Is it wrong for a grown woman to be THIS excited about ROCK?

No, I don't me "Rock" as in "Rock and Roll", I mean "Rock" as in the kind of hard thing you find outside in the yard.

Three-and-a-half years ago, when we were planning this house, our plans ALWAYS centered on the use of rock.  Specifically, we wanted a stacked stone fireplace, foundation, and as an element above the vent hood in the kitchen.

We poured over photos, magazines, websites, and brochures; drove around new neighborhoods, and visited numerous vendors just looking for the "perfect" rock.

No matter how much we looked, we always came back to one type of stone....

El Dorado Bodega Bluffstone

We centered all of our color and design decisions around this particular stone.

There was one problem, however....

The price.

El Dorado is expensive.....very expensive....

And as we got to the end of the building process, and the end of our budget....

We just couldn't afford it.

There were other, less expensive brands out there, but Hubby was adamant that if we couldn't get exactly what we wanted, we would wait.

So here it is, two years later.....still no rock.

I've gotten pretty used to looking at my concrete backer board wall that holds our television and fireplace...

And gotten used to my concrete block foundation and steps....

And I've attempted to get used to the open frame above the vent hood....but it's just so darn UGLY!

(Hubby didn't want to put the concrete backer board up yet because he didn't want to risk getting grease residue on it.)

But after two years, I am ready to live in a FINISHED house!

(Actually after 22 years, I'm ready to live in a finished house..... Remember, "slacker mama" married a "slacker daddy"....)

I am also ready to have a mantel to decorate!

Well, this weekend, part of our dreams came true....

We were able to FINALLY order our rock!

Not only were we able to order rock, we were able to order El Dorado Bodega Bluffstone!

And the BEST part....it was ON SALE for CHEAPER than the "other" brands!

WOOO HOOO!

They delivered it this morning, and hubby and I are about to bust a gut because we are so excited!

 

 

We are also very fortunate that one of our friends just finished building a house and had eleven boxes of another brand of rock left over, and sold it to us for a really great price. 

THANKS MORGAN AND ADAM!

When we put the two brands side-by-side, they match perfectly!

 

We may have enough rock between the two, to finish the inside AND the outside of the house!

Marty is so raring to get started putting it up, he almost took a week of vacation....

But the keystone isn't in yet, so we were going to have to wait a few more days anyway.

However, it looks like hubby will be starting on Friday!

We know it's going to take a LONG time to get it finished, but any progress is better than no progress!

Hopefully, I will have some great finished pictures soon!

January 7, 2010

This was one day in my life that I don't think I will ever forget.

First, we got a little bit of this....

SNOW!

It wasn't enough to throw snowballs and make snowmen, but it was just enough to prevent a "Come-Apart" by Jameson.

Thank you James Spann!

Most of you "Northerners" are laughing hysterically that we are so excited over a little "dusting" of the white stuff, but when you NEVER, EVER, EVER see snow, the tiniest bit of it sends us into hysteria!

(As evidenced by our schools and businesses being closed for not one, but TWO days!)

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Then, late last night, the Alabama Crimson Tide won their 13th National Championship!

The last time they pulled this off was in 1992, the year the triplets were born....

And I don't remember one, single thing about that Championship winning year.

Not one, single thing.

To most of you non-football fans, or Alabama football "haters" (which really came out of the woodwork last night....**sheesh**) this isn't a really big deal either....

But for this SEC-Alabama Crimson Tide-Nick Saban-Roll Tide-LOVING gal,

It was a HUGE deal!

The absolute sports highlight of my year!

I only wish my Daddy and my Nanny (my mother's mother) were alive to see it.

They LIVED for Alabama football season, so I guess I get it honestly!

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But, between the "blizzard" and the the game, something else happened that has changed things in our lives completely...

This is our OLD house.

The house Marty and I moved into when we first got married.

The house where my all my babies spent their first nights at home.

The house where we lost two of those precious babies.

The house where we mourned our children and tried to learn how to live a new, heartbroken life.

The house where I learned about raising a daughter with special needs.

The house where I learned about raising a healthy, rambunctious son.

The house where we dreamed and made plans for our future.

This is our house, our first house....

And now it is gone.

The walls are still there, but the fire chief said he thinks it is a "total loss".

Nothing left but the memories....

Both good and bad.

Just like January 7th, 2010