June 27, 2016

wayne cottage | the back story

Wayne Cottage
[the back story]

Converse


"This house should be our house. How cool would that be?" This is roughly the conversation that took place when Megan and I hunted down Converse Street on a whim, one Saturday in our first year of marriage. The year would have been 2009 or 10, and at that time we didn’t even know the address. We just knew the house. Sort-of. Looking back, it’s a wonder that we even found it that day, in the era just before smart phones put Google Maps in your hand. We leaned over the dash, looking up at house after house, winding through the sprawling streets, with random hairpin turns and a surprising amount of elevation change in the secluded area that abuts the east side of downtown Greenville. A neighborhood that’s been known, since the early 1900’s, as Overbrook. I didn’t exactly even know the house I was looking for. The only picture I had was in my head, from a 4x6 photo that I had used to draw the house (pencil and paper) during my senior year in high school. I’ll come back to that. But we did find it that day in 2009/10, and we didn’t know then that our random visit (or trespass) was going to bear any significance for the family that we would soon be. Even though it was some time before the thought resurfaced, a seed was planted that day, in the minds of a couple of newly weds, that would set into motion our desire and interest to own it and restore it. "This house should be our house. Lord, might we have this house?" We didn’t know until much later that half of the neighborhood shared our sentiments. 

I want to be as respectful as I can be with the history of this house because what is, for our family, a matter of great joy has been and still is a matter of great sorrow (and joy, too, I think) for Wayne’s family. Wayne was the previous owner of our Converse Street house, and was a friend of my parents and grandmother (and half of Greenville). His life is worth better chronicling than I have details to deliver, but I knew him as a tradesmen, a painter, and a friendly man. He was, among other things, a Marine, a father and grandfather, a restorationist, an artist and an avid dancer. During the fall of my senior year of high school, he painted my parents' house inside and out, which is (I suppose) what lead to the time that he joined us for a Thanksgiving dinner. My facts are fuzzy on what exactly the occasion was (maybe it wasn’t a holiday), but what I do remember is that he joined us for a meal, and shared pictures of this ‘cottage’ that he had bought, near downtown, that had totally captured his imagination. He was absolutely in love with the house. He lamented, over a piece of pie, sitting beside me on my parents sofa that he had commissioned someone to draw the house for him and had been disappointed in the likeness. Having some (some being the operative) giftedness in drawing, I said that I would gladly take a stab at improving on the first round. He agreed, and what ensued was my first (and likely last) piece of commissioned artwork. It took a year of not doing, and a few hours of drawing to complete. In fact, I think that he’d forgotten it by the time I finally delivered the drawing. My mom begged me (what mom doesn’t treasure her kid’s creations) not to give him the original.

When we started stopping-by Converse once or twice a year back in 2012, Wayne was still knee deep in restoring joists in the lower floor. Hours a day, working by artificial light in a hand-dug cellar, placing beams, posts and floor jacks. The fun stuff that no-one would notice. He had also given the exterior a fresh painting, and a new roof with copper hips—a feat that you’ll appreciate if you’ve seen how tall and steep this place is. We would call him (having either gotten his number from my grandmother, or just from tax records), and leave him harassing messages, telling him that we would be happy to take the project off of his hands if he were interested. "Wayne, there’s a tree growing in the kitchen—are you even working on this place anymore?...Wayne, if you say, Mike leave me alone, I promise I won’t have my feelings hurt, and I will quit asking about this place." I imagine him listening to our voicemails, or reading our notes in his mailbox with a smile, feeling proud of the house that he loved and the adoration that it received from others. But why on earth would he sell it? It was his house in the city. His most loved project. And we weren’t the only ones approaching him with propositions. "This house should be our house. How cool would that be?"

Fast forward a couple of years to 2014. Megan and I were living in our very first house at the time, a fixer-upper with no less than 500 hours of blood, sweat and tears in it (not counting the countless hours, late nights and Saturdays that our family and friends had put in). It was the two bedroom house that my mom’s family of five grew up in. We had just had our second little guy, and were beginning to search seriously for a larger place. What transpired that summer, for Wayne’s family, is tough to re-live. Wayne didn’t get to finish his Converse project. Through a few conversations with his daughter that fall, we began to see that we might have the opportunity to finish what he started. But it would be an acute matter of timing for us to sell our house and make that a reality..if they decided they would indeed sell the house..if we could indeed afford it. A matter that was so entirely out of our hands, that it would have to happen exactly as it did. We had, that fall, visited the house with Wayne’s daughter, Patricia, on her recommendation that we should see how much work needed to be done before seriously considering undertaking the project. "Be careful on the back porch, there are yellow jackets," she said as we approached the rear entry, us smiling like cheshire cats at the first chance we’d had to see the inside (not counting many a peep through a dusty window). I probably still had welts on my legs from the stings that I had received from the same yellow jackets months before, but I heeded her advice on the bees with a (very affected) surprised and cautious look in an attempt to not creep her out with the knowledge that I was familiar with the back porch AND the bees. I hope she’ll forgive me for having been disingenuous. We toured the inside, loved the place even more than we thought we would have, and relayed that we would jump at the opportunity to own it, should she and her sisters decide to sell it. "No, don’t make me an offer. If we decide to sell it, we’ll come up with a price." Months pass. 

