Our new house in Shelby

Here are some pictures of the parsonage, sent to us by one of the many "worker-bees" who are getting the house ready this week. They've done A LOT to it - it looks a lot better than it did both times we saw it, and we are starting to get excited about moving in.

This will be sort of a "virtual tour," but to get the real tour you'll just have to come see us!!!

Front of the house - the church is about 200yds to the left of the person taking this picture.

Side-view and carport (yay for not getting wet anymore while carrying groceries in the rain!!!) - the front of the house is on the left, and the yard slopes down to the right of the carport to the backyard and entry to the basement (most of the house is on the first level, but the basement leads to the backyard).


The kitchen - the door on the right leads to the carport.


The rest of the kitchen - the door to the carport is now right behind the person taking this picture. If you walk forward and take a left, you can either go downstairs to the basement or straight into the front dining/living room.
Let's go to the basement...

Down the stairs - this is the first room you see in the basement (the backyard is visible through the windows and door). Look left and you'll see...

...this storage area (not sure why there is a fridge there - if things stay the way they are, we'll have 3 refrigerators. Two is okay, but I'm not sure we need 3...!) Okay, now turn back to your right and go through the doorway into....

...the big basement/playroom!

Isaac doesn't know it yet, but this is going to be his favorite room - most/all of the toys will be kept down here - the messier the better!

Straight through the playroom/basement is this room - most likely the guest bedroom, though it is VERY big (it may end up housing home/office stuff, too).

Downstairs bathroom with a shower, next door to the guest room

Okay, now let's go back upstairs...
After walking back up the stairs, turn left into the front room - it's a dining/living room area - the door to the outside (top/left of this pic) leads to the front yard. (They are still working on finishing the floors - they put hardwood everywhere, which I am VERY excited about! I'll never have to call Stanley Steemer again!!!)

There are 2 doors into the living room from the rest of the house - one is in the kitchen, and the other is in this breakfast nook, which connects to the hallway to the bedrooms.

The order of rooms as you walk straight back the hallway is: bedroom on the left, across from the boys' bathroom, then bedroom on the left across from the master bedroom. Isaac will probably have the first room, so that he can be across from the bathroom for potty training, as well as farther away from the noise of the new baby in October!

The boys' bathroom...

One of the bedrooms (without furniture, I have no idea which one this is!!)

Master bathroom (with a tub for Mommies! Yay! Our current master bath only has a shower - boo!)

So, there it is! It's hard to get the full picture virtually, so consider this an open invitation to come see us ANYTIME! The Charlotte airport is close, and so is Asheville and Spartanburg, SC, so come on by!

Dolphins video

This is a video of the dolphins we saw off shore. They are mid-screen at the very beginning of the video, and then right toward the end they jump one more time, about mid-screen to the left. Only their fins and backs show, though... (Evidently our camera lens needed cleaning - sorry!)

Carolina Beach trip - day 6

Our last full day here, so we started the day with Britt's donuts (we were told by several people to try Britt's - it definitely lived up to the reputation!)

A Britt's donuts toast!

Isaac played with this bucket of water for a really long time today. Also, we saw dolphins today off the shore - maybe 200yds out. There were 2 of them. So cool!

Mom and Isaac's toes in the sand

Yes, Isaac is eating the crab dip with a fork. (It WAS really good, but still not as good as Aunt Julia's!)

He found another ramp to run up and down on the boardwalk...

At the lake across the street from our condo

This is the view of the lake from the balcony outside our bedroom (the wine is a special, "last night of vacation" treat!)

Carolina Beach trip - day 5

We didn't go to the beach today, either (though it is not surprising to those who know us, today it was because it thunderstormed in the afternoon!) Instead we went to the NC Aquarium at Fort Fisher, then out for ice cream and Mexican food for dinner.

In front of the aquarium

Isaac looking at the fish

"Petting" a sea urchin

This was his favorite spot - watching the waterfall. We came back to this several times!

Looking at seahorses - at this point, Isaac was getting really tired. He started saying, "night-night?"

After a 4-hour nap, we went out for ice cream (yes, before dinner!)

The pre-dinner ice cream didn't spoil his appetite, though. He ate his weight in chips and salsa, as well as half of Mom's fajitas!

Then we went back to the hotel, sat on the porch, and watched it rain while playing with bubbles.

This is Isaac's new "smile" pose - whenever we pull out the camera, he says, "schwile" and makes this face...

The table on the porch worked well as a climbing gym.

Carolina Beach trip - day 4

Beach day 4! Still loves playing in the sand...

Daily pic with Dad

Daily pic with Mom - When he tired of playing in the sand, he got behind Mom's chair and played with my hair for a while!

After naptime, we drove up to Topsail Island where our friends were staying with their family. They were steaming crabs, shrimp, and oysters, and there were lots of kids for Isaac to play with (here he is with the biggest kid of all - Uncle Jeff!)

Isaac and his new friend, Mason, "playing" with a yellow plastic stick (toys everywhere, but this was the hot item of the evening...)

We stayed way past his bedtime!

Carolina Beach trip - day 3

We didn't go to the beach today. Instead, Dad and "Uncle" Jeff went to play golf, and Mom and Isaac met "Aunt" Allyson in Wilmington for some shopping. When we got back, we fell asleep until Dad got home, and then we went to a Wilmington Sharks baseball game (they are a college summer league team - small venue but lots of fun!)

Isaac sat through 1/2 inning (the bottom of the first), and there were only 3 batters (3 up, 3 down).

The rest of the time he did this (video):

And this (also a video):

During Isaac's last attempt at "pitching," another kid hit him in the head with a baseball from point-blank range. He has a fairly respectable shiner on his forehead now. But he got a free Airhead (candy) from the concessions lady who gave him a bag of ice, so after a few minutes of cuddling, he was fine! He's a tough kid (sometimes)...

Carolina Beach trip - day 2

Playing in the sand - Isaac's favorite part of the beach!

Dad and Isaac beach photo - day 2

Mom and Isaac beach photo - day 2

Family beach photo - day 2

Isaac was much braver about the ocean today - he even stood with Garin and let the waves wash over his feet! (this is a video)


We rented bicycles this afternoon and rode around town - it was pretty (and exhausting)!

"You'll look sweet, upon the seat, of a bicycle built for two..."

A side-trip to the playground during our bike ride - Isaac loved the slides.

This is what Mom (and Eli) likes to do on the slides - lay back and relax...

On the Boardwalk (about 3 blocks from our condo) - there are rides (see the ferris wheel in the background), and tonight they had games for the kids. Isaac won a teddy bear by "throwing" a dart at a balloon (he actually just handed it back to the attendant and she popped the balloon for him...)

Isaac and his prize bear

Looking longingly at the Boardwalk - sorry, buddy, it's way past your bedtime!