I’m celebrating the release of my 14th book, A Texas Holiday Reunion. Comment or answer the question at the end of the post, follow my blog tour, and sign up for my newsletter. I’ve got several copies up for grabs. Check out the giveaway details at the end of the post.
Romance and Rubble
Last year, we started removing the carpet from our house to help our son, Logan transition off of his allergy shots. After watching hundreds of people do it themselves on DIY, Grant and I decided to tackle laminate flooring. We bought a box or two at a time and piled it in the corner until we had enough to do Logan’s room first.
We’ve taken that approach and completed the entire house, except for the living room, where nobody actually lives and the largest room in the house. About the time we’d stockpiled enough flooring to tackle the last of the carpet, our central air conditioner gasped it’s last cool breath and the roof started leaking, which required a loan.
Since my desk is in a corner of the living room, Grant decided we should add an office for me on to our
house. So I can write without telling everyone to be quiet. We also came up with a plan to move rooms around in our house. I’ve always hated that the first thing you see when you walk in is my kitchen. Sometimes, there are dishes on the counter, lots of them. Especially when I’m on deadline. And every visitor can see every dish when they walk in.
Also, our den is tiny and our living room is huge. When we’re done, visitors will walk in the living room and that’s all they’ll see. Our new den will be huge and open to the kitchen, so I can cook and clean and still visit with my guys. It will be awesome. But the getting there, not so much.
Even before the carpenters, electrician, and plumber came, the old den was emptied out since we’re redoing the ceiling. Right now, my office is in the dry. The carpenter is finishing up tomorrow. But we’re finishing the inside – walls, ceiling, and floors. We took up the laminate flooring we just put down in the den last year because the old den will be the new kitchen. The used flooring will fit my office perfectly, but Grant still hated pulling up what he’d worked so hard to put down.
Everything from the old kitchen is in the front yard, except the stove and refrigerator. Including the kitchen sink. Literally. There’s no water in either kitchen and the stove isn’t hooked up. The new kitchen has walls that need patched because the plug ins had to be moved from floor level to counter level. The vinyl flooring is down and we should get plumbing and be able to put the appliances and cabinets in place today.
The new living room has walls that need patched because the counter high plug ins had to be moved to floor level. And the old living room – oh my. It’s packed with furniture. Packed, I tell you. Two living room suits that totally clash and put my matching issues in overdrive, plus tubs of dishes, books, and random paraphernalia. There is a path through it all and three seats we keep clear so we can sit down and try to relax.
Our house has been chaos for a month. I’ve always heard that if a marriage can survive building a house or a major remodel, the couple has it made. I can totally understand. Frustrations rise, tempers flare, and at times I’ve almost wanted to cry just because everything is so disorganized. Or I couldn’t find my shoes.
But each night, Grant and I sit down with cups of coffee and mindlessly watch TV – our singing competition shows we enjoy or DIY home renovations – or just talk and dream about how nice the house will be when it’s all done. Lately everything is so congested, he sits on the den couch and I sit in a living room chair behind him, but we still have our time together every evening. Logan is fifteen and is on the go a lot, but when he’s here, he sits with us and we have our family time.
When it’s over, we’ll enjoy our more visitor friendly/family functional home. And when my deadlines kick into gear again, I’ll have a beachy office to escape to. With a door that closes. The office my husband had built for me.
About Shannon: Award winning author, Shannon Taylor Vannatter writes contemporary Christian cowboy romance and has over a dozen published titles. A romance reader since her teens, she hopes to entertain Christian women and plant seeds in the non-believer’s heart as she demonstrates that love doesn’t conquer all—Jesus does.
She gleans fodder for her fiction in rural Arkansas where she spent her teenage summers working the concession stand with her rodeo announcing dad and married a Texan who morphed into a pastor. In her spare time, she loves hanging out with her husband and son, flea marketing, and doing craft projects.
Connect with her: Shannon’s Facebook, Shannon’s Goodreads, Shannon’s Pinterest, Shannon’s Twitter, and Shannon’s Amazon Author Page.
