Our First Home

At the beginning of the summer, Brady and I bought our very first home! The home was originally built in 1976 and unfortunately had not seen much upkeep since then.  I will never forget our first time walking through with Brady and just rolling my eyes and saying, "There is NO way I could live here." The exterior curb appeal was non-existent. It can probably be best described as a stereotypical "crazy cat lady" house with thick over grown bushes and weeds galore. Sadly, the inside was even more alarming. We entered to find musty blue carpet, popcorn ceiling, pink floral wall paper, and outdated curtains. Not to mention the massive spiders, mouse droppings everywhere and an awful smell. We knew it was going to be a lot of work... and it was. 

Today, almost six months later, we are still no where near finished but we have made some good progress. We finished the basement and have a cute couple and their little baby renting it out. We have also almost finished remodeling the upstairs and are really looking forward to the spring when we hope to work more on the yard. With the help of some awesome friends, we even managed to get a new roof before the bad weather came and for that we are so grateful! We have been been so blessed by the selfless service of our family, neighbors and friends. 

 Here are a few pictures from our renovation adventure. 

Signing the papers. Eek!

June, 2014 
Our first glance. 
Know what i'm saying about the curb appeal?

My Squish.

Before                                                               After 

Entry Way

Before                                                               After 

Main Hall

Living Room

Living Room

Living Room

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After 
*Saving up for a barn door over the laundry area

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After

Before                                                               After 

Kitchen Door

Before                                                               After 

Bathroom #1

Before                                                               After 

Bathroom #2

Master Bedroom

Master Bedroom 

Office 

Piano Room
~Basement~

Before 

After

Another Angle

Blurry Before

After 
Those doors are where the window once was. 
 Another angle. 

And another. . . 

Fireplace Before

Fireplace After

Basement Hall

Basement Bathroom 

Before

After 

Walk-out Basement 
Different seasons for dramatic effect :)

No more bushes in the front!
 We are so happy to finally be settled in!

A tribute to dad: 5 lessons i've learned from my father

Ever since I was a little girl, I have frequently been asked the question, "What is it like living with a relationship expert?" Since getting married just over a year ago, this question has come up even more regularly as people have wondered what type of advice a marriage coach would give his own child. I have always felt such a special bond with my dad probably because we are so much alike. I truly feel like we understand each other. Growing up in a house with a relationship expert and humorist has opened my eyes to the hope and peace that can come from continually striving to nurture the relationships with the people you hold most dear. The following are the five greatest lessons I have learned from his example.

We are all a little jacked up: If you've ever heard my dad speak, you have probably been startled by the use of his favorite phrase, "jacked up." It doesn't matter if he is speaking to a room full of strangers on a cruise ship or across a pulpit to a church congregation; he commonly uses this brutally realistic phrase. I think that is why so many people relate to my dad’s content — it is just so real! Coming from my dad, this phrase “jacked up” refers the fact that all human beings carry around some form of extra baggage in their lives.  Whether the baggage is caused by past guilt, fears, addictions or secrets, he has taught me that "people whose hands are full of baggage have a harder time carrying the load of others." As a teenage girl experiencing typical high school drama, my dad was always quick to remind me that the issues we had as friends weren’t because people were intentionally trying to be mean but rather because we were just simply “jacked up.” He would also remind me that people that hurt other people are usually hurting themselves. Learning this from a young age has helped me to always try to give people the benefit of the doubt before choosing to be offended.

Live in the now: My dad is known for encouraging his clients to say, "I'm in!" before each relationship workshop. What this means is that you are committed to living in the now, that you are present in the moment and ready to learn. My dad is so good at living in the now. My transition to college was a hard one. I went from high school where I felt like I was a "somebody", to a university with 30,000 talented, smart and beautiful people. I would often call my dad discouraged and lost. He would lovingly point out that many of my concerns came from the fact that I was living out of the past or aspiring to create a great future.  Then he would gently urge me to "Show up in the now!"  He would remind me that "right now, in this moment, is the only time you have to offer what you can to the world. In the now is where the peace resides and where we’re closest to God."

