Progress is slow but fruitful!

What a week it has been for our family.  Here is a brief recap….

we packed one house

until it looked like this

 

then we took everything to Malakoff on a big truck, but our driveway is rather long so they rented a uhaul to “shuttle” our stuff to the house

 

while the kids played

and often got a ride in the uhaul which they loved (and the packers preferred since they were sure they were not in the way if they were next to them) :)

so now, I am still surrounded by boxes (at least it feels that way), but slowly I am making progress here you can see that

I will repeat a pic, but here is the before of our kitchen

and

and here we are moved in….

 

(the above pics looks a bit bigger than it really is)

This pic should put the room into perspective

 

 

 

 

This is my bread making area – I was so happy to get it all out and set up yesterday and today so that I could get some bread in the oven today! 

The first batch of bread in our home signals that it is officially our new home!  Robert will be happy when he comes home and smells it!

The kitchen is obviously my favorite room, but I am making progress in some other rooms too.  The school room is going to be a work in progress for some time, but we did empty boxes for about 90 minutes this morning.

Here is the boy's room

All 3 are in there, and while it may seem snug, they all seem quite happy with the set-up!

and now, it is official

and on the way (in 20 minutes)

Off to do more unpacking & putting away ~

So many boxes to unpack, so much stuff…..

our first day in our new home

It has been a long day!!  Yesterday we finished loading the truck, we cleaned the house (think SAMI for those USMA people), then we trekked down to sleep and get ready to get our stuff off the truck! 

You do not realize how much stuff you have until it is all in boxes and you have to find a home for it all!  I have no idea where it will all go – but I know I cam going to purge as I unpack!!

So AGs room is all put together, mostly unpacked, and she is in heaven!!  She loves her pink room and loves having her girly toys in there with her.  Living with her brother has not been delightful to her this past year!

The boys have their beds together, but that is about it.  We have lots of rearranging with dressers and closet stuff and putting away.  The toys are going in their room, which is a first for us!

Here is our new home (built in 1960 – so it is pretty old)

View from the front door – that is the pond beyond the trees

 

The rest of the house is a mess!!  but here are some pics (before and after)

KITCHEN/Dining room

BEFORE

 

 

WORKING

 

FINISHED

 

Here is the living room

Before

 

AFTER

 

BEFORE
 

 

After

More pics later, I am tired and it is getting late (8:30) :)

I will post school room pics tomorrow too – cannot wait to get that room together!!

More boxes tomorrow …  we will get there!!

more waiting

One more day of waiting.  The movers arrive tomorrow morning, they will pack for 2 days, and then hopefully load the truck on Thursday.  I am really hoping we can get the truck loaded on Thursday and then delivered Friday so that I have all weekend to unpack the house!  I hope!

So many things going on while we are waiting.  First I seem to think the house needs to be picked up before the movers arrive – this is my over-achieving nature I think.  I mean I know they will not care how clean my house is, but a tidy house is easier to pack.  But I do not have the energy to really get it too much tidier!  So I tried to tidy up as much as I could yesterday, I took down lots of pics from the walls today (to patch the holes) and I think we need to get out of this place for a while!!!

God has been really working on my heart through all of this – through the mess, through the anxiety, through it all.  He has really been asking me to give up my control in all things – in the moving, the packing, the cleaning.  I think he wants me to really let him carry those burdens (although they seem so insignificant!).

Another reminder this weekend has been to be grateful.  I heard this from him, in Sunday school, through a favorite blog – so I am thinking God wants me to live out gratitude more than I have been.  I feel like I need to be more grateful for the yucky stuff in our lives.  Grateful for the person aggravating us, grateful for the moments we have no control over, grateful for the answers we do not want to hear.  It is so easy to count our blessings and be grateful for all the good stuff, but how often do we wake and thank him for a bad night of sleep?  One that will make us appreciate the good nights more?  One that offered us hours to pray that we normally do not have?  I know that I do not.  Instead I wake up grouchy – and that is no way to handle anything!

So, as we go through this next phase of relocating, finding a new church, making new friends, and getting settled into our new home, I hope to find gratitude in every turn.   I mean, I believe God is sovereign so why would I not trust that all that he allows in my life will be for my benefit (even if it does not feel like it at the time).

So, thank you Lord for this time of waiting, for the blessings that will come from it, and please help me to find joy and gratitude in all you allow to cross my path!

latest happenings

We are in the midst of our move these days.  After many nights of sleeping on an air mattress, inhaling way too many paint fumes, and trying to keep kids entertained, we are about to officially move in.  We are all up in Irving this weekend (Labor Day) to have a little break before things get even crazier!

We are also getting a chance to celebrate our second born son’s birthday –he turned 8 today!  Where has the time gone?

So, life is good, busy (who is not busy these days), but good.  We are so excited to get moved in, we are so looking forward to our real beds, to a full kitchen, and to hours of fun in our vast yard!!

We have painted almost every surface in our new home – we still have a closet or two and a few base boards here and there – but we are slowing turning this old house in our new home.

I am most excited about fixing up our new school room – which is really a school building – there is tons of space, a wood burning stove (for those chilly winter school days) and even a water fountain – yes, an honest to goodness water fountain and a pencil sharpener that I used when I was in school!  It is going to be tons of fun moving into that building and getting our school set up!

So, we may not be keeping up so much on here, we are hanging in there!  I have tons of pictures I have taken – mostly my “before” shots – but plan to get many more “after” shots – but somehow I forgot my camera in Malakoff today, so it will be at least a week before I post any pics of our new home.  But I will!!

So keep praying for our family as we make this transition – it may be a challenge for a few of us.  We are excited, but will be happy when we are there and settled!