New Skills

Sammy has been growing and changing so fast! Sometimes it's hard to keep up with all the new things he can do, so I took  a video of his new skills for you to enjoy.

Our New Home

Mike and I have been (impatiently) waiting to buy a new home for us in Nebraska.  We found one house we really liked but were waiting on the pre-approval paperwork to put an offer in. A couple of days before we did, the sellers received an offer and weren't interested in ours.  So, we looked at a few more houses before our realtor showed us one that was coming on the market shortly.  She knows we like older homes, and I'm always saying how it's a shame that everyone paints the wood trim in them.  Well, the house she showed us is older, with UNPAINTED trim, and it has only ever had one owner!  We made an offer the day it was listed, and we closed on it Sept. 11.  Here are a few pictures of the house.  We are currently refinishing the floors, so it is mostly empty. And we have been cleaning since it has been rented out for the last 30+ years. I'll post more pictures as we get moved in and we put our personal touches on it. 

 The happy homeowners.

The front

Mike said the homeowner could leave the broken down lawn-mower....  I guess he wants to try and fix it. 

The back.  You can see there are some (neglected) raised garden beds.  I've been telling Mike I want to try my hand at square foot gardening, so this will be perfect. And we are going to fix up the clothesline which I am looking forward to having next year.

 

 The sun/mud room.  I love all the windows, and I think the pets will love this room.

 You can see one of the original light fixtures in the sun room in this picture.  They are all over the house.  Now I just have to figure out how to clean them, and find some old fashioned bulbs to put in them. 

 This is the kitchen.  This set of cabinets was installed later on for the lady who owned the house.  Her washer and dryer were moved upstairs to accommodate her - I don't think we'll keep these in the kitchen.

 The rest of the cabinetry is original to the home, as well as the kitchen sink.  I don't know why Molly looks funny in this picture, maybe because she was walking when it was taken.

 Breakfast nook off the kitchen.  The original table and benches for it are still in the basement.

I love this - it is a spice cabinet (I think) built into the kitchen.

 Dining room - these floors were covered by carpet for 30+ years so you can see they need refinishing.

More light fixtures in the dining room, and a built-in telephone stand.

 Living room.  This house has so many windows, which is nice for lighting.  It also seems to stay fairly cool.  Even during 90 degree weather, it wasn't too uncomfortable inside.

 I love this fireplace and built-in shelving.  I saw the neighbors have a screen covering their chimney - I've seen a lot of squirrels.  Hopefully they don't make a habit of playing Santa Claus.

 My little helper in his room.  The four bedrooms are the cleanest in the house, so we've been keeping him in there until the floors are done.

Master bedroom.

 The stairs to the second floor.  There was a carpet runner original to the house that had tears in it.  We were required to pull it up for inspection, but we still have it.  I may see if there is a way to salvage it or get a duplicate for replacing eventually.

2nd floor bedrooms.  The 2 side doors are under-eave storage closets.  There is no bathroom on this floor, so we may see if it is possible to add a powder room up here eventually.

I think I'm going to make this my craft room for now.  Both upstairs rooms are the same size, but this one has more light (and gets hotter in the summer).  The other one will be a guest room.

Love the built-ins!

It's Crickett's turn to be strange for a picture.  She and Molly were so happy to be out of our cramped house, even for a little bit (can you tell her tail is wagging! haha).  They were running all over, even where Mike was replacing a section of the floor.  I was a little worried they were going to hurt themselves, but they did alright.

This is the stove the previous owners had when they moved into the house in the 1930's!  The owner didn't want to take it and the local museum didn't want it, so they said we could have it.  I think I'm going to clean it up and put it where the newer cabinets are in the kitchen.  It will make a great display piece and a place to put our microwave and some other kitchen items.

My little helper again.  He has been so good when we need to work, He plays or talks to us from his room.  

I'm not including pictures of the basement.  It's not my favorite space, and makes me feel like I'm in a dungeon because it's so dark.  It does have some rooms, storage areas, a partially finished bathroom, and laundry room.  This will probably be a total make-over, and one that will be a few years down the line.  When we get it done, I'll post it with the before and after pictures.

We are excited about our new place.  It will be so nice to have more room than we need, unlike the 500 square foot home we are cramped in right now.  I'll probably have to get us all GPS bracelets to keep track of where we are! Haha!  Hopefully some of you will want to see it in person and come visit. :)

It's Been WAAAAY Too Long

Wow! I haven't posted anything new since 2011 when Autumn was just a baby!  It's high time I posted again to keep things going. :)

The biggest news since I've last posted is that we have a little boy!  We finally were able to get pregnant with some help from a doctor, and in November of 2014 Samuel Lucas Anderson Bissey arrived.  Our lives feel so complete and full with the addition of this happy little guy.  Here is a pregnancy picture I took of Mike and I.

At the hospital, getting ready for the big event.  I look a lot like my mom in this picture I think.

Our little bundle of joy, weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. I can't believe how tiny he was!

The rest of the photos are his monthly pictures up to the present time.  

 

As you can tell from his pictures, this lil guy is so happy.  I don't have many pictures where he is unhappy or crying (except for the birth announcement! Ha!).  In other big news, Mike got a job with Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad, so last year we packed up and moved to Nebraska.  That is where we are now.  It has been a huge blessing for us as I can now stay home with Sammy, and take care of him and Mike.  We're going to be closing on a new house next week, too.  I'll have to make a post of that as well as some of the things we've been up to since we've added Sammy to our family.