Hobbes and Caitlin spend alot of time looking out the windows together.

Al-E-Gay-Tor

Check out the cake I made for Uncle Stan's birthday.

Prayer Request

Just in case you've ever wondered about the loyalty of Floridians to Florida football... wonder no more.

This was the back of the bulletin for a VERY small church we visited last Sunday night. Lord bless em' and don't forget Tim Tebow please. Amen.

Boys

Tyler and Charlie.

Demolition

The cabinet is finally down! Hooray!

We had a demolition party on Saturday night.  Papaw, Theresa, Charlie and Aunt Melissa came and ate Homemade Beef and Barley soup, Red Beans and Rice with homemade rolls and corn muffins.  They left before the main event.  I'm guessing the Gator game had a little something to do with that.  Uncle Stan and Aunt Kayti hung in there until the end though.  

Poor fellas, we made them pause the game to take the cabinet down.  What sacrifice!  Thanks guys, I LOVE my new open space in the kitchen!  We used Stan's height to remove the trim while Lee gave the play by play of the game.

My man with a power tool.

He wants us to know that cabinet was hanging on some SERIOUS screws.

Stan removes the last screw while the girls prepare for a crash.

Here it comes... maybe? Maybe not. Turns out that Lee found one more screw with the head sheered off.

Isn't that just like girls? Never pass up a photo op while the guys struggle with that last screw.

Seconds later, down it came.  Wouldn't you know, I was so busy worrying about it falling on my children's heads that I did not take a picture.

Aunt Kayti and Caitlin doing a celebratory dance.  Yay!  The cabinet is gone!!

@@@Sushi@@@

Smart girls roll their own sushi

50 Happy Years

As of this past Sept. 20th Lee's mom and dad have been married for 50 years.

50 successful years of marriage is cause for celebration and that is exactly what we did.

Happy Anniversary!

September 20, 1959

September 19, 2009

Lee's sister Pattie organized the whole event. She rounded us up earlier in the year and let us know what she had in mind. We all jumped aboard with both feet and got to work. In the end I think we were able to pull together a beautiful event that was very special to Lee's folks.

Enjoy the slideshow above!

Wrigley

Old Mother Hubbard

I promised I would tell you guys about the cabinets in my kitchen. I will try to make it as exciting a possible.

Here is a sample of what we had to start with. They are about 32 years old and very well made. I thought about replacing them altogether for about a half second. During that half second I saw hundred dollar bills in multitude disappearing out of thin air. In that same moment I decided PAINT would be the better option. So operation "cabinet facelift" ensued.

Off to Lowes we went.

If all of the cabinets in the kitchen looked as good as the ones above, all I would have done was change out the hardware. Clearly, the previous owners favored about 4 specific cabinets. 32 years of love and abuse was very evident on those 4 cabinets.

Here we are after about 4 days of work. The hardware angel at Lowes filled us in on the "easy" 3-step process of cabinet painting. "Easy" is obviously a relative term! Also, it may just be me but I'm sure there were more than 3 steps!

Lee removed all of the doors and hardware and we laid them out atop tarps on the screened porch.

The next step was the most offensive in my opinion.

We had to rub every surface with this stuff called deglosser. Oy, did it put off some fumes!!!

Gracie was deglossing the doors outside with Holly and Abbie. After about an hour she came into the kitchen where the rest of us were deglossing the facings. She announced "This stuff is just like moonshine! It's clear and it'll make you drunk as a skunk!"

We quickly inquired how she knew so much about moonshine. Her reply: "I watch Andy Griffith". Who knew Andy was so...educational?

Check out that headache, uh I mean hinge above . We found out in a hurry that they are unique. Unique= no longer manufactured. No other hinges on the market would do the trick, it had to be these because of the way the cabinets were made. I was not about to put the almost black from years of grime hinges back on my freshly painted white cabinets. Once again the hardware angel of Lowes swooped in with a solution. Spray paint!

Reluctantly I scrubbed all 38 of those crazy things with Greased Lightning and laid them out to be painted. Crossing my fingers, I gave the first one a coat of matte silver spray. To my utter delight and shock, instantly the hinge looked brand new. I almost cried!