The space between us matters most: My dad has taught me the power of relationships by sharing one of his favorite quotes by Noah benShea: "It is the silence between the notes that makes the music; it is the space between the bars that holds the tiger."  So many times in my life we become consumed in our own struggles, stresses and successes that we find ourselves taking those around us for granted. My dad would always point out that no matter how many people I have in my life, the real key to a good life is to focus on what happens in the space between myself and all of the people around me. My dad would always joke that "iron bars on the cages at the zoo are pretty important, but if the bars are spaced 10 feet apart from one another, then I would leave the zoo as quickly as possible."  The same rule is true in our lives.  If I have dozens of people in my life, and I’m not very close or connected to them, then it’s time to stop gathering friends and start connecting with them. This life isn’t easy and we need the companionship of those around us to draw on in both the good times and the bad.

Become the change: My dad has a real knack for identifying the talents and gifts in others. It is one of the things I am very most grateful for. At several stages while growing up, my dad would point out my strengths and help guide and direct me to which path I should take. Early on he recognized a passion and talent in me for writing and public speaking and even urged me to join the high school debate team. After qualifying for state in debate, my dad started joking that he regretted encouraging this talent because now he can never win an argument at home. I vividly remember when he challenged me to stop watching the rest of the world as it passed by and to develop my own talents and follow the advice of Ghandi who said: "One must become the change he seeks in the world." I am grateful that my dad, whose parents divorced when he was eight, didn’t just sit around sad because of the separation, but instead he became the relationship change he wanted to see in the world.

Finding personal peace:  The night before my wedding day we had a dinner with our closest family and friends. My husband and I still talk about how this was one of the most special parts of our whole marriage event. I distinctly remember looking out and being filled with emotion seeing that all of the people I loved most were gathered together in one room to support us. After dinner we had a program where we invited our siblings, bridal party and parents to give us their best advice. My dad closed out the night and many were wondering what advice he would give to his only daughter.  It was priceless, something that I will never forget. He started by expressing his complete love and approval for the amazing man that I had found to marry.  He then directed his attention right to me and said, "Sarah, your personal peace will never come from another person, not from your partner, not from the people around you, not from the power you possess, your popularity, prestige or profits. In the end your only sure and lasting peace will only ever come from God and his principles." From that day forward, through every challenge we have endured, we have learned that we must look to God and live, and not solely rely on each other to find peace in our lives.

BYU Universe Link: http://universe.byu.edu/2014/06/12/a-tribute-to-dad-5-lessons-we-learned-from-our-fathers1/

Townsend Relationship Center: http://matttownsend.com/ 

               

               

I love you dad, Happy Father's Day! 

Domestic

  In the 10+ months that we have been married, I think I can count on two hands the number of times I have cooked a full-on homemade dinner.

 Poor Brady. 

I guess I deserve posts like this...  

Just to clarify... 

No... I did not put canned chili in the crockpot. And no I did not have the toots. . . #bradybeingbrady. 

I will have you know that our dinner turned out pretty decent and it was simple enough that even I didn't mess it up. I thought i'd share because I think (and hope) there are other newly married/ starving college students that could use a tasty, cheap and easy recipe. We have my mother-in-law to thank for this one... 

Italian Chicken Recipe 

What you need~

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 

2 T. butter

1/2 c. water

1 8oz. package or cream cheese (softened) 

1 packet of Italian salad dressing mix

(I spent a good 10 mins looking for this at the grocery store... so hopefully this helps)

1 10oz. can condensed cream of chicken soup (undiluted) 

1 4oz. mushroom pieces (drained) **OPTIONAL and YUCK**

Hot cooked noodles or rice. 

Directions~ 

Place the chicken breast halves and butter in the crockpot. Combine salad dressing mix and water; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on LOW for 3 hours. 

Then...

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together softened cream cheese and cream of chicken until blended. Stir in mushrooms (or not). Pour cream cheese mixture over chicken in crockpot. Cook 1 to 3 hours longer or until chicken juices run clear. 
Serve Italian Chicken with rice or hot cooked noodles. 
Serves 4-8. 

EASY and DELISH!