busy busy busy

la vida at casa de leister has been full of change and excitement lately. we FINALLY bought a house! YAY!!!!! boy are we glad that process is over. aaaaand, now the real work has begun : )

the house itself was move-in ready, but we have an acre lot that was overgrown and not so orderly, so it's going to take some time to get it in shape. and we've only been in the house 3 days and already experienced a leaking pipe and a power outage - it's been a crash course in homeownership! no more calling maintenance to come fix the problems for us! jake has been working on to-do's nonstop since before we even moved in, and lowe's has become our new home away from home. i've been busy clearing flower beds and trying to tidy up, and tomorrow i get to plant my first tomato plants!

we have lots of vision for what could be, including fencing off some of the back lot and focusing on that area for our actual yard, making a large garden plot, clearing out the barn, constructing a gazebo (with a hot tub? : ) on the random cement pad that's out past the patio, replacing windows, making about a million shelves, and pushing a wall out to make a master bath and 2 closets. that's mostly all very long term, though. for now we have so much work to do just tidying the place up and unpacking boxes. i find myself turning in circles because i start one task and then see 5 more i need to do in the process : ) and in the meantime meals have to be prepared, kittens have to be fed, and kids have to be bathed!

we have great neighbors - one came over and mowed the entire lot for us the day we moved in, and the tomato seedlings are from another neighbor. we also have a neighbor with roosters and peacocks that crow and call all hours of the night. but we won't discuss that in this happy little post...

we also inherited a litter of 5 barn kittens with the property. we adopted one (Habanero, or "Hobbes" for short - to go with our Calvin ; ), and are currently feeding and socializing the other 4 as we try to find them homes. anyone want a kitty? : )

the kids love having their own rooms again, and they LOVE having a big old yard! they wake up, eat breakfast, and throw on their shoes to go out and play. there's an old oak tree in the back yard with a long rope swing they love to play on, and caedmon climbs so high in it i all but have a heart attack every time. addi mostly enjoys digging in the dirt - of the flower beds i just cleared and seeded. good times : )

i'll post pictures of the house soon, but i just wanted to tell you all about the new place. we are so exhausted from the move and all the work at the new house, but it feels really good to wake up early and get out in the yard and work together all day. i'm beginning to realize how idle we've been the last few years! and also how much work it would be to add a goat and chickens to the picture. maybe that will have to wait a couple years... or at least until i find homes for 4 cute kitties.