Welcome to the Castle!

Bringing everyone up to speed on the Hurst living arrangements... over the summer, we made our first move since coming back down to Polk County six years ago. We are renting one of the most unique homes in Lake Wales, commonly known as The Castle. Since only royalty lives in castles, we had to hike up the social caste to become king, queen, and princess. Not such a bad life, I tell ya!

I've run into many people who are curious about what this house looks like on the inside, so I've decided to offer an exclusive inside look ;-) The owners recently did some remodeling/updates and we painted (by we I mean me, Jimmy, and many awesome friends and family), totally transforming this formally dark, dated space.

The virtual tour is missing a few neat rooms- the office, upstairs kitchen (we've never used it, but its there just in case!), laundry room, woodworking shop, and the round storage room. Gotta leave some reason for you to come visit us in person! (truth: they were not clean enough to photograph or I just forgot them!)

Front yard view. The garage, wood shop, and pole barn are to the left. We have neighbors to the right and state park to the left. We're in the back of a community, but love the secluded feel offered by these towering oaks. This yard would drive most people nuts. It's huge and completely random! I personally love symmetry in my life, and in landscaping. There's something about the eclectic-ness of this yard, though, that makes it Secret Garden-like... estate-ish, whimsical. Fig, hickory, lowquat trees. Even bamboo! A few dainty palms. Tropical elephant ears and fern. Oh yes, and the gaudy patch of palm-thingys on the sides of the driveway reaching to the skies yelling "Look at me! I'm the ugliest bunch of tree you'll ever see!" I cut those out of the picture. (And hope to cut them down eventually).

The foyer, also known as the dungeon for those who misbehave. Kidding. It's just a little foyer that happens to make a big statement.

View from the front door. Its a very open space, always very bright and airy thanks to the sets of sliding glass doors facing the lake. All of this used to be dark wood paneling... yuck! This pic also includes our amazing 10ft dining table Jimmy's parents helped us buy from Craigslist... yay for a great deal! We wanted this home to be a place where many could gather, eat, and fellowship together. It is just that!

To the left of this area is the kitchen... I somehow missed a picture of that too. Newly remodeled, which was SO in order... a red padded 70's style bar and black and red tile flooring is simply not acceptable in this decade. We are enjoying the new non-70's style bar and appliances. It even has a great place for Grace Louise to sit and help. My little sous chef!

Master bedroom and bath. Loving the robin's egg blue. Trying to bring the tranquility of the water indoors. Its working.

Notice the stone wall. Every bedroom has one. Like it or not.

This is the living room where we do most of our... well, living. It's open to the kitchen and dining area and offers exceptional views of the lake! Still searching for a perfect (and affordable) club chair(s) and ottoman for the corner. My future reading spot by the window.

Guest bedroom. Complete with your own private bath, in-room vanity, balcony access, and sleep number bed. Personal kitchen available upon request. Please, come stay. :-)

Grace Louise's bedroom. The hardest room to bid farewell at the old house. I am so happy with how her new room turned out, though. Plenty of room for teaching and learning, playing, and sleeping. She even has her own bath and vanity! The Princess Quarters.

View from the back porch. The beautiful lake and typical summertime Florida sky, thunderclouds brewing. We spend a lot of time out here, fishing and playing... looking forward to spending even more as the weather cools.

The balcony doesn't get used much now, but two chase lounge chairs with comfy cushions are on my Celebration Yard Sale list. I hope to rest, read, stargaze at night with my hubby, in the big balcony space to the left.

Hunters, take note! This is how its done. The turkeys come to you. Open the kitchen window in the morning, and between sips of coffee... BANG! Thanksgiving dinner.

Oh, come on. We're sportsmen. We wouldn't do that.

We do throw feed out for the animals- turkey, squirrels, birds, fish, even some owls. You'd think Dr. Doolittle lives here... We love watching the animals and Grace Louise delights in her chore of feeding them everyday. "Come on, mama. Feed da animals. Come on, daddy. Feed da fish." Wish you could hear her say that. Just presh.

Well, there you have it. The Castle and all its glory. We are enjoying living here. It's such a neat place and though we don't intend on staying here forever, we look forward to the next few years of filling this big house with lots of love, laughs, and adventures!

