Valentine's Day

Last year at this time, Sebastian was in South Carolina training to be the general manager of Huddle House. That was a long month that neither of us have fond memories of, & it was tough being apart for so long after just getting married four months before!

Last Valentine's Day, I was able to go down & visit for the weekend, which turned into the entire week because I got so sick! I couldn't get out of bed without throwing up, much less ride six hours in a car to get home. So I was thankful to spend that time with him, but we both wish I had been well enough for us to actually DO something while I was there!

This Valentine's Day, we were HOME! Together. In our house. We didn't do anything extravagant - he had to work Tuesday night, so we just had the morning together. But let me tell you - this was my favorite Valentine's Day out of the seven we've spent together!

I woke up to a clean, empty sink. I left to pick up Reagan & came home to Sebastian making a really yummy brunch. He was getting ready for work when two dozen roses were delivered, & right before he left, he told me we were getting a puppy. The best day!

I'm so thankful for the husband the Lord has blessed me with. So in love with my Forever Valentine. <3

Oh, Happy Day

We have exciting news!! Every time I say that, atleast one person assumes we're pregnant, so I'll start off by saying that ISN'T it. YET! :)

Sebastian has been working for Huddle House since August of 2015. He started when they opened their first store here in Virginia Beach & he's one of the few employees they've had from the beginning! Last March, they opened their Chesapeake location & they made him general manager, which was an exciting promotion!

Huddle House has served us well. Since he got that job, we have gotten married, bought a truck, bought a house, & did other things that we wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. It hasn't always been easy for him there, but we are truly thankful for the time he has spent & the lessons he's learned while working there.

At the beginning of January, some changes were made & Sebastian decided it was time to look for another job. He only applied to two places before choosing to stick with Huddle House & continue giving his all. In this season of life we are in, he was content & knew the Lord was in control.

Last week, seemingly out of the blue, he got an email from Olive Garden (one of the two places he'd applied) asking for an interview. He went in on Wednesday & then again Thursday for a second interview where they offered him a job!

Full time, full benefits (& a TON of extra, random benefits!) & only four miles from our house! And let's be real, I'm equally excited about the discounts he/we get at all of the restaurants that are a part of Darden. ;)

He will be starting there on Wednesday while continuing to work until his two week notice is complete on February 24th.

Huddle House has truly been a blessing to us, even when it's been hard to see. The owner has been such an encouragement to Sebastian & we are so thankful for him! But we are so excited for this change & are welcoming it with open arms!

I'm thankful to the Lord for always taking care of His children. He's never let us down, & it's so comforting to know that He never will. :)

Laundry, Clothes Lines, & a Chalkboard Wall

This past month has been so so busy! I'm excited to finally be slowing down & settling in.

We slept in our house for the first time on January 2nd, one month after we closed. We have absolutely LOVED being there & calling our little place 'home'. We did a lot of work painting & moving things & making our house livable, so once we were in there, we were really slow getting to the unpacking & putting away of things! 

It actually wasn't until last week that we started unloading our back bedroom, emptying boxes, moving more furniture over, & getting into the 'settling' stage. It's sometimes overwhelming to have so much stuff & to have no idea where it's all going to fit! Crazy how much you accumulate in so little time. 

When we moved, we packed all of our clothes/towels/bedding in garbage bags for easy transit. Today while the kids napped, I fiiinally took all of that out, organized it, & put it away - it was like Christmas morning, having not had most of my wardrobe since September! But goodness gracious.   So. Much. Folding. 

We have a washing machine in our kitchen & a dryer in our little utility closet outside. We need to change out a piece on our dryer for it to work, so after we've washed our clothes, we've been hanging them around the house to dry. Well, in our frugal ways (HA! I wish I were frugal.) we decided to try a clothes line outside. We don't have the right poles to set it up correctly, but we jerry rigged it for now & I LOVE it!! There's something strangely relaxing about hanging clothes on the line. Our neighbors probably think we're crazy, but I'm totally okay with that. ;)

Our kitchen is coming along, but has a ways to go! We've painted out cabinets & started to fill them, but need to get new hardware before we can put the doors back on. We still have lots of boxes to unpack!

Also, the best news (hehe ;)) - the office is cleared out enough that the kids can color on our chalkboard wall! We've had a couple of chalk parties because coloring on a wall is so stinkin' exciting. ;)

This little clothes line setup is pretty ghetto, but it gets the job done. ;) 

I have a bathing suit hanging, which I'm sure looks extra strange to the neighbors since it's February. ;) 

 That's it for my super random, rambling, house update!