Settling In

I know there have been a lot of you anxiously waiting for an update on our move with pictures of the new house.  It has been a whirlwind of a few weeks.  Even now, as I sit at my desk in MY OWN HOME OFFICE, knowing that there are boxes still stacked in various places throughout the house, I am amazed at all that we have been able to accomplish in the past month.  Certainly the Lord has blessed the work of our hands and we are grateful!  In addition, there were several people who helped us move and we know that many continue to lift us up in prayer as we transition into a new season of ministry and family life.  Thank you to all of you!

On March 18, we drove away from this trailer that has been our home for 3 years.  It was bittersweet for sure, but we are so grateful for the new home we moved into! :)  God was generous in providing a buyer for the trailer who paid what we asked without any negotiating!  The sale of our trailer will allow us to get a second car to make travel more fuel efficient for ministry within driving distance and enable the boys and I to have transportation when Josh is away.

On Tuesday March 21st we got the keys to our new home!  We filled the pickup with our first load of boxes, moved them into the house, and then hung curtains in all of the rooms.

On Wednesday, we brought another truckload of boxes, made a couple runs to Home Depot for misc. stuff, and my appliances were delivered!  We had our first dinner in our new home that evening!

Thursday was our official move in day.  I managed to not get any pictures of furniture being loaded or unloaded, so I guess you'll just have to trust me when I say it's all here at our new house now! :)  Thing 1 and Thing 2 worked so hard.  They cleaned, packed, and carried boxes.  Then they helped unload and unpack.  I was so proud of them!  My "little" boys definitely worked like men!  Josh and I have moved eleven times in our thirteen years of marriage, and every other time I've hurt my back at some point in the process.  But not this time!  My three boys and some friends did all of the heavy lifting and that kept my back healthy!  Praise God! :)

It's funny how organization and chaos seem to alternate when you're unpacking and getting settled.  We unpack a few boxes, spread stuff all over, find homes for those things and then unpack and distribute again.  It's a process for sure, but slowly but surely we're working our way through the boxes and "setting up home."

I spared you the pictures of the garage, storage room, and Josh's studio because they are piled high with boxes and not nearly as interesting! ;)  (Besides, this way I can pretend that my house is neat and organized and live a few minutes in denial of the massive amount of boxes I still have to unpack)

Our house has a partially finished basement.  There are two "bedrooms" - one which we'll use for storage for now and the other is Josh's studio.  There is also a laundry room and wood shop (We feel so spoiled!)  Then there is one great big "entertainment" room...A.K.A. Giant LEGO Explosion/Fort/Noisy Boy Room! (as seen above)

So there you have our "Home Sweet Home"!  I'll continue to post pictures as we get unpacked and situated! 

In the meantime, Josh is in California this weekend, doing 5 ministry events in two days!  I talked to him this afternoon and he was really excited about the work that God has been doing through these events.  I miss him, but I'm so thankful for some peace and stability and honored to be married to a man who continues to follow wherever the Master leads!

Please pray for our family as we begin to get to know the people in our neighborhood and strive to shine and share Jesus with them as well!