The house is practically DONE!

I drove over to the house on Wednesday evening...just me and the kids. Gary was out with the guys from our small group, so I loaded up the kids and got a Donatos pizza on the way. Ha! I was totally in the mood for a low-maintenance night. I didn't really expect anything new at our house because I had been there a few days prior to this. So, when I walked in with the kids and saw CARPET, BLINDS, our APPLIANCES...and so much more...I was just amazed. It really feels like a home now. And it's shocking to think it's OUR home! Wow. I'm feeling so beyond blessed. So, for now it seems that aside from lots of little touch-up work inside the house, the only thing left is the landscaping outside the house. Wowee!

Madelyn & Connor LOVED being in the house with the carpet. They instantly ran into this room (the den) and wanted to sit on the window seat ledge. That made my heart melt, because when I first saw this model home, I fell in love with the window seat and envisioned our children curling up here with good books. So nice to see they are already making themselves at home!

Shiny new appliances. I was amazed.

This kitchen is beckoning to me.

Here we are in the Bonus Room. Kids just wanted to run in circles and be silly. I guess that's exactly what this room is for!

Hi Maddy!

Here we are in Madelyn's bedroom. I lifted the blinds so they could see outside. There were several boys playing baseball out there and she said "some day when I get bigger, I want to play baseball too..." Oh Maddy...that day will come before I'm ready for you to get bigger, I just know it.

The kids rolling on the carpet in her bedroom. See...making themselves right at home.

We all loved going in and out of the shower in the Master Bathroom. This is going to feel like a luxury!

Maddy and me in the bathtub. Time for a relaxing soak. Mostly I was just sitting there trying to "soak" it all in. Can't believe we'll be in this house in about 2 weeks. Wow.

And we have flooring!!!!

And we have lighting, and painted walls, and a driveway, and mirrors...and we have a CLOSING DATE SCHEDULED!!!!!
Drum roll please..........
Friday, May 28th is our CLOSING! That's just about 3 weeks away. Whoa baby!

Sneak peak at the wood floors

Happy 6th Anniversary to us!

Gary and I had a great time on Saturday celebrating our 6th Anniversary...on our actual anniversary date. Very nice! We unintentionally had a "Greek Themed" evening while we casually enjoyed strolling around the Gallery Hop down in the Short North. We picked the "Happy Greek" restaurant, and then ended the evening with an extravagant bakalava sundae dessert at the little Greek emporium.

(And Gary really surprised me at with a special "iron" gift which is the traditional gift to give on the 6th Anniversary. Loved the special lantern from him!)

Dinner at Happy Greek. We were happy and hungry!

The coolest piece of art we saw that evening was this one. Can you see the image of a little girl looking back at you? Looks almost like a sepia photograph.

You'll never believe that this entire piece of art was made from crayola crayon tips. Mostly shades of gray with some colored crayon speckled in. (see photo below for close up)

Yes, this is a close up of the above piece of art. REALLY stunning!

The firemen were enjoying people watching that evening too. There's always lots of interesting spectals to see down here especially on Gallery Hop nites.

The shops in the Short North were most certainly "hopping" on this Gallery Hop evening. This place had a full-on band, and a bar...and it was just a little denim shop. Highly entertaining

Can't you tell??? =)

This is the little Emporium where we casually entered. Just looked like a little wine and cheese shop. And then we saw someone checking out with the best looking dessert...

So we just had to try it for ourselves. We'll definitely be back here for some more of this amazing bakalava sundae sometime soon.

We ended the evening with gift-giving. Gary and I usually like to surprise one another with interesting or creative or funny gifts that utilize the "traditional anniversary" gifts. This year was iron and candy. So, I found him an "iron" for his golf set. And a new iron to use...because he the resident "ironer" in this household!

He surprised me with the awesome rod-iron old-fashioned looking lantern (see top) from Restoration Hardware to use on the porch or patio of our new home. I love it!

I love you Gary Scott.

Can't wait for the next 6 years and beyond!!!

Sneak Peak of the Countertops

I keep getting so nervous about how everything that we picked in the M/I Homes Design Center is going to look once it's put all together. And when I finally saw the countertops with the wood cabinets, I was totally relieved. It doesn't look horrible (nevermind all the dust in here!) It's all really coming together!

Dairy Queen Treat

I promised Madelyn some ice cream last Wednesday for extra good behavior...and it was also Connor's exact half-birthday (April 14th), so I decided to treat the kids to some yummy Dairy Queen. Maddy ordered her standard vanilla in a cup. And I splurged and ordered a twist cone for myself. Can't remember the last time I had one of those?!?! Well, as soon as Madelyn saw that, she was done with her plain cup of vanilla! She and Connor did a great job polishing-off this yummy treat. Way to go kiddos!