About the book – A Texas Holiday Reunion:
His Christmas Homecoming
With her foreman out of commission, Resa McCall needs horse trainer Colson Kincaid to run her family ranch through the holidays. But having the handsome single dad back in Bandera, Texas, is unsettling. Colson broke Resa’s heart years ago, and she can’t risk getting close again. Still, working with him and bonding with his sweet little girl is making the ranch feel merry and bright. Being at Resa’s side stirs up emotions Colson thought were long gone. But he has a powerful secret that could keep them apart forever. Can Colson give Resa the one Christmas present that might finally bring them back together—the truth?
Can’t wait for the drawing? Get your copy now:
A Texas Holiday Reunion on Christianbook A Texas Holiday Reunion on Amazon
Giveaway details:
Comment to enter the drawing for a copy of A Texas Holiday Reunion. Six copies will be split among names drawn during the blog tour from Oct 18 – Dec 8. One winner will get to pick the theme for a custom made memory board personally crafted by the author. Deadline Dec. 8th. Winners will be revealed on the author’s blog on Dec 10th. Go to my website https://shannontaylorvannatter.com and sign up for my newsletter to enter more giveaways and get a free book download.
Follow my blog tour for more chances to win A Texas Holiday Reunion:
- Oct 18 – https://allbettsareoff.wordpress.com/
- Oct 19 – http://www.inspyromance.com/
- Oct 24 – http://craftieladiesofromance.blogspot.com/
- Oct 24 – http://brendaandersonbooks.com/blog/
- Oct 24 & 27 – https://shannontaylorvannatter.com/inkslinger-blog/
- Oct 26 – https://saralfoust.com/blog/
- Nov 2 – https://jenniferslatterylivesoutloud.com/about/blog/
- Nov 3 – http://chirpnchatter.blogspot.com/
- Dec 1 – http://sarahruut.com/tag/author-interview/
Question for Readers: Have you ever moved, built a house, or gone through a major remodel? How did you keep your sanity?
Come back October 27th for the story behind the story of how I ended up writing about Texas cowboys!
Yes I stayed up late working while Hubby slept then I’d sleep after he went to work and kids were at school
Thanks for the chance
Wow Linda, so y’all worked in shifts. I’m impressed. I just hold things and hand Grant tools.
We’ll need pictures when you’re done!
Hubby & I have moved a couple times due to job changes. The first wasn’t so bad because it was just the two of us then, and we were only a few years into marriage. The second time, though, we had three little kids, ages 5, 3, & 2. The move wasn’t nearly as bad as selling the house in a down market. Trying to keep a house clean with 3 toddlers (and hubby had moved 3-1/2 hours away for his new job) was stressful for all of us.
We survived with a whole bunch of prayer!
(Don’t enter me! I have my book already!)
I can’t imagine moving with three small kids. Kudos to you. I’ve been thinking through all this how glad I am that Logan isn’t little and I’m deadline free.
We have moved a few times. Don’t think it caused much stress between us. Each time we were excited about the new place. Next time might be tough, because we seem to have become the family archives, and we will be trying to down-size. It’s only stuff, right?
Moving is worse than remodeling, Jenny. In my opinion anyway. As and adult, I’ve moved 3 times within a 2 mile radius. That was enough for me. I can’t imagine moving cross country the way my parents did several times. I was a kid back then, totally unstressed, other than worrying about leaving my old friends.
We haven’t moved in the last 10 years so the details are fuzzy….plus, the move was right after I had our third child. My in-laws helped me maintain my sanity.
Parents and in-laws are a blessing during stressful times. My mom told me I could come hide there if I needed to. I haven’t taken her up on it yet because I’ve been too busy.
I’ve moved several times when I was younger. The worst move happened several years ago when we had to move due to less money coming in and we had to downsize. Stressful and depressing! Survived with a lot of tears and prayers!
It’s triple time stress when you move and you don’t want to, Linda. My goodness, if we had to downsize, we’d have to get rid of so much stuff. As is, several items are going to our flea market booth. Pieces of furniture that we don’t really need any more, a fake fireplace mantel, and some of our old kitchen cabinets.
We haven’t remodeled, but we have moved several times…once from Michigan and my family to Texas and his family. THAT was stressful!!!! I like my stuff, he could care less for extras. It makes for interesting comprises. My parents built and remodeled many times. It was fun as kids!
You’re right, Jennifer. Moving was more fun as a kid. My husband is the same way. He used to throw away stuff when I left town. He’s finally learned not to do that.