" sign that was given to us by Melanie, Steven, Uncle Eddie, and Aunt Teresa when we moved in. We absolutely love it and it fit perfectly as you come down the steps!

Two of my favorites were taken in the wrestling room and on the softball field. I think when you spend as many hours in those places as we did in college, they hold a special place in your memory!

Thanks to Coach Wesley at App for allowing me to wear my old jersey for this shot!

Our uniforms with an awesome "Kostis" sign that Brooke Haney gave us for our wedding! This picture was taken before we hung the rest of the photographs on the border.

I LOVE our valance! One of the softball moms from the team I coach made it for us - I was blown away by how perfect it was for our room! Thanks, Gail Robinson!

I had wanted this clock for a long time, so I was so excited to see it on clearance at Michaels! The photographs below the clock were on display at our wedding for our Honorary Bridal Party - our softball and wrestling teammates. These particular pictures were our senior pictures. The middle has the song lyrics from a song from "A League of Their Own" (anyone who knows me know that had to make an appearance somewhere!)

Erin, Stephen, and I held this sign on ESPN several years ago on the Halloween night game for App. You can see the speaker wire hanging, and of course the ping pong table!

We decided this was a great place to put our diplomas since we don't have an office at home. These are hanging above our TV.

Isn't my little brother so talented?!? He painted this for me - it's based off a photograph that captured my grand slam against Western Carolina my junior year. It was an awesome picture taken by Joe Gaston that caught the ball in the upper left of the frame as it was hit. Ryan did an amazing job and I love that we were able to show it off in our room!

Here, you can see the photographs hung on the top border of the room. These are all action shots of us when we competed with the exception of the picture directly above our uniforms. that one is a picture with our Scholar Athlete rings that we were awarded post graduation. To the left of these frames is a couch - I would LOVE to put a framed picture of Corey Lynch blocking the kick against Michigan (Erin has the perfect shot and perfect size!) in that area!

Savva's singlet is starting to look a little slouchy and I am not happy with how my jersey is looking! I'll have to take it down and fix it!

There are so many other little details throughout the room, but these give you a glimpse. We love going down there to play ping pong, and it's a great place to hang out when we have friends over. We are so thankful for our time as Mountaineers!

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #8

2013-11-24T12:03:00.003-05:00

Today’s post is part 8 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

8. “Summering at the Cape” - July, 2013

One of my closest friends, Whitney, has gone to visit family in Boston and stay in her family’s house on Cape Cod for as long as I’ve known her. When we were in college, I got to spend 10 days with her there and absolutely loved it. It’s one of my favorite trips I’ve ever been on, and I have shared my memories of that trip with Savva many times.

This summer at another friend’s wedding, Whitney and Savva were chatting and she invited Savva and me to come visit them before school started back. Immediately, Savva and I knew we wanted to make this trip happen.

All the details worked out perfectly and we were on our way in July, 2013! I can’t say enough about this trip and this family - they are incredible!

Waiting at the airport in Charlotte! Our flight was delayed so we enjoyed people watching - especially the people running to their connecting flight from our plane when it finally landed!

We rented a car and drove to Barnstable, MA and to the small town of Cotuit. If you’ve never been, imagine a small town out of a Nicholas Sparks book that just makes you take a step back in time and enjoy the little things in life. I am in love with this little town and everything about it!

Aerial view of Cotuit Bay and the Cotuit Kettleers baseball field. Photo courtesy of: Kettleers.org

We didn’t arrive until after midnight the first night, and poor Whitney waited up for us! She had to be exhausted but we were so excited to see each other! We quickly fell asleep knowing we were in for an exciting stay with the Mihaich family.

Early the next morning, we woke up and ate breakfast. If you know the Mihaich’s, you know they are an active family! After breakfast, it was time for our morning run...or walk...or jog - whichever group you chose to go with. There two other families staying with us that week who are great fun also, so we all set out to enjoy the morning! The walking group was led by Momma Ellen (Whitney’s mother) while the running group was led by Poppa Steve (Whitney’s father). Whitney, Savva, and I chose to take our own route so we could have some time to chat and catch up. We called it a “walkrun” because we did a little of both. It was a beautiful morning to get out and about and show Savva the little town that we were calling “home” for the next few days.

This town truly has all the makings of Nicholas Sparks novel. It has the beach: quiet and peaceful, filled with the white sails and the glimmer of waves lapping against the shore. It’s really quite incredible. The houses are gorgeous. Some are just massive. Ours is a quaint, dark colored house that actually used to be part of a garage behind a house owned by Ellen’s family. It is down somewhat of a hidden driveway marked only by a curved tree. Believe me, when you are arriving in the middle of the night and you are looking for that curved tree, it really is a hidden driveway!

This isn't the best picture of the house, but I can't find the other one I took! This is miss Abigail "Abby" Mihaich :) You can see how the house is beautifully hidden. I love it!

Once you enter the house, you are immediately taken away to a world with light blue painted walls and a “home away from home” feel to it. The kitchen is always filled with food to feed an army, and everyone puts in a helping hand when it’s time to cook.

Around the corner you will find a small card table with a puzzle. The puzzle is put out on the table at the beginning of the trip, and the goal is to finish it by the end of the stay. Each person staying at the house can be seen at some point during their stay sitting at the table, thoughtfully piecing together sections of the puzzle. This year’s puzzle was a picture of boats on a dock in front of beautifully unique houses all in a row. There were tall green trees and seagulls perched on the docks. Working on the puzzle allowed you to escape into a world where this reality is captured. If you're curious, we finished it the night before we left!

Throughout the next few days, you might catch us doing any of the following activities:

- swimming in the FREEZING water across to an island

- laying on the beach chatting (with anyone and everyone who was there)
-paddleboarding

- sailing with Momma Ellen (she is an amazing sailor!!)

-gazing in awe at the houses on the coastline (as you can imagine, Stephanie's imagination was running wild dreaming of a lifestyle like that!)

