Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Inexpensive Decorations And Delightful Music

It just occurred to me that I have never posted any pictures of Steve’s “done over” church office.  So . . .  here ya go!

To the left of the couch are built-in, book-filled book cases but I didn’t want to show those just yet since they’re still surrounded by boxes and miscellaneous stuff and not currently altogether inspiring. So I’m just featuring the part of the office that looks presentable. The entire office was furnished through Craigslist, Lowes, Walmart and K-Mart.  It turned out pretty well!

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You will note that a lovely young lady is featured in this next photo.  We are not quite certain who this person is but we think it might be a local pastor’s daughter who has come in to seek counseling concerning the best way to deal with an older College Dude brother who can be (occasionally) just a little annoying.

And in the reflection of the window, you will notice the lady who is taking the photo—she could quite possibly be the pastor’s wife who is waiting for him to come home for lunch.  This is all pure conjecture, of course.

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And just for the sake of comparison, here’s the office with the smaller rug and the original paint. Quite a nice improvement.  (Especially getting that wacky College Dude out of there!)

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And speaking of the College Dude, next Monday Nathan will fly from Orlando to Norfolk for a 3-week visit.  (It used to take 45 minutes for us to drive to the airport in Raleigh; now we have to get used to driving two hours to the nearest airport in Norfolk!)  Monday night we’ll make our traditional “Decorating The Tree Night Pancake and Bacon Supper” together and then we will—you guessed it--decorate the tree.  On Thursday, the four of us will leave for Charlotte to spend a couple days with Steve’s family. 

It will be a strange feeling to bring Nathan home from the airport to a home that he has never been in before. We’ll have to give him the whole tour and show him where all of his stuff is.  He’s always been with us through every family change so this recent transition without him has been been a bit bittersweet for me.  It feels funny to no longer be a full time family of four.   Since when did I get old enough to have a college junior, anyway?  (Don’t answer that!)

After Christmas, Nathan and Steve are planning to take their annual 2-3 day ski trip while Sarah and I take our annual “stay home from the ski trip”  trip.  (If it is indeed possible to take a stay at home trip.)

And one last thing—last Friday night our family went to a nearby church to hear their music team put on a Christmas concert called, “Unspeakable Joy.” 

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Some of you readers may be familiar with CFHusband, Nathan, his lovely wife, Tricia, and their darling miracle daughter, Gwyneth.

Well, if you’ll take a gander at the following photo, you will see Nathan in front of the drum set,  playing guitar.  He is the worship leader at Nag’s Head Church.

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As it turns out, the church where he works (where his dad is the pastor) is about ten minutes from our church!   He heard through a Facebook friend (thanks, Amy!) that we had moved to Manteo and emailed us inviting us to come to the performance.

We were delighted to be able to attend and were blown away by the quality of the music team he has put together; the music was excellent.  He and Tricia were pretty swamped at the end of the evening and although we lingered a bit, we didn’t want to linger so long that we appeared to be crazy-eyed stalkers. (smile)  

I’m sure we’ll be running into them again in the weeks and months to come.   Since they have a family member transplanted at Duke (Tricia had a double lung transplant; Sarah had a bone marrow transplant) and they have lung issues in their family (Trica has CF; I have COPD and may be a possible transplant candidate down the road) and since Nathan is a musician and worship leader (as are Steve and I) we have just a few important things in common!

At any rate, I just wanted to send out public kudos to Nathan and his whole team for a really stellar night of music.  We enjoyed it very much.

Also, if you haven’t yet discovered Nathan’s site,  drop by and get familiar with his family’s story; it is inspiring on so many different levels.

Well, it’s off to a busy day of pastor’s wife-ing here in Manteo!  I’ll home school Sarah, unpack a few more boxes, keep a couple church-related appointments and find some time for a bit of chocolate-imbibing in the process.  Our real estate agent dropped by the house yesterday with some homemade goodies his wife had made for his clients and so the house is full of yumminess.