Swimming

We officially have a swimmer on our hands here! I’ve heard she takes after her mama and uncles in the pool… a real fish! After six weeks of Swim Float Swim lessons with Miss Michelle of Swim Tots Winter Haven, Grace Louise was confident in the water, swimming short distances, and floating to get air. Since then I’ve been making sure she swims at least once a week. We’ve been to the beach twice, once with BeBe and Pops and just recently with my mom and grandparents, each time her swimming skills drastically improving. I love that she swims. Not only because she enjoys every second, but also because I don’t have to worry about her in the water. Home girl’s got mad skills.

After just the first week of lessons:

After 5 weeks of lessons. Swimming at Fairway Pines, where Aggie lives.

Lots of swimming with BeBe, Pops, and Aunt Lindsey down at Stuart. A little fishin' too!

Oh yeah... and a little relaxing!

Poor Crayon Box

After a couple of days of success in reading Grace Louise’s signs for going potty, I decided to take a more aggressive shot at potty training this morning. I asked her if she wanted to wear a diaper or big girl panties and, as usual, she said “diaper or big girl panties.” (She doesn’t get the idea of choices yet, but instead repeats all options… funny). So, I made the decision for her, put on big girl panties and rehearsed the protocol for when wearing panties. Grace Louise immediately wanted to give it a shot. After sitting unsuccessful for a few minutes, it was time for breakfast.

Pee pee puddles underneath her chair. Clean up. Naked.

Now that we’re undergarment-less (by we I mean she) Grace Louise sits on the potty to see if #2 is close behind #1. No such luck. I’m busy cleaning up from breakfast, trying to finish my now cold cup of coffee, when I look over just in time to see her returning from a squat over the crayon box… yes, IN the crayon box!

Admittedly, I scream, “You crapped in the crayon box!!!!???” and then set her back on the froggy potty until I can clean up the mess and wipe her hiney. At this point she is so shocked at her mother’s behavior that she will do anything I say. We have a great conversation about where poo poo should and shouldn’t go and then alas, a diaper.

I love diapers!!!

Daddy comes in the living room from making a few business calls and Grace Louise informs him that she has “crapped in the crayon box”. We fight back uncontrollable laughter and daddy affirms mommy’s words of wisdom regarding the appropriate places to poo and pee.

Grace Louise, sporting her cuter than ever cloth diaper, is now instructing Jelly Baby (her doll) on how to use the potty. She’s kneeling in front of Jelly on the potty saying “Potty train. Potty train. I’m listening…” Oh the things they say.

Both frustrating and hilarious, I’m sure this is only one of many potty moments to come.

Long sleeved beach babe

No family fishing trips yet this summer- the cost of a growing business. I did hitch a stay, however, with my mom and grandparents in Englewood and another long weekend with Jimmy's parents in Stuart. Some pics from our Englewood stay...

Having this time with my grandparents- and my mom with her parents, was so special. Thankfully, they joined us at the beach a few times and loved like crazy on one certain little girl.

Grace Louise hit it off with another family staying at the beach with three little boys!!! Here she is sharing her pool time, again showing off her mad swimming skills!

This is the day!

The last 15 minutes of my day... too good not to share...

Changed a poopy cloth diaper, changed another explosive poopy cloth diaper (didn't wait long enough apparently), stuck my poopy baby in the sink after running out of wipes downstairs, turned around to see the dog licking out the diaper on the floor, refrained from vomiting... sprayed out the remainder of the diaper, went to wash a load of cloth diapers to find my last load of whites from five days ago still in the wash (oops, must have forgot), *frustrated sigh... spilled the container of laundry soap on the floor... clean up clean up everybody everywhere... restarted the whites, came back to the living room to find GL typing on my new laptop saying "I doing it! I doing it!" with a really adorable grin on her face. I must laugh or I will cry...

Now looking at the bright side of things... today was mostly great! Grace Louise loves friends, loves to play with other kids, and was in absolute heaven today with three other children to run around with. One of my childhood friends, Brittany, came over with her mom and two sweet little boys, and mom brought Grace Louise’s friend, Jordan, to the castle for a playdate. We painted, play-doed, fished, swam, tortured lizards, made music, and had a yummy lunch before crashing for a two hour nap!

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! -Psalm 118:24

Summer Travels

Let's see if I can still pull one of these blog posts together... forgive me if this one is boring, full of grammatical errors, or lacking bloggish wit... I'm out of practice.

