what is best

once earthly joy I craved
sought peace and rest
now Thee alone I seek
give what is best

-"More Love To Thee" Elizabeth P. Prentiss, 1818-1878
Fernando Ortega: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zl1nL6M7ogc
Isaiah 55:8

be like the bird

click on the pictures to enlarge them...

three ducks take refuge in our front yard after a thunderstorm:


1 day, 3 inches later, can you spot our red neighbor?


my little zipporah (hebrew for bird!)


Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? Matthew 6:26-27

crow's nest

before

after

before

after

I love it. The color is called fresh pear; Elanor came home from the hospital wrapped in a blanket this color, and I've liked it ever since. Especially paired with pink or aqua or brown. Fitting too, for a summer baby who was named after a flower and a bird, to have a garden-fairy-dinosaur themed room. The chandelier is just a bonus, as it came with the house!

first of spring

Another day full of grace. This morning was our first thunderstorm of the year, but even the rain couldn't wash away all the piles of snow. NorahBell is both eager and recalcitrant to adjust to our new home, this place without a name on wild rice street.

Brett has just laid the tiles in our bathroom! Still grouting and edging to finish, and then I can paint, and we can install our fixtures, and then it won't feel so much like camping anymore. We found an old cast iron clawfoot tub on craigslist for $50, and I keep sneaking out to the garage to look at it.

I OWN A CLAWFOOT BATHTUB. AHH!!!

I'm still holding out for a pedestal sink, sectional, and washing machine. A chest freezer and the shower attachment/halo for the tub would be nice too. I'm confident that if I wait long enough, I can find everything I need for the right price... or free! I'm in no hurry. *smile*

Next on the agenda (after the bathroom is completed) is the kitchen tile & painting. I made a running list of everything we would, ideally, like to tackle in the next five years. We'll see where we are then. Oh, and I'll post some more pictures soon!

threshold

I feel like I'm walking on water. If I dare look down, I'll sink. If I dare *think* about looking down, I'll sink. Like a rock. Talk about pink elephants.

There, that was the best words I could give my emotions. Seriously, this owning a house business is surreal. Suddenly I've felt the edge of fear that I could lose this huge thing. But that is all it is: a thing. Underneath is still my strong sure Anchor that God would not give us a responsibility we cannot handle. We even prayed that God would not let us get the house unless it was in the scope of His providence. So... it must be!

Marvelous progression: education - husband - daughter - midwest - homemaking - house. Okay, a quiver full might be the frosting on the cake, but I just can't be discontent when I have so much already (can I? There is a white crib in the rafters of the garage; the house came with a free crib!). Oh my word, this place is bigger than I ever would have imagined. It really is like the Bailey place in "It's a Wonderful Life." Norah's room is done except for hanging some things on the walls. Brett is ripping up rotten floor to build and tile the bathroom and kitchen, and when that's done then we can settle in and use them! Painting will have to wait. Maybe I can paint one room per month. March - N's room, April - bathroom, May - kitchen, etc. Let me tell you, it is strange to unpack boxes whose contents haven't seen the light of day for years, let alone been put to use! Everyone (it seems) says no matter how much space you have, you'll fill it, and inside I scoff just a teeny bit. In five years my discipline may grow slack, but after successfully purging Quite a Lot and living in one-and-a-half rooms for almost a year I feel we sort of deserve to stretch out a little. I certainly hope that every window, wall, and corner are filled with pure and simple love & hospitality. All along I hoped for a cozy cost(read:energy)-efficient home, but since we landed such a whopper I'll just have to rise to the challenge of living cheaply in a large house.

Maybe, once the snow melts and the utility bill comes, it will all feel a little more real.

1155

After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same.

-Simon and Garfunkel

I was married at 2:00pm on Friday, January 4th 2008. 1155 days later, at 2:00pm on Friday, March 4th 2011 we are closing on our first house! God has made our lot secure. He is giving us this stewardship, and our part is to cultivate faithfulness as we enter into a reality that often seemed beyond our reach. Throughout this process He has made it clear that He is the one directing our steps, and that we could lose everything at any time. Therefore, our hope is in Him alone!!

This isn't our "Anchor's Rest" - that someday dream house - but by grace we were able to invest in a property that fulfilled four of the five desires we wrote down last July: affordable, proximate, built pre-1950, and full of opportunity to improve. I will happily look forward to finding an acreage on a gravel road someday (that was #5), and in the meanwhile thank God for the blessing of being able to pay this house off completely in just five years, instead of a 15 or 30 year mortgage. Not an easy feat for us, but God does not give us more than we can handle. We will also face the immense challenge of figuring out just how much electricity/gas/water/phone we can afford, and I for one am looking forward to competing for the title of "most resourceful wife in the world"! (I sort of feel like I was born for this!)

A new season, a new chapter, a new home.

dependence

Three more days. Until the world changes as we close on our first house.

I fully admit I am going crazy with waiting. Every minute feels like a year, somehow. Not that I want time to go faster. Oh no. These days are just h.e.a.v.y... with anticipation.

I'm going to take another deep breath and do the next thing.