It’s mid-morning on a weekday, now a few days before Christmas 2014. My neighbor calls me and asks if we would ever be interested in selling our home. "Funny you should ask, Drew—it’s not listed, but we’ve been considering it." (Drew) "I have a friend who would like to live in the area, would you mind if I show it to him, if for nothing else than to see what the houses on the street look like inside?" (Me) "I’m at work, and Megan is out of the house—you’re welcome to show it, key’s on the back porch." Two hours pass. Call from Drew. "There’s a contract sitting on your dining room table, in case you’re interested." 

It still isn’t even lunch time, and my phone rings again. This time, it’s Ala, a friend of Wayne’s daughter who is helping the family sell Converse St. "WAIT, it’s for sale? Has it been listed? How did I miss this? Am I too late?" (Ala) "No Mike, it hasn’t been listed—Patricia and her sisters would like you and Megan to have the house if you are interested." We talk for a minute, and I have to ask her to repeat the asking price—it’s generously low and I’m confident I’ve heard incorrectly. No mistake. Now it’s lunchtime and I’m reflecting—I woke up and went to work this morning with no intentions and certainly no prospects of selling my house, and no idea whether this Converse dream that has seemed closer to possibly being a reality than we ever actually expected might ever happen. By lunchtime, through no effort of my own, everything has changed.

"This house should be our house. Lord, might we have this house?" A lot has taken place since we bought Converse from Patricia and her sisters in February of 2015. The process has been slow, like you would expect with restoring a house that’s nearly 100 years old. We’ve had the benefit of a great contractor and his experience bank to navigate the additions and mechanical up-fits  and it’s truly for joy that we stay up until 3am a couple of nights a week working on walls or floors or trim or paint or other little projects. Sometimes solo, sometimes with great friends. We’ve sent 8-10 massive dumpsters to the landfill, full of the 100-year old horse hair plaster that covered the 10-inch thick structural brick walls of the interior. Most nights, late late (or early early, depending on how you look at it), I clean up my tools and just stand looking at the walls, wondering what kind of life existed in this place over the past ten decades, and drinking in the details that don’t exist in modern day construction. I feel a love for these walls and floors and windows and doors. I know that this house was a gift to my family. And for it I am grateful. My hope (our hope) is this: that the best years that this old house will know are yet to come. That there will be love and peace and kindness and service and truth and humility grown here, in gratitude to the One who planted us here, and in honor of the man who loved this house before us. Right now, the process seems never ending, and we’re ready to be home. But, I know that this time will seem short in our memory, and that what will be left is the feeling that down to setting the very last door, or nailing the last piece of trim, or applying the last bit of paint, we’ve enjoyed finishing what Wayne started years ago.

June 23, 2016

martin band of brothers | june 2016

IMG_6432

IMG_6440

IMG_6442

IMG_6447

IMG_6456

IMG_6460


you three. 

growing together. learning each other and the ways of the world. already looking our for each other and taking care of one another. 

we're soaking every last drop out of each day this summer. mornings on the front porch with buckets o' water & water balloons galore. days spent in the pool. evenings at the white house or playing at a park. popsicles between every meal. tan lines and little bodies that smell of sunscreen. sleep-dog and pac always in hand (solomon), ba carefully being toted along too (amos), and sleepy tiger along for the ride when mama remembers (ezra) 

these are the days we're living. 


June 22, 2016

month three | ezra

month three

IMG_6416

Three whole months! We've loved every stinkin' day with you baby Ez. Now that you aren't colicky you're pretty chill. You give us the best smiles & have even laughed for us a couple of times! Thank you for giving daddy-o your very first real laugh...it made his heart super happy. 

