Thankful

This Thanksgiving weekend we are especially thankful.

We moved into our own house this past month and we greeted our stuff that we hadn't seen in 15 months. It was a bittersweet reunion. On the one hand, it was wonderful to see old treasures, sit on our own uncomfortable sofa and actually put clothes away in dressers again. It felt like an early Christmas for all of us. On the other hand, we scratched our heads and wondered what on earth we were going to do with all this stuff we'd clearly lived without for over a year....not always easily, but lived without, nonetheless.

We're still unpacking so the "after" pics will come soon...but here are a few pictures of our house and moving day...

New exterior color scheme to come!

Natalie watched the movers from our window seat all morning. She was anxiously awaiting the toy box we told her was on that truck.

THE toy box. This was Corey's (and Amber and Kristen's) childhood toy box and Natalie didn't really remember it from Asheville but she was so excited once we told her she had a toy box coming. One night before we moved in we were at the house after dark when a woman walked by with her dog. Natalie stood on the front walk and shouted, "My name is Natalie and I have a toy box on a big truck!!" What a way to announce her arrival in the neighborhood. Little did she realize that the toy box was filled with toys she'd long since outgrown (sadly) but she was thrilled at each discovery anyway and still tells people about this toy box in passing.

Natalie found the loudest toys first (just can't thank you enough for this little piano, Kelly and Micah!) and the poor movers got to listen to her play and sing in an empty house (full of tile, mind you) almost the entire time they unloaded.

Another exciting part of the move for Natalie was the transition to a big girl bed. Her crib is one that turns into a toddler bed, but, of course, since we only thought our things would be in storage for 30 to 60 days when we packed them up last August, we didn't think to bring along the teeny tiny critical piece that allows the transition to happen. Consequently, this very big and heavy girl has been in a crib this whole time. The first night in our new house she slept in her toddler bed and has been happy as a clam ever since! And our backs are thanking us!

This is one of the only interior shots I have that turned out. We have a really cool wall of niches and we're so excited to light and accessorize them.

Speaking of thankful...we are so grateful that Grandma Lala and Papa Rod were able to come to town on moving weekend. They were such a huge help with cleaning, unpacking, Natalie busying, cat finding, lunch take out pick up-ing...you name it. Thank you both so much for all your help!

Not that we're trying to combine exciting news posts here but it all seemed to fit under the "we're thanking our lucky stars" theme...

We're expecting a baby in late May! Natalie is going to be a great big sister and we think we're up to doing this again! Exciting times at the Brooks house!

Hope everyone had a very happy holiday!