Sunday, October 27, 2013

Seven years ago....how time flies!!

October 28 is a special day in the lives of two couples close to my heart.  Today, my blog is about our son, Michael, and his beautiful wife, Corissa, who are celebrating their 7th wedding anniversary!
They are such a great "team" when it comes to sharing household duties and taking care of their two beautiful children.  What patient and conscientious parents they are to Cailyn and Landon.
During their marriage, they have already experienced some major trials and tribulations, some that most people will not experience.  Hats off to you both for your courage and stamina when the "going gets tough", you kept going!! We are so thankful that they live near by and we can share in their lives...regular Sunday visits are a highlight of our week!
Happy Wedding Anniversary to Mike and Corissa!  May the next 7 years bring you even more love and happiness that you deserve!  Hope your Anniversary Day is as special as you are to us!!
We love you both!!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Downsizing to a new home

A lot has happened since my last post, but better take a few moments to write some notes, before I forget, before I go clean a closet, before I pack a box, before....

Vince and I have been thinking about and looking for a different house since last fall.  We ran into a major stumbling block last spring, but are on a roll again now.  We waited until some new housing developments opened in September, and now everything seems to be falling into place.

We found a floorplan we both like at Marbella Vineyards in Gilbert, about 7 miles south of where we live now.  It is a Shea Home, and when our realtor took us to see the models, we happened on to a spec home that we liked and the property has a nice backyard view.  Downside: we will be commuting farther to our work locations, and Vince has to condense his 3-car garage into a 2-car garage. ;-(  Upside:  ranchstyle, no stairs, new updated kitchen and flooring, less house to clean, and less yard to maintain.

We will be listing our current home where we've lived for 14 years in early November.  It's been a great house and a nice neighborhood, and we will miss all the great storage areas we have in our current home.  However, it is not only time to downsize our home, but it is time to sort and clean out all the stuff we have accumulated too! That's part of the "downsizing" process!
 Front of the new home under construction in Marbella Vineyards.
Back patio area of the new home.
Alissa was able to go to our Design Center appointment to help us choose carpet, tile flooring, countertops, bathroom tile, etc.  A few days later, Jennifer accompanied us to "approve" the granite for our kitchen at Arizona Tile Co. in Tempe.  That was quite an experience!

As progress is made, I will post a few more photos....hopefully I will be able to take a break from the packing and cleaning!