I think he likes it!

We could sell this to DQ to use for advertising!

Learning how to be effective and efficient with a soft-serve ice cream cone!

The African Violet is still a-Bloomin!

Check out this gorgeous plant! Not only am I shocked that I have been able to keep this moody plant alive, but it's totally thriving. I never imagined that it could bloom like this. Wish you could see the shimmering flower petals in person. Totally God-created. So beautiful.

Madelyn Reading to Connor

These are several video clips from a moment when I snuck into Maddy's room to find both kids sitting cozy on her toddler bed and she was actually reading her favorite books to Connor. These are some of my favorite video clips of the year so far. It's a little long because it's 3 books worth of recording...but it's totally priceless. The first book is one of Connor's favorites "Five Little Ducklings" that she obviously picked for him. And then she reads "Popcorn", which was a family favorite when I was growing up. And you all will recognize the last book "Brown Bear, Brown Bear".
This was actually recorded back in Feburary, but I only just now found a decent way to upload videos. So, I hope you enjoy a little STORY TIME with the Sammons kids!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Silly Sporty Time with my little USA All-Star Girl!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And we have CABINETS!

Here's some of my most recent photos of the casa. It's coming along day by day. I think they installed all the trim work yesterday so I'll have to check that out when I have a minute to drive over there. I'll keep you posted!

Finally, here's a view of the back of the house.

A nice spring day
Voila!

View standing in the kitchen looking over into the great-room. I love all the light streaming inside. Aaaaaaa.... =)

Connor & Madelyn keeping us ever-entertained!

First you will see Connor learning how to feed himself. Very impressive if I must say so myself! You'll be amused by my smootie-eating, bed-head girl all the while. Later the video clip will fade to Madelyn in the place we sometimes find her sleeping these days. Although she's not obeying our "stay in bed" orders...it's pretty darn adorable!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Adding a little Essential Oil News

So, I haven't ever blogged anything about my new hobby of learning about essential oils and using them for our family's health. We love the DoTerra products because they are certified pure by two 3rd Party research sites. So today I just came across another great article out there with scientists being amazed at the antiviral and antibacterial properties of Essential Oils, so I thought I would just go ahead and add a link to the article.

Study: Plant Oils Highly Effective Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/health/Study-Plant-Oils-Highly-Effective-Against-Drug-Resistant-Bacteria-89708912.html

This article talks a lot about Thyme oil specifically...and actually I just bought Thyme oil for the first time this month. Lots of my friends have found it to be helpful with the croup cough that seems to be going around (thankfully we haven't dealt with this in our home...fingers crossed). Anyhow, then I remembered that the supplements that Gary and I have been taking every day actually have THYME oil in the EO Mega blend. Very cool! Probably the thing that makes the doTerra supplements most unique to anything on the market right now is that they have these CPTG (certified pure therapeutic grade) EO'S in the omega capsule. So pure that they are safe to ingest...and therefore our bodies are getting the awesome benefits of eo's internally every day. Loving it! I really think this is a huge reason we've continued to stay so healthy over these many months of trying the supplements and oils.

Just a little food for thought!

www.mydoterra.com/karina

HardiPlank!

We drove over to the house on Sunday afternoon (Easter) and this is what we saw! The siding is fianally being attached to the house giving it a much-more-finished look. And we were also excited to see that the drywall and mudding is practically done inside the house. Wow.
M/I Homes went with a siding option in our neighborhood called HardiPlank. I've had a lot of people ask me exactly what that is, so I just looked it up. Just for the sake of a little education (it was interesting to me), I'll go ahead and add some of the description below about what this strange sounding HardiPlank really is!

This is the view of the back part of the house. I'm standing in the kitchen area and looking into the Great Room.

And here I am standing in the Great Room and looking back at the kitchen area. You can see where the pantry will be straight ahead. And the doorway to the left of the pantry leads into the dinning room.
The Bonus Room

And here's Gary checking out the HardiPlank siding =)

HardiPlank’s Composition

First, what is HardiPlank made of? HardiPlank falls in the fiber-cement siding class, which means that it is a combination of cellulose fibers, along with cement-like materials. In other words, it’s partly wood, partly cement. Break a piece of HardiPlank and inside you will see a brittle core interlaced with wood fibers.

HardiPlank: A Green Building Material?

In this day and age when everything is about green and sustainable, HardiPlank can make a strong argument for being such. The cellulose fibers that are used in HardiPlank do not come from endangered species of wood. The cement and sand used is certainly in great abundance. And no toxic materials (i.e., vinyl) are used in the production of HardiPlank.
Another oft-ignored aspect that makes HardiPlank a green building material is simply that it lasts so long.

Is HardiPlank Fire Resistant?