The story behind this house is that a man wanted to buy out the entire peninsula. He approached the owner of the house that once stood here and this conversation is rumored to have happened: "How much for your house?" "It's not for sale." "How's $10 million cash?" "When do we need to move out?" Thus began the construction of this enormous compound!

- playing with the wildlife

- digging for clams

- cooking the clams we caught

- watching movies

- walking on the beach
- taking a family picture in a human pyramid on the beach (I really wish I had that picture on my camera!)

- walking through the neighborhoods

- reading
- watching a Cotuit Kettleers baseball game

- working on the family puzzle

- playing a very competitive game of Michigan Rummy

And then there was the scavenger hunt. Momma Ellen does not disappoint when entertaining her guests! Each day was met her cheerfully saying, "Family fun till the day is done!!" Thus, the birth of the scavenger hunt:

Ellen was the only one who knew all of the clues and it was kept very secret until "go" time. She also very strategically organized the teams. Let me tell you, it got competitive! We had to take pictures of every task we completed and points were awarded for each completed task.

As soon as Ellen said "GO" we were off! We ran to the vans and the race began! The competition came down to just a few points and my team lost on a technicality (Savva and Whitney's team won!). The difference in the game came from a photograph we took with the Cotuit Kettleer. There was a game that night and when we got to the field they were taking batting practice. Me, being me, walked right to the fence and asked the coach if we could borrow one of his players for a picture. A little flirting got us a great picture with a player...who turned out to be for the other team - OOPS!! Since we didn't get a picture with a Kettleer, we didn't get points. Lame! I thought we should have gotten extra points for welcoming the opposing team to Cotuit ;-)

We have the following pictures of the scavenger hunt because Savva's camera was used for their team. I don't have any pictures from my team (they're on another camera), but you can get a good idea of our adventures. Tasks included:

Take a picture of:

a group pyramid on home plate of a baseball field

a group member "high-fiving" a runner on the road

as many weather vanes as you could find

a Cotuit Kettleer (this picture proved to be the winner!)

a special type of rock (I can't remember the name of it, but it had a line down the middle)

one of your group members dunking on a basketball goal

as many personalized license plates as you could find

as many dogs as you could find

an item in the kitchen that starts with the letter "R"

as many road signs that have a "Q" in them

We also had to successfully put together a puzzle and choreograph a dance to a song chosen by Courtney (Whitney's twin sister who was not able to make the trip because she is living overseas right now).

On the day we had to leave Cotuit, we left at 5:30am to spend the day in Boston. This was our last view of Cotuit as the sun rose.

Savva had never been to Boston and I was so excited to show him the city! It took 2 hours instead of 1 to get to Boston due to rush hour traffic on a Monday morning, but I enjoyed feeling like a “city girl” for the day!

We parked in a parking deck that was underground Boston Common and started our adventure!

Savva got his first experience riding on a subway!

Some things we saw:

- an old Asian man practicing something I had only seen the monks do in “The Next Karate Kid” right beside a pond in Boston Common

- seriously about 1400 Dunkin’ Doughnuts (how do you know which one to meet a friend at?!?)

- Boston Harbor

- the site of the Boston Massacre

- Massachusetts State House and the Old State House

- Several places on the Freedom Trail

- Faneuil Hall (we ate some really good Greek food for lunch here!)

Some Highlights of Our Day:

1. Harvard’s Campus - We were pretty dorky when it came to this part of the visit. We wondered the entire time what it must be like to go to a school like this. I loved the colorful chairs on Harvard Yard, and, since it was a Monday, we got to see actual students enjoying the afternoon on the Yard. We then walked through the historical gate of Harvard’s campus and entered a more modern part of campus. We both really needed to use the restroom, and Savva was so pleased when we walked right into the science building and acted like students just so we could use the bathroom! We both felt super smart :)

2. Fenway Park

After walking around the outside of the ballpark like 4 times, we decided to pay for a tour so we could get inside. Then, we realized it was game day, so we chose a “batting practice” tour so we could tour the park and then watch batting practice! While we waited for our tour to start, we sat at a bar located under the centerfield stands. We could actually see the field from the viewpoint of a centerfielder, and that was super neat and unexpected.

We took a tour inside the history and tradition of Fenway Park and got to walk on the field. We took some pictures as the players were starting to warm up, and then we made our way up to the Green Monster to sit.

And there we were, just as excited and giddy as the kids we were sitting with. Adults and children alike, we tried to catch every ball that came our way! It was so much fun and definitely Savva’s favorite part of the day. The little boy sitting next to us and another in front of us both caught home runs!

3. The finish line of the Boston Marathon - This experience ranks up there close to visiting the 9/11 Memorial (back in 2011) in terms of the speechless, sobering, quiet that you feel when you know you are standing somewhere where something so unbelievable happened. Both experiences - in NYC and in Boston - meant even more to us because we remember where we were when we heard about these tragedies. We remember watching the television for hours as we just could not peel ourselves away from the new clips repeating over and over.

We knew we wanted to see where the Boston bombings took place. It had only been three months since it happened, so we weren’t sure what it would look like. Savva and I decided not to take pictures of the things we saw there because it would be disrespectful for passersby who may have been much more closely affected than we were that day.

While we were on the subway coming back from Fenway, we looked up the locations of the bombings and got the street names. We followed our map to the streets and then put away the maps to just walk. We felt came around a corner and saw a church whose railings were covered in ribbons with memorials for the victims. It literally took my breath away. For the entire length of the church we saw nothing but ribbons. Because this was not the actual bombing site, we did take a picture of this. In the midst of a busy Monday in the middle of Boston, this stretch of Boston sidewalk was silent.

We continued walking just to see where the path would lead us and we eventually sat down at an outdoor table outside Firehouse Subs. As we chatted and wondered what it would’ve been like to be in the midst of the chaos that day, we decided to look on my phone to see exactly where the bombing occurred. With the exception of the church railing, we had not seen any memorials.

