The House That Andy Rebuilt

Many have been asking for pictures and updates on the house. So very much has been done since we bought the place in August (most with Andy's own hands). It was very much in disrepair at that time with only studs for walls, no electric, and much demo still needed. The flooding that followed Katrina caused about 5 foot of water to sit in the first floor of the home for approximately 3 weeks. The prior owners did do some demo immediately after the waters receeded including mold remediation. The biggest blessing of this house is that the upstairs has 3 bedrooms and a full bath that allow us to live there comfortably while working on the rest. While plenty remains to be done, much progress has been made including new walls and paint, new electric, tile flooring, complete redo of the interior steps (with much thanks to the hardwork of Andy's mom & dad), new carpet on the steps and upstairs, entirely new kitchen, new hall bathroom, and as of today, we are half-way to getting the new hardwood floors installed downstairs. Having the floors done is the milestone we have been waiting for to get our belongings delivered --which we haven't seen since the moving truck left JC on Oct 16, so hopefully soon! I can't find a good photo of the new kitchen with cabinets and appliances, but the 3rd photo down is the kitchen before and I will take a few after photos and post them soon.

Water Babies

Swim lessons began this past week. Yes, we are in an outdoor pool, but yes, it is heated. Chris is the name of the instructor and both boys really seemed to have a great time. I am looking forward to providing you with updates on lots of great progress over the next 8 weeks of lessons.

Out of the Jungle and to the Zoo

The kids and I checked out the zoo today--the first of what I am sure will be many trips with much thanks to Mary, Tim, Meagan, and Corey for the wonderful gift of a zoo membership. All from St. Louis know how spoiled we are with such a great zoo there, but I can tell you that this zoo does not disappoint. They do have exhibits that St. Louis doesn't, including white tigers, which were strikingly beautiful, and white alligators, which were spooky. The kids had a great time and didn't want to leave. There were very few others there, because this is still "cold" weather (in the 50's this morning) for the locals. We practically had the zoo to ourselves, and, in fact, we were the only ones at the animal feeding, so the boys even got to feed the otters their fish and carrots--I was too busy helping with that process to get any good photos.

Nerd Alert: Battle of New Orleans

The perfect place for two brothers...in the Brittish camp, one a red-coat, and one visiting from the American camp.


Cannon firing demo by the US Navy from the Carolina.

Small arms demo by the American forces.

We took a little break from working on the house on Saturday and went to the Battle of New Orleans re-enactment as a family. Not that Andy didn't want to go, because he did, but I will fully admit that I was the one that was so excited to take the kids to the 195th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of New Orleans. Ever since our trip to the Hermitage last year to celebrate Andrew Jackson's birthday, I have been wanting to learn more about him, and he was the commander at this battle. The kids had a great time watching the guys in their costumes (I mean uniforms) and watching the cannon and small arms demonstrations, and I had a great time talking to the re-enactors about this historic battle. One thing that I learned that I didn't realize is that this battle represents the last time in American history where we fought a foreign power on our soil (January 8, 1815).

First Day of School

Wm officially started at his new school last week. He really seems to like it and has been anxious to go again each day!

New Beginnings

Ok, so here it is...finally! I know that so many have been wanting me to get started on Facebook and others, but I thought a blog might be a better avenue for me. Those who know me best will figure from the start that I will not be a daily poster, but I will do my best to keep everyone in the loop as to what is going on in our lives. Enjoy!