Welcome to Our Living Room

I promised an update on our new little home and I've decided to post one room at a time. Partly because my life is a little slow right now and we need to spread out the excitement, and partly because that way I only have to tidy up one room to take pictures.

You know how it is.

We love our living room. It's got a ton of natural light, a big comfy couch, and it's where Maddie usually hangs out. So it's a pretty good place to be. I'm pleased with how it came together given that most of it is stuff we got for free or stuff we got at Big Lots. Side note: Big Lots became my favorite place this past year.

That rug was $18. How do they do it?

As soon as you walk in the front door, you'll see the door table. This is a hand-me-down from Emily's college apartment in Waco and it was also a well loved piece in my apartment in college. Now, it's where we put the mail and display some favorite engagement and wedding pictures.

This picture is a little low quality because I had flash issues. But I think you can tell that it is a very large and very purple couch, which is exactly why we love it. The whole time we lived in San Antonio, we had a daybed instead of a couch in our living room. It was not a good look, not comfortable at all and Derek loathed it. Purchasing a couch would've blown our decorating budget, so we are incredibly grateful for this gift from Derek's parents.

Thanks, guys. We love it!

Our living room has a huge picture window, which I think is a great feature. Maddie likes to sit over the back of the red chair and bark at people so I always leave the curtains parted a little bit.

 

Some wall art that is either carefully hung in a perfect artistic arrangement or hung to hide imperfections in the wall. You decide.

I built that lamp and that entertainment center. One project was more successful than the other, but you'll have to come over to see. 

And this is the little monster that lives between the couch cushions. Come over for a visit, if you dare.

 

Weaksauce

 

The table numbers from our wedding were one of my favorite details and I'm really glad that our photographer got a picture of one. Particularly this one.

My dear sister-in-law Sarah claims that Kerrs have a tendency to remember only the good things that happen to us and almost none of the bad. I think she is right and it is especially true for me. For four years Derek and I dated long distance but sometimes I forget that it ever happened. Being together and married just feels so right that it's hard for me to imagine that we did this differently. (Note: On second reading I remembered that the Birdsongs moved to Florida during our sophomore year of high school. So make that five years. Point proven.)

There was a time when Derek and I would go months without seeing each other. It was awful, but we made it through. We'd talk on the phone every night and send really silly gifts in the mail and drive and drive and drive. To this day, I'm not sure how we managed to do it. God was gracious to us.

Derek has been out of town for work for three days and it has really proven that I have turned into a major weakling since our college days. I let Maddie sleep in bed with me. I cried while watching HPATDH:P1 when Ron Weasley was talking about that little ball of light touching his heart. I totally invited myself over for dinner at my parents house because I was feeling lonely. Pathetic. My former self would be totally ashamed of me.

He gets back tomorrow and I can hardly wait.


Stay tuned for a post about our new house, by special request.

Get a Dog!

Friday was take your dog to work day and given that Derek just started a new job he really likes and would like to keep, our little doggie got left out. I know that there have been a lot of changes in our life that are probably more blogworthy, but this one goes out to my best girl Maddie because we owe her one.

Before Derek and I decided to adopt a pet, we talked a lot about if we had the time, the money, and energy to be able to take good care of a dog. After we made up our minds, we saw Maddie’s picture on petfinder.com and it was love at first sight. Mad, furry love.

Now we can’t imagine life without her. We love that she prefers to walk on curbs and how she claps her paws for joy when we walk in the door. We laugh at how she runs laps around the house after her bath and we take all the snuggles we can get.

If you think you might be able to give a pet a good home, you should totally do it! Get a dog! (Or a cat if that's your thing. Cats are pretty good.)

Pets make being a homebody seem so much cooler.

They are really happy to see you when you get home.

They provide an easy conversation topic for awkward pauses in your living room.

Convinced, yet?

How ‘bout now?

Moving Haiku

#1

derek is a saint

he carries many boxes

without one cuss word

#2

moving the new fridge

took three hours and three men

thanks, next door neighbor

#3

we live in the burbs

quiet, cheap and convenient

sidewalks included

#4

nearness to family:

the best thing about moving

long live the pop-in

#5

one down, one to go

status of our employment

kassidy for hire

#6

great to be home but

i miss san antonio

teeming with tacos

#7

the cutest thing is

our sleepy ever-puppy

in medium box

Big News

Why?

Because we heard they got an In-N-Out Burger.

Because Maddie's hair is getting too big for San Antonio.

Because we want to be closer to our family and friends.

Because Derek is starting a new job that we are very excited about.

All of the above. 
More to follow.
God is good.

My Mom

This picture was taken as we decorated our Christmas tree my senior year of high school. We had tiny light bulbs, and nostrils, so obviously...

That same year, my parents and I sat down and looked through all the books I wrote in kindergarten. My brothers and I had an awesome kindergarten teacher who had us write and illustrate little bound books with the help of some parent volunteers. We wrote at least one book per month and titles included hits such as One Hundred Years From Now, and If I Had a Dinosaur.

But we had the best time re-reading I Love My Mom Because. I'm sure I wrote some nice things, but it was all undone on the last page where I wrote, "I love my mom because she helps me pack."

I was five. I don't know what I was thinking. Packing does stink, but I probably could have come up with a more meaningful conclusion.

But I didn’t. I loved my mom because she took my stuff, wrapped it up in newspaper, put it in boxes, labeled and taped those boxes, and moved them to a new location.

Maybe I was just being really honest. When I was five I loved my mom for practical, even selfish reasons. Like that she fed me, took care of me when I got sick, and did my laundry.

And then I got a little older and realized that the person who was wiping my nose was actually an extraordinary woman.

She is clever, kind and good at everything. She is gorgeous, like Jackie O flawlessly gorgeous. She has a wonderful sense of humor and brightens up any room.

Thanks, Mom. For helping me pack. For raising me right. For being you.

The Sillies

Sometimes I get a little something called the sillies. Sometimes I get them after eating too much sugar. Sometimes I get them after staying up too late. Always I get them after eating too much sugar and staying up too late.

And occasionally I get the sillies at a time when it is very inappropriate to do so.

Sunday was confirmation day for dozens of young teenagers at our church. The beautiful service was nearing an end when suddenly, a baby began to squeal. But this wasn’t just any sort of squeal, it was the weirdest sound I have ever heard.

I can’t stress this enough. THE WEIRDEST SOUND EVER.

I turned to Derek and whispered…

“Is that a baby?”

“Yes, it’s a baby…raptor.”

Maybe it wasn’t that funny of a joke. Writing it out now, I can see that it’s objectively not that funny. But it just got me and I was overcome with giggles. Shoulders heaving, tears streaming down my face, I’m going to die from laughing giggles. I’d start to get it together and then the baby would screech again and I’d picture a little velociraptor in a seersucker suit squirming in a pew and I’d just fall to pieces.

Derek stayed strong for a while; because it isn’t cool to crack up like that over your own joke.  But there was something about how much I was laughing and how undignified it was given the occasion, that when I finally looked him in the eye, he lost it too. They say it’s contagious.

We continued to try to muffle our giggles, said nothing to each other, and hauled it out of church so that we could finally burst into the full on belly laughs we had been suppressing for the past twenty minutes.

There are probably lots of people you could marry, but I highly recommend marrying the person you laugh the most with. Even if it means some people will look at you like you are absolutely bonkers.