That’s when I saw it.

On my phone I saw a picture of a bloody body and people rushing to help. And in the bottom corner of the photograph, I saw a sign that said “Firehouse Subs.” We were sitting right where it all happened. We sat in disbelief, in silence, and in awe that some place so beautiful and “normal” had, only three months before, been the site of such horror.

The blood and chaos was gone, but our perceptions immediately changed as did the atmosphere of our surroundings. Without saying a word, we stood up and began walking. What we saw next I will never forget.

Savva noticed it first - there was a new post office box sitting on the corner in place of where the bomb had exploded. We kept walking as not to draw attention to ourselves as “gawking”. The mailbox was on our left, and when I looked to my right, we saw the restaurant. Closed and covered for restoration, The Forum still left some of it’s gaping wounds open to the public. Around the sign for the restaurant, we could still see the shrapnel sticking into the building. We could see a glimpse of the reality of that day. The BB holes that ripped through the metal siding. The gashes in the sign. The large piece of shrapnel that was stuck into the building, stabbing at passersby who are just trying to move on. The largest piece still had a chalk circle around it with an evidence number written on it.

We crossed the street and walked past the other bombing site that was signified by a simple bow around a light pole. It was equally as sobering. Hauntingly quiet were these locations in the middle of a bustling city.

Here is a photo of the finish line - the only photo other than the ribbons that we shot that day:

We could not have asked for a better trip to spend together and with some great family friends! We can't wait to go back one day, and we have also been planning our next trip to a new place. Any suggestions on what our next adventure should be?

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #7

2013-11-20T20:09:00.000-05:00

Today’s post is part 7 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

7. Getting Active - Summer 2013

Savva and I love to be outside and try to be active as much as we can. Unfortunately, this has been a big struggle for me especially as I try to learn the balance of teaching, spending time with Savva, and making time for me. It’s hard. I’m tired all the time and frankly, when I have a day off, I ~~sometimes~~ just want to do nothing.

This summer we did try to make more of an effort to be active again and I hope this continues and becomes a big part of our lives like it used to be. Growing up is hard! It’s so easy to let your job consume you, and that’s a hard lesson I have had to work every day at overcoming. I’m still working on that.

So back to this summer - Savva and I entered in competitions of a new kind. It was new. And scary. And we loved it.

Savva entered in his first wakeboarding competition. I have watching him wrestle all four years of college, but NEVER was I as nervous as I was during that wakeboarding competition. It was so different, but I am so proud of him for taking that step to become a competitive wakeboarder.

The competition was in Burlington and he entered in the Masters division. Most of the other competitors knew each other - I’m sure it’s very similar to travel softball or club wrestling where you meet up and compete against the same people often. By the end of the day, many of them were pretty welcoming to Savva so I was happy to see that.

We weren’t sure what to expect when we got there, but we were there bright and early for registration. Lesson #1 we learned: we didn’t have to get there until later in the morning. Or really like noon. But we were there at 7:30. We went ahead and registered and then went to breakfast with my parents (who were awesome and so supportive all day!). When we came back, we sat on the shore of the lake and cheered on the junior divisions.

When it was time for Savva to go, Demetre set up the video camera and we all held our breath just hoping he would complete his run. If you fall twice, you are done, so that’s what we didn’t want to happen. He did his first trick and landed it, then went HUGE for a next big trick and busted HARD. The announcer said that was by far the hardest fall of the day. He was ok and so he got back up. All of a sudden, the tension lifted and he was out there having fun and doing his thing! He looked awesome out there! Or “totally rad” as my favorite pro rider would say ;-)

I compared it to that first inning of softball or that first pitch during an at-bat when you get whatever nerves you might have out of your system. After he fell, he looked like a completely different rider and completed his two passes perfectly. Lesson #2 we learned: in competitions, you have to do your tricks a little faster so you get them all in in the allotted time. He was a little slower, but we both agreed that he landing his tricks was the most important thing this time around. We can work on his speed later.

We really weren’t sure what to expect when it came time for trophies. I, for sure, don’t know how they score it and we weren’t quite sure if he would podium. We were so excited when they announced that Savva had won 2nd place!!! I was so happy for him and so proud of his accomplishments. He is hoping to enter more competitions throughout next summer and start moving up in the wakeboarding world. It’s pretty difficult to do that in the location we live in because we have good lake weather only a few months out of the year. My favorite pro rider, Harley Clifford, rides year-round by living in Florida for 6 months and Australia (his home country) for 6 months. Wouldn’t that be nice?!?

Now, my accomplishment doesn’t come close to that. My accomplishment is just the fact that I did it. I competed. Without any training (or any real running since my ball playing days), I called one of my closest friends and asked her to enter in a 5k with me. When? That weekend. Ha!

We ran once the week leading up to the race just to prove that we could still do it. Times sure have changed since she and I played at ASU. We decided that on the day of the race, we would start off by walking to get our legs warm and then we would start running and take it at our pace. Our goal would be simply to finish - who cares about podiums and times anyway?

Well, we didn’t...until the gun went off and our competitive instincts took over. We started running right out of the gate! No warming up, no stretching, and, keep in mind, no training. What were we thinking?!? But we did it together! When you are teammates, you are teammates for life. We pushed each other and never stopped. I would’ve never done it by myself, but with Kayla, I was able to do it.

We have no idea what our time was, but we crossed the finish line together and tied for 3rd place. We were just happy we made it to the finish line and didn’t fall out in the middle of the woods! Can’t wait to do it again, but maybe this time we will actually train and do it the right way ;-)

Like I said, Savva is hoping to compete more next season in wakeboarding. As for me, I’d like to potentially run a triathlon, but I’ll be happy with just getting myself in better shape. We’ll see!