I really love seeing glimpses of your personality at this age. You're so strong and super vocal. I'm betting you'll be on the move quicker than either of your brothers (if for no other reason than to keep up with them). And, you like to talk. Watching you make noises is quite funny...it honestly looks like you're trying to have a conversation! I'm in for it if you talk half as much as your brothers. 

You love the bouncy seat & have started grabbing the rings on the big dinosaur and putting them in your mouth. You love to suck your left thumb (dang it) - but mama's fighting the good fight on this one ... and i will win. 

You've spent lots of time at the lake already this summer. You're so easy. You'll sleep on the dock, in a chair, on the swing...it doesn't matter to you. I really think you just like being where the people are (that's so your daddy). You've also spent the night at OD & Cathy's house! 

Ezra, I love you little guy! I love who you are and what you bring to our family. Keep growing big & strong! 





June 20, 2016

a letter to my moose

[amos 3.5]

IMG_6120 

this. where daddy goes, mosie goes (... even off the roof on the dock)

 my sweet, sweet 'mos! you're so big. like SO big. you're smart and handsome and have just recently shown us your funny (not silly...not the same) side. you're so much like me in who you are it's sometimes frustrating. you're stubborn & sassy - something we're both working on. tame this & learn to use it wisely. these aren't "bad" qualities or traits, just ones that have a time and place for being used. you're also bossy. i think this comes with the territory of being the oldest, but you do not get to boss mama around. something else we're working on. (haha) you're a leader - solly looks to you like you hung the moon. remember this. he will always have your back - he's your built in very best friend (just like ezra - how lucky you are to have two built in very best friends!) and looks up to you in ways you can't even imagine. he's watching you and learning from you. be kind and gentle with him. his spirit is much like daddy's - gentler and softer around the edges than yours and mine. he'll guide you in ways you didn't know you needed guiding, he'll teach you things you didn't know you needed to learn. he's strong where you're weak (and vise versa). use each other to be stronger. love him always. ez too. i'm not sure how he fits in to the #martinbandofbrothers yet, other than knowing he'll think you and solly hung the moon. i can't wait to see you three take on this world together. i pray nightly for you three that you'll be warriors for The unseen Kingdom. that you'll stand strong together against the enemy...that you'll all know Jesus and live in a brotherhood that's stronger than flesh & blood. we're praying that y'all will be bent towards Jesus, never knowing life without Him. it makes our hearts smile big and wide when you guys ask for church music and proceed to sing along in the sweetest little voices.

you are a lover of learning - something i hope sticks with you as you start school in a couple of years. i hope you're always exploring and figuring things out. you're athletic and have a strong little body. your daddy and i have enjoyed watching you LOVE the water this summer. you're strong in the water - you just need a little courage and you'll be swimming in no time! you're hands down a daddy's boy & his shadow when he's not out making doll-hairs. you can't get enough of him. keep watching him and learning from him so you can grow up to be just like him.

moose, i love you little buddy. you'll always be my first little guy. i love being your mama, even on the hard days. one of my very favorite things to do is to climb into your bed after you're sleeping soundly and stroke your head, rub your back and hands, and to kiss your sweet cheeks. to tell you that i love you and that tomorrow is a new day. to pray that you'll sleep soundly and rest care free. thank you for being patient with me as i'm still (always) learning with you. mama and daddy are working on things that we see in ourselves that we don't like that are coming out in you (i.e. tone of voice, quick temper, etc). be gracious with us. keep helping us to be better.

you're growing so big & strong. know that mama & daddy are always on your team rooting for you!

June 15, 2016

currently...



currently...

Untitled

reading: (still) our trail blog book that i gave mike for Christmas a couple of years ago 

playing: with water balloons // at the pool whenever possible 

watching: at the moment, nothing (no time...every extra waking moment is spent at the white house) 

trying: to really squeeze every drop out of this first summer as a family of 5 

cooking: (Trader Joe's) brown rice + sausage + roasted peppers + broccoli bowls // easy & delicious! 

eating: tortilla chips with homemade guac 

drinking: at this very minute: a T R E N T A (yes, you read that right) black iced coffee from Starbucks // water with lemon oil + apple cider vinegar 

IMG_5738

calling: Honey

texting: Mikey & Mere 

pinning: (still // always) things for the white house 

planning: our annual girls trip & a 7 year anni trip (!!) 

