ENNIS TEXAS

More and more each day Ennis Texas is feeling like home!  My first few weeks here were pretty tough.  I cried, I kept my suitcase packed at all times in anticipation of  leaving, and my security blanket was an airline ticket in hand for a return flight home.

I have been back here since October 20 which is the longest time yet!  But two weeks from today we will turn our car towards home and drive to Petal, MS to spend Thanksgiving with our family!  I can't wait to decorate my house for Christmas, shop with my daughter, see my parents, and spend some time with my son and daughter-in-law!  Oh yea, and the dogs!

In the meantime and before I begin to take some of the things that intrigued me when I first drove into this town for granted, I wanted to share them with my family and friends.  Here is a glimpse into Ennis, Texas:

1. The bluebonnets are spectacular in April.  They hold a Bluebonnet Festival every year. I asked God as we drove here for the very first time to let me fall in love with Ennis and this is what He gave me,  (By the way, it was in May and everyone told us it was unusual for them to still be blooming)

  

2. There is a donut shop downtown called Heavenly Donuts.  And they're not kidding.  The best I have ever eaten!

3. The Veterans Memorial Park is new.

4. I want to live in this old grain silo! It's in the middle of town.

5. Evidently this is a big deal here if you're into racing, which I'm not, but B.J. is, so we've been! Texas Motorplex Speedway:

6. Very little shopping, but of course there is a Walmart.

7. Can't wait to go to  the drive-in movie!

8. Disappointed when the man sitting in a vacant lot beside Walmart is not there singing!  He kinda sorta sounds like Willie Nelson.  I have not figured out why he's there.  I think he has Cd's and wants donations.

9. I got a personal tour of this beautiful house:

10. Ennis has a Czechoslovakian heritage.  Chek people and their influence are still here.

11. What-a-Burger's are the McDonalds! There is a McDonalds here, but What-A-Burger is more popular.  They have great food!

12. Sunsets are beautiful!

13. Sunflowers are gorgeous!

14. Flea Markets every weekend close enough to drive to! First Monday, Canton; Second Monday, Bowie and Waxahachie TX; Third Monday, McKinney TX

15. Home Sweet Home!

HAM HOCKS AND HIGH SOCIETY

Initially I intended to write this post for the sole reason of giving my friends and family back home a little insight into my new hometown.  But then yesterday happened and I could not resist sharing the humor surrounding it (at least I found it quite humorous)!  So I will tell you about my day yesterday and then on to my original intent!

Let me start out by saying there is not much in the way of fun places to shop here in Ennis Texas.  With the exception of a few little antique and specialty stores there is just not much else!  One of the shops, Interior Ideas,  happened to be having their Christmas open house yesterday and I was invited to go and have lunch in their restaurant.

(Sorry for bad pic. Taken with my phone)

The lady who owns the company my husband works for has been very gracious and hospitable.  She has gone out of her way on several occasions to make me feel welcome and to introduce me to some of her friends. She is extremely wealthy and extremely influential in this small town and so are most of her friends!   For those of you  who know me, KNOW that hanging out with high society is not my "cup of tea".  Don't get me wrong!  I met many down to earth and  lovely people at the luncheon!  I could probably be friends with some of them, including my husband's boss but yesterday morning I was pretty much out of my comfort zone!

Considering where we were and why we were there, decorating their homes (mansions, I'm sure) for Christmas seemed to be a popular topic over lunch.  As I listened to these ladies talk I could not help but to laugh (silently of course) as I wondered about a couple of things.

B.J. likes to cook beans.  He likes all kinds of beans: Navy, Black, Great Northern...! He soaks them over night and then adds onions, seasoning, and ham hocks before letting  them simmer for hours. I thought about the pot of beans and ham hocks on my stove and wondered what the ladies at my table would think if I invited them all over for supper dinner!? Would they think they tasted delicious or would they turn their noses up? What would they think about my tiny sparsely furnished apartment and the aroma of beans cooking when they walked in?