It has been a busy and exciting summer for us so far... living in our new home (we'll leave that for another post)... and having sluggish internet out here in the boonies of Walk In Water lake. Hence the lack of blog posting, though I have several posts on a to-do list as soon as I have both speedy wifi and time at my disposal. I'm thinking of making a weekly date with my mac in town so I can continue to enjoy my family blog. We'll see.

Mom and I are just home from a spontaneous, but worthwhile trip to the mountains of North Carolina. I'm proud of both of us for overcoming so many obstacles that we could have easily allowed to forbid our trip. It was spectacular and I can't wait to go back! Even though there are tons of other fun summer pics, the ones from this trip made the cut for tonight!

We rented a car and drove, along with Grace Louise and Triston, to Madison, Georgia on Monday. We enjoyed the antebellum homes and hilly drive along 441. After staying at a shotty hotel Monday night (all part of making memories, right?!), we conquered the last leg of the trip on Tuesday (minus a few wrong turns) and arrived in Highlands at noon. We stayed with family friends at their mountain home- The Cherry House, a lovely and comfortable cottage decorated with Mebbie's antique charm. We could not have had more hospitable hosts, and we are grateful for the time they spent with us!

I was eager to help Mebbie design one of her famous vintage jeweled picture frames. After watching her work the first couple of days, I starting picking through her treasures and designed my very own silver and turquoise frame. I wish I had a picture of the finished product! Here it is in progress. By far the most fun I have ever had crafting!

"Hi Mountains!" Grace Louise loved talking about the mountains and was quick to point them out as she saw them. This was our first stop at the Tallulah Gorge overlook.

Our first hike in Highlands was Sunset Rock. A perfect place to hike in the evenings to watch the sunset. I'll be doing that on the next trip! Triston pushed Grace Louise in the Bob stroller on most of our hikes, although Grace Louise actually walked a few! We took some pictures of the Bob in action, hoping to make the all-terrain page of their website ;-) We really put this off-road stroller to the test on this trip!

I think this was my favorite overlook. A secret path off of one of the hikes. Perfect for a date.

Dry Falls. One of the many waterfalls we visited while in North Carolina. Is it possible to get sick of waterfalls? I can't seem to get enough. As a flat lander, I am in awe of the mountain rivers and streams. I imagine that must be how visitors feel about our beautiful beaches!

Of course, Grace Louise wanted to swim... no matter how cold the water! This was a great little swimming hole we visited off the side of a road. Mom and I played "pass the baby" to get Grace Louise from one granite boulder to another... until alas, a place for her to safely splash in the cold mountain water!
How cool is this God-made water slide?! Sliding rock is a must for anyone visiting the area. Hidden down a trail off of a mountain road, this stream and waterfall/slide offer both fun and spectacular postcard-like views of the forest and stream ecosystems. I tried to take as many mental pictures as physical ones, as this was a loveliness I didn't want to forget. God is amazing, and His creation shouts His praises!

Our last evening hike of the trip. The Botanical Gardens in Highlands.
We ended up ditching the Botanical Garden trails at the end and jumping on this intermediate trail, which we had to walk... all of us, including Grace Louise! This was the most challenging and dangerous hike, but offered the best nature experience, including the peaceful sound of a babbling brook. So nice!

Thanking God for this opportunity to travel and explore, for keeping us safe, and for building relationships and fond memories.

Just one gal sharing her notes...

See, when I don't have to spend my evening grading papers for the online courses I teach, I can watch The Voice and blog about completely random things, like this... HOME REMEDIES! This makes me very happy!

I love home remedies and have always felt that they actually work better than pharmaceuticals. They are typically cheap, easier to get your hands on (many can be found in your pantry), and rarely have negative side effects!

My love affair with tricks of the trade started with apple cider vinegar (ACV). For as long as I can remember, my grandmother preached the glories of this miracle drink as a remedy for everything from a stomach ache to stinky feet. We rolled our eyes and incessantly cracked ACV jokes behind her back. Need money to pay your bills? Having relationship problems? Drink apple cider vinegar!

In a desperate attempt to kick a cold, a couple of years ago I put the age old remedy to the test. My only disappointment? That I hadn't tried it sooner!

So, sip ACV warm with some water (1-2 tsp in a small glass of H2O) and lots of honey, and lemon if you have it, to ease the inflammation of a sore throat, to prevent bacteria infection of the tonsils, or to thin out mucous. For best results start sipping at the first sign of illness (tickly throat, post nasal drip, etc). For even better results have a glass once a week just for the heck of it... plus its great for your gut! I even use it diluted with water as a toner for my face! Works, well... beautifully!

