Ten Things I Probably Should Have Blogged... #9

Today’s post is part 9 of a 10-post list of events in our lives that we probably should have blogged about during the past two years.  I’ve enjoyed taking a step back and remembering those moments.  I hope you do too!

9.  Changes around the house

When we built our house, we had “now” tasks, and “later” tasks.  “Now” tasks were what needed to be done in order to move in.  “Later” tasks were things that could wait and we could do together as we live there.  It’s been a little over a year and a half since the house was finished, and we still have a LOT of later tasks, but that’s ok.  We are thankful simply to have a roof over our heads and food in the pantry.  We are blessed.

This past fall, we started working on our patio. Unfortunately, cold weather came a little more quickly this fall and we had a busier fall than expected, so it's not quite complete. Hopefully by this summer we will be able to enjoy it more! We chose to use a form to pattern our concrete which was much less expensive and looked pretty neat too. Savva is hoping to extend this pattern on the entire top of our driveway (if you've been to my house you understand what I'm talking about), so I think that will look pretty neat. When it dried, it was a much lighter color than shown here. In this photo you can also see the pole Savva made on our hot tub that helps open the top MUCH easier and more quickly (especially when it's really cold outside!) It also props the top so it doesn't fall to the ground. We are hoping to build steps to the hot tub and do some more landscaping this year too.

One of our indoor projects is something Savva planned for during the building process. He wired the house for a speaker system and was able to start installing them. We now are able to listen to music throughout the entire house as the speakers are complete in our living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and master bathroom. We still have speaker wires hanging in the game room (which you may see in some pictures later in the post), but they will be installed soon. The picture you see below is hilarious to us because it is the first time we heard Holly growl at something. She was TERRIFIED of the "floating head" that appeared when Savva stuck his head through the hole in the wall! Once she realized it was him she was fine, but she was really worried there for a while!

Perhaps my favorite “later” project we have completed is our game room.  We wanted it to be a reflection of our lives as student-athletes at ASU and our time as Mountaineers.  It’s not meant to be a trophy room, but rather a reminder of a major part of our lives.  It’s a celebration of our accomplishments and of our teammates.  We love it!

As you walk down the stairs to the game room, you will see 5 of our favorite engagement pictures taken by the beautiful and talented Julia Wade.  These were taken on ASU's campus where we both went to college and started dating.  You can also see the "Today I give my all for App State" sign that was given to us by Melanie, Steven, Uncle Eddie, and Aunt Teresa when we moved in.  We absolutely love it and it fit perfectly as you come down the steps!

Two of my favorites were taken in the wrestling room and on the softball field.  I think when you spend as many hours in those places as we did in college, they hold a special place in your memory!

Thanks to Coach Wesley at App for allowing me to wear my old jersey for this shot!

Our uniforms with an awesome "Kostis" sign that Brooke Haney gave us for our wedding! This picture was taken before we hung the rest of the photographs on the border.

I LOVE our valance!  One of the softball moms from the team I coach made it for us - I was blown away by how perfect it was for our room!  Thanks, Gail Robinson!

I had wanted this clock for a long time, so I was so excited to see it on clearance at Michaels!  The photographs below the clock were on display at our wedding for our Honorary Bridal Party - our softball and wrestling teammates.  These particular pictures were our senior pictures.  The middle has the song lyrics from a song from "A League of Their Own" (anyone who knows me know that had to make an appearance somewhere!)

Erin, Stephen, and I held this sign on ESPN several years ago on the Halloween night game for App.  You can see the speaker wire hanging, and of course the ping pong table!

We decided this was a great place to put our diplomas since we don't have an office at home.  These are hanging above our TV.

Isn't my little brother so talented?!?  He painted this for me - it's based off a photograph that captured my grand slam against Western Carolina my junior year.  It was an awesome picture taken by Joe Gaston that caught the ball in the upper left of the frame as it was hit.  Ryan did an amazing job and I love that we were able to show it off in our room!

Here, you can see the photographs hung on the top border of the room.  These are all action shots of us when we competed with the exception of the picture directly above our uniforms.  that one is a picture with our Scholar Athlete rings that we were awarded post graduation.  To the left of these frames is a couch - I would LOVE to put a framed picture of Corey Lynch blocking the kick against Michigan (Erin has the perfect shot and perfect size!) in that area!

Savva's singlet is starting to look a little slouchy and I am not happy with how my jersey is looking!  I'll have to take it down and fix it!

 There are so many other little details throughout the room, but these give you a glimpse.  We love going down there to play ping pong, and it's a great place to hang out when we have friends over.  We are so thankful for our time as Mountaineers!