I have the Best In-Laws

A few huge things have happened since the last time y'all heard from me. The two biggest ones: we bought a house and Ben deployed. That gives a new definition to the word "bittersweet". But I'm really enjoying cleaning out the house and moving things around--getting ready to paint (but probably not for a few months until I get things where I like them).

So today my in-laws drove down to Virginia Beach to help me with some yard-work. They are amazing. Who does that the last weekend they have before a huge move (they're moving to Italy on Monday). And they only came for a few hours, they had to drive back up to finish the moving process tonight.

My brother-in-law mowed the lawn for me, and my father-in-law trimmed the bushes in our front yard. My mother-in-law helped me pick out plants for the yard, and all of us helped to weed-out the front and mulch it. It was a busy few hours of working. I should have taken a "before" picture because the house looked a mess. The lawn was two feet tall (I was sure my new neighbors didn't like me because of that) and the bushes were way too overgrown. This "before" picture you see here was taken two months ago, when we first visited the house. Imagine two months without mowing the lawn, and that is how it looked this morning.

BEFORE:


AFTER:






I even met some of my neighbors today. Practically the whole court is military (not surprising), so they all seem eager to help me out while Ben is away. I know that will be a comfort to him. Well this was just the first of many home improvements, and it was great to get this one out of the way. (I just hope I don't kill those pretty flowers!! I'm not much of a gardener.)