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #6

2013-11-19T19:52:00.001-05:00

Today’s post is part 6 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

6. Holly - 2/10/2013

My last post was about Christmas 2012, and, little did we know our lives were changing on that very day. We had talked about getting a puppy for several months, but either the time wasn’t right or we couldn’t find the right dog for us. On February 10, I was eating lunch with a friend at Panera Bread. When I left, I checked my phone and I had 3 missed calls from Savva along with several text messages. They said something to the effect of:

“Steph come home! We have got to go NOW! Puppies! Come quick!”

“I found the perfect puppy - we have to get her today!”

“Hurry home”

I came home to see photos of some of the cutest Golden Retriever puppies I had ever seen!

Can you guess which one she is?

They were in Lexington, so we were going to need to travel. In my head I was thinking, “Softball starts this week, do we really have time for a puppy right now?” But for some reason, this one felt right. It was the first time we both thought that, so, on that Sunday afternoon, we jumped in the car and drove to Lexington.

When we got there, I didn’t expect the puppies to be so small! Jackie, the woman we met, has three golden retrievers who are her family pets and they had had a litter of 11 puppies. When we got to her house, there were only 5 left. Two were accounted for, so we got to choose between 3. How do you choose between three of the cutest doggies in the world?!?!? I could’ve taken them all three right then and there.

After we played for a while with them, we had to choose. We were able to narrow it down to two rather quickly because one of them just didn’t seem to respond as well to us. But choosing from two was nearly impossible! Jackie eventually picked the last two up and we went outside of the pin. She held them up in front of me. Savva was leaving the final decision up to me.

I looked at them both so closely - it’s hard to pick out flaws or say you like one more than the other. But there was one who just seemed to have these beautiful eyes that were a little more lively when they looked at me. This particular one also held her paws in the cutest way when you held her up. They were just tucked in front like a person does when they do a “bunny hop.” We took her home that day, and named her Holly. She was born on Christmas Day 2012 - the day Savva and I celebrated our first Christmas together.

The first picture of many!

Introducing her to her new home.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect us to love a dog so much. We always made fun of people who were obsessed with their dogs (sorry to all of you when we didn’t take you seriously!), but we are ridiculously obsessed! It’s bad. If you’ve been around us at all over the past 9 months you know this is true. But she really is sweet and has been the perfect addition to our little family!

If you know us well, you know we take pictures of Holly as much as - if not more than - first time parents! Here are just a few (ok, several) of our favorites!

Whenever she does this, Ryan says she's "broken" because she just stays like "stuck" on her back for several minutes at a time!

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #5

2013-11-16T10:35:00.001-05:00

Today’s post is part 5 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

5. First Christmas - 2012

I. Love. Christmas.

I love everything about it. I love the meaning of Christmas. I love the decorations. I love the traditions. I love the smells. And the lights. And the magic. Christmas is so magical to me. It’s beautiful.

I was beyond excited about our first Christmas together. However, there were some parts of me that were sad. Like I said, I LOVE Christmas traditions. Traditions sometimes change, and new traditions are born. That was something I was mentally and emotionally preparing myself for last year.

It was the first Christmas that I did not wake up at my parents’ house on Christmas morning. It was the first time I was missing the candlelight service at church with my family. It was the first time I wasn’t eating Christmas breakfast with my family. You see, breakfast alone was one of my two top favorite traditions of Christmas.

New traditions can be exciting too, and I could not have been more excited about starting new traditions with my new husband in our new house.

I don’t think Savva knew what to expect when we started decorating for Christmas. He had to keep reminding me that this is our first Christmas and it’s ok to start small and grow as we grow throughout the years. But I wanted Christmas to be absolutely perfect. Does perfect mean going out and buying expensive decorations and whatnot to fill the house? NO! But it does mean that I put a lot of thought into creating our own Christmas Wonderland in our house. We loved it so much we left our decorations up until the middle of January.

Top 3 Things About Christmas 2012:

1. Our tree: We went to a family’s house where they also grow Christmas trees here in Boone. They live not even 5 minutes from us and were genuinely some of the most kind people I have ever met. We spent such a long time looking for the perfect tree for our new house, and when we found it, they let Savva cut it down and helped him tote it to our truck. When we went to pay, we found out that an older couple had already bought our tree for us. They heard us saying it was our first Christmas as a married couple and they wanted to make it extra special. They did. It was such a sweet act of generosity that I will never forget. I will never know who bought our tree that year, but I am so very thankful that they took the time to be a part of such a special moment in our lives.

2. Our Advent Calendar: Growing up, we always had a countdown until Christmas with our advent calendars. It was something I was missing this year since I wasn’t home, and so I made one for us. The one I created had miniature stockings hanging up our railing with numbers that I painted on them. Inside each stocking was an activity for Savva and me to do together to celebrate the coming of Christmas. Although we did not get to complete each one that year, it was still fun to open them each day and try to do them. I have already been brainstorming the ones for this year!

3. Christmas Eve/Day Family Time: I was a little bummed about missing our Christmas Eve service in Durham, but I was very excited about spending Christmas Eve with Savva’s family. It was a hard Christmas for them since his grandfather passed away in August, but we were able to be together and give lots of hugs throughout the night. Somehow, traditions between my family and Savva’s family fit beautifully together.

- We did Christmas Eve with his family and then went back home to stay at our house. It’s very important for Savva and me to be at our house with our children on Christmas morning, and so we wanted to go ahead and start that tradition now. It was so much fun waking up on Christmas morning and seeing what Santa brought! He somehow knew that our stockings were now here in Boone :)

- It was so nice to have a little quiet time just the two of us opening our gifts from each other and enjoying a beautiful Christmas morning. After we exchanged gifts, we went to Savva’s parents’ (across town) for breakfast and to open gifts with them. It was so nice to see them on Christmas morning.

- After breakfast, we said our goodbyes and headed to Durham. We were there for lunch with my parents, Jay, McKenzie, Ryan, and Mema. This was usually our breakfast crowd, but we shifted it to lunchtime so Jay, McKenzie, Savva, and I could travel.

