Do you love moving? Does anyone love moving?? I certainly don’t. And yet that joy is looming in our very near future.
On one hand, this move is exciting and is a huge blessing! New house, new beginnings, unpacking all the stuff that’s been in boxes for the past year. It’s like Christmas, remembering all the stuff you forgot you had—and perhaps realizing you should have tossed before you packed it, LOL.
On the other hand, moving up-heaves your life and is such a pain, and majorly messes with my writing routine and schedule. But one thing I’ve already L-O-V-E-D about this move…
This past Saturday following a family lunch celebrating our daughter-in-law’s birthday (HBD again, Kellie!), we gathered at the house that’s still in frame stage and wrote all over the 2x4s and concrete. I’ve shared this before but my sweet mom used to write on the backsides and bottoms of gifts she gave. I still treasure this little statue she and Dad signed…
So walking through the house this past weekend with family and friends writing Scriptures, blessings, and even snarky little sayings on the walls and concrete was especially meaningful. Mom would have been right there in the thick of things!
This is one of my favorite pics from the day…
It’s of our son Kurt outlining Kellie’s very pregnant belly so that we could include Ari (our soon-to-be-here granddaughter) in the grandchildren’s room. LOL Can you see the outline below?
The reason the word “Flex” is written in orange is because that’s the builder’s term for that specific room in the house. Its use is “flexible.” We’ve designated it as the grandchildren’s room, and traced Leo’s handprint on the framing leading into the room…
Our daughter Kelsey followed suit, commenting that her hand print looked more like an oven mitt. 🙂 It was C-O-L-D that day so gloves were in order.
Here are a few more…
Rather self explanatory. LOL Kellie wrote this in the doorway of my office.
Kellie struck again! She wrote this right under where my desk will be.
This next one is harder to see (I took a panorama of it) but I love it. Kelsey’s boyfriend wrote Peace, Joy, Love, Restoration with crosses interspersed in the center of the family room. Perfect.
There were tons more but I loved being out there with family and friends, walking through the framed house, dedicating it and dreaming—and trying not to think of all the work that’s yet to come. And with a book that needs finishing before all that begins.
Lord willing, we’ll be in this house for many years to come. And it’s still in the Nashville area so we’re not moving far.
Have you ever written something in a house you’ve built or lived in? Perhaps you stenciled something on a finished wall? Or put your mark in freshly poured concrete?
One more thing…
I recently visited with a really fun book club (more on that next time), but as we started the meeting that night, we played a game they had seen us play on this blog. It’s where we share the last three pictures on our phones—no matter what they are. It was pretty funny. For one of the gals, it was hemorrhoid cream. She laughed and said, “Hey, I’m just keepin’ it real.”
So, wanna play?
Here are my last three pics on my phone along with a brief explanation…
This was actually the first image in a quick video I made for our kids last night telling them I was making them fried apple pies. Lovely, I know, but the finished product was pretty yummy!
Fried apple pies are such a pleasure to make. I enjoy making them about as much as eating them. Working with the dough, cooking the apples until they’re almost caramelized… And really, I counted this as research for the current book I’m writing. Because someone in the book is making them and I’m currently writing that scene. Research is hard work. : )
And of course, the last pic is of LEO! He’s sporting some new jammies, and filling them out quite well as you can see. GramTam may need to size up next time!
So, you game to play? If yes, please describe the last three pics on YOUR phone!
Much love, friends, from a very cold and snowy Nashville. I’d so appreciate your prayers for Kurt and Kellie as they’re expecting Ari’s arrival (our first granddaughter) any time now. Kellie is scheduled to be induced on Friday—if she doesn’t go into labor before then, and we’re all sitting on ready. I hope Leo’s ready for a baby sister because he’s about to have one!
Tammy
A BONUS PIC for all you dog lovers…
Tamera Alexander
Latest posts by Tamera Alexander (see all)
- A trip with the grands to the pumpkin patch - November 19, 2024
- Tips for a great Election Day - November 5, 2024
- Petticoat Gumption — Releases Today - October 15, 2024
The last three photos on my phone are of the snow outside our windows in Missouri.
I am SOOOOOO excited for that coming granddaughter! Can’t WAIT to meet her and meanwhile, praying for a safe delivery and clear roads to the hospital!
And I LOVE all the “writing on the wall” in your new house! Just love that you’ll always know that’s there underneath the drywall and flooring. A little history that binds you all together. ♥️
I’ve seen that snow outside your windows and it’s lovely! Y’all have such a beautiful yard and surrounding area. And yes on Ari! Can hardly wait. ❤️
I’ve never done it for a place I’d be living in, but participated in writing on the floor in our church that would soon be covered with carpet tiles.
I love that, Pam. Bet that place was covered in Scripture! 🙂
Love it! Especially the baby belly outline (and all of mama). We went around and wrote Bible verses on the studs of our Huckleberry Hutch (she shed/storge). So much more special! My last 3 photos are: ice melting from a window, ice encrusted window, and the indoor/outdoor thermometer when it reached the balmy temp of 16… Not for long. Now it’s -0.
