LIttle Things I Don't Want to Forget

The look on Jeff's face yesterday when we finished signing our life away for our new home.  PRICE LESS!

The way Jeff always asks "How's our boy doing?" when he comes home from work.  Or "Is my son behaving himself?" That's Jeff's way of asking if Andrew is kicking me to death.

I love it when Jeff puts his hand on my belly and Andrew kicks him.  Again the look on Jeff's face is priceless.

Fun's coming just around the corner and I am enjoying soaking up as many little things as I can these days.

God is good!
God is faithful!
God's timinig is PERFECT!!

Shopping For New Bedding

Jeff and I are starting to "window shop" for things for our new home. If you know me at all, you realize this is one of my all time favorite things to do. I love to decorate and I have been pulling pictures out of magazines for years and storing them in a 3-ring binder.

Every once in awhile, I will gather my ideas and ask Jeff what he thinks about this or that. Usually he is on board with what I choose but every once in awhile he will say, "Ummm, no thanks." But every now and then he completely jumps on board and says "Go for it!"

One of the things he recently gave the green light to is my master bedroom plan. We recently went to a party at a friend's house and feel in love with the color they used in their powder bath downstairs. It was Hearts of Palms by Sherwin Williams.

Let me see if I can find a picture for you...

Picture from The Cottage Nest's Blog

And yes, it's green...apparently my favorite color.


My search for bedding began by trying to find something that would flow well with this color green that we will use in the master bathroom and tie into the color in our bedroom called Beach House (Sherman Williams).

There was this comforter that was a bit too matchy, matchy in my opinion.



And then this which I didn't fall in love with but thought it would be a good compromise for us.





But then I found my all time favorite which I would have bought in a heartbeat but knew Jeff would say it was too girly for his taste. This afternoon, I was showing him a picture I saved on my computer awhile back as we were discussing a paint color for another room. We happened to stumble across this picture that I saved as well, when he says, "I like that!" Talk about picking my mouth up off the floor, then running around doing the happy dance! (Or that was the reaction that played in my head)

"Seriously, you like it? As in if I said, this is the one I wanted you would say let's go check it out and we could buy it?"

"Yep, I like it."

"Oh Jeff, that just makes me happy."

So now we move on to the next step...going to see it in person. If it looks as good as this picture and flows with my green bathroom, we may have ourselves our first purchase for the home.

And yes, I know I have not posted pictures of the home but I will, after we close on the house in just a few days.

Saying Goodbye to Apt One-Oh-Nine

This picture was taken in November of this year before our life changed for the better :)

In less than a month, Jeff and I will be saying goodbye to our home of 10 years. Well, 10 years for me; almost 8 for Jeff. I still can't believe that we have lived here this long. When Jeff and I were engaged we decided to stay in my apartment with hopes of buying a house in a year or two. Of course that plan changed when we took a class called Crown Financial Ministries at our church. Over the years, one of my BIGGEST prayer requests has been for God's timing for us to buy a house. In the past few weeks, God has truly rewarded us for faithfully waiting on HIS timing (another post for another day).

This apartment has been our first home. This is the place where Jeff and I learned to be husband and wife. We learned how to be a team. We learned to be content with what we have and we learned to bloom where we were planted. I learned to cook, take care of a home and was taught invaluable home caring tips from my mentors. Jeff learned to lead our family, communicate his vision for the future with me and was faithful in keeping us on track towards are financial goals. Needless to say, these past few years here helped us develop a firm foundation for years to come. I am grateful that God saw fit to put us in a "time out" until we figured these things out. I know it will benefit us greatly when Andrew comes along.

I will never forget my first night here after a long day of moving, followed by a long shift at Chili's. I was more than tired but a bit angry that I didn't have time to put my bed together and knew that was waiting for me. To my surprise, I walked in the door to a 85% unpacked apartment. Jeff and his mom stayed after I left for work and put together my bed and bathroom and even bought new bedding for the bed. It was a nice, welcome surprise!

For the first few years, my mom lived next door. This was very convenient since Jeff works nights and sleeps late on Saturdays. We spent lots of time together enjoying our mom and daughter chats.

I will never forget the many miles Jeff and I invested in walking around the neighborhood next door. This was the one place where we could have some of our best talks with each other. I swear God met us many times in our conversations around that neighborhood.

I will never forget the many nights we sat out on our patio and enjoyed a quiet evening.

