He Leadeth Me

Kelly, Adrian and David moved to Colorado this week. There have been enjoyable times of unpacking the truck, sitting around and talking, and all that is involved with moving. Of course, my camera was out to document this momentous occasion and Caleb wanted to try it out. Here are his photographic efforts. It was interesting to see what a four year old found picture worthy. Nana's mantel. His new bear. I really like the play of light in this photo. As Caleb proudly announced, "I am a very good photographer." A modest one too. He took 5 pictures of the moving truck. True little boy--they like their wheels. Front porch scene. There were at least 20 pictures of Aunt Kelly and baby David. Aunt Kelly's shoe. His one year old brother and cousin. His hand! And last, but certainly not least, the ceiling fan!

I have been asked if people in the West are as friendly as people in the South. We have been blessed with so many friendly people here in Colorado. We just moved into our new home and we have received the following from friendly neighbors: a delicious cheesecake wonderful brownies and today, this was on my doorstep when the doorbell rang Yes, I would say that Westerners are just as friendly as Southerners.

My mom noticed when I gave my home tour the other day that I didn't have any pictures of the Master Bedroom. That was because I had a dilemma. I had purchased some really neat bed linens in black, white, and red, but the house had the custom drapes and valance that you see below. The Black, White, and Red just didn't match. I have been searching for a while for something that we could really like and that would also match the drapes. Today I found it! And ON SALE!! I love the new look! One little section of the room is reserved for very special visitors. Sue Burke, if you ever see my blog, please notice the blanket. You made this for Jeremy 31 years ago. It's still beautiful. OK, Mom, now you have seen the Master Bedroom!

Several of you have asked for pictures of our new home. Please remember that I am the blogger and my husband is the realtor, so his "house" pictures would probably be better, but... Welcome to our front porch. Right now there are beautiful tulips blooming. This picture of the dining room is taken with a wonderful Iphone app that my friend Marla told me about called Pano . With it, you can take a panoramic view of a big space. I am still playing with it. This is the living room taken with the same app, but I messed up a little so you have a somewhat warped view of our living room. I guess you'll just have to come and see it for yourself. Breakfast area overlooking the deck. Being a southern girl, I love oak cabinets, so was thrilled that this home has them. I have never had a home office of my own. I have always shared with David. This one is all mine! Not surprisingly, it is filled with antique school items and lots of children's books. My retirement present of a...

This is hands down, my new favorite cleaning product. When you move into a previously owned home, even if the owners leave it relatively clean, you just want the germs to be your own germs. These little wipes make cleaning as easy as 1-2-3. Do I sound like a commercial? And for all my "green" friends, I have read the package and can only find that the container itself is recyclable. I'm just hoping the wipes are as well, because I love using them.

Jeremy and Mandy are moving this weekend and their good friend Marla has come to help unpack. Marla's little girl, Kate, came along to help as well. My main job in yesterday's moving day was to keep Caleb and Kate occupied so that the grownups could get something accomplished. This is a hug! It really is! They had a delightful dinner! They kept busy taking care of the baby! Even though there were many toys to play with two pair of yellow dishwashing gloves were the hit of the day.

I'm sorry I haven't posted recently but April was a little bit hectic in the Gibson household. As most of you know, we were blessed with 2 new grandbabies and a new home (all in the space of one month). Whew!!! At the closing of our home, the previous owner told me that in about 3 weeks, we would have tulips in our flowerbed. That thrilled me since tulips are some of my favorite flowers. This photo is a little blurry, because the Colorado wind is blowing so hard it is hard to get a close up photo. Aren't they beautiful?

My friend Marla reminded me when I saw her last weekend that I had blogged pictures of the basement of our home, but had never let people see the upstairs. As she mentioned, the downstairs basically looked the same as our home in Houston--same furniture, antiques, just "underground". So here is a quick tour of the upstairs. The fireplace is the perfect place to snuggle on a cold, snowy day. New loveseat and coffee table. David's comfy recliner. I sit in it more often than he does! The Murphy Bed. Who will be the first to volunteer to sleep in this fold down bed???

Some of you may remember the post where I talked about our basement resembling a bowling alley. We have done some decorating since then and someone the other day asked me how the bowling alley was looking, so here are some photos. The picture above shows an antique sideboard, a rocking horse that was used by our children and now our grandchildren, an old ladder which houses some of my quilts. The red and white quilt was made by my coworkers as a retirement gift. Isn't it beautiful? The downstairs is big enough for a game table. Most people have a pool table in the basement but we don't play pool. I really thought a ping pong table would be fun, but David nixed that idea. This is one of my favorite antiques--a double antique school desk. The stuffed people/animals on it are characters from children's books. This is the view looking from the seating area back to the "kitchen" as Caleb likes to refer to it. This is the sitting area/TV room. YEAH!!! NO MO...

I have talked a lot about our excitement about the new adventure in Colorado, but I have not talked too much about saying goodbye to dear friends. David and I are members of a special group of people who meet each Sunday night to eat together, study the Bible and share our lives. They gave us a church-wide going away party. I'm not sure why this picture turned out so small (I'm still learning) but on the table is a very special photo taken by our long time friend Lance White of our "Life Group." Not only was this cake delicious, but it says it all. This is our Life Group's Motto. Another small picture (sorry). At the end of the evening, we did one of the things that we enjoy doing the most. We sang songs of praise together. What a blessing our church home has been to our lives. We will be looking for a church home in Colorado that will walk beside us in the good times and the bad.

These are a few BEFORE pictures of our new townhome. The first one is of the kitchen because I "foolishly" promised David that I would cook every night when I retired. What was I thinking??? These are the french doors into the study which is at the front of the house. Looking from the back of the house to the staircase to the basement. I can't believe we have a basement. This Native Houstonian never believed that would happen. OK! This is the bowling alley! Just kidding, this is the basement and it seems as long as a bowling alley. Decorating it is going to be somewhat of a challenge. Any ideas? The first time Caleb saw it, he was ecstatic and of course ran up and down the length of the room over an over. AFTER pictures to come!