Yes, fire resistant, but not fireproof. But no siding is ever truly fireproof. Even brick, when used as a veneer siding, does not completely protect a house from fire. And while a true masonry-built building would be fireproof, we do not include this as solid brick walls are not type of siding.
HardiPlank does not contribute combustibles towards a fire. Vinyl siding, being a petroleum product, significantly feeds the flames. Wood, obviously, is a highly combustible product. So, the best way to look HardiPlank is as a type of neutral building material, as far as fire resistance goes.

HardiPlank Looks Much Like Wood

The main reason why many homeowners do choose HardiPlank vs. vinyl siding is because it looks very much like wood. No, it’s not a dead-ringer for wood. Also, unlike vinyl siding, HardiPlank can easily be painted. You can either go with the neutral color that HardiPlank comes with, or you can paint it. And there is nothing strange or unusual about painting HardiPlank. It is just the ordinary type of DIY painting you might do during the summer or by hiring a paint contractor.

So friends...there you have it. Just in case you were curious!

Our home...progress rolling right along!

Actually...the house is now completely drywalled...if you can believe it! All four of us drove over to see the house last night and the crew of drywallers were still there finishing up. It was awesome to see them in full-swing working on our house. I carried Madelyn in with me (with their permission) and carefully walked around while dodging all the spare nails on the floor. And it was pretty awesome seeing our house with WALLS! Really made it have such a different appearance. But because I was holding Madelyn and because of all the guys working on the house, I opted to not take inside photos. So...below are a few pics from last week after the plumbing and electric were finished. The kids love exploring in the house, but it makes Gary and I extremely nervous with all the nails and wires. SOON...it will be all walled up and ready to explore without so much caution!

This is our great-room with the fireplace still in construction.

The kids in the laundry room. This is the door out to the garage, and will most-likely be the main entrance for our family.
Daddy and the kids. Heading home! (the trim on the outside of the home was painted white this past weekend while Gary was at the house adding extra insulation).

Madelyn and Gary waving "HELLO" out her bedroom window. I love this!

Here was a photo of the house from our trip over last night. You can see the white trim...and the awesome blue sky. See, Ohio isn't always gray! =)

Some Highlights from March

March was a wonderful and busy month for our family. As you can tell from my lack of blogging...I was busy in other ways! But that doesn't mean I didn't capture some great photos to give a little photo-journal of our month. I also have a lot of great/funny photos of the kids, but I decided I would add them separately. So, the photos below are in random order...but I'm sure you'll enjoy them regardless of the chronology!

I received this African Violet plant from my mother-in-law back in March 2007. It's a very special plant for me (especially because somehow I've managed to keep it alive). My violet only blooms about once each year and this year it started blooming on March 15th. Thank you Jesus for this special gift and your continual reminder of new life.

Here's what our African Violet looks like today (March 31st). It's blooming like crazy and the petals have this amazing sparkling/iridescent shimmer to them. So pretty. Also forgot to mention above that I think it's also cool that this AFRICAN violet finally bloomed the same week we had African guests staying here in our home!

Madelyn got her FIRST HAIR CUT this month. She begged and begged for it. And as we were driving there she suddenly got scared and thought it was going to hurt her. I explained that even tho they are "cutting" her hair, she wouldn't feel a thing. Well, I don't think she believed me, but she decided to be brave. Right when this sweet lady announced that she was about to make the first cut, Maddy reached out from under her cape and grabbed onto my hand. It was so precious that it made me start crying and I had to turn away so that no one would see me. She squeezed my hand for the remainder of the hair cut...and was so brave. I was very proud of her.

Here she is after the cut. So pretty.

My birthday celebration at the always wonderful Red Lobster (family tradition!)

We were so blessed to have Jonathan back for my birthday weekend. THANKS JONATHAN! Connor and Madelyn absolutely loved having time to love on their uncle!

Maddy eagerly helped me make my first smoothie with my new blender. THANKS GARY!

Hilarious photo moment on my birthday evening. Classic.

Here I am on my birthday morning...Thursday, March 4th. The day started out well with sunshine and a free Starbucks birthday latte. Yum!

Hands down, the biggest highlight of the whole month was getting the privilege and honor of hosting one of the touring Invisible Children teams. We had a group of 6 of them here from Mon. March 15 - Thursday March 18th...and savored every moment.

What an amazing opportunity to meet Boni (below) and Leo from Uganda. It was a treasure to hear their stories and see how God has such big plans for their futures.

Here's Boni being funny with his ex-3D glasses!

As you can clearly see, my kids quickly fell in love with the whole IC team.

Back Row: Ivory, Tyler, Madelyn, Meredith, Connor & Leo. Front: Boni & Tessa

We miss them already and pray for our paths to cross again on this side of eternity!