They may not have found the apartment inviting or the beans tasty, but with complete confidence I can assure you they would have found at least one thing suitable: a clean toilet! And I know this to be a fact because while I was in the bathroom yesterday morning getting dressed for this luncheon I glanced over at the toilet and decided it needed a good cleaning!  I reached over, grabbed the bleach and toilet brush, and within a matter of  seconds Voila!  Quick, simple, done!  As I looked around the table, I wondered how many of the ladies cleaned their toilet while dressing for their lunch date at Interior Ideas?

Well, I guess I will have to save the "sights and sounds" of  Ennis for another post.  I hear Maintenance ringing doorbells in our building.  Better go make sure toilet is still clean in case they are checking plumbing in the bathrooms!

And by the way, I plan to put up a Christmas tree tomorrow.  I'll share pictures of it next week. Maybe! It's going to be very small and will be interesting to see how it turns out.  But if all goes well with the decorating it's quite possible I will consider hosting a luncheon. I can always talk B.J. into preparing a pot of his famous beans and ham hocks!  Whatcha think?

WISHING AND HOPING

I WISH... you could have felt my emotions as I read this book I got in the mail yesterday from my daughter:

I WISH...I could copy each and every page of this book here on this blog for you to read, but here is a portion of it: 

"At the heart of this little book is a promise.  It's a promise from me to you and it goes like this: If you ever forget what a wonderful mother you are or doubt for a single moment how grateful I am to call you my mom...I promise to stop what I'm doing and remind you how much you mean to me. Meanwhile, may this little book help me say what's on my mind and in my heart...Read often for maximum smiles! I am truly blessed because you are my mother. You: tender, loving, smart, beautiful, forgiving, strong, patient, and kind. Me: fortunate. Thank you for all the tears you wiped away, for kisses that made it better, and your smile that said it was safe to face the world again. I remember how you assured me everything would be okay-even when it felt like it was the end of the world. And you were right. You make being a mom look easy.  I know it isn't. You have no idea how much you taught me when I was trying so hard not to learn! For all those aggravating years I thought the world revolved around me... I'm sorry. I think of all the times you must have been exhausted and ready to give up, but you didn't. May I be as strong of heart for those I love.  How did you become so wise? Why did it take me so long to notice? So much of who I am today is because of you. You give so unconditionally and ask for so little in return. Like the loving stitches of a quilt you connect us to what really matters: Each other.  The heart of who we are. Although I will never know your worry or heartache thank you for all the times you let me walk my own path.  Thank you for believing in me. Celebrate yourself...Embrace your gifts...Indulge yourself...And most of all, stay healthy...Remember to always eat your peas!"

I WISH...you all knew my daughter.  I wish you knew her then (where she has walked) because only then would you understand why her mom's heart soars at where she is in her life today and why I am so very grateful to God for answering  our prayers!   

I WISH...you could feel my heart leap every single time she lets me know that she is leaning on God for direction and answers on a particular matter.  It's always a "Wow" moment for me!

I HOPE...she understands how terribly bad I needed the box to arrive from Fed Ex yesterday and not last week when it was suppose to!  

I HOPE... she knows how much I would have enjoyed the M&M's that didn't make it; but how much humor I found in the puzzle book and how amazed I was at the love and thought that went into everything else she placed inside of that box! And how much I cried as I read the card, and the book, and opened the prayer locket. 

I HOPE...she's OK with the fact that she may be turning into me!  

I HOPE...No, pray, that someday she knows the love of a daughter (or son) who's mom is important enough to them that they care that she "Eats her peas"!    

I HOPE...You know how much I love you Katie Lynn!





  

Today is Different

For the past 9 years I have been employed part time at Houston Road Baptist Church in Laurel MS working Monday through Wednesday.  It is not unusual for me to be home on Thursday so why is today different? Today is different because when I locked the door behind me yesterday  it was for the last time. I am officially unemployed for the first time in a very long time. My concern now is not what to do with my spare time, but rather where do I start!!

