Merry Christmas!

We are mostly all settled into our new house and it finally feels like home.  We have had a great year and hope that you and your family have had a great one too.  



Merry Christmas from the Butlers: Jared, Christina, Abbie (8), Leah (6), Porter (3) and Olivia (8 months)

It's been a crazy month!

The last few months have been a little crazy!  Abbie and Leah started school, Abbie is in 2nd grade and Leah is in Kindergarten. 

The kids got a little restless during the summer and found some creative ways to play and keep busy!

 

Even Olivia was playing games, she became pretty good at disappearing!

Abbie turned 8 years old (and got baptized yesterday, see post above)

 

She got some Lego Friends from Leah and was so excited she screamed with joy and then tackled Leah with a hug.

Last but not least, we bought a house!  That's right, we are finally homeowners!  We have been renting the house we're in (and for the last 13 years have always rented) but we finally found a wonderful house in the right location and will be moving next week!  We're up to our ears in boxes and upheaval but it's been fun to pick out new carpet and do some painting in a few of the bedrooms.  We can't wait to be settled into our new place, if you're ever in the area give us a call and we'll give you a tour!

Our new house

Now that we've been here for a couple months, I had to show before and after pictures of the house. Here's our house today with the fall colors and leaves falling off the trees.

The backyard before we moved in

The awesome built-in swing set that the kids love

Living room

Dining area

Basement

Jared and my sister who looked at the house with us back in July

Now the after pictures! It's taken me two months and a lot of shopping, borrowing from sisters, and rearranging to get everything decorated and to make it feel like home. I love it now!

The new and improved living room

Dining area

Kitchen

I love that I can see the living room from the kitchen while I'm cleaning or cooking and also that I can see out the front windows and back door from the kitchen too, to keep an eye on the kids and for any visitors.

Porter's room

The girls' room

Kid's bathroom

Master bedroom (and bathroom, we finally have our own!)

Basement/library corner

Storage room

Guest room

And guest bathroom

Other half of the basement (and what it normally looks like)

My still-left-to-unpack craft room. It's the last room to unpack because it's not necessary to survival (according to most people, fellow crafters would beg to differ) but I'm excited for the day when it's finally ready to use. It's next on my to-do list after finally updating my blog!

Hope you enjoyed the tour of our house. Come visit anytime!