ACV is amazing... a great blessing God has given us for natural good health. Pick up some high quality ACV from a health food store... the kind that still has the "mother" floating on top. Mmmm. Good stuff.

A few other remedies that I've had personal success with...

Garlic- a natural antibiotic and antifungal. Smells great too!- although your spouse may not agree. Have a cold that has turned sinus, tonsil, or respiratory infection? Chop up a few fresh cloves and swallow whole like a pill (or chew it if you can take it like a man). Garlic oil for an ear infection can be made my warming a clove in olive oil... or just place a half garlic clove just on the outside of the ear and hold in place with a cotton ball. Garlic is also the best treatment for a yeast infection! Forget the messy and expensive creams! Garlic is amazing!

Tea Tree Oil- This is hands-down the best essential oil to have in your medicine cabinet. The Apple Cider Vinegar of essential oils, if you will. This volatile oil is easily absorbed into the blood stream and lymph system when applied in a carrier oil (such as olive oil) in the neck and chest area. I've also used tea tree on Grace Louise's feet and chest during a cold. It also works well at treating a yeast diaper rash (again, mixed with a carrier oil and applied). Even one drop on a diaper can keep yeast at bay.

Cayenne Pepper (capsicum)- Capsicum works inside the body, as well as topically. Add to warm salt water and gargle for almost immediate relief for a sore throat. Ironically, it reduces inflammation.

Neti pot- There's a current joke on the Joy FM radio station about the neti pot. Apparently J.R. thinks that it was created as a practical joke to see if people would deliberately drown themselves. I'm a fan (both of the Joy FM and of the neti pot) and have had great success with this remedy for years. I use it at the first sign of a cold (again, post nasal drip and a tickly throat get me going every time). Who knew drowning yourself on a small scale could promote good health?!

Lymph massage- My most recent area of interest. I'm not sick often, but boy, this last cold threw me for a loop! I started feeling bad just days before my yoga certification training weekend. I rested Thursday and Friday, followed my remedies, and prayed for supernatural strength to make it through my class in Ft. Meyers. I had a great weekend (which reminds me, I should write about that experience...), but noticed the sore throat coming back Saturday night and then even more so Sunday evening. My glands were swollen severely and tender to the touch. I did some reading and started massaging with a tea tree oil blend Sunday night. I gave myself a mini anatomy lesson and then ensued an even longer lymph massage the next day. By Tuesday morning my glands were neither enlarged nor tender. This works, folks!

It is always my hope that sickness doesn't enter this home, but when it does, I've got a proven effective repertoire of remedies. Please share if you have any more to add!

Love Letters

Every major age milestone since Grace Louise was born, I've written her a little letter highlighting all the things she's doing and just sharing my heart at the moment. I have a letter that my mom wrote for me while she was pregnant, which I absolutely treasure! It is just so precious to have a glimpse into the heart of a mother, especially when its your own! Passionate Homemaking just wrote a blog entry about the art of letter-writing today (which I didn't even see until after I wrote this... how cool!)

An excerpt from GL's 18 month letter...

A few truly precious things you do that make my heart melt...

• say “sit mommy” when you want to nurse

• say “wapoo” (I love you!) and “night night skeeter bite!”

• mimick mommy’s yoga poses

• sit in front of your bookshelf on the floor and read book after book by yourself

• sit on the big girl potty, get your own toilet paper, and wipe yourself (but you’re not potty trained yet!)

• carry a purse and put small books and toys in it

• carry your baby dolls everywhere

• play peek a boo with yourself and other random objects, saying “where’d go?”

• say really sweet southern things like “bye y’all”, “bye now”, and “oh my!”

• cackle and shriek when you laugh

Mommy and daddy must continue to ask the Lord to guide our footsteps in parenting, careful not to put ourselves on auto-pilot or forget the purpose of what we are doing... training you to know and the love the Lord and to desire to give Him glory with your life. I want you to be smart. I want you to be talented. But most of all, I want you to desire after Jesus with your whole heart. I am so able to mess this up. I have a good chance of teaching you things I shouldn’t or not teaching you things I should. Yet, God’s grace is sufficient even for this. You are His. And this is all for His glory.

18months- Memorial Day Weekend