Or the nights we laid in bed and laughed at the couple who used to live above us. They fought almost every weekend in Spanish. And of course the frustration that came when the same couple would wake up before 7 am on Saturday and play their music very loudly with lots of base. Jeff and I did a happy dance the day they moved out. Our new upstairs neighbors have been here for almost 3 years and we LOVE them.

I will miss the apartment team especially maintenance man Bill. He has not only come to our rescue many a clogged toilet but would always look for other things he could do to enhance our apartment. He became our best friend when he installed ceiling fans in the living room and bedroom. Thankfully Bill already promised that we could call him if we ever needed him to come to our rescue at our home.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little apprehensive about shutting the door to Apartment 1-OH-9 for the last time. Yet, I am looking forward to what the future holds in our new home. Here in the apartment, we grew as man and wife. In our new home, we will grow in our new roles as parents.

God has great plans for us and I can't wait to start the new chapter of our lives as homeowners.

Lord, You Are In Control

You know everyone has had those days that left us wondering what the Lord was doing behind the scenes. Yesterday was Jeff and my day. We had an inspection done on the house that did not go the way we thought. In fact I echo Jeff's sentiments when he described our day as just plain crappy.

All along our prayer was that if God didn't want us in that house that He would make it crystal clear. Let me just spare you the details and cut to the chase-we backed out of the house today because yesterday it was made crystal clear to us.

Can I just be 100% honest by saying I am still in a state of shock?

I know God is fully in control. I know that there is a better house waiting for us.
I know that we are blessed to find the damage before we move. I am sad that we will not be living next door to our dear friends. I also know that our friendship is better than us just being neighbors and will continue and grow even if we are not living on the same street. I struggle because Jeff and I just knew that this was the house God was leading us to. I struggle with the fact that we are at square one. I struggle because I am sooooo tired of my apartment. I rest in the fact that soon we will see God's plan unfold. I praise God for the fact that He showed us these things before we closed on the house. I praise God because Jeff and I are fully on the same page and walking this journey together.

So what is the next step?

We are having our realtor friend find a few houses for us to look at in the next week. We are going to sit back, relax and enjoy the journey.

I guarantee you that there may be moments where I just have to sit and pray it out but I refuse to let Satan get a foothold by stealing my joy.

On another note, Jennifer (Jeff's cousin's wife) was admitted to the hospital today. It doesn't look good. So for now, Jeff and I are dropping everything and just loving on the family.

Please pray for God's guidance as we search for house.
Please pray for God's comfort to feel each of us as we walk this journey with Brent and Jennifer.
Please pray for the kids too-my heart breaks when I think about what this means for them.

The Wait Is Almost Over!

I received an email yesterday telling us that we will probably close March 18-20Th! That's next week y'all! Praise the Lord!

I did the happy dance in the living room/office and then went to tell Jeff who was sleeping.

I got a half asleep high five and then he told me to let him sleep for another hour. The tone translates to "Woman you woke me from my slumber! How dare you?!?"

Five minutes later he comes strolling into the living room/office and says, "Did you say something about closing?"

Turns out the half asleep high five was actually him doing a big stretch with his hand over his head while waking up and he didn't really know what I was saying. My bad-I thought he was awake and coherent.

The other night we spent two hours at Lowe's walking the aisles. I would have been glad to keep going but Jeff was beat. As we were leaving, he teased me that I was the only woman he knew that could out shop a man at the home improvement store. I have found that it really is one of my happy places. I am a freak I know.

I found this light the other night to go over the kitchen sink. Jeff does not like it but has finally resolved the fact he just doesn't have a vision for home decor. This could be because I keep telling him, "Jeff you just don't have the vision do you?"


If there has been anything I have learned in the past few months of planning the home renovation is that you must compromise with each other.

For example, I am giving up my pretty red wall in the living room for a kitchen that is not painted beige but grayish blue. See already we are finding ways to give and take without killing each other in the process. Now that to me is a sign of a good marriage-when you can disagree, find a compromise that works for both parties and still love each other at the end of the day.

I will keep you posted as things progress, I guarantee it!

Inspiring Places

It should come as no surprise to you that I CAN'T! WAIT! TO! DECORATE! OUR! NEW! HOME! Over the past few months I have stumbled on a few blogs that also like to decorate their home. Today I wanted to share a few with you because what kind of friend would I be if I didn't share the good stuff? Many of these ladies have links to other inspiring blogs so grab a Cup of Joe and enjoy browsing these sites! Happy Friday!

