Almost Heaven....West Virginia....

….Blue Ridge Mountains…Shenandoah River…

I remember listening to that song on the drive to WV long, long ago when I was maybe 4 or 5. We all piled in the station wagon to go visit Mom’s family. No car seats. Just kids all over the back of the station wagon.

Aunt Annie – Mom’s sister – had lived in Houston for years. I know if I try to guess, I’ll be wrong. 25 years, maybe? Anyway, she & Steve retired and moved to West by God Virginia January 1st.

Dee & I have been trying to coordinate a visit for quite some time. We finally went the last weekend in September. We drove one route and Dee/Buck took a different route. They had left about 20 minutes earlier than us….and we made it to Annie’s about an hour earlier than them. Even with stops for kids.

The girls were good on the drive. And, we were driving through beautiful scenery after only about 2 hours into the drive. Butch said the drive was easy & good….until the mountains. It was still pretty and all….but was more stressful.

This was the first time Annie had met Lacey & Leah. As we were pulling into the driveway, Lacey --- who used to be so shy --- said “Aunt Annie’s gonna love me”! And, as soon as she got out, ran over to give Annie a big hug.

That evening, we just relaxed on their front porch. They have a feeding station for the deer, so the girls “helped” with filling that up. Then we waited (not for long) for the deer to show. The girls stayed fairly quiet, but even when they made a loud noise, the deer just looked up to check things out.

Unfortunately, it rained the entire next day. That was our only full day & we were supposed to go to the park. I’d made a trip to Michael’s and picked up crafts to entertain the kids, so they were set. And, later….we let them put on their rain boots & coats to go splash in puddles (although, I don’t think they really splashed much).

We had spaghetti with Aunt Annie’s homemade sauce on Saturday night. Yum-o! She uses brown sugar in her sauce. I do, too, but obviously not as much. I think I’ll add more next time I make it.

Sunday morning we had a big breakfast before packing the car up and heading out. I’m so glad we went. I asked Lacey what her favorite part of the visit was. She said “everything at Aunt Annie’s was my favorite part”. Sweet girl.

I’m not really sure how to describe it, but I felt somehow closer to Mom during that time. Partly the visit to West Virginia and partly Aunt Annie – who seems so similar to Mom.

I know we’ll head back for a visit again before too long. Soon, we’ll be planning our “reunion” for all of that side of the family. Can’t wait!

Family Room

The other day, Butch asked me what I thought about having a small version of our Christmas party. We haven't had one since before I was pregnant with Leah -- partly because of the mess 2 kids create & the stress trying to keep the house clean in preparation for a party would create. But, we both would like to try again this year.

We've also been considering a switch from DirecTv to Cable since I think we can get a good deal. (We have cable for the internet, so we might get a price break if we do both with 1 company.)

These are the things that prompted me to try rearranging the furniture. To do what I was thinking of, we would have to re-route the cable/DTV wiring, so we need to know where it should go before having the cable company come out.

And, this new arrangement allows some of the kids mess to be hidden a little more. Yes, I realize we will still have a mess. And, I'm fine with having a messy, lived-in house while our kids are little. However.....this might work well.

Remember when looking at the after pictures that the TV will be moved to the opposite corner. I'll mention where in a picture below.

View from the kitchen -- near the sunroom -- into the family room -- before:
Same view -- after:
View from kitchen -- entering from the foyer -- into the family room -- before:
Same view -- after:

Behind the couch (yes, I need to organize it, but will wait to make sure we like this before doing so...and will wait to get the TV moved from there first, too):

Standing behind the couch, looking to the kitchen. The corner to the left is where the TV will go.

I think this could work. What I'm not sure of is having the couch facing the kitchen when you are watching TV. But, I think it will be okay. And, I know that the kids toys will still end up in the middle often, but at least there is a true play area to "hide" it when needed.

Thoughts?