We Moved In!

Life has been so crazy that I really haven't had the time to do a new post, or even blogsurf! Congratulations to all of those who are expecting new babies. I was told I had to go view some blogs for the latest news!

A friend e-mailed me today asking about "our story". So, I e-mailed her back and thought, at the least, I can post this on my blog. Then, you will all get in on the amazing journey of faith that we have been on.

We did move into our house! We are loving it. It was such an amazing journey of faith. God brought the buyers of our house on my birthday. Isn't that so God?! They are a couple with 3 children. She was a stay-at-home mom, when her husband had a seizure at work. I'm not sure what is wrong with him, but he owned his own business, and had to undergo some major medical stuff. They accrued a ton of medical bills that they weren't able to pay. She went to work, while he had surgeries. During that time, their credit was destroyed.

Now, they make enough money to buy a house, but they don't have a credit score that could possibly get them a loan. They loved our house and really wanted it. So, they proposed the lease to own. At first, I was like, NO WAY! But, I had felt like God told me that our family was on a 2 year plan not too long ago. When John proposed it to me, he said, 'They want to do a 2 year plan.' That was my cue that God may be in this! :)

We had also lowered our price so much that John was praying that we would sell it for more than our asking price. I would just kind of tease him and say, 'ok, you go ahead and pray that!' Well, in 2 years, they will buy it for $18,000 more than we were asking! God took care of the details. We'll actually be in a better place financially month to month than we would have been if we sold it outright!

Through it all, I felt like God was challenging me to BELIEVE Eph. 3 that says He will do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond what we can ask or think. I've always HOPED that scripture, but I never really truly believed it! God did beyond what I could have EVER thought up! Also, in Heb 11. We always quote, 'it is impossible to please God without faith'. That portion of scripture goes on to say that faith isn't just believing in God, but also believing that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him! I want to have the kind of faith that believes my God wants to reward me!

This has been a challenging journey (ie - John getting laid off). But, it has been a journey of faith. The week before John got laid off he was feeling an uneasiness in his spirit. So, he fasted and prayed for 3 days. He was also asking God, 'Are we meant to live in our new home?' At the end of those 3 days, all he felt was to trust God and that he had us on a journey of faith! At one point, when we were told, our house had to sell or we had to put our new one on the market in about 3-4 days, I was driving along and began to say out loud, 'My God is bigger than this, He will do exceedingly, abundantly, beyond what I can ask or think!'

God is GOOD!

John did get another job with the same company. It was offered to him on the last Friday of his 2 week notice. During those 2 weeks, John and I felt an amazing amount of peace that God was in this and was going to take care of the whole situation, and He did!

Tagged, again!

Rules of Engagement:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post rules on your blog (copy and paste 1-6).
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them.
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

6 very random, not easily known, facts about me:

1. I took accordion lessons as a child. I know, what was my mom thinking?! For one, I could barely hold the thing and what would I ever do with the skill of playing the accordion. It's not a instrument in high demand!

2. I tried out for the National Ski Patrol at Mt. Spokane when I was 14 and made it. I took 120 hours of First Aid (in water, snow, rescuing from cars) in order to be on the Ski Patrol. I don't ski anymore. Breastfeeding and babies, and lack of money to stick with the sport. I think I would still love it though. Maybe that will be part of my empty nest days.

3. The summer after my Senior year in High school I lived for 1 month in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia at an Agricultural School Campus. A group of us traveled with a Christian singer, Jannie, and did street drama. I was the clown. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I also found the best chocolate ever there!

4. I've also been to Mexico, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, the Bahamas, and across the US. I haven't been on a mission trip, outside of my home, since I've been married. God still sends those that I'm supposed to minister to right to my doorstep though. Maybe traveling will be another part of my empty nest days! :)

5. I have ran a 1/2 marathon. It was an amazing accomplishment for me. I wish I could describe the feeling of crossing the finish line. All of the hard work was worth it at that moment! If you want to learn perseverance start running. God's still working this one into me. I haven't been that diligent lately!

6. From about the age of 13, I haven't lived with my family. God always provided a safe haven for me. I lived with an Aunt and Uncle in Oregon, my Youth Pastor's family, my Grandparents, houseparents, and then married. It was extremely hard, but I learned a lot about the love and care of God through it. I can't imagine my children ever living life like that, but it also produced a gratitude in me that I'm trying to work into my children who have such a blessed life.

OK, now I'm going to break the rules, eek! I'm not going to tag 6 people b/c I don't have links on my blog and also the mental energy to think of 6 right now stresses me out! I hope everyone gets tagged though! :)

I've been tagged...

This is for you Rachel...

I am: a wife, mom, and friend

I think: today is going to be a good day

I know: I am loved

I want: to move into our new house

I have: a blessed life!

I wish: I had more time in a day

I hate: feeling tired

I miss: time alone with John

I fear: anything bad happening to my family

I feel: content

I hear: Spongebob (my kids are watching it)

I smell: veggie sausage

I crave: sweets

I search: The Bible

I wonder: what tomorrow will bring

I regret: not being a stronger person when I was younger

I love: God and my family

I care: deeply for my friends

I always: feel like I'm not doing enough

I am not: a night person (wish I was)

I believe: God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him

I dance: silly with my kids

I sing: praises to God

I don't always: put on make-up

I write: tasks on the calendar

I win: lately, at Croquet (I beat John!!!)

I lose: at every other game against John (he's a Potts)

I never: smoke! (couldn't think of anything else?! But this is a guarantee!)

I listen: to the Holy Spirit, but usually my kids are louder :)

I can usually be found: by cell phone

I am scared: that my kids won't choose to serve God

I need: time alone

I am happy about: my life today!

I did it! Usually, I way over think these things. I'm not going to read back over it, because if I do, I know I'll change answers. I'm sure if I did this again tomorrow, many of my answers would be different! But here it is Rachel.

More pictures of our boating adventure...

The HUGE starfish that they found stuck to the dock. Aren't they amazing!
So proud of his catch.
Enough for everyone!
Another family pic with no add-ons. :)

Sailing away...

Our family got the chance to go see the Tall Ships in Tacoma and take an amazing boat ride out on the Sound. The kids, and grandpa, were brave and swam in the cold, salty water!

My brave little Gracie!
Hudson got in 1 time and was out of there and quickly dressed! Isn't he cute?!
Malacai jumped in several times from the top of the boat. The boat has room for 25, so the top deck is high! Way to go Malacai!
Family pic w/ a few add-ons. No, I'm not pregnant! It's just the shirt :). The add-ons are my nephew and John's cousin's daughter. It was such a fun day!

Carpet & Shutters

We have carpet!
We have shutters and a front porch!

We still need to place the columns.
Carpet in the office.

No news yet on the sale of our current home.

We're still waiting. The closer our new home gets to being done, the more I just want to move in!! Ugh!

I know God is in control and His timing is usually different than ours.

"Why a mudroom, you ask?"

"Just playing outside, Mom!"

Would you want this on your new carpet???
Gracie and cousin Noah after a spin in the go-cart.
Malacai had already scraped some of the dirt off.
Hudson, all clean, after a wipe down in the mudroom sink!

When we first started building, the property was a mud pit! We had days that we would have to strip the kids down to their muddy underwear for the drive home. Then, when we got home, we had to hose off their clothes because they were so covered in mud.

I'm going to LOVE having a mudroom!

Getting closer...

Here's a view of the kitchen from the family room. Notice, the wood floor is no longer covered in ugly cardboard! Yeah!!
I'm loving how everything is turning out! We still have a few more things to do in the kitchen - cabinet trim, base cabinet trim, and the caps on the rest of the drawers. We are getting so close to be done!
The stonework on the fireplace. Next, the fireplace guys come back and put it all together on the inside. Right now, it's just a bundle all wrapped up.

Carpet installation starts Monday!

More pictures

Yesterday, we worked at the house all day. The kids were away playing, so we really got focused time. John worked on installing the oven and the stair railing. I started the cleaning process. We still can't take the cardboard off of the wood floor, but we are getting closer.

This week, the front and back porch get poured. Hopefully, the septic will get approved. Once that gets approved, we can run water. It's a little difficult to clean the bathrooms without water!

The stone work around the fireplace should be finished this week. Also, the carpet is possibly going in towards the end of the week.

I can't believe we are almost finished!

Here's a picture from the entryway.
This is the view of the family room from the kitchen. John still has to put dark wood caps on the half walls, cabinets and mantle. Plus, the stone work isn't finished in this picture.
Our first set of shutters! So cute!
A clean room! Here's our little mud bathroom. The cabinets still need their knobs, but this room is finally clean! Yeah!

Please pray that we sell our current home. As many of you know, the market is really slow. We really don't want to move into our new home unless we sell our current one. So, we are waiting. We would really appreciate all of your prayers. Thanks!

The truly exciting stuff...

Malacai turned 10!!!! I can't believe we are in double digits. He and his cousin Noah are 2 weeks apart. This year they had a joint Birthday party and had a such a fun day!
Hudson was in his school play. He was one of the 3 men in the tub. It was so cute!
We have a graduate in the house! This one still doesn't care if she has chocolate cookie all over her face though. I'm going to miss Kindergarten. Gracie had a wonderful year with an AMAZING teacher!
This is what the kids do for hours while John and I work on the house. They've mapped out a course and go round and round.

What a great life!

Almost there...

We are getting so close to being done. We finally have lights - yeah!! In the kitchen we still have to finish the island, put all the caps on the drawers, put the microwave above the oven, and the crown on top of the cabinets. The plumber is coming today to start installing all of the faucets and plumbing fixtures. Dining room
The stairs that my dad spent many hours building! Thanks Dad for all of your work. It looks beautiful!
The fireplace. We (John) still has a lot of work here. We will be putting dark wood on top of the mantel and built in cabinets. Then, we still need the stone to be done around the fireplace.

John's to-do list is so long! I wish I was a handy carpenter wife, but no such luck here. I will be the cleaner. It's driving me crazy how dirty it is, I can't wait to deep clean it! I've been vacuuming a lot!

A few more...

Here's the bonus room.
The fireplace. It's the next big project for John and my dad.
The Master Bedroom, and no, we don't have a bathtub in it! :) That will be moved into the bathroom eventually.
Master Bath
Mud/guest bathroom and shower.

More Pictures...

My Mom has requested more pictures. So here they are...

We let the kids pick out the paint color for their rooms. Hudson's is dirt brown! He was insistant! He cracks us up. He knew exactly what he wanted and there was no talking him out of it.
Gracie's is a sweet pink. I have to admit I "assisted" in her color choice, but she had the final say.
Here's the "Seahawk" room. Malacai chose dill! I think it is so fun and he'll love it!
Here's the outside. We finally got front doors! We still have black shutters and the front porch to pour. Also some landscape, but we are getting there.
It's hard to tell with the lighting of a camera, but our interior doors on the main floor are a dark peppercorn stain. This is one thing that I've always loved. We are so happy with how the doors turned out.

John and my dad are doing all of the finish work (window trim, base trim, crown moldings, columns, fireplace mantel, half walls, etc.). They have been working so hard and doing a great job! I'll post some more pictures soon!

There you go Mom!

We finally have power!!! Now we can see our home at night and I love how it 'glows' on the hillside.
The hardwood floor that I LOVE. It's hard to tell in a picture, but it's Handscraped Oak. It's really beautiful in person.
The kitchen is coming along. Countertops and backsplash go in next week.
I love the stone work!

There's the latest! It's been a fun and exciting journey so far!

It's painted!

Thank God for sun!!!! It stuck around just long enough to paint the outside of the house this weekend! Yeah!!!
John's domain - the enormous garage!
I'm so happy with the color. It seems like the perfect yellow!
It's even more beautiful in person. I truly feel incredibly blessed by God. I can't believe this is actually our home! God is good!!!

Tomorrow, the inside gets painted. Hardwood on Wednesday, and cabinets go in on Friday. It's going to be another exciting week.

Pictures...as promised!

The outside hasn't changed much since I last posted pictures. We have to wait until we don't have SNOW, in order to even consider painting. I have been sampling many colors though. I'm back and forth between the one on the far left and the one on the bottom right. I don't want it to look gold or peachy. After we paint, we will have the stone done on the peak that still has plywood. The columns will go up after the front porch is poured. We also have shutters that will go up sometime after it's painted. So many things to do!!!
Here's the family room off of the kitchen.
This is looking into the kitchen from the family room.
This is what my mind looks like at 3 in the morning and I can't sleep b/c I still haven't decided on the paint colors - aaahhhhhh! Actually, this is my giant paint swatch that I'm using to try and decide what color to paint the interior. The dark rectangle in front is our hardwood. It's hard to tell how beautiful it actually is, but I LOVE it!!! The carpet swatch isn't the one we are getting, but the color that I like.

Well, there's the update! I think the painter's are actually starting to paint at the end of this week. So, in a couple of weeks I should have some really fun posts! It will actually look like a kitchen and not a big box!