Just over a week ago we moved across town into our new house.
A house that just hours before was the home of some dear friends who responded to the call to return to the mission field.
It was incredibly bittersweet to send them off with all the love, support, and prayer power we could then turn around and begin making what was once their house into our home.
Adam and I worked hard to get most of our smaller things to the new house on our own.
That allowed our helpers who came to make quick work of what was left: beds, tables, trunks, couches, easy chairs, dressers.....
It was all pretty much done in a morning.
While the men did big stuff, my mom kept the kids at her house (SUCH a huge help!) and my sister helped start getting necessities unpacked at the new house.
That was so nice to have completely functioning kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms right away.
It was important too because school started within a few days and we need to be able to do normal life stuff immediately.
I knew I would love this house but man.
I am *really* loving this house.
And Adam is too!
He wasn't quite as sold out as I was on this whole thing believe it or not.
But the big sweetie trusted me and said yes!
Whew!
Glad it's working out the way it is and that he is super happy to be here too.
In the week we've been here we've already had an overnighter (Adam's dad), hosted a party, started kindergarten and preschool at a new school, and started helping take care of a friend's baby while she works.
And all the new, open space of this place has made it a dream!
Of course we have plans, boy do we ever.
That's actually something I'm working on pumping the brakes with.
If Adam and I have a plan, we want to work ourselves nutso making it a reality.
This past Saturday, I spent the whole morning stressed and harsh with everyone in my path.
I had to grab at some peace and take a break.
I also had to make a pact with myself to schedule serious downtime as we ease into this transition and not cram every moment with painting walls, overthinking house systems, and over organizing our time.
It was time to chill and go with the flow as I tell my kids all the time.
Walls WILL get painted.
All the things will get done.
Just not this afternoon. Not this week. We will have a lot of time here, possibly years Lord willing.
I have got to do this His way and not my way.
That said, I would like to share some of our most immediate plans and some before photos of the ground level of our house.
These next few photos are all of our main spaces....
A house that just hours before was the home of some dear friends who responded to the call to return to the mission field.
It was incredibly bittersweet to send them off with all the love, support, and prayer power we could then turn around and begin making what was once their house into our home.
Adam and I worked hard to get most of our smaller things to the new house on our own.
That allowed our helpers who came to make quick work of what was left: beds, tables, trunks, couches, easy chairs, dressers.....
It was all pretty much done in a morning.
While the men did big stuff, my mom kept the kids at her house (SUCH a huge help!) and my sister helped start getting necessities unpacked at the new house.
That was so nice to have completely functioning kitchen, bathrooms, and bedrooms right away.
It was important too because school started within a few days and we need to be able to do normal life stuff immediately.
I knew I would love this house but man.
I am *really* loving this house.
And Adam is too!
He wasn't quite as sold out as I was on this whole thing believe it or not.
But the big sweetie trusted me and said yes!
Whew!
Glad it's working out the way it is and that he is super happy to be here too.
In the week we've been here we've already had an overnighter (Adam's dad), hosted a party, started kindergarten and preschool at a new school, and started helping take care of a friend's baby while she works.
And all the new, open space of this place has made it a dream!
Of course we have plans, boy do we ever.
That's actually something I'm working on pumping the brakes with.
If Adam and I have a plan, we want to work ourselves nutso making it a reality.
This past Saturday, I spent the whole morning stressed and harsh with everyone in my path.
I had to grab at some peace and take a break.
I also had to make a pact with myself to schedule serious downtime as we ease into this transition and not cram every moment with painting walls, overthinking house systems, and over organizing our time.
It was time to chill and go with the flow as I tell my kids all the time.
Walls WILL get painted.
All the things will get done.
Just not this afternoon. Not this week. We will have a lot of time here, possibly years Lord willing.
I have got to do this His way and not my way.
That said, I would like to share some of our most immediate plans and some before photos of the ground level of our house.
These next few photos are all of our main spaces....
The light can be great during some parts of the day but we really want to amp it up by painting all the walls the same shade of light gray.
I can see wall color trends starting to shift away from gray and on to whites and creams but I have a feeling gray is where we will camp for a long time to come.
It feels light and cool to us which is good for how we intend to use our space.
We want anything we do to stay out of the way and make as much room as possible for people (especially kids) to be able to get around without feeling like their going to knock something or get something dirty.
So we'll paint the walls a very light gray.
Eventually we would like to do some tile work in the kitchen.
We'll change out a few light fixtures or at least update them a bit with new shades or paint.
Both the front door and the side door will be painted black inside and out.
I did think about painting the side door, which is less conspicuous, a funky color like mustard or rust.
I will be repainting Malachi's room black and white.
Adam already started working on making a drop station for backpacks and jackets.
I started priming the red walls in the living room.
In the family room after painting, we'd like to hang up white curtains and some over sized, black + white, goofy portraits of the kids like this...
Love those.
I'm not one to sit down and plan a whole space all at once.
I'd rather live in it as it goes, paint a few walls, draw a few tentative lines in the sand, then make tweaks and rearrange until it feels right.
"Life is a video not a photo."
Can't remember where I heard that but its crazy true and brings me a lot a peace when I get caught up in the feeling that I want everything to be right right now.
We'll get there.
For now, I'm just incredibly thankful to be where we are.
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