- For dinner, we met at Mema’s house with Uncle Eddie, Aunt Teresa, Melanie, and Steven for dinner and gifts.

We could not have been more thrilled that our new traditions worked out the way they did. Of the four grandkids on Mom’s side of the family, 3 of us had gotten married in 2012. We were all nervous about how this would change things as we adjusted to sharing holidays. It was amazing that it all worked out for us to be together! We were so thankful for that.

Here are some more photos of our house decorated for Christmas:

Our tree before decorating it!

I promise our lights really weren't blue - it's just the way the camera was picking up the lights! You can also see in this picture the beautiful nativity scene we got as a wedding gift and the mistletoe hanging from the loft. I also made the things hanging in the shadowboxes with ribbon, pine cones, and some pieces from our tree. Then I found almost the same things at Michaels, so I might be buying them this year instead!

Our stockings!

These are the doors to our pantry in the kitchen. Jay and McKenzie's Christmas card was the first we received, but the ribbons quickly filled with cards from family and friends!

Savva's mother gave this Christmas Mickey to us. When Savva was little, she said he used to dance in front of it as it played Christmas tunes!


The beautiful Christmas quilt Mema gave us!

It's blurry, but these are the PJ pants we wore on Christmas morning when we opened Christmas gifts!

As for Christmas 2013, I have already been listening to Christmas music for the past two weeks, and last weekend Erin and I spent a lot of time in pajamas watching Christmas movies! I actually am watching a Christmas movie as I'm typing this. I'm so excited! Christmas music makes an appearance in my life throughout the year, and it always makes me so giddy and happy. It’s great therapy for me when I’m having a rough day! Is it too early to start decorating???

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #4

2013-11-15T17:53:00.000-05:00

Today’s post is part 4 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

4. Honeymoonin' Jamaica Style!

Wahoo! We are thankful that we didn’t leave for our honeymoon until the Monday after the wedding because it gave us a chance to 1) have the brunch at our house the day after the wedding, 2) take our time packing (because of course I wasn’t packed until Sunday afternoon), and 3) enjoy a quiet night at my parents’ house before they took us to the airport Monday morning. Plus we got to drive Daddy’s Superbee all the way to Durham!

We took our Mad Libs from the wedding on the plane with us to read during flight, and we laughed (probably way too loudly) at them! Our plane flight had 25 couples headed to Jamaica for their honeymoon! It just so happened that one of the new husbands was a wrestler for Minnesota - he and Savva knew each other and chatted away. The couple we sat beside also had a wrestler for a husband. It turned out that they were staying at our same resort! We spent a lot of time with them during the trip:

Jamaica was incredible. We stayed at Secrets St. James in Montego Bay. Immediately we felt comfortable there and the staff was so nice. We spent the first night just exploring and learning our way around the place. We loved the restaurants - especially the French restaurant called Bordeaux:

We also enjoyed hanging out at the piano bar and singing music there all night! There was a karaoke contest one night that I almost entered, but ended up deciding not to. We also had nightly entertainment that included steel drum bands, a circus, a beach party, and a talent show.

During the days there were always events going on, but we could come and go as we pleased. Some days we just layed around on the beach or swam, while other days you might catch us doing any/all of the following:

- racing hermit crabs

- trying to talk like a Jamaican

- competing in the Pool Olympics

- watching the celebrations for the Jamaica Olympic team (we were there during Opening Ceremonies for the 2012 Olympics)...which, may I just say, I absolutely LOVED the pride these people have for their country- ALL of them!

- sailing

- snorkeling

- trying to hold our breath under water (I always won)

- playing life sized Connect Four (I always won)

- playing ping pong (I won the whole resort tournament! I have to give Savva credit though, he knocked out this crazy Russian guy in the quarterfinals who was really really mad about losing)

- pretending to dance like a Jamaican (please imagine Savva doing this, it was great)

- reading (Stephanie)

- gambling at the casino (Savva)

- searching for star fish

- watching the sunset

- eating 1000 ice cream cones at the soft serve ice cream place

- watching the poor Brazilian girl try to learn to wind surf (her husband literally paid for lessons for like 4 days and she still could barely do it)

- accidentally walking up on a couple “celebrating” their 25th anniversary...and by celebrating, I mean loudly...in the water...next to the beach I was walking on.

Here are just a few pictures from our trip:

If you want to check out more pictures and videos, check out my album on my Facebook Page.

It was so much fun, I really can’t say enough. I can’t wait to go back!

Oh, did I mention the Jamaican airport plays “Cool Runnings” on repeat throughout the whole airport? Ya ‘mon!

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #3

2013-11-14T23:42:00.000-05:00

Today’s post is part 3 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

3. Getting Married - 7/21/2012

Is there even a way to begin this post? Our wedding day was incredible. We are so blessed with family and friends who love us and care for us. They bent over backwards to help make the day perfect for us. If you know me, you know that I always get things done, just maybe not in a timely manner. I work well under pressure, and, against my good intentions, usually end up doing things at the last minute. This explains why I was still up at 3:30am the morning of our wedding day, laying in bed with my best friend, Erin, working on last minute details of the wedding. WHO DOES THAT?!?!?! When Erin got married, she was finished with all her stuff so early that she spent the last week relaxing by the pool!

All of my bridesmaids spent the night with me the night before - it was so nice to spend some time with them during the busy weekend. On Sunday after the wedding, we had a brunch at our house with several of our family members and friends there to spend some time with! Those were special times for us to get to really spend time with the people we love.

