Happy New Refrigerator!

When we sold our last house, we decided to leave the refrigerator in the house. We bought it with the house originally, and it just seemed right. And...I kind of wanted a new one. When we moved, our plan was to buy one here in Brenham. Then we ended up renting, and buying a refrigerator for a rented house just didn't seem as fun. Luckily, our friends Scott & Melisa got a new refrigerator about that time and gave us their old one. They laugh because it was truly their OLD refrigerator...they bought it when they got married, and it had been sitting out in their garage since they got their new one, waiting to be donated. So we took it, gladly and gratefully. After all, we were only going to be in the little green house for a year or so until we bought a home...ha ha, almost 4 years later.

Don't get me wrong...we loved that old fridge because of what it represented, and the generosity of our good friends who made the move to Brenham easier in so many ways. And let's face it, if we HAD bought a new refrigerator when we moved here, we probably would have put it on the Discover card and bought more than we could afford. So now we're especially grateful for their generosity! But the refrigerator had a few flaws...like brittle plastic from living in the garage for a while, which led to some holes that, thankfully, were easily covered with Capri Suns. :)

Last weekend, when Mom was visiting, I noticed that our vegetables were frozen in the crisper. Hmm. We'd already priced refrigerators as we figured this one would go out at some point in the near future, and we'd already decided that we'd buy a plain, white, up and down fridge that we could either leave in the house when we move (not on the horizon, yet) or take with us for a garage fridge. So, when I talked to James about it that night he laughed--he'd forgotten to tell me that he'd talked to Scott and Melisa at lunch one day and they'd gotten a new fridge...and wanted to give us the one they bought when we moved here!!! What great timing! We hemmed and hawed, as it feels different somehow to accept a 4 year old fridge than a 20 year old fridge...but they insisted. And we're grateful!

Last night was the big swap. James and I emptied the contents of our refrigerator into coolers, then he went off to Scott and Melisa's house to load up the new one (which I thought was going to be a plain old, up and down white fridge) while I stripped ours of magnets and the last couple years of school pictures, love notes, etc.. And Buddy Bucks, of course.

Kayci walked through the kitchen after it was all cleaned off and said, "wow! Is that our new refrigerator??" Nope...old one. Then she said, "It looks so weird with nothing on it. And our kitchen looks so weird...I'm glad we don't have stuff everywhere like this all the time!" (That's my girl!)

Imagine my surprise when James, Scott and Melisa arrived with this gorgeous thing! I can't believe they're GIVING it away--it's beautiful, and definitely the nicest fridge we've ever lived with. Thanks, Scott and Melisa!!

It didn't take any time at all for us to get it installed and filled up...then while I cooked quesadillas, Kayci decorated it. Then Noble promptly undecorated it...well, you get the picture. Scott and Melisa, we owe you BIG. I tried to offer you our firstborn, but well, I understand. I definitely understand you not taking our secondborn back-up offer. So you name it, it's yours!

Oh, I forgot...yesterday we were supposed to post pics of our kids dressed up for Addie's Pirates and Princesses bash. Well...Noble wasn't having it, and Kayci lost her eyepatch in the car on the way to the party. Yes, really. Maybe James (hint hint) will get on here later and post some of the pics from his camera...he got some beautiful pictures out there yesterday. It was a beautiful day, perfect for running around outside in the country. Thanks, Bogans, for a great afternoon!

We are blessed with amazing friends! Today should be another fun day, as Daddy and the Dudes will head out to Chappell Hill for their annual SuperBowl party and the kids and I will play with Lauren and the Parker kiddos here in town. :) Can't wait!