IMG_6009

crafting: still working on those recycled candles (coming to our etsy shop when we re-open -- stay tuned!) 

doing: nothing with my hair this summer ... wild, unruly mane all summah 

going: to get tattoo no. 3 

loving: a sweet visit from 2 of Wayne's daughters last weekend at the white house 

hating: that I can't eat Trader Joe's broccoli & kale salad because it makes Ezra miserable 

discovering: things to keep the boys entertained this summer (water balloons, buckets of water on the porch, painting on butcher paper...) *What are you doing to keep your kids entertained?! 

enjoying: working on the journals I just got for each of the boys 

hoping: to start running next week // need to start training for our 2nd Tuna 200 (!) 

celebrating: father's day on sunday & Car Car's birthday next thursday 

IMG_6075

smelling: ReWined | Cabernet (always burning a candle 'round here)

thanking: Mikey for planning a date night this week

considering: lots of things for a business I want to start late summer / early fall 

finishing: a bottle of this face wash

starting: to paint at the white house (all the hallelujahs!!!) 


Untitled

June 14, 2016

our summer anthem

IMG_6287

IMG_6288


IMG_6332

IMG_6374

IMG_6379

IMG_6381

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Untitled

Y'all. This season is c r a z y. Mike is pulling crazy long nights / super early mornings trying to get us in the white house (& me too when the stars align), but come Friday after work we're tearin' up the highway to get to the lake before the sun dips down over the trees - to trade clothes for bathing suits & life jackets & to feel the water on our skin. We have yet to have a full weekend at the lake house (due to coming home early or for a work day on Saturday while Mimi & Papa keep the boys @ the lake) but it's enough to keep this season in perspective. We're thankful for an escape that's so close!

things i'm loving about the lake this summer:
ezra sleeping on the dock
amos, daddy & solly jumping 1,2,3 
sollah-roo & hollah-roo -- bffs 
tan lines & ray bans 







June 8, 2016

a letter to myself

A letter to my 29 y/o, mother of three self...and to all mamas with littles right now.

This is as much a reminder to myself as anything as I'm trying to live presently ... to live simply. I'm trying to soak in the days, to breathe in the fragrance of three little boys and the biggest one with whom I'm raising them. I want to drink in all the details of the here and now--to photograph and document it for them, for me..for us.  

Sometimes these days are hard. There are days that drag on and seem to never end, even after daddy gets home. But, the years truly are sneaking by (How is Amos going on 4? And Solly pushing 2?) The nights are restless - sometimes kid inflicted, sometimes self inflicted. The discipline is never ending (both for them and me). 

I want to enjoy this. The here and now. The season of little ones, so close together that people chuckle aloud when I tell them their ages with a smile on my face. They think we're crazy (or unknowingly irresponsible?). This is the good life...or, as one of my best friends Alexa calls it - the marrow of life. Yes, the days sometimes seem forever long, the dirty diapers endless, the discipline all day long. But it's also a season of the big boys sharing a room, something they'll never know any different (all the boys will one day share a room), almost nightly park dates or neighborhood walks, puddle splashing whenever there's a puddle to be splashed in, rock throwing, bubble blowing, baby wearing, and currently (but not forever) working on the white house. I want to stop worrying if the house is picked up when I leave to go somewhere or if plates were cleaned at meal time. A good friend told me that she was just told by a friend of hers that kids learn to eat veggies & other healthy things in social settings (i.e. they won't take girlfriends to McDonald's on a date..well, mine might-hah!) - to stop worrying about things like that and to remember that we have such a limited time to focus on heart issues. (*I'm not saying that I don't want my family to eat healthily, I have a nutrition degree from Clemson for goodness sake..but I can stop feeling guilty over the amount of CFA kids meals they eat in a week). I want to stop saying "no" to bubble blowing or fort building because I feel like it's inconvenient or not important. The boys won't remember if the house was picked up or the laundry folded and put away, but they will remember the kickass forts mama built & decorated, the "beeg" bubbles blown & sidewalk chalk Ninja Warrior courses drawn on Honey's driveway. I want them to remember that I didn't always have my phone in hand, but that I used my hands for meal making, crafting things to make extra money, taking photos...always taking photos. That my hands weren't neatly manicured and afraid to be dirty, but, much like little boys tend to be, they were (are) warty, have short, bitten finger nails and are calloused from working out (the gift I give myself). 