The ceremony was beautiful (of course, I am biased!). I remember as we were walking up the steps to the sanctuary, I started to get very quiet, almost “zoned out” - not nervous - just anxious to get going. Some of the girls were asking me if I was ok, but Erin reassured them that this is how I prepare for things - mainly for softball games when I was an athlete. I think it was just a way of focusing and thinking through what I needed to do and visualizing how things would go. I didn’t even realize I was doing it, but once Erin mentioned it, that’s the exact emotion I was feeling! I found out later that Savva was feeling the same emotions he would feel before a match. I guess that’s what happens when you have two athletes getting hitched!

The bridesmaids went down the aisle and the flower girls too, and then two of my closest friends, Tracy and Brooke, closed the sanctuary doors. My turn was next. I asked them to hold the doors closed just a second - I wanted to take in that moment, or breathe, or say something to Daddy, or something! They just smiled and opened the doors - whatever breathe I had or was trying to take was gone. There I saw my groom, my best friends, my family, and all those people who have supported and encouraged us both throughout our lives. It was incredible, such a blur. I wish I could’ve taken 10 minutes to walk down that aisle and just take in each and every single person who was standing there watching me. And then there was Savva. Is this a good time to say that I have one HANDSOME husband?!?! Man, he sure looked sharp at the end of the aisle!

And he was only watching me.

Wow. How many girls dream of this? When I imagined my wedding, I could see everything in detail until the groom’s face. It was just like a black circle where a face was supposed to go. And in that moment, as I walked down the aisle laughing and smiling with my dad, that black circle of a face filled with the face of my best friend.

And he was only watching me.

I could recount each detail of the day, but photographs from photographer, our incredible, outstanding, fabulous, phenomenal, fun, beautiful, creative, amazing - ok, there really aren’t enough words to describe her - Julia Wade can tell the story much better than my words. I have become a little obsessed with her blog every since I met her! Enjoy!

http://www.julia-wade.com/blog/2012/08/savva-stephs-wedding/

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged… #2

2013-11-13T19:26:00.000-05:00

Today’s post is part 2 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

2. Savva Graduating from ASU - May, 2012

As I’ve said before, I could not be more proud of my husband and his accomplishments in every facet of his life. He has worked so hard to earn the things he has, and it’s quite amazing to watch.

We got engaged during his senior year of college, so this is what his life looked like during that time:

- working to earn his college degree

- working hard in his last season of college wrestling

- helping his brother in his own wrestling career

- building our house

- setting up our downstairs as a rental property

- helping plan our wedding

- dealing with me teaching

- dealing with me coaching

- dealing with me in graduate school

- dealing with me working on the wedding

- dealing with my crazy imagination when it came to building the house

- dealing with me, period!

I can be a hard person to be around sometimes. My imagination runs wild and I get these grand ideas of what could happen, but I have a hard time making them happen. That’s why Savva is so great - he has a knack for making those dreams into reality. But that’s not to say it’s not frustrating along the way sometimes! He had incredible patience with me during that year.

In May 2012, he accomplished a huge goal in his life - to earn a college diploma while competing all four years in wrestling! Savva graduated with a degree in Construction Management with a minor in Business. He was awarded as an Academic All-American as an NCAA student-athlete. That doesn’t happen to everyone (it certainly didn’t happen for me). He was later awarded with a Scholar Athlete Ring from ASU which is a great honor as well. I could not be more proud of him!

Learning to live in the real world and without wrestling in the forefront of his everyday routine has been quite a change, but one thing that hasn’t changed is his work ethic and passion for the things he loves.

I know it’s kind of overdue, but congrats to Savva for being just plain awesome :) Love you!

I had to include this first photograph because I love how he is such a positive role model to younger wrestlers!

Graduation Day!

Socon Champions!

Seniors #1 in the Socon!

Being awarded their Socon Championship rings during the football game.

Wish I had a ring like that!

Made it on the all-time wins list! As his wife, am I allowed to brag and say I think he could have gotten higher on this list if he didn't have appendicitis junior year and broken ribs senior year? To make this prestigious list is pretty awesome though!!

Scholar Athlete Ring

Miss these boys and their sweet wives!!

Serious bling.

We have matching Scholar Athlete Rings now!

Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged… #1

2013-11-12T22:12:00.001-05:00

Today’s post begins a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years. I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments. I hope you do too!

1. Getting Engaged - 10/9/2011

It was fall and the leaves were gorgeous. There was a hint in the breeze that signified winter was coming.

It was also in the middle of the school year and starting to get really chilly. I was NOT in a good mood and did NOT want to go to the lake that day. You see, Savva’s family goes to the lake every Sunday afternoon throughout the summer. I love that this time is set aside for family time, but once school starts back and the weather starts changing, I don’t love to go as much.

Savva wanted one more day to wakeboard before hanging it up for the winter. UGH.

Once we got to Watauga Lake, it really was a beautiful day to be outside. Chilly, yes, but I am always cold. The leaves and mountains reflected off the water so perfectly that I was surrounded by autumn colors and fresh air, all encapsulated by the mountains.

Savva and Demetre decided that they were going to attach a tube to the back of the boat. The plan was for Demetre to ride on the tube and take pictures of Savva as he flipped over Demetre. As they were plotting this out, I realized that meant I would have to drive the boat. Double UGH. I would much rather lay on the front of the boat and watch.

I believe my exact response was, “This is the WORST IDEA EVER.”

They laughed and dismissed my warning. When we got out to the middle of the lake, they hooked up the tube just like they planned, but then something wasn’t right. Instead of giving Demetre the waterproof digital camera (that I would’ve been ok with except for the fact that I was still stuck driving the boat), Savva gave Demetre the NICE, PROFESSIONAL, EXPENSIVE CAMERA. You know, the ones you SHOULD NOT take anywhere near the water, ESPECIALLY on a tube behind a running boat with a wakeboarder flying over top of you?

This time, my exact response was, “You guys are so dumb! This is the worst idea ever. It’s not going to work and when Demetre falls in the water and ruins the camera it will be MY fault because I’m driving!”