A house full of yumminess equals one happy woman!

13 Had Something To Say (Just click here!):

Anonymous said...

Becky,
I'm constantly struck by how happy and passionte about life your family is, and how well both of your kids are doing in a large variety of areas.

With my own motherhood impending (we are adopting a 9 year old and should have her home within a month). I'd love to hear about the things you feel are important for raising kids such as yours who are happy, love both God and their family, and are just generally all around well adjusted and good people.

Our little girl has faced great hardship and neglect in her early years, and my biggest dream for her when she comes to live with us is that we can give her a sense of safety, family, and love.
Thanks,
Jenna in Canada

MaryH said...

Jenna, if there is one person on this Earth who can guide you and give you advice on your daughter, it will be Becky. She has an amazing heart and soul and wisdom and humility. You have sought out a great advisor. God bless you, Jenna, and thank you for taking this little girl into your home and heart. You will do wonders for her. You will be in my prayers.

Becky, love Steve's new office - it is a reflection of home. How can Nathan be a junior!??? Wasn't it just yesterday we were encouraging you through the emotions of sending him off to college for his first year? It will be different to bring him home to a new house but so exciting also. He will always be part of your home no matter where he "lives."

Sue G said...

Packing...boxes...worrying...wondering...waiting...
house-hunting...house-selling...yard sales...sorting through the memories...keeping what matters...discarding the rest...having company...being company...searching for a pastorate...finding God's good home for you...visiting with Nathan...sending Nathan off again...losing your dad...finding a deeper faith...waiting in the hallways...finding a deeper purpose...praying for God's voice...finding a never ending whisper that says, "I am here"... falling backwards...moving forward...home schooling...learning so much more than math...

This has been some significant year for you and your family. And through it all, you have maintained your humor, your wit, your wisdom, your hope, your faith, your love of life, of God, of your family. You have blogged your heart out, with compassion, with need, with longing, with catharsis, with joy, with sorrow. You learned to live in the hallways with grace until the doors began to open. You tried Jewish hot dogs. You vowed never to eat them again.

What a year. What a blessing. What a life filled with moments...of sadness, of gladness, of pure joy, of deep sorrow...but always looking up to the One Who loves you more than life itself.

Quite a year. Quite a journey. Quite a life.

Quite obvious the hand of God rested upon your heart every single step of the way.

Looking forward to sharing some tomorrows with you...tomorrows filled with life's surprises, lots of love, and a steady stream of chocolate.

Anonymous said...

Love the look of Steve's office. :) Very nice! :)

Awesome! :) I follow Nathan's blog too! I started following it right around the time when their daughter was born.

Kristi

Anonymous said...

Love the office do-over. The rugs look identical . . . which one is smaller?

Anonymous said...

Mary,
Thank you so much for your kind words and prayers- I really appreciate it.
Blessings to you,
Jenna

Anonymous said...

Becky, The office looks great. I was wondering if you would meet Nathan and his family. I have followed his blog since his daughter was born. I bet you can't wait to get your Nathan home for the holidays? Merry Christmas to your family. Anna

CFHusband said...

Thanks so much for the kind words and for coming and worshipping with us! We really hope to meet you and your family soon!

Karo said...

Hey Ms. Becky! I'm loving the rug and the paint color in Steve's office. The office and the house are looking beautiful. :)
Karo

Lori said...

I was wondering if you would hook up with Nathan and Tricia eventually. You are so close and have so much in common.

Chris Pitonyak said...

Becky, Steve's office looks great! What is the brand/color name of that green on his office walls? It's calming and beautiful and seems like it would go well with warm or cool accents.
You really do have a gift for decorating. I enjoy seeing your pictures.

Chris P.

lemonologie said...

Beautiful photos!

Thanks for visiting my blog on my SITS day the other week!

amysahoot said...

You are very welcome fellow Facebook Friend, I never thought you two would live so close to each other. I hope you guys have a very merry christmas.