Little Red House

Cherry's Jubilee Home

The Cottage Nest

Whatever

Chatting at the Sky

Nesting Place

A Cardinal In My Window

Yesterday I saw a cardinal sitting on a branch outside our window at the new house. Why is this important? Well let me tell you.

You see the past few months I have been playing a little game with God over the past few months each time I visit the house. As I have been praying for God's leading on where He was leading us I have also prayed for a sign. The sign? A red cardinal.

For the past six months every time I have been at the house I start looking for my cardinal. In fact, on the drive over, I usually ask God if today is going to be the day I see my cardinal. I guess I should also mention that I am prone to talking out loud to God while driving.

Yesterday as we were getting ready to sign our name on the dotted line, I happened to look out the kitchen window. Do you know what I saw? Yes! That's right, a cardinal. I got so excited that I cried out "My cardinal! I have seen my cardinal!" Which lead to me getting that look from Jeff saying you better explain yourself rather quickly or they will think you are nuts. After I explained myself my friend June said, "Isn't God good?" Yep. God is good.

How cool is it that as we were signing the contract that I see a cardinal outside the kitchen window? God's timing is perfect and I feel so blessed that He brought us the cardinal at just that moment.

Plus with a view like that washing dishes sure will be a sweet time!

In less than 60 days this will be our home. The home that Jeff and I have prayed over and waited for God to show us which way to go. To say I am excited would be the understatement of the year.

I am still under strict orders not to show any portion of the outside of the house that could cause stranger danger. Fortunately many of you already know where this house is located and with a few clues you will know exactly the house we are buying.

1. The name of the street is a tree.

2. The house is two blocks from the Home of the Fighting Cardinals.

3. If you keep going three more blocks you will be at the street where I grew up.

4. My neighbors are great friends of many of us. In fact our group from the high school youth group spent most Wednesday nights hanging at there house.

Still don't know? Don't worry, we will be sending an email in the next few months with our new address and phone number. Stop by anytime!

Do you want to hear the funny part about this whole process? For years, YEARS, Jeff and I have been praying for God to open doors for us to move. As we waited, we continued to save money and get out of debt but I was starting to get very restless. Let's just say working for a huge furniture company in the middle of my one bedroom apartment has been a real challenge.

During this time I prayed for three specific things. 1) an older home that we could remodel. 2) A house with lots of trees. 3) a house with a separate space for an office

In late June, I had lunch with my soon to be neighbor. We were sitting in her living room talking about how I would love to live on this street. She and I have been keeping our eye out since the day Jeff and I got married for a house to come on the market in their neighborhood but nothing was happening. In July, after the Disney Trip of 08, Jeff and I decided it was time to start the house hunt. I continued to secretly wish for God to open a house for us next to our friends but was happy to go anywhere as long as Jeff and I were together. :) Less than two weeks after we started looking, I received a call from my friend telling me about a house across the street. "Are you serious?" It was more than I could hope or imagine. When I hung up the phone I immediately started to pray that God would either open or close the door if we were to move-His will be done and all that. I waited two days to tell Jeff, mostly because he was working crazy hours (more so than usual) and I really didn't think he would go for it. I was so nervous to hear the word no.

Jeff as usual was very cautious about what direction we would take but was open to the idea although he need to sleep on it a bit. And thanks be to God, I kept my mouth shut as he mulled it over. Somewhere deep inside I knew that this would be the house we would be buying one day. The first day we went to look at the house-our friends we were buying the house from, left us alone in the house to talk it over. As we were standing in the kitchen debating this and that, I had a moment where I felt at home. This was home but Jeff was still not there yet. I think the foundation being slanted and bricks cracked was a large part of his hesitation. Fast forward, after months of waiting for the foundation to be repaired we were pleasantly surprised to see that the house had been fixed. Christmas morning instead of opening presents, we sat and discussed paint colors and which color of hardwood floors we were going to put down. It was one of my favorite Christmas mornings.

This past Saturday night, we went over to our soon to be neighbors house and had dinner. When we left our neighbors house that night, Jeff and I walked across the street and walked through our new home for a bit. Yes, we do have a key to a house that we have yet to sign a contract for but that's what happens when you buy a house from great family friends. A perk I guess.