Yes, there is photo evidence of this as well:

Again, the boys laughed and Demetre got on the tube - with the expensive camera. Savva said, “Don’t worry about it. Why don’t you go ahead and hook up the rope while I get ready?” So, as I turned around to hook up the rope to the wake tower, my famous last words were:

“This is ridiculous. I can’t believe I’m part of this.”

Secretly though, I was smiling, because this really was going to make for some cool pictures as long as I didn’t screw it up!

I love that Demetre captured this picture because it is exactly how I felt that moment!

So, there I am hooking up Savva's wakeboarding rope to the tower like I have done every summer that we have dated. Nothing unusual, but all of a sudden he tells me I have done it wrong! Of course I hadn't - I know how to hook up a rope! I think he was buying time to get Demetre at a good angle with the camera...or maybe he was nervous??

It took two more times for me to “fix” the rope while I thought Savva was putting on his life jacket and wakeboard. When I turned around that third time, there was Savva down on one knee on the back of the boat!

The first words out of his mouth were, “Will you marry me?”

They were spoken with such a young, happy, Christmas-morning-type of childlike excitement - so much that I can hear it in my head just like it was yesterday. It was perfect. It was also followed by some more words about something...I really couldn’t tell you. I hope it was something nice about me though :)

I was trying to figure out in my head what was going on, and I realized this was the real deal when I saw a tear in his eyes. Holy cow this is really happening! Just as in a movie, it seemed like the sun shone perfectly on the ring as he placed it on my finger. All I could do was hug him.

It wasn’t until later when I realized that I never actually said, “Yes.” Oops!

It was also several minutes before I put together that I had been tricked! I forgot Demetre was out on the tube, and it still didn’t occur to me that he was taking pictures of US! Even after I realized that part, I still got in the driver’s seat and told Savva I was ready for him to wakeboard. He told me he was never planning on wakeboarding that day - man, I really am gullible!

This is about the time I realized Demetre was taking pictures of us!

As we brought Demetre back into the boat, I started realizing how many little details I missed throughout the day, but I’m so glad I did because the surprise was absolutely perfect!

I also had to share the case he put the ring in. He knew if I got suspicious I would look at his pockets for a ring box, so he made a much slimmer one - out of a Burt's Bees container!

Demetre is a fantastic photographer, don't you think?

The Journey of Our Dreams

2013-11-11T14:54:00.000-05:00

I’ve been wanting to start this blog back up for a while, but I just needed to sit down and take the time to do it. So much has happened since August 24, 2011 when we started this blog, but, before I start writing about that, I thought it would be best to tell you why we started writing to begin with.

It was Savva’s idea to begin a blog. I thought I really wouldn’t have time to do much with it, but Savva insisted that it was a great way to document this exciting chapter in our lives. As it turns out, he was right! I wish we had taken more time on it throughout the process, but it is really neat to look back on the pictures and remember our journey.

The only part I’ve really had in it was coming up with the name “Nail by Nail, Board by Board.” This came from a Miranda Lambert song called “The House That Built Me.” It came out right around the time we were starting to build, and, although the rest of the song doesn’t really apply to what we were doing, a few lines from the second verse do:

“Mama cut out pictures of houses for years.

From 'Better Homes and Garden' magazines.

Plans were drawn, concrete poured,

and nail by nail and board by board

Daddy gave life to mama's dream.”

I know Savva and I aren’t “Mama and Daddy” yet, but I hope that one day our children are able to look back and say these exact words about the house that Savva built for us. It really has been a journey for our relationship. We have grown so much closer throughout the process, and it truly is a product of our dreams. We built with our future in mind, we built it together, and, yes, I did cut out pictures of houses for a long time!

So why did a 23 year old and 20 year old get the crazy idea that they could actually build a house to begin with???

This entire house has been Savva’s incredible dream coming to life. It all started when I was frustrated with a new living situation in college and, before I knew it, I told Savva, “I just want to buy a house - I don’t want to rent anymore!” We got on my computer and Googled “Boone Real Estate”. The first result that appeared on the search engine was a piece of land. In my frustration, I said, “I don’t need a piece of land - I’m looking for a house!” Savva responded by saying, “What if I built you a house?”

This was the piece of land we were looking at:

I dismissed his crazy idea and quickly forgot about it until a few days later Savva showed me some drawings...of our house! He had been by to check out the land - the first result on our Google search - and had even called on the price. From that point on, we began spending hours talking, brainstorming, drawing, and planning what would become our house. The dreams became reality when we were sitting at a table in Golden Corral with my dad and a family friend who is a lawyer. We used a napkin to crunch numbers and find a way to make this work. Knowing we had taken the first step in creating something special that day, I kept that napkin. Below you can see some of the very first drawings of our house (which changed blue prints several times before construction)

And here is our final product (blue print of the main floor):

Savva learned how to use AutoDesk Revit while he was in college, and he can create anything you want on here! We had fun playing with it (except when I accidentally made all the floors in the blue print disappear!) I love watching my husband when he is caught up in something he is so passionate about - the possibilities are endless for him!

Savva’s dad, George, owns a construction business, Kostis Builders, so we sat down one night to show him our plans and ask for his help. If you have ever seen George’s work, it’s absolutely incredible. Savva has learned a lot from him growing up in the construction world, and together they can do some unbelievably amazing things. The two of them worked together on finalizing plans (while I interjected my opinions!), and I worked with the bank to finalize a construction loan and to make everything official. This was a trying time for us and there were several times we worried that it might all fall apart, but we have a wonderful army of love and support from our families that helped us every step of the way.

Breaking ground was a family task - Savva, George, and Demetre (Savva’s brother) began clearing the land, and I think Tina (Savva’s mother) and I dragged limbs for days! My parents and brothers would come up from Durham as often as they could to see the progress and help in whatever ways they could. From the first day we broke ground, Savva and George spent countless hours working on every detail from the footers to the framing right down the the finest details of the house. They even threw some surprises in there along the way for me too!