  

A Million Little Things...

And one BIG thing... We're moving!  So... after twenty years home sweet home may not be home sweet home for much longer.

Two years ago I was struck with a bug, the redecorating "bug".  I (meaning we because I could not have done it all by myself) started tearing out one room at a time. My husband gladly jumped on board, well maybe not gladly, but he did jump on board. This bug manifested itself partly out of boredom since I had recently become an empty nester.  My son left for college and then my husband started a new job working out of town. My daughter had moved out a few years ago.  Another reason being that although I've changed things up around here over the years such as paint colors and other little things, it was time to seriously take it out of the 90s.   But the most important reason of all was because even though I never  imagined at the time we would be selling, God did!  It was all part of His plan!

We started with the guest bathroom, painting it, changing out the mirror and light fixtures and adding some new accessories.  This bathroom was done on a budget as we spent more time than money in here.  We textured the walls using tissue paper.  It was a painstaking process. They turned out OK, but I would never ever do it again!   Thankfully it is a small room.

My son's old room and my daughter's old room got fresh paint, new carpet, and new bedding.  These pictures (courtesy of realtor.com) have caused me to go back and change a few things in these rooms (pictures, furniture placement, etc.)

The master bedroom also got spruced up with new paint and new accessories.  We removed the worn out carpet in here and installed laminate flooring.  My headboard was made out of an old barn door.

  
The foyer got new paint and a new light fixture.  We added some molding to the top of the door.  The sidelights, as well as, the door are oak and were stained.  We painted the door black and painted the sidelights to match the other trim in there. The floors in there were the big project.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Another massive project was removing the wall that separated the family room and dining room.  Oops!  I just realized my husband has the camera card with him that have the pics of this project on it.  Here's one I found of the foyer after we started painting it.  If you look to the left you can see the new opening where the wall once separated the two rooms.  The wall was a load bearing one so we had to install a header. B.J. installed the header and all the molding, some of it was bought, but he made some of it too.

Here is the dining room looking in from the family room.  There was carpet in here.  It was replaced with laminate flooring, the walls were painted and new accessories added.  We added crown molding to match the family room.  My intentions were to replace the chandelier, but will leave this one in here.  I was also debating on whether or not to paint some or all of the furniture in this room (especially the buffet) but will not do anything to it right now.   

The family room got fresh paint and new flooring.  I painted the fireplace mantle and changed up some furniture and picture placements in here.  Again, I was on the search for new furniture, but will wait on that until we move.  (I'm going to be having a massive garage sale!)

The two rooms we had not gotten to when the new job and the move came WOULD have to be the most important ones when selling a house, the master bathroom and the kitchen!

However, we are trusting God to sell our house just like it is. We know He has someone to buy it who will love it and make some wonderful memories here just as we have! I'm not sure how I am going to do when it is time to drive away for the last time, but I do know that God has been in every step of this journey that began six years ago and He will take us into a new one!   I can't wait to share our testimony, but will save it for another post.

HOME SWEET HOME

Twenty years of living, celebrating, laughing, nurturing, fussing, playing, crying, worrying, praying, planning, cooking, decorating, cleaning, dreaming, and the list goes on and on behind the walls of this house

with the three most important people in my life!  

PAINTED FLOORS

After laying our flooring last year, I was not happy with the way the wood in the foyer looked next to the new laminate. I decided to give painting it a try first before replacing it. Here's the finished product. I am happy with the outcome. The sealer may still be wet in the first three pics because it is not this shiny or yellow. The last pic is closer to what it truly looks like. I would be glad to post a "step-by-step" if anyone is interested. Just leave me a comment. I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and the process was fairly easy but I would definitely not want to tackle a larger room!

Links:http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/2013/02/wow-us-wednesdays-104.html
http://www.greenwillowpond.com/2013/02/what-we-accomplished-wednesdays-3.html