We're in!

  We've moved in. Blog updates will be sparse until we have internet run in the house. I have no idea when that will be since we are kind of enjoying life without T.V., internet and phone. It's very peaceful. We are getting lots of stuff done each day and we love our house.

Try to remember.

   We had such a nice weekend working out at the house. We have been trying to remember why we wanted the house and what we were doing all of it for. We know now, this weekend gave us back our desire. We fished, we played, we had a campfire, we saw bald eagles fly overhead, it was glorious! We started the electrical part of the renovation today and so far, so good. Our electrician was very impressed with the size of the beams and the sturdiness of the house overall and thinks the house is older than we thought based on the lumber used to build it. It's kind of exciting to know your home has been around for well over 100 years and will probably be there for at least another 100! I needed someone to appreciate our house! Now that we have the upstairs painted, we're planning on moving in this coming weekend and I'll just be grilling till we get the stove in! It's going to be nice not having to drive 20 minutes just to measure something or do a little painting. I can't wait to just be there.

Keep on Keepin' on...

   We're still working hard to finish the house. We are getting closer to a move in date as most of the bedroom renovating is almost done. As soon as we can get the beds and dressers in, we'll move and can do the rest of it in time.  We've also made good headway in the family room and living room though my arms are screaming with fatigue from the wallpaper steamer. (still so grateful to have it though!) Our insurance company has done NOTHING for the house in over 2 weeks and it's very frustrating.  Our poor kids are really suffering from having us so focused and busy with the house, leaving not much time for anything else. My 9 yr. old son had a breakdown last night because he just wants to be a "normal family" again. We all do. We are running the race set before us, and are trying not to tire mentally. Physically we're about done in.

Under Attack

       I think we are under attack by the Devil right now. I know to many of you this will sound like an extremely weird statement but I do believe that the Devil is real and does try to destroy Christians. I didn't always believe this but since going back to the church and becoming a faithful student of the Bible again, I do believe it now. I see the reality of it in peoples lives and feel it in our own right now. This doesn't mean that I think that every bad thing that happens is because of Satan. People make bad choices and sometimes bad things just happen but I do feel like this time, for us, the Devil is trying hard to spoil all that we are trying to do for God and our family. We have never in our lives had a string of "bad luck" like the one we've had since purchasing our home. The home that we were moving to so we could give our kids a simpler more Christian upbringing, away from some of the distractions of the outside world. The home we still can't live in because of the robbery, the home that for some unexplainable reason our insurance company can't even get repair men to fix correctly or in a timely manner. The home that we can barely get to to fix because we have had an unending stream of illness in our family. Not just colds and stuff but things like pneumonia and bronchitis, ear infections that need 2 courses of antibiotics to cure and stomach flu. Twice. Who gets stomach flu twice in a month? People who are being attacked by Satan, that's who! We made a commitment to spend Holy Week in peace and prayer and what happened? We ended up flat on our backs in misery or hanging our heads over a bucket. No church, no bible study, no nothing. We did do some family devotions here and there but is definitely wasn't the Holy Week we'd been hoping for.

    Our trials are so small compared to what Job went through and I know that everything that we're going through fits God purpose for us. I'm working hard on faith and patience right now. I'm trying really hard to put my trust in the Lord and not in physical things. And I'm trying to see the bigger picture and look to the end result. It's just so hard when it seems so far off. But that's what faith and salvation are all about. Belief in things unseen and trust in our future in Heaven.

Time Out!

We'll be taking a time out from the house this week to focus on Jesus and all he has done for us! We all needed a break from the stress and we want to make sure that we spend Holy Week in quiet and contemplation, in communion with the Lord who has given us everything. With all the break-in drama and disappointment, it's been hard to remember that we are on the right path and that Satan would not be trying so hard to derail us if we were not! So we commit to spending our time at church and with our family in peace and study. I've told all the repair people that we will not be available (except this afternoon briefly, for an inspection) this week and will be resuming all repairs the following Monday. I have not received a single bad response after I explain the reason why and I hope our ideas encourage others to take some time to think about the Savior. So anyway, Happy Easter, God's blessings to you all, and if you don't believe in Him, why not ask Him into your heart today? It's given freely and He loves you!

God is good...

We found a good Christian plumber last week who came to the house, found a sensible solution to our water problem and will be able to fix it for almost $1000 less than we first thought! We got a good amount of work done to the house over the weekend and the weather has finally decided to be like spring! We have a small problem with neighbor kids trespassing while we are not there but I think that should stop when we move in. Today I'm getting laundry caught up, grocery shopping, looking at bedding and decorator things for the kids bedrooms and trying to organize the rest of my week. I have a very busy week ahead and I have no idea how it will all come together, I hope the Lord has a little bit of extra grace I can have!

