[ A letter from home ]*

Hi blog-readers,

I am Steph & Dave's house.  And I am kind of a big deal.  Maybe you saw the article about architectural history in this week's Walton Tribune? Notice that white hot cutie in the photograph? I know, I know...With looks and charm like that, it is hard not to notice.

Did you miss it by some chance? You can still check me out here >> And I do mean CHECK ME OUT. Oh yeah.

S & D didn't know about my big photo shoot. If they did maybe they would have tidied me up a bit and D would have moved his $10 Wal*mart brand converse shoes out of view.

While the Cannon's were off working behind a camera somewhere, I was working my magic in front of the lens.

I think I could make a career out of this.  Maybe I have a future as a "model home".
(Ha ha, elbow nudge, wink.)

[ Walton Street ]*

Picked up a brochure about historic places in our town and the first paragraph was actually about the street we live on!  Thought those of you who haven't been here yet might like to know what others say about it.  I agree with it completely. :)

"Walton Street Neighborhood - One of downtown Monroe's oldest neighborhoods. Known for its grand homes and beautifully landscaped lawns. A stroll down this street will make you yearn for a cold glass of lemonade (and if it is past noon, a strong Mint Julep) and a good book to settle in on the front porch for a day. At one time this neighborhood was referred to as "Pill Hill" due to the number of doctors who lived here."

Okay, maybe I don't agree with it COMPLETELY.  It makes ME yearn for a Gentlemen Jim's (sweet tea, lemonade and cloves).

But, just so you know, we are loving it here.  From our first night here (when the bed feel apart as soon as we laid down at night), this has felt like home.

Walton Tribune Article

You hear the words, "I saw your name in the paper this week" in a small town like Monroe and you'll immediately start praying that you were not featured in the illustrious Police Blotter for some unmentionable offense.

Rest assured. We dodged the police blotter bullet for at least another week. I'm sure it was by the skin of our teeth, but we did it.

I digress. Here's the article that the person referred to, which was written by the previous owner of our adorable cottage.  It is beautifully written and I think it is safe to say that she has The Cannon's figured out--especially David:

Thank you for your concern

I was grateful that people were so interested about our house getting in order, but was starting to be a little confused by the extreme concern that people were showing.  We could tell people were trying to be very tender about it--like the way you talk to someone who just had a death in the family.  Comments like, "If there is anything we can do, please let us know" (with a hand on our arm) or "We are here for you, if you need us" followed by a head nod of sincerity.

I wasn't sure if people knew something that I didn't.

We finally figured it out yesterday and therefore I need to clarify something: The photo that I posted here is NOT our house.  It is a house from the show Hoarders.  Apparently, people who read our blog saw the photo and thought we were in WAY over our heads. . .which I have not entirely ruled out.

I mean, it's bad, but not quite that bad.

Thanks for being concerned about us though and talking to us about it before contacting A&E and/or the authorities.

Our Moving Crew

Thank you to ::
Bear, Kristen, Jonah, Esther Grace, Mom, Bill H., Matt, Aunt Donna, Mary, Jay, Hilary, Joel, Nelson, Shane, Chase, Brian, Jacob, Jesse, Bill I., Blair, Wayne, Rodger, Caleb, Kelli, Angela, Alan, Adam, Katie, Nolen, Dale, Dillon and Zach.

Without each of you, there is NO WAY this move would have happened. We are blessed beyond measure to be surrounded by so many generous people who are so giving of themselves.  David & I are appreciative beyond expression--but more than that we are thankful for the example that you all set for us to follow in the future.  We have a whole new understanding of what it means to truly serve other people selflessly.  This weekend was a beautiful, living example of that and we are thankful that God used each of you to teach us.

For those of you who may be reading who have not seen the house, let me be straight with you:  It is a complete and total disaster.  I'm scared that if I were to post photos of the house, DFACS for Homes would be called and we would be removed.

Last night, our friend Joel told me that it looked like a house on the show Hoarders:

As soon as it remotely resembles a house again, I will definitely share.

We are so excited to have a home again!! But more than that, we are so grateful for the remarkable friends and family that we have to fill it.

Our Life Through Photos :: 01.29.2010

{ This is our new home!! (Almost) }

Put a Red Letter on my Chest

I need to confess something.

A few months ago we moved into our apartment in downtown Monroe.

And, I totally fell in love.

Head over heels and wholeheartedly.

{ Can't you see how smitten I am? }

It is precious. Everything I ever hoped for. (This photo was taken about 2 months ago and I promise, the place has grown in cuteness since then.)

It stole my heart.

I fell so hard, so fast, that during our ongoing house hunt, no other place has been able to even catch my eye. Nothing could compare to the feelings I have for our current home.

No other place could capture my heart like our little-bitty loft.

And then . . . well, and then. . . we found this:

And I must confess, I started having adulterous thoughts.

Really, really bad thoughts.

Thoughts of leaving our precious loft and committing to this adorable bungalow.

I think I could spend the rest of my life with this house. (Or at least the next 4-5 years.)

And now I am starting to think, "What loft??"

We're Homeless: Part 1

Here’s some background to catch you up-to-speed on life as we know it:

At the very end of 2008, my “ruggedly handsome” husband and I started praying about putting our house up for sale. This sounded too crazy to almost everyone we talked to. But we put it up for sale anyway.

At Christmas we talked to an agent and at the beginning of 2009, our house was on the market (on “the worst housing market in history”, that is). And 12 weeks later we had a contract on it that was $25,000 MORE than what we owed on it. There is no doubt in our mind that it was orchestrated by God. It was simply unexplainable with human logic. It was absurd even. The buyers had their pick of 3 homes IDENTICAL to ours, in our neighborhood for $50,000 less. They even told us that they knew that it must seem crazy but they just felt drawn to our house for some reason. We know the Reason!

Then came the whirlwind. We had four days notice about our closing. FOUR DAYS OF INSANITY. Day 1: Delicately packing boxes, carefully wrapping every single item, labeling each and every box. Day 4: War scene. Stuff was flying like bullets. Gone were the days of boxes, and hello garbage bags opened wide as we literally THREW as much stuff in as we could. I could hear olive oil bottles crashing against the tile floor, yet we just kept throwing.

This is what I looked like packing:

(Take away the sash, gown and Vidal Sasson hair and it is almost like you were there.)

It was otherworldly. We peeled out of the driveway to make it to our closing in time and we were holding stuff out the window because we could not cram another inch into the truck.

So, there we were. Happy home-sellers. Signing the papers over to the new owner. Then the thought occurred. We sold our house. Now… where in the world are we going to live??

{ Like any great sitcom episode in the early nineties, this too will be continued… }