Pictures finally!

So, I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures of our new home here in El Paso. Don't get too excited- it's not the full- blown pictorial tour yet. I still have too much stuff to do to present the finished product just yet, but there are little spots scattered throughout the house that have turned out just how I wanted them to (and some that I tweak every time I walk by). So, for your viewing pleasure ;), here is a little glimpse into the house we're making our home:

 Our bed in the master bedroom. As some of you probably know, my dad and I made this bed as a surprise for Nathanael when he was deployed last year.

The "picture wall" in the master bedroom.

 A little mushiness at the end of the hallway leading to the master bedroom... and Mona's rump... ;)

 Our entry hallway. Sometimes this area gets a little messy, since it's where drop all of our stuff when we come through the door, but we're working on it.

 Mona was SO helpful when I was taking these pictures... she tried to find a way to get some part of herself in every shot.

 The coffee corner in the kitchen.

The laundry area (notice the very attractive phone jack and circuit box). This is right in the kitchen, so I'm still trying to come up with ideas to make this work, but I love the vinyl saying I found for the wall. 

Part of the living room, with the dining room behind it. 

The arrangement I have on the dining table, with one of our $10 Craiglist chairs (that I WILL get around to painting someday...).

A set of decorations on the wall in the hallway. The top picture is one of my favorite things- my grandma embroidered it, and my grandpa gave it to me after she went to Heaven. Also, the hygrometer/ clock/ thermometer lets us know just how hot and humid it is in our house. ;)

I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into our home. We're still hard at work getting things put away and rearranged... Hopefully, I'll be ready to take more pictures soon so I can show you more of the layout of our home, etc. I hope everybody's having a great summer! :) Try to stay cool (as in temperature-wise, I know all of you will always be "cool")!

First week in the Lone Star State

We've been here almost a week! I can't believe it! And lots of exciting (and some not so exciting) things have been happening.
We found a house to rent- it's a 4 bedroom brick house about 10 minutes from Nathanael's work. It's a really nice house (or it will be if we ever get our furniture) and is certainly bigger than anything I ever thought we'd be able to rent. We have so much room, the animals get their own room... :) Well, at least for now, anyway. So, now, we're going through the process of getting all the utilities turned on, buying things we need, discovering that washers and dryers DON'T come with all the hoses and tubes necessary to hook them up, calling to get a replacement for our dumpster that apparently got swallowed by the dump truck, etc. You know, all the fun things about moving in!
I'm excited to get all of our household stuff and really start settling in. I've been worried about all the windows in this house- there were no window coverings whatsoever- but I think I've just about got it all figured out. God led me to a GREAT deal on some fabric ($1.50/ yd on some really heavy duty navy cotton) for the living room windows. I can't wait to start really making this place "home." Of course, as long as Nathanael is here, it's home!
We haven't had much time to explore, between trying to find a house and then getting settled in, but we have found some things we really like (CiCi's Pizza right down the street) and some things we definitely DO NOT like (the slow, dirty Subway restaurant down the street). We also visited Hillcrest Baptist Church this last Sunday and really enjoyed the Sunday school class we visited and both of the services.
Everything is still a little new and confusing at this point, but I think I'm really going to like it here! And the best part about this whole adventure is that Nathanael has been on leave, so I'm not dealing with any of this alone. He's been great, and so patient (those of you who know me well know that I get more than a little crazy when I'm stressed.. :-/), and even though things don't always go as planned (the aforementioned hoses not being included with our appliances), we're having a great time.
I'll get some pictures up as soon as the house gets a little more organized! :)

Moving Day!

Today was FINALLY moving day.... and what a day it's been! We were scheduled for a walk- through inspection on our apartment at 9... at 9:10, I called the office and they were short a person, so the inspection never happened. Then it was off to my parents' house in Willcox to pick up our darling animals. That is where the REAL adventure began!
Mona (our dog) is a very good traveler. She just chills in her crate and plays with her toys. Finley (our cat), on the other hand, is another story! She seems to do better when she's out of her carrier, so I let her out. Finley decided that the best and most comfortable spot to sit would be Nathanael's lap... while he was driving... yeah... that didn't go over well... especially since she kept meowing in his face with what he described as "worm poop breath". Finley also apparently has the ability to coat her hair with adhesive and shoot it at people like arrows. At least that's the reason I came up with as to why I ended up covered in more hair than I thought Finley actually had. Interesting tidbit I learned today... hair from little black kitties adheres quite firmly to Dr. Pepper lip gloss.
Army lodging was full, so we're staying at a hotel until we find out what's going on with housing. This is our first adventure with staying in a hotel with animals, so we'll see how this goes. The pets are not supposed to get on the beds, per the hotel management, so we'll see how well we do keeping our cat off the beds while we're sleeping.
All in all, it's been a very exciting, adventure filled, hairy day. In all seriousness, though, God has taken care of us and protected us. Now, we'll be searching for the house God has for us and getting settled in here in El Paso. Yee-haw! (I have to get into this whole Texas thing)