Happy 2nd Anniversary, 1114

Our second “house” anniversary has come with barely a mention. In the hustle and bustle of life we almost forgot.

If year one was the year of settling in, year two has been the year of the re-do. I made a lot of impulsive decorating decisions when we bought this house. Mainly out of necessity, because in case you are the only person on earth not to have been told, every wall in the whole house was grey. And not a beachy Hampton’s grey. A Folsom prison grey. We {and by we I do not mean me} painted every wall in this house. And now, in year two, we have repainted a few of them again. Obviously Bunky’s room had to be done and then I decided that the front room needed repainting also. Our bedroom also needs to be repainted, but Lofton is in no hurry to do it.

Year two has also been the year of the handy husband. I didn’t have an inkling of a clue that he was handy when I married him. I swear. But, in year two, he has put crown molding on all our “living” rooms plus the hall, he has replaced the wire columns with fiberglass columns, built a porch onto his “man shed”, and built me the most beautiful bookcases ever. The man is amazing.

There were also surprises galore in year two. If you will recall, in year one we realized we had gas heat. Well, in year two our furnace died. We spent one of the coldest nights of the year huddled in our bedroom with NO heat and an INFANT.

We also had a second pipe burst this winter. Luckily, one of our neighbors {whom I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve never actually met} cut off the water for us because we were at work. Thanks skinny guy who lives across the street! You’re the best.

In year two, we also had ANOTHER visit from Roto-Rooter. Here's to hoping in year three that Mrs. Rice cuts down her enormous oak tree. Those damn roots are putting a drain on our finances.

And, imagine my surprise yesterday, when I realized BEES were in our window. Yes, bees. Our windows are old and original to the house {built in 1910}. The old windows have old pulls to raise them {If they raised. Which they don’t. } The pulls necessitate having holes in the window frame. That, plus a split in the screen, allowed bees to infiltrate. I killed seven before Lofton came home to save me. It was almost the beginning of a horror movie. For now, the problem has been solved by a combo of lethal bee spray and painter's tape.

I can say without a doubt that home ownership has both its advantages… and its frustrations. But, without a doubt, this is the year our house became a home. Bringing Reese home to this place, to his room, to our house has been life-changing.

Happy Anniversary, 1114!