YIKES on those temps, Angie, and thanks for playing. Love that you have a she shed. 🙂 Stay warm!
Loved this update, Tammy! Blessings on your new year, new grandbaby, and new house.
Thanks, Becky, and I’m continuing to hold you close in prayer, friend. I pray 2024 is your best year yet…this side of eternity!
What a great idea, Tammy! I’ll keep this in mind for our next remodeling project. Did you know they did the same at the set of The Chosen? 😉 If not please check it out it’s incredible.
The last 3 photos are: a beautiful sunset with many colors (on a cold evening just before the snow) and an inspiring quote. Praying for you & your family and looking forward to the next photos. Perhaps with Ari already 😊
Hey Rosa! No sweet Ari yet but we’re keeping Leo for the night just in case. Kellie is really c-l-o-s-e! No, I didn’t realize they did that with The Chosen set, but not at all surprised. Love your last pics! 😉
How fun to build a new house and know all those special messages are there in the walls and floors.
My last three pictures are 1) the snow we woke up to Monday morning, 2) the myriad books waiting to be shelved in our library, and 3) me and my friend Ariel Lawhon at her book signing in Dallas last week.
I honestly thought Joe and I were going to wait a year and let me get caught up with writing and life (probably because that’s what we pinky swore on, LOL) but the timing just changed and the opportunity arose and well, the rest as they say… So, onward! ; ) It’s a lovely home and will be great once we’re all settled again.
Love those last pics. And a library! How wonderful. While we don’t have a room designated for that in this home, we WILL have more wall space for bookshelves, which I’m so grateful for. So. Many. Books.
Yes, I’ve written my name on the walls of my bedroom (sheetrock), & I’ve made handprints/footprints in the concrete of the open-air tabernacle we built for campmeetings at our church in WV… both when I was around 12-14 years old. Looks like y’all had a fun family day writing all over your new home… I love it! 🙂
Last three pics I took on my phone: LOL, I just realized they’re all food! 😀
1. Our supper last night… biscuits, sausage gravy, & scrambled eggs.
2. My leftover Pad Thai for lunch today… I’m NOT a leftover lover, but I was trying to be a good girl & eat it so it wouldn’t go to waste. *sigh*
3. A big hot brownie with butter… my reward for eating the leftover Thai food!!! 😀 Haha!
Thanks for sharing today, Lori. I love that you’ve done this before too. Multiple times. And LOL at the last pics being all food. Yum! Now I’m going to have to make buttermilk biscuits with sausage gravy and scrambled eggs. I’m already craving it. Thanks!!!! ; )
I adore Pad Thai, and ROFLOL at #3. You’re hysterical! Thanks for the grins!And a brownie WITH BUTTER?? Never tried that. I’ll save that for AFTER the biscuits and gravy. 🙂
Pretty sure my Spanx just screamed.
I don’t know that I “love” moving, but as we have moved 13 times around the Midwest in our 20 years of marriage, I have become more used to it. It allows you to rethink what is in your closet, decorations, and stuff in general…and decide to keep or donate it. My husband moved many more times in his growing up years and I had moved 6 or 7 times in my childhood, so feeling “settled” somewhere doesn’t come easy. We’re trying to stay put for a while where we are now. Only the Lord knows!
I have written or decorated walls, a support beam (at my workplace), and concrete. It is such a neat way to dedicate those spaces to the Lord. And leave funny memories, too! Most of my childhood was spent in an 100+ year old house that had a lot of updates that needed to take place. We, children, were “free labor” so some of those “decorations” happened there, or at my grandparents, or aunt/uncle’s homes.
I’m excited for you to meet your new grandbaby! And for this new house to become your home.
Last three photos are 14 inches of snow on my deck, and two pictures of beautiful pink sky at sunrise this morning. And I love all the words and sentiments you’re posting all over your new house. What a wonderful way to start making memories.
How exciting to see your home from the ground up! We are in the home we built in Nov. 2001. We were here often during the building stages and have memories of excitement for the surrounding 3 acres of trees and how the sunshine shifted with the seasons during the build. Great memories seeing the basement apt. take shape that would house my stepmom who enjoyed fully her last 8 years and all the memories of our now 33 yr old son growing up here as a young boy. Lots of memories old and new as we are in retirement years. Enjoy! *Last three pics–cleaning and rearranging my office so a’before’ bookshelf PIC (including a book or two of yours and many writing friends); also I came across our son’s preschool handprint made from clay which I sent him a PIC of and lastly a PIC copy of hub and I posing from our trip last November to the Rockies in Colorado.💗
I’m reading A Million Little Choices right now, and my family is well-aware of this fact . . . because I am hauling it around with me and commenting regularly that I want to get to bed early because “I need to check on Claire.” I LOVE CLAIRE SO MUCH.And I adore Bernice (and thank you for mentioning that her chemotherapy was 18 years ago . . . I can’t wait to be able to say the same)! I LOVE this book so much. Wow. What a start to 2024 reading. I’m on page 221.
Thank you for such a beautiful book; can’t wait to hear more about sweet Ari!