Emerson House

Well, three months into living in our cozy little cottage, I think it's well past time for an update on the state of things here at Emerson House!

Where did I leave you last? Cleaning and moving things in? Something like that...well, much has changed!

 We added a little coffee bar to the dining room.

It really makes the room feel complete!

 We bought plants! Bringing the green inside is always a nice touch!

Also featured: that cool cabinet (thrift store find), the rug, a new coffee table (with great storage!),

and the gramophone (one of the best housewarming gifts ever!).

 Our kitchen floor! It's cork, and beautiful!

(and cleans much nicer than plywood sub floor does!)

And our super-cool cabinet hardware!

 Eddie's completed bedroom.

(minus a few odds and ends, of course! nothing ever gets completely done, right?)

 Our bedroom is coming along!

Still missing a door (which is currently on the front porch, classy, I know).

 The bathroom is as done as it will get 

till we tackle the hideous yellow shower tile and ugly paint color I chose.

 This photo of our front porch is staged so you don't see the unfinished bathroom door.

You're welcome! (Our neighbors aren't so lucky!)

That's the olive tree we planted! Yay! I'm so excited to have an olive tree!!

Eddie has yard toys! We play outside!

So incredibly fun! We still can't get over it!

Not pictured is the foundation bolting (yes, Jonathan, the incredible, single-handedly earthquake retrofitted our house!), many light fixtures, a pomegranate tree in the back yard, bathroom door trim (which had to be built since the old trim in this house is no longer manufactured), a whole house fan (you do NOT want to hear the details of how that project went! I'm hoping to forget!), and odds and ends here and there. It's pretty much never-ending! Now we're working on accepting that and settling into a normal that includes continuing progress.

Now come visit! And see with your own eyes!

New Beginnings

There's a reason Easter falls during springtime. The new covenant bursts to life as Jesus rises, the firstborn from the dead. And new life springs up in the grass and trees.

This year we added another new beginning!

We moved into our new house!

It took lots of help, but there was so much meaning to our church family showing up to help us out and then celebrating the Lord's Supper with them that night. That's the message of communion: 

Love one another!

Virgil installing light fixtures, Aunt Sue the super-cleaner, and that's Joe outside the window, painting doors. Not pictured, Steven, Uncle Joe, and Kailey.

Before they left we had that awfully cluttered living room you see in the corner there, not only...

Clean! But furniture moved in, too!
(No, he did not clean it, but he does love the dustpan for some reason.)

Eddie recognized the old furniture! He was a happy camper.
He was amazingly able to sense this is our home now!

As soon as the utilities were back on, we settled in! (Ok, not completely, of course, there are still boxes to unpack and the never ending list of projects---but, we're home!)

There's nothing quite like being a part of an old, in many ways broken-down house becoming "new". It's amazing the appreciation and new light shed on the glorious work called redemption: something worthless and un-lovely being made useful and lovely again. Specifically regarding all the hard work, perseverance, and sacrifice such an undertaking requires. But I think there's also more joy and satisfaction than would be possible from just giving up on the un-lovely thing starting over.

And for the (semi)finished photo you're all waiting for...

We had some visitors!

Honeymooners stopped in to see us (yeah, we're pretty special, folks).

Button down shirts and shorts was apparently the hip style for Saturday brunch!

There was celebration for that new beginning too, a fresh, new marriage. Stories of their driving down the California coast made me reminiscent of our first weeks after our wedding. It's an unrepeatable experience, everything new and exciting and romantic!

But back to our new beginnings, Easter, and all that!

Coming down the mountain from sunrise service Easter morning.

After the early service, we all have brunch back at church followed by the Easter program. I think my favorite part of the program was the youngest kids', just 3 years old, and they said bravely into the microphone in front of everyone: "Christ is risen!" "He is risen indeed!" Soon it'll be Eddie up there!

Here's a close up of his cuteness:

The only picture I got was the one with the obnoxious hot pink vynl sticker (thanks Uncle Steven!),

but those blue eyes and that bow tie? So precious!

