Finally Home
Well, we’re all moved in. Sort of. As much as you can be moved in after a week.
It’s amazing to have room for things, and to be organized and CLEAN. In our old house, we didn’t have a pantry. We shoved all our cans/pantry items into a lower cabinet where we also had to keep mouse traps (gross, but true), and what we couldn’t fit in there when on what was an old microwave cart. (And now we have THIS!)
Aaron purchased the living room furniture for his loft in Atlanta, so it’s BIG (and masculine) and it was shoved into a very small little living area before. And because we used to let the dogs on the furniture, I never got to have my pillows out. But new house means new rules, and the newest rule is no more dogs in our bedroom, and no dogs on the furniture. They’re adjusting. A dog park just a 10 minute walk away takes their minds off not being able to sleep on the couch.
It’s funny, too, how different the spaces can feel with furniture in them, versus how they did when they were empty or in progress. Both Aaron and I were afraid that our bedroom would feel tight once we put in our king-sized bed. Ha!
I never thought of myself as a “new house” person, but this experience has definitely changed my mind! When I think back to all of the properties we looked at and considered, I can’t think of one that we would’ve been as happy with as we are with this one. And that includes the red brick 1920s two story that made my eyes fill with tears as soon as I walked through its door.
Of course, new construction has it’s downsides. Like landscaping. Our yard still isn’t graded, and because of the timing of our closing and the climate, we still don’t have a driveway, sidewalk or grass. But those are temporary annoyances. (Though when you have dogs, it is pretty annoying!)
We’re all so glad to finally be home!
Monday Morning
Our office is closed today, so I get to spend the day with my mom unpacking and organizing. It’s such a blessing to have her help! Even with movers, it still took us all day long on Saturday (and a few trips Friday night and Sunday morning) to get everything over to the new place. We had a lot more than I thought crammed into that little rental house.
I’ve never lived anywhere this nice, and I still sort of can’t believe it. I feel like we snuck into this neighborhood, and they’re going to discover that we’re frauds and boot us out! The first night, when we walked all four dogs, I was glad it was dark so none of our neighbors could see us, the Bumpuses.
Sometimes we get good and perfect gifts from our Father. Things we don’t deserve, but he gives them anyway. And that’s what this house is. A good and perfect gift that we don’t deserve. When it was being built, I wandered around the frames and prayed that He would allow us to use it to bless others. Send us children God, however you choose to send them, to fill these rooms.
It was kind of a wonky Easter weekend, with the moving, but we made it to the 6 pm service yesterday, and Pastor Bob said that because of Easter, because of Jesus, we have a trusted guide. Someone who will direct our paths, if we acknowledge Him with our lives. That sometimes we get impatient, because things don’t happen as we’d like them to, when we’d like them. He referenced jobs and relationships, but of course I sat there and thought of children. There is nothing else in the world that is as out of hands as getting pregnant or having children. We can prevent it, yes, but we can’t make it happen: not with all the science in the world. We can help, for sure, but just ask the women whose stories I’ve read of three, four, five failed IVF cycles. It is what it is, as we say around here.
But because of Easter, because my Redeemer lives, I have a God who is for me. Who promises me hope. So I will cling to that hope and trust in the knowledge that He is FOR me.
“In all things, we know that, we are more than conquerers. You keep us by your love.” — Christy Nockels, “Healing is In Your Hands”
It’s Ours! — Foto Friday
We closed on Wednesday! It’s ours!
A moving van arrives today from Ohio with stuff from my mom’s house—wedding gifts she’s had since my Ohio shower; furniture from my grandmother; a few other odd and ends. Tomorrow we move from our current house to the new one. I can’t wait!
Thanks for coming along for the ride. It was a great experience, and I would recommend building to anyone who’s in the market for a new house.
*Shot with a Canon 20mm 2.8 that I rented. I like it!
Almost Finished — Foto Friday
Oh, we’re close now, y’all!
House Update IV
Things are moving right along! This week the entire interior was painted, and all of the non-carpet flooring was put down. The hardwoods downstairs . . .
The flooring in both the laundry room and the mudroom is vinyl composite tile (VCT). It’s pretty much exactly what they put in the model, and I liked it so much that I picked the same thing for us! (The hallway bathroom floor is also VCT, only just the buff-colored tiles instead of the checkered.)
The lighting fixtures are mostly all in too.
The bathroom cabinets are stained/painted and the hardware is installed. The counters and sinks were installed this week too. Just need fixtures now!
All that’s left now is to finish the tile in the bathroom and around the fireplace, put in the remaining light fixtures and bathroom fixtures and lay the carpet! Oh, and a few other exterior things like the steps off the porch and the stone work. They’ll paint the exterior and pour our driveway and sidewalk after we close. (Probably in May sometime.)
We move in two weeks from today! I can’t believe it got here so fast. Everyone said that building a house would be stressful and crazy, but I have to say, so far (SO.FAR), it’s been pretty great. It’s such a trip to see it go up, from a hole in the ground to the framing to the drywalling to the a real actual house. It’s awesome.
keep looking »-
Compassion