I have a feeling that any of you ladies who've done home repair projects will understand my overwhelming emotion.

Here it is all put together. The handles I agonized over are now all installed and they look perfect with the spray painted hinges.

What's next?!?

More Family Time

Caitlin and Holly met up with Aunt Melissa and Aunt Kayti at The Avenues Mall this afternoon. Looks like a little craziness happened while I was home napping.

That's my Holly.

Family Time

For years the Navy has taken us to some great places around the world. Now we are settled in a spot closer to home. The advantage that we have now that we've never had before is that we live near family (both sides). The girls are loving their new and easy relationships with Grandparents, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. It's so great to be able to just get together for a meal, or go see a cousin's game. We consider this a huge blessing at this stage in our lives.

Papaw and Theresa had the whole Jax Crew over for supper last Sunday night. I made a peach cobbler for dessert. I had no idea that a surprise birthday cake would also be there for dessert.

It looks like Gracie was prepared for 39 candles instead of the 4 on the cake.

Awwww..... family. I think papaw was trying to get little Charlie to look at the camera.

The group got interested in a movie after supper.

Gracie found a cozy spot to chill.

I really do love being able to just kick back with folks we love.

We Heart Chick-Fil-A

Caitlin wasted no time on her hunt for a job. She has a truck and a large dog to care for after all. Chick-fil-a was happy to take her on. The managers told her that they love to employ homeschoolers. Chalk one up for home education!!

Of course we've insisted on popping in for lunch a time or two while she's there.

Support Caitlin: Eat More Chicken!

October 1

October 1st, the beginning of the new fiscal year for most of you. For me, Oct.1 marks the beginning of a new age each year. Today I start living my last year as a 30 something. I can't complain. God has blessed me beyond measure.

Many of you have noticed my absence here on the blog, so today also begins a recommitment to blogging. I'm back on the job now!

We are finally moved into our beautiful house. We closed on it about a week ago, so it is now officially ours. I don't think that being homeowners has really sunk in yet. For 19 years we've lived in base housing and rentals. To make a change we always had to ask permission. Now we could tear a wall down if we wanted and no one would even bat an eyelash. Don't worry, we only have one demo project to do and I will show you what we have in mind in the pictures below. Follow me for the grand tour of the front of our new house.

This is the foyer. My back was to the front door and I had a view into the den. That's mom over there on the right. I think this is a good place to add a warning. Attention Friends and Family: You now live within range of Rebecca's camera. You WILL be featured here at Lovin' Life At Home. No doubt about it.

Ok, see that empty space over on the left? I need a piece of furniture there. I was thinking of one of those benches with a back and hooks for hanging umbrellas and such. I'm not sure what you call that or where to find one. I love a challenge!

Also the foyer, taken with the formal living room to my back.

Here's the living room. It's such a nice peaceful room. I think I'm going to take the rug up. It does not really match and it's been through alot in its life.

Yesterday dad ripped the 25+ year old shower doors off of the girls bathroom tub. They chose this turquoise polka dot curtain to replace it. They also picked surfboard riding penguins for accent pieces. Funny girls!

If you look closely you'll see the penguin trash can on the floor in the back.

Here is the eat in kitchen area. I'm at a loss for ideas about covering that bay window. I love it and really don't want to cover it but it has to have something soon. Through that window the neighborhood can see everything that happens in here at night. We are not in the business of putting on shows!

Here's my cute kitchen. The demo project is that brown cabinet hanging down from the ceiling. It's gotta go! Taking it down will open up that area considerably and make it feel like one whole room instead of two small rooms. That's my NON-professional interior decorator opinion.

All of the cabinets were that brown color when we moved in. We painted them white and replaced the 1970's hardware with new brushed silver handles. I'll save that story for another day. Eventually the countertops will be new too. Right now they are avocado green. ICK! We had to buy the fridge when we moved in, so I chose Stainless Steel LG and I LOVE it. The goal is to change all of the appliances to match. One project at a time.

Lastly, here is our cozy den.

I hope you enjoyed your tour of the front of the house. Stay tuned for more.

For the next couple of weeks I will try to get you all caught up on the past month or so.