I want our boys to enjoy being little & all that that entails. If it means abandoning any sort of healthy lunch for donuts after church because middle brother asked for them, so be it. If it means that they survive on Gogurt, cheese sticks, applesauce, bananas, chocolate almond milk (for biggest brother) & apple juice (for middle brother) this summer because they're too busy to sit at the table, so be it. If it means we play until we drop at the park every single night after daddy gets home and fall asleep in our dirty clothes on the way home and don't have a bath for three days, so be it. We (as parents) are a generation that lives in an over-protective bubble. Or maybe we want our kids to be in that bubble. We hover over them and are making them needy, whiney and dependent. We worry about things that are beyond our control and let that dictate too much of our lives. I want my kids to know what it is to play outside in our yard without me having to be one step behind them. I want them to learn independence & to develop common sense. Same goes for being at the park. I want to watch them fall and bump their heads and get up and keep going. I want to see them interact with other kids & to see how their little minds work in social settings...they can't do this with me hovering over them. (These are my just observations, of course.) I want them to be wild and free while they're in the safety of our home so that when it's time to set them free they're trained & prepared. I pray that the boys will remember being kids with a smile on their face. I want them to know what it is to have no worries & to be carefree. I want them to play outside and get dirty, to build things and tear them apart, to feel free to put the paint on themselves as much as the paper, to keep jumping off of everything even if it means scraped knees and elbows (oh, and new couch cushions), and for them to remember mama and daddy doing these things with them. 

IMG_5998

IMG_6181

IMG_6279

IMG_6320

IMG_6340



June 6, 2016

month two | ezra

month two

IMG_5786


Sweet baby Ezra! You're two months old and growing like a weed. At your 2 month appointment you weighed 11 # 12.5 oz (the exact same thing as Amos at this age) and were 24" long (longer than both of your brothers). Your face is looking a lot like baby Amos, according to most everyone who meets you, but your body is looking like Solly's - long and lean. Your hair is also like Solomon's was  when he was your age (brown) -- so I'm interested to see if you'll end up a blondie like the other two! 

You're pretty happy most of the time and you give mama the best smiles (they seem to "eat your face" they're so big). I think you've outgrown the colic-i-ness and are no longer crying for long stents at night (all the hallelujahs!). Amos and Solomon both love you. Amos sits in the middle in the car and any time you fuss he immediately takes to saying, "It's OK, Ez" about 100x. And yesterday I found Solomon lying with you on your play mat - just to be near you. I hope you know how much they love you, always. 

You're super content (I guess being number 3 behind two crazy big brothers leaves you no choice) and happiest when you're around others. You're sleeping pretty good at night - usually in 3+ hour chunks (2x now you've had 5-6 hour chunks!) & you're a great eater. So far you don't love tummy time & you sleep best on your side. You also like to talk to mama. I love holding you in my lap or cradling you in my arms & talking to you and having you talk back! I'm sure you'll have lots to say as soon as you have words!

You've also had your first taste of summer 'round here! We've loaded up and headed to the lake 2 weekends in a row now! You're just as happy on the dock as you are at the house! (Again, you just love being where the people are...) We haven't put you in the water yet, but soon wee one! 

Mama & daddy-o love you sweet boy. Keep growing big and strong! 

Untitled

June 2, 2016

celebrate | hayden turns one!

IMG_5836

IMG_5864

IMG_5866

IMG_5880

IMG_5902

IMG_5924

IMG_5925

IMG_5940

IMG_5956

IMG_5970

This past weekend we had the joy of celebrating Hayden turning O N E!! We've enjoyed watching Hayden over the past year & can't wait for the years to come! I hope that he has the same sweet friendship with our boys that their daddies share. 

Hayden, you are so loved! Happy FIRST birthday, little dude! 

June 1, 2016

memorial day weekend

IMG_5814

IMG_5820

IMG_5989

IMG_5990

IMG_5997 (1)

IMG_6030

IMG_6046

IMG_6048

IMG_6120

IMG_6133

IMG_6176

IMG_6204

IMG_6268

This past weekend at the lake was just what we needed. Mike and I (and Mimi and Papa too) have been pulling late nights at the white house (and some very early mornings for Mikey) trying our best to hit a target move-in date of July 1 ... 

We ate, slept, swam, tattooed the boys, watched movies, picked out some finishing touches for the house (tile & light fixtures) and left feeling energized and refreshed. We also got to celebrate Hayden's FIRST birthday on Saturday (more on that soon)! We're so thankful for a few days together at one of our very favorite spots to catch some much needed rest (whatever that is with 3 small kids) & family time in one of the craziest / busiest seasons we've had since we've been married. 


And, as we're nearing the finish of our work on the white house (I guess "finish" is relative) we're constantly remembering Wayne & his family. One day soon when I have time to really sit down and organize pictures & thoughts we'll share what we've been up to! (: