Yup, we're moving to Colfax!

We finally signed papers for our new house, and will begin moving in next weekend. We made it through the appraisal, inspection, and banking process, so are now proud owners of a house in Colfax!!

Yesterday Jon and Jonathan kicked things off by hauling a couple loads (of mostly garage stuff) to the pole shed, but that's just the beginning of what we have to do. Moving after living 10+ years in the same place will be a huge job, but we're all looking forward to the end result-- getting settled into our new home together.

Here's a picture from the back side. The corner windows show where my new art room is going to be (in the 4 season porch). The small deck you see from this side is located just off the kitchen and living room area.

We had a houseful of well-wishers earlier today. Jon went over to the house in the morning and started a fire in the fireplace and furnace on the porch, to warm it up a little. Then we met Jon's parents, his sister Sally and her husband Larry at the house. Jon's brother Mark, wife Tammy, and their grandson Seth also came along to see the place, as did Jon's brother Phil and wife Jill. Later on a couple of friends came by, as well. So we were there for several hours today, showing people around while the kids played hide and seek in the empty closets and cupboards.

Here's Michael with his cousin Seth.

Some of our plans surrounding the kids have changed as we talk to them more about the move. Our initial idea was to have them both share the bedroom next to ours, maybe using bunk beds, because we thought they'd be too shy to sleep away from us in the basement. But they both expressed a strong interest in the two basement bedrooms (they want to be near each other but not share a room). So we'll probably give that a try first. We'll have to do some creative rearranging when Susan and David come visit, but for most of the time the set-up should work just fine.

I'm kind of excited about the idea because it means that the little room next to ours upstairs can be a baby room. I had been ready to set up a baby area just off the living room, but this will help simplify and de-clutter things somewhat.

And de-clutter is what I mean to do! After years of collecting and accumulating things, I feel bogged down by our possessions. My new goal is to keep what's useful and/or important (for sentimental reasons) and donate the rest to people who can use it. Amazingly, Michael and Emma seem to be embracing this ideal. We've been going through their rooms and pared things down to their favorite clothes and toys, sharing the rest with other kids who don't have as much.

If only I could get Jon in on this "movement"-! But he has revealed himself to be quite the pack-rat (just ask Jonathan, who helped lug around boxes of his questionable garage paraphanelia yesterday).

Anyway, besides the bedroom arrangement, another change of plans the kids helped guide me toward was letting them start at their new school this year. I was willing to continue driving them to Longfellow, even after the new baby is born, so they could continue at their current school for the rest of the year. But now we plan on having them start in Colfax March 1st. This will give us time to complete the move and finish projects already started at Longfellow (Michael's basketball season, Pinewood Derby, and their school musical). But they will also be able to meet some of their new peers this school year, so it will not be a totally new thing next year. And they will be have a few weeks of adjustment to the new routine before the baby is born.

Well, time to tuck the kids in upstairs.

But besides sharing our news about the house, we want to thank all the family members and friends who have been so supportive and encouraging during this whole transition (baby and house included). We're really fortunate to be at this point in our lives, and are enjoying every moment!

Whose woods these are I think I know...

We may be moving very soon!

We are in the final stages of buying a house and land in Colfax, Wisconsin-- about 25 minutes west of Eau Claire. We've had verbal acceptance of our offer and signed the papers we were sent by the seller; now we just have to wait for them to sign. The financing is all arranged. Once papers are signed we need to have the house inspected and the bank will have the house appraised. If both these things "pass", we will start moving in January 31st. If the house fails inspection we can still get out of the deal, but it's already been inspected once (by the relocation company that now owns the house) and we've looked it over good a couple of times, so don't anticipate major problems.

Admittedly this is not the greatest time for us to move (during the school year, and when I'm so close to having the baby). But this was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. We were able to get a really good deal on the property, which includes a house, pole shed (pictured right) and 10 acres of wooded land. We're getting the property for over $30,000 less than it was originally listed at. The slow housing market is working in our favor right now. Our plan is to rent out our Eau Claire house, once we can get it cleaned out and fit for renters.

We want to move to a more rural setting before the kids reach middle school age and become more susceptible to the pitfalls of living in a low income neighborhood (like the one we live in now). Also we want them to be able to enjoy the kind of vigorous outdoor play we grew up with. Jon grew up in a town environment, but it was a small town and times were "simpler"; he was able to play with friends and ride his bike around town with minimal supervision, as a boy. We just don't feel like our kids can do that here; there's too much traffic, loose dogs (some pitbulls), and registered sex offenders living around here.

So challenging as it will be, we're going to do what we can to make this move happen. The picture above shows the living room and fireplace. The kitchen is pictured right-- not real big, but I love the window above the sink and the built-in microwave above the counter.

The basement is finished, with a family room (pictured left) and two smaller rooms that we would use as bedrooms when Susan and David are with us (and probably as play rooms and toy storage the rest of the year). There are lots of built-in shelves and windows all around the basement. There's also a full bathroom and a laundry room down there.

