Settling In as Mr & Mrs Case

Jeff and I have been home as a newly married couple for two and a half weeks, and we're making some good headway getting the house together... We are arranging to have new carpets installed in the living room, dining room, and rec room ~ which is desperately needed. Allie, our beloved Wheatland Terrier, isn't always so lovable and has left her mark in several place on the carpets... She also loves to chew pens!! So we have some lovely ink stains here and there. So we'll replace the carpets, and then we'll be receiving a new sectional sofa for the rec room! It's one of those ones that's almost U-shaped, with one side of the U being a chaise lounge... so cozy. And in general, I'm having loads of fun establishing myself as the woman of the home, putting my Sylvieisms here and there, reorganizing, cleaning, redecorating. It gives me a wonderful feeling of fulfillment. My favorite spot so far is the kitchen. New appliances, linens, kitchen tools, etc, etc, make it lots of fun to cook. I've never been much of a cook ~ most of you know that already. :) But the newness of my nice kitchen, and a family to cook for, has made me actually like to cook! I really enjoy it! I want to get in the habit of menu-planning each week so it's less overwhelming from day to day.

This is the first time I've been able to be a full-time homemaker! And what a fanTAStic feeling that brings. It's like I'm finally doing what I was created to do. I stay constantly busy throughout the day... seems like there's always something I could be doing... but I love every minute of it. I love having my "domain". I love creating a warm and comfortable home for my husband and step-kids. Speaking of my step-kids... It's funny, because of the 21-year age difference between Jeff and me, my step kids almost seem more like younger siblings to me! And they're wonderful. Phil is 20 and quite a hard worker; he works full-time and is also going to the local community college ~ or will, once the year starts up again. He hasn't chosen a major yet ~ still considering what he wants to do. Kiff is 17 and will be a senior this year in high school. We just got her started on piano lessons which she's psyched about; she's also involved on a community soccer team, which will start up again in the fall. We tried to get her a summer job, but they're pretty scarce these days, so we haven't found anything yet.

We've also begun attending Grace Community Church in Ashburn. We'd been looking around for a church that suit us, but that's a tall order because we're both pretty unique in our church preferences (but we actually line up pretty well with each other!). We've gone to Grace Community only three times, but so far it seems like it might be a good fit. Grace Community is part of Sovereign Grace Ministries, which for me is a familiar atmosphere since I went to the Sovereign Grace church in Philadelphia for three years, and I've been to the one in Gaithersburg many times as well (Mary & Rob go there). And it's kind of funny because Grace Community's senior pastor is the identical twin brother to one of the pastors I knew at the Philly church! Kind of freaky. :)

Jeff's in the basement working out... He'll be up soon, and dinner awaits... I better go. :)