Nature is the art of God. ~ Thomas Browne

I had so much fun snapping some nature shots from Mrs. Wilder's garden that I grabbed the camera and headed outside to my yard (notice I say yard, not garden) and took some pictures! One day I'm going to have a beautiful yard and garden! Can't wait till it gets to that point!

Moving Day

I know it's been about three weeks since we actually moved but I promised myself I would blog about the day... so here we go! Miguel rented the largest UHUAL truck and he and our friend, Jason, spent the morning packing it full of our furniture and other objects. We got up really early so the first thing I did was make a breakfast run to get us some food and coffee. 

McDonalds...Best way to start your day... (rolling eyes) ;)

Luckily, there was a ramp right next to our apartment, so that made the moving the larger objects go a little bit smoother. The dogs hung out on the balcony and had a fun time watching the guys go back and forth, back and forth. I think they would have helped if they could. =)

Unfortunately, the sprinklers came on right as they guys were moving things to the truck. I suppose this would have been nice if it had been a little later in the afternoon when the sun was out and blazing. But getting wet over and over again at 8 am isn't so great. 

Thanks for being such a trooper, Jason!

While the guys were loading the truck, I was inside packing some stuff and taking apart our bed. I almost lost it dealing with that bed. I had to use an allen wrench to take apart the whole thing. My fingers turned black and blistered, but it felt good when the whole thing finally all came apart! And, honestly, if that is the worst part about a moving experience, then there really isn't much to complain about. 

After a couple of hours the truck was all packed up and the guys headed over to the house. I took some small things in my car and the dogs and I followed the guys to the house. Since I had the camera with me trying to document our move, I took the opportunity to snap some shots of the dogs, particularly Jack, enjoying the car ride. That dog is such the definition of "dog". I swear his favorite thing ever is sticking his head out the window. Emma enjoys it too, but brings her head back in the car once we hit a speed over 30 mph. Jack, on the other hand, doesn't care how fast the car is going. =) 

 

Once we got to the house we all started unloading the UHAUL and Jason's truck. It was a lot of work and we appreciate Jason's help more than I can express. There are some items in our house that I literally would not have been able to help Miguel move. I'm just simply not strong enough. 

Notice how I already packed up all of Miguel's athletic socks... he had to wear work socks rolled down. Sorry, babe!

The guys finished unloading the truck around 6. It felt so good to have our stuff in our house! I am so happy to be a home owner. I'm already finding it easier to take care of the house than the apartment. There is more pride in something you own!

I also want to mention that we have pretty cool neighbors. The neighbors to our left planted this beautiful hydrangea plant... but on our property! Score ;) The neighbors to our right are a pastor and his wife. He is the pastor for the church right outside our neighborhood. Amy is the wife and she is very friendly. When I met her for the first time she wrapped me up in a big hug. 

Just this past weekend our doorbell rang. It was our neighbor, Amy. She came over to bring us a welcome to the neighborhood gift. Such a nice thought! But what was even cooler is that the gift was a blanket she had knitted herself! She made it red, white, and blue since it is close to the 4th of July. I am so impressed that someone can make a blanket out of just yarn and am touched that a stranger took the time to create it for us! 

I love the zig-zag ends!

Since I waited so long to blog about the moving day, this is all that I can recall! We are so thankful to Jason for his help and are thankful that God has blessed us so much! I'm looking forward to the happy years we're going to spend making memories in this house!

Miguel's 25th Birthday! -- Part Two

I completely forgot half of Miguel's Birthday post... I blogged about Miguel's birthday HERE but left out his gifts... Oops!

Miguel is well loved... which is obvious by the amount of friends that showed up for his celebrations, but it is also obvious in the generous gifts he received! Miguel opened his presents when we got home from Atlanta on Sunday night. Miguel had four cards in the mail. One was from my Uncle and his girl friend Linda, one from my grandma, one from my sister and brother-in-law, and one from my parents.

Thanks Sarah and Jared!

My grandma gave Miguel a generous check and my sister and her husband gave Miguel a much needed gift certificate so he could buy some new clothes. Miguel needs some new shoes but doesn't like spending money on himself. So this gift card is a good thing! 

Look at the puppy! =)

Miguel was so surprised and excited when he opened the card from my parents. They gave him Sunday tickets to the PGA in Atlanta! He was genuinely surprised and so happy! It's hard to surprise Miguel! Way to go, Mom and Dad! 

Miguel's face when he opened the card from my parents =)

Miguel's parents also gave him a very generous gift... A Big Green Egg! If you know anything about these grills, you know how obsessive some people can get about them. There is definitely a cult following of sorts =) The Amadors have two and I have eaten many meals cooked in them and I can say from experience that it turns out wonderful flavor. For the virgin grill Miguel made us some yummy salmon! The only thing we learned was to next time move it away from the side of the house. We grilled right next to the only part of the house that isn't brick... and completely melted our siding. It is all deformed and catawampus now. Oops! That's alright... I think it's part of the learning curve of being first time homeowners.

Well there you have it! It was a good birthday for Miguel and he feels loved and is enjoying his generous gifts! =)