Come March 31st we will be home owners-praise be to God. Stay tuned, I look forward to sharing the adventures of homeownership.

Bargain Decorating

I have been entertaining myself the past few nights by doing a bit of bargain decorating. I love to buy nice things for my house knowing that I am paying a fraction of the original cost. One thing I have learned from my years as a furniture buyer is that you can always find a store that sells the same look you like for half the price. It may take a bit of creativity and hunting down but it can happen.

Bedroom Light

In the house we are buying the master bedroom is pretty small. After living in a one bedroom apartment with wall to wall furniture, I just can't seem to bring myself to do this in our new home. I have always like the Pottery Barn lamps that can be hung on the wall.

I found these online at pottery barn for $139, set of two.

And with a little bit of searching on the Internet, I found a similar look at IKEA for $34, set of two. And with a little bit of spray paint I can get the same color as the PB lamps if I choose.

Bathroom Sink

Our plan is to update the bathroom sink in the spare bathroom with a larger vanity. I just wanted a little more counter space than the original sink offers. Again I found one that I liked at PB but didn't want to spend as much as they were asking. Thanks to Lowe's I will be able to get one for $1000 less than PB.

Home Office

Can you guess where I got my inspiration for the home office? Yes! PB again.

Now I must say that I got my next idea from my Dad. In my office now I have two file cabinets with a door on top. I bought all of this for less than $500. PB was asking $1500-$2000, that just seems crazy to me to spend that much. I asked Jeff if we could add on another side to the desk when we moved and he said "Sure, eventually." Which is code for, "Give me a year or two and consider it done!" I do plan on repainting the door though as soon as I can after the move.

Dining Room Table

I would love to have a larger table that seats more than 4 people but at this point not a priority. The table we have is just fine for now until we get some other things purchased. Even though it is not a priority, you can't stop a girl for shopping. I found the table above at Stacy's Furniture. (Shh...don't tell my coworkers!) Sunday, while waiting for the nephew to come to town, Jeff and I went to see the table at the store. I liked it but hated spending full price. So my solution will be to find a rectangle table at a flea market or Craig's List and paint it the color I want. I then will probably order two more chairs that match the 4 I already have. My goal is to spend no more than $150 dollars on this. I will keep you posted as this little adventure unfolds.

New Dishes

We eventually will need to buy a new set of dishes since the ones we bought when we got married have started to get heat cracks in the center. Yet again, Jeff and I don't feel it is really a priority at this point but I can dream can't I? I found a set that I like at PB (can you tell this is my favorite store for inspiration?) I found the exact same dishes at IKEA, Target and Wal-Mart for half the price of PB.

Here is a bit of information for the inquiring minds who want to know:

The foundation is fixed but we have to wait 30-60 days to make sure it is good to go once it settles a bit. Jeff and I are fine with waiting. I am trusting God to move us when the time is right and best for us. I also can't wait to tell those of you who have known me for many years the exact location of the house and how this house came to us. God's hand has been all over the process of this move. But our new neighbors suggested that we have a bit of fun with everyone out there in blogland so you are going to have to wait. It will be fun to see if you guys can guess, I promise!

What Happened To The Weekly Tradtion Jeff?

Today I have spent the day going through the scrapbook closet trying to clear out the things not making the move. The children's home is going to love me when I bring them my box of "craft crap" (thanks J for the name!) Anywho, I stumbled on this little diddy from Jeff a few years ago and had a good laugh.




A few thing worth pointing out:

(a) this is the only letter I recieved in the new Young Family love letter tradtion (b) we were watching the Three Amigos and basically he just wrote every word that he heard in the movie and or a commercial break.

Jeff wants to know when I am going to do doll up a scrapbook page for this letter.
I want to know why he only wrote one when it was going to be a "weekly" tradition?

Oh, it doesn't really matter...he's funny, I think I will keep him.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well I just got a call from the friend we are buying the house from and if we choose to we can move in to the house in 30 days.

Foundation will be done next week.
Plumber will come out the following week

And the we can move in or as June suggested start putting my decorating touch on the house.

But since Jeff is playing Santa Clause right now, we will probably wait until January to move.

Friends please give a hearty HALLELUJAH for us.

I told June when she called that I was crying out to the Lord yesterday asking Him why we are in a waiting period and then today, during my quiet time she called and told us the good news.

I am thankful for this news.

God's timing is perfect.

Now let's see what God is going to do with the other part of my prayer request...