Besides the kitchen and living room, the upstairs has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a dining room, and a 4-season porch. The 4-season porch would probably serve as our home office and my art room, since it has electrical hook-ups, a phone jack, and lots of windows and light. Interestingly, there's also a little greenhouse just off the front of the house (pictured right).

There are a couple of little decks off the house, and some little perennial gardens planted around the yard. The best part, of course, is the woods all around. Jon's snowshoed around the land a few times, and said there's lots of deer sign and some beautiful views.

So keep your fingers crossed for us! Nothing's for sure yet, but things seem to be going very well!

Christmas 2007

Hope all of you had a good Christmas and happy New Year's. We had a busy, fun holiday season visiting with family and friends, but are kind of relieved to get back to our "normal" schedule (today was our first day back to school and work).

So here's what we did! Christmas morning Susan, David, and Jonathan came over to our house and opened gifts with us. Since Susan and David were staying for the week, they brought a few movies and games along with them, including an extremely fun and addictive Play Station game called "Guitar Hero". I don't know if anyone reading this has tried that game before, but it involves pushing colored keys on a plastic guitar that's hooked up to your TV set; while you play you see an image of "yourself" (but skinnier, cooler, and longer haired) performing before an eager audience. You try to hit the appropriately colored button on the guitar at just the right moment that color flashes before you on the bottom of the screen. The colors come along according to the guitar notes of whatever song's playing. If you're good, the audience cheers and goes wild. If you miss a lot of notes, the audience boos and throws food at you.

Christmas afternoon we headed over to Jon's brother Phil's house for a celebration with the rest of the Hurlburts. Their house is nice and spacious so it's easy to find a place to sit down and relax. We chatted and snacked until the early evening hours.


Here's Emma entertaining her cousin Jessica Hurlburt's baby girl, Malia. It's fun seeing the little girls all dressed up in their holiday finery. Emma and Malia were very interested in each other, and I couldn't help but think what a good big sister Emma's going to be in a few months...

Michael had fun playing with Malia, too. He also enjoyed wrestling with his older Hurlburt cousins. Notice the handsome new Donald Driver Packer jersey that Michael's wearing-- a Christmas gift from Grandma Bragg. Donald Driver is Mikey's favorite Packer these days, and he LOVES the new jersey. He also loves the new blue hat Grandma Jane knit for him (his hat was one of 52 hats that Grandma Jane knitted and gave out as presents this year).















Here are Susan and David, at the time of Phil and Jill's Christmas party. Notice David's long hair, a style he's had for several years now:

Now check out David the very next day, after he made the big decision to have his hair cut (a suggestion that came from his girlfriend, I believe). What a difference! We thought his long hair looked nice, but this cut is amazing!

















A few days later, on December 28th, we headed to Cornell and opened presents with Jon's parents. That evening we went over to Jon's sister Ann's house for an 81st birthday party for Jon's father.

Pictured at left are Susan (with little brother Logan on her lap), Jonathan, Michael, and David holding Emma.









Here's Bud and Jane (Jon's parents) at Phil's house on Christmas day. To their right is Jon's nephew Steve Hurlburt.


At left is a picture of Jane in her own home. Notice her Christmas tree, featuring pink ornaments. It's always fun looking around at her Christmas village and miscellaneous holiday decorations.

The next day we headed to Rhinelander, to visit with my parents and brother Don & family. Don and Hope, along with their three children, live in Arkansas, so it's always a treat to see them. They have a 4 month-old, Stephen, who we've only seen once before, so it was great being able to hold him and feed him-- as well as watch 5 year-old Kenny and 3 year-old Beth play with Michael and Emma.

Stephen seems like a very calm and content baby. He looks a lot like my brother Don and Don's oldest son, but I also think he bears a strong resemblance to Rich Pruden, Hope's father.

Mikey and Emma are fortunate to have surrogate grandparents in their in-laws. My sister Laurie's husband's mom made personalized cookies for the kids, with their names in frosting. And my brother Don's wife's parents wrapped nice Christmas presents for the kids to open. So far we've all managed to be fortunate with our in-laws... a very thoughtful group of people!

My brother Don scored bigpoints with me when he gave me a container of rocks he'd collected around Arkansas and labeled for me. Those of you who know me well know I'm not being sarcastic, either: I LOVE rocks. He found petrified wood, potsherd, and black and grey Novaculite, among other nice specimins. I was very touched and impressed. Thanks, Don!

We brought our snowmobile and covered trailer to Rhinelander, so the kids were able to get a cozy (and probably bumpy) ride through Mom and Dad's snowy trails. Jon's brother-in-law Pat Sime gave us the covered trailer a few years ago, and it has provided our family with a lot of fun and adventure. The kids enjoyed their ride, and Mom even enjoyed a quick solo ride. Susan and David took turns on the snowmobile, as well. Afterwards Kenny and Emma did some sledding down the hill we used to sled on, while Beth and Michael warmed up inside.

The next day we headed back to Eau Claire, so Susan and David were ready to be picked up by their mother. We had a good visit with them and were glad they were able to make the trip.

Here's a photo of Mom and Dad by their tree in Rhinelander, while Kenny plays on the floor.

Hope everyone is well!!