New Carpet Day in the Parsonage

Before.  Ugh!

This is the view (shameful isn't it?) of our outgoing carpet.  I always hated having to move the furniture because then I could see, really, really see, just how dirty and stained and worn and generally icky our carpet was.  I suppose ten kids who use our rug with might and main, over the course of twelve years does wear carpeting, but still.  It's embarrassing.  I've had others point out that normal wear and tear is considered to be an average sized family, and so we shouldn't feel so bad that nothing seems to last as long for us.  But I still feel like our twelve person wear and care seems so destructive of these many temporal blessings.

This is the view of our wonderful new carpet.  And Inge and Sophie enjoying the big open space.  Inge asked, "Mom, can you take a picture of me dancing on it?" 

New!  Beautiful!

I know, you can't really see the carpeting very well here.  But it's a short shag kind of plush, with glints of taupe, slate gray, and cream.  I wish I could find a thumbnail of it on the internet, but I can't.  But you can still see how nice it looks compared to the old one.

This is what the rest of our house looked like today.

The front hallway.

The dining room.  We kept a clear spot with seating for four on one bench on the far side of the second table. 

The bedroom hallway.

The little girls' room.

This afternoon, Sophie, Inge and I rushed off to the K-3 school program and got to watch all the cute littles doing their thing.   After such afternoon programs, we are able to bring all the kids home with us, so we anticipated a nice long afternoon.  We'd be home by 3:30, as opposed to the bus bringing the kids at 5:00. 

On the way home, I explained/exhorted/plead with the kids, "There's new carpet.  Everything is still all over the house.  You may play and jump and run in the empty living room for a few minutes, but I want you to enjoy your long afternoon by spending part of it outside.  DO NOT make a mess or forts or dig through all the things stacked in all the strange places."

But upon arrival home, I found my exhortations largely unnecessary.  My lovely husband; my wonderful daughter, Clara; and son, Matt, after he got home from his long day of work, had moved everything back into it's spot for us.  Only the odds and ends boxes on the kitchen table remained.  What a treat!

Here is where we found Joe when we got home.  Kicking back in front of the virtual fire.  Resting his tired bones.  He told the kids to go warm up their hands. 

Joe, enjoying the new carpet.

But now my furniture looks so grubby. Human nature. Sadly, it's common to us all.