I have always been so proud of Savva for everything he accomplished throughout the building process. While we were building, he was in his senior year of college and his final year of wrestling at Appalachian. During that busy year, Savva earned a place on the Dean’s List as well as becoming an All-American on the wrestling mat. He was ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA for part of the season and finished the regular season of his career ranked #21 in the country for his 149lb weight class. As a team, ASU also won the Socon Championship! All those things are extremely hard to do even when you’re not building a house!! He never ceases to amaze me in the things he can accomplish, but more on that in a later post.

So, if you’ve stayed with me on this ridiculously long blog post this long - thank you! The next few blog posts will be filled with pictures and a few words about what has been happening in our lives since we began this blog. Happy reading!

Around the house

2012-10-03T22:50:00.002-04:00

The deck has stain!

Started the patio, still a lot of work to do. A retaining wall will be installed soon and stone around the hot tub pad. The pad took 35 bags of concrete and some elbow grease. Thanks for the help uncle Jim.

A small creek that runs through our property! We are going to clean the debris up around it when we get time.

After about a couple hours of work. I barely made a dent.

The start of clearing the debris.

Income Property (downstairs)

2012-02-20T22:11:00.000-05:00

Almost Done!

2012-02-13T20:39:00.000-05:00

It's the Little Things

2012-01-06T21:23:00.003-05:00

Savva and I are both thrilled about our cabinets! The past year has been exciting and challenging for us both, but we can't believe the beautiful house that is coming together before our eyes. Even little changes like the fact that we now have light switches and electrical outlets is so exciting to me! We are so thankful to everyone who has helped us get started - we fully plan to use our new kitchen to cook you some yummy food to thank you :)

Kitchen Cabinets

2012-01-06T21:20:00.000-05:00

We have installed the cabinets. The custom cabinets fit like a glove, they have sw roman column color finish. The cabinets have soft close doors and draws. The cabinets on the bottom are covered to protect them, I should have taken the picture before they were covered. We still have to do the light rail and crown on the cabinets.

T & G

2011-12-26T22:01:00.001-05:00

The sheet rock has is done, with a knock down finish. The walls have been primed and are ready to be painted. For the T&G we use a Cabot stain called early American. It has been a tough decision picking a stain. What we have ahead of us is flooring, cabinets, trim etc... We have been working hard and starting to see the finish line in.

Sheet Rock & Updated Fire Place

2011-12-07T21:22:00.002-05:00

The fireplace has been rocked. We are doing a wood mantle and trying to find a solid stone slab for the seat.

Master Bedroom with tray ceiling and doing tongue and groove ceiling.

This area is underneath the loft. Left to right there is a desk area, pantry, and refrigerator recessed in.

Beside the Ref. there is a closet straight ahead and a laundry room to the left.

Laundry room. The walls have batt insulation to reduce noise when the washer and dryer are running.

The house is making so much progress it is crazy that it will be done in about a month.

Insulation

2011-12-04T18:11:00.002-05:00

Blown-in fiberglass insulation. We will soon be starting sheet rock (gypsum board) tuesday.

Looking in from the front door. R-38 bat on the ceiling with blown-in fiberglass on the exterior walls.

Other notes, the master bed room now has a recessed (tray) ceiling. We also have installed a central vac system, and speaker wire throghout he house.

Front Door!

2011-11-26T22:32:00.004-05:00

The door is finally here after the first one was damaged by a fork lift somewhere along the way. The door is Brazilian oak with a special walnut stain. The rock should be finished around the entry Monday.

This side is almost done, need to caulk the siding and paint.

As you walk in: The living room is to the right, Kitchen will be straight ahead in the corner with the loft covering the laundry and pantry and half bath. To the left of the picture(not pictured) is two bed rooms and two baths. We started the insulation, r-38 bat in the ceiling since blow-in insulation would settle down the 7/12 pitch. We will use blow-in insulation in the exterior walls.

From the kitchen looking toward the living room and front door.

game room/(man cave) even though it has a window lol.

Miscellaneous pictures enjoy!

Cedar Shakes and Fire Box

2011-11-17T16:55:00.007-05:00

Hardie Siding with Hardie Shakes on top. The shakes went together pretty easy, more difficult than the lap siding. The shakes have notches on the top side that mach up to the next but you have to be careful to keep the right pattern. Starting to see some progress in composing with materials. It is going to be hard choosing colors.

Picked up the fire box today. I had to exchange it with the previous one because we want to use un-vented gas logs. This is the most efficient since all the heat is contained within the home and not lost through the chimney.

Still waiting on the front door. It came in Tuesday but it was damaged, someone decided to run a fork lift through it. Another one should be here tomorrow so we can finally be closed in.

Getting another inspection tomorrow. The next step is finish the other gable end with the shakes and then insulate and drywall.

Siding & Stone & Windows

2011-11-09T19:12:00.009-05:00

It's been over a month since our last blog post, but a lot of exciting things are happening for us! Here is a list of all the amazing things that are going on in our lives:

1. One month ago today, Savva and I got engaged!!!
2. Savva is off to a great start to his senior season of wrestling!
3. My second year of teaching is going well!
4. Savva is almost halfway through his senior year of college!
5. I finished grad school...well, that was in August, but yay!
6. My softball girls are ready for an awesome WHS softball season!

...and our house, obviously :)

Ricky did some great work on the rock siding.

The house from the road. It has come along way since this time last year.

Window are Silverline with a LowE3 Argon .3 u factor, vinyl and prairie grills. Silverline is owned by Anderson.

Windows and Doors installed.

Installed the tubs. We got them from Ferguson at a great price!

More Roof/Loft

2011-10-04T19:27:00.003-04:00

View from the road.

Looking at the loft. The kitchen will be on the right and the master bedroom to the left of the house.

From the Loft looking down.

Starting the Roof

2011-09-21T12:19:00.001-04:00

Starting the second floor

2011-09-08T16:56:00.001-04:00