Easter afternoon was restful and wonderful! We were back at Tom and Jody's, which feels like home after living there for so long! Delicious appetizers (except the traditional jello eggs I made, they may have tasted delicious, but they certainly didn't look appetizing, not one came out of the mold in one piece!), warm weather on the back porch with the kids playing in the yard, Eddie offering the dog his sippy cup (yuck!), an enthusiastic game of Dominion (I have to rub it in a bit, Jonathan was so sure of his victory, but in the final count I actually won! So satisfying!), a delicious dinner of ham (along with the question, how did we ever get from the Jewish feast of Passover to celebrating Easter and our Jewish Christ's resurrection with something as un-kosher as ham?!), and sharing some of our favorite and meaningful Easter songs as we enjoyed the meal. 

"And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also, he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

Revelation 21:5

Emerson Way: A Christmas to Remember

Remember that year we closed on our fixer upper house on December 23rd? Oh yeah, the one where we spent Christmas Eve tearing out the kitchen! That was crazy!

We did do other things.

Christmas Tree Lane, now just a short walk from home.

Hanukkah--I love celebrating the Festival of Lights! Something about the glow of adding another candle every night till it looks like this! It's magical, and so full of meaning!

Eddie's new Christmas toy! He was thrilled! Soon after this, he decided to make walking solo is primary form of transportation. By my birthday he was officially "toddling".

By the time family left just after the new year, we were settled in at Grammy's, out of our apartment, well underway with projects at Emerson House, and pretty tired! Just a week later, friends flew across the country with a suitcase of tools and helped Jonathan replace all the electrical in just one weekend. After they left, the floors were refinished with plenty of time to dry and harden as we were off to Illinois for some much needed rest. We'll be back at it next week, with the help of my parents who are coming for a whole week to hopefully bring us that much closer to moving in!

It's been challenging, exhausting, exciting, frustrating, and amazing all at the same time! It feels right, and we know it's right!

And this guy's pretty excited about it too!

Welcome to our humble abode!

Thanks for coming to visit! (via the blog, at least) Here's the grand tour!

Turning to the right after coming in the front door,
it's the living room featuring my piano (to the left), our fantastic thrift store find of a couch, and Jonathan's handiwork in turning a few bookshelves and some boards into what you see on the far wall.

The living room opens into the spacious kitchen/dining room.

The glass sliding doors beyond lead to...

Our patio! 

Not pictured is the flower box/wall divider (Jonathan's handiwork) and the clothesline!

(Did I forget to mention how thrilled I am to have my own washer and dryer now?!)

Back inside...

Here's the bathroom.

I think the shower alone is bigger than the bathroom at the Beach Cottage!

Eddie's room.

This will also be our guest room for when you come visit for real. 

(because let's admit it, the virtual tour just doesn't cut it!)

Another view of Eddie's room.

(He's asleep in the car seat.)

Continuing down the hall,

Our bedroom. Gotta love the canopy bed!

And now you're all the way around the circle,

back at the front door! Neat, huh?

So there you have it! Our house! It needs a name...any suggestions? The Beach Cottage sort of just happened, and I'm at a loss, so please, leave a comment with your idea for a good name!

In other news, Jonathan is now in his third week of work! Wow, time flies! It's going well, praise the Lord! The work is interesting and he really likes the team he works with. 

With Jonathan gone during the day, Eddie and I have had our adventures! We joined a local moms and little kids group, I'm going to a weekly bible study one morning a week, and we host the local church people on Wednesday nights for bible study too. We otherwise fill our time with walks, errands, etc., oh yes! And taking naps!

This is how you might find Jonathan spending his evenings!

Eddie still hasn't quite figured out how to keep the pacifier in his mouth!

(And notice the hair dryer? Yeah, he likes the noise. Do what you gotta do!)

The other day we pulled out the baby carrier and tried a hike on one of the nearby trails in the mountains. 

Eddie is asleep. Jonathan is not, though his eyes are closed.

It's good to feel settled enough to get out and explore a little bit! We haven't given up our adventuring! They're just different adventures! And it's also good to have a cozy place to come back to! We are abundantly blessed! What a joy to be adjusting to our new community--praise God for His faithfulness in placing us so clearly here in Pasadena!

I'll leave you with this, because he's just too cute!