Can't..

I've been having a few days of "can't" and it's wearing me down. We can't move in until we have a stove.We can't do the gas line for the stove or the electrical inspection until the water is out of the crawl space. The previous owner and our inspector have said that there has never been any water there before. We don't really know if the water is due to more undiscovered damage because the plumber from our insurance company didn't go under and inspect everything when he was repairing the cut pipes or because of groundwater. We really don't know what's going on and I don't feel like it's being checked out fully and I feel like I'm being taken advantage of. If it's groundwater I have no problem paying to fix it but I don't want to shell out $2,500 to fix something  that wouldn't have needed fixing  if it hadn't been damaged in the break in. It's so hard because we only had the house for a day and a half when all this happened and we don't know the house and don't have any answers. I've been trying to be upbeat and put a positive spin on the break in because if I don't, I'm going to be really mad and stuff and I just don't want to go there. But I just can't be OK with it right now. I want to cry. I want to walk away from the whole thing. I just wish this never happened. But it did and I don't know what to do to pick up the pieces anymore.

Moving Forward...

We spent last weekend at the house painting closets and trim and preparing the floors. A busy but successful weekend. I'll be there all this week too, doing the same thing and hopefully meeting with the various repair people who will be putting our house back together. We thought we'd be moved in by now with a lush green spreading over the fields; planning the garden, pulling weeds from flower beds, putting up fence,but winter just won't let go!
Beautiful....yes, but it's supposed to be spring! It's all part of God's plan and even though we're ready to get to work, we're still in a waiting period. So we'll try to be patient. One good thing that has come out of the robbery is that we'll be able to fix things now that we were planning to fix later and our house will look nicer when we are able to move in. We'll also be able to get more done while we're not living there and I won't have to live in the middle of a construction zone again. I love redoing homes and have had so much fun doing our last 2 but I've got more kids now and I'm getting old and I'm ready to be done. I had to laugh at the grocery store this weekend. The #1 way you can tell I'm working on a house again, I had to pull out 2 screw drivers, a measuring tape, a hinge and cabinet handle out of my purse so I could find my checkbook to pay.

Picking up the pieces.

  We began our journey of moving forward yesterday. The cleaning crew showed up only to get stuck in our freshly snow clogged driveway. There was much more snow on our country roads than where we are currently staying while the house is repaired. After much tugging they were able to make it and we all took turns pushing each other out when it was time to go. Doesn't sound like fun, but it was!

  My sweet C helped pick up carpet tacks while I pulled them out and I taught her how to patch plaster. Not a bad skill for a 4yr. old to posses, right? Little T was as well behaved as a bored 17 mos. old stuck in a Pack n' Play can be, but we got a lot of work done. The crew cleaned all the mud and finger print dust up and prepared everything for painting.The plumber came and did a preliminary inspection and saw the water in the crawl. I'm praying so hard for that to be an easy fix. The house feels a bit less scary now that it's cleaner. I think when the broken door is replaced and the kitchen is farther along I'll feel even more comfortable. Yay! We're moving forward!!

A word about giving.

Times are tough. People are hungry, cold and scared. Our break in is a symptom of that. We've had our own share of poverty and to be honest, we're not that far away from it still. But we have so much more than so many. Everything we have, we have because God has given it to us, and it is to be used to bless others with.  We were driving to the new house yesterday to remove some old carpet when we saw a small, cold lady with a sign. One of those- " Help! Mother. Will work for food or diapers! Please!" These signs are becoming more and more common and they break my heart. We pulled over and I jumped out to see what size diapers she needed. Size 4, the same size I had in my car, that I just bought for our youngest. Now I have a dilemma, I'm feeling poor myself and worrying about how to buy all the stuff we need to get the new house in order so we can move in and blah blah blah. But I'm not standing in the cold, alone, begging for things that my children desperately need. Thank you Jesus!! I pulled out the case of diapers and a pack of wipes to give her and I hope they bless that poor lady and her family.

   We drove out to the farm and on the way we saw the son of the lady we bought the house from. He is a really great guy and I owed him an apology. When we were broken into, the police thought it was someone in the family and were not very nice when questioning him. I wanted him to know that we never thought he was involved and we were sorry about the way the police handled things with him. We have restored good relations with him and I feel much better inside now. While we were talking he offered us an oak entertainment center, a chest freezer and a really awesome play structure