Our new house

We had a whirlwind first week in Tennessee, we are so grateful for Bill and Donnetta traveling with us across the country and staying with us the first week helping us get settled into our new home.

Donnetta helped me organize and decorate, and painted my kitchen for me. Here are some pics of our new home!

The "Breakfast" room, "bible study Poppy " not included...

 Sitting area in Breakfast room, we have loved having a real fireplace-- we have had 2 fires already!
We bought the letters at William Powell Co. in Downtown Franklin, and they asked me to send them this pic, and they posted it on their Facebook page-- yay!

 The kitchen... Lucky Shamrock by Glidden.

 The Breakfast room, opposite wall

Washington Hillbillies...

So we loaded up our family of 5 with 3 cats, 2 dogs, a rabbit and two snakes, and drove from Maple Valley, WA to Franklin Tennessee in this. Seriously. We called it the "Ark-V"

Box o'cats..

10 lb rabbit...

Snakes....

Everyone traveled surprisingly well. 

Our itinerary-

Maple Valley to Pendleton, Oregon

We had a private showing of the Lego Movie in the Pendleton Theater.

Pendleton to Mountain Home Idaho

Mountain Home Idaho to Las Vegas NV

We rode some roller coasters at Circus Circus ( our KOA was right next to it) and we went to the strip to see the Bellagio Fountain. Kids asked to never go back... I think I am ok with that.

Las Vegas NV to Albuquerque NM

We arrived in Albuquerque to 28 degrees and a dust storm.

Albuquerque to Oklahoma City OK

We were planning on stopping in Little Rock AR, for our last leg but decided to push through 10 hours to get to Franklin 1 day earlier. We are thankful we did!

Some highlights- the boys ( and cats) all loved being in the cab over bed.

 playing mad libs/travel games
Nan put together little treat bags for each day with fun snacks and games.

 Milhouse my travel companion... Each cat took turns lounging around the Ark-V while we traveled, looking out the windows.

 My Starbucks mugs from our travels! They don't make Idaho, Arkansas, Oklahoma... and no Wyoming either. I got Vegas, New Mexico and Arizona.

less than one month!

This is our new neighborhood. I can hardly wait! 12 minute commute to work for Josh, 1 mile to downtown Franklin. The houses are built on land that was formerly the plantation-- people still find civil war artifacts. We are praying for kids that are close to the same ages.


www.heathplaceatcarnton.com

 I am afraid. Very afraid.

Franklin, love at first *sigh*......

I was in love with Franklin, Tennessee before I even set foot in it.
How can you not, when Main Street looks like a  Mayberry redux.

Check out this video-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3dbeXE7St8

check out all the STYROFOAM....  cups, plates, everything is in Styrofoam. This definitely isn't the PNW!



I flew into Nashville for the Lampo Christmas Party a few weeks ago, and had a great weekend with Josh.
We went from the airport to 'our' new place- " Gray's on Main" for dinner. It is an old Pharmacy that has been converted into an amazing restaurant. Amazing food, ambiance and service.

http://www.graysonmain.com/

Saturday before the party, we drove the Natchez Trace-- so beautiful! I love the fact that commercial traffic is not allowed. It was a bit disturbing however that we happened upon some vultures consuming a dead deer... natures clean up crew! (ICK!)
War of 1812 monument-- for all of the men who died marching down the Trace...
I am so excited to explore all of the history.



The 150th anniversary of the battle of Franklin will be next spring-- in MY BACKYARD!

http://www.carnton.org/events.htm

Moving closer.

We have a home in Tennessee.
The Lord has blessed us beyond measure with this sweet home-- I saw it on Craigslist and instantly fell in love. According to the map,  it is in the exact area Josh wanted us to be in, but a bit more than we were willing to spend. I instantly texted Josh the link, so excited!

I e-mailed the Landlord and started the line of communication. He was ok with dogs, "maybe" on cats.

Well, we found out after we got the address that this house is exactly where we DIDN'T want to be... on the East side of Franklin, where traffic can be a bear.

Josh reluctantly went to look at it,( took him 12 minutes to get there from work!) and decided upon seeing it, that I may just kill him if we didn't rent it.
This home is on an idyllic tree lined street, and backs up to this amazing place... 112 acres of reclaimed battlefield-  Eastern Flank Park-

http://www.tnvacation.com/vendors/eastern-flank-battlefield-park/

and the beautiful Carnton Plantation-

http://www.carnton.org/carnton_history.htm

We prayed about it, and felt very conflicted. There was no doubt this is an amazing house. But we didn't want to hinder our savings by reducing our leverage since we will still have a mortgage in WA.


Josh met with the Landlord last night, and he wholeheartedly agreed to our terms of lower rent cost, and a long term lease. We will even have the option to purchase the home if we would like, as they would like to eventually sell it. Inside pics to come, the CL link has been removed since it is ours now! C'mon February!

Mountains. Real ones.

It was a gorgeous  sunny winter day in Maple Valley today.The kind of day that reminds you how beautiful it is here. The Glory of God's Creation was shining through the incredible sunrise this morning.I tried to take a picture with my phone, and it just didn't do it justice. Yes, it is gray many months of the year, with perpetual drizzle-- or 'mist'  but it is these beautiful clear days when Mt. Rainier reminds you that she is indeed there, behind the cloud cover that really bring home how spectacular the views in Washington State are. I fear I have taken her for granted for too long, now that I am leaving. Seeing her when we cross the floating bridge, standing tall at the South end of 1-5.. Feeling as if we can reach out and touch her while driving SR 410.
 She was in all her glory with her crazy double ringed UFO cloud hat jauntily perched to the side, magnificent behind the grocery stores and strip malls that are 4 corners today. This phenomenon is called a 'lenticular cloud' and locals know that if she is wearing a 'hat' rain is imminent within 24 hours.

 Maybe it is because absence makes the heart grow fonder-- so when she IS out we appreciate her more? In College Geology class we learned about her geological makeup,and volcanic activity- joking that she really is just a cardboard cut out for tourists, since she is so elusive most of the year. I always feel badly for out of town guests who would like a glimpse, as she rarely complies.
 Even summertime trips to Grand Park, Paradise, or Sunrise is often met with a wall of clouds, and we are left making lame excuses as to when she may make an appearance- August maybe? September? a Random day in June? December 11th?!

view from Lake Wilderness, Maple Valley WA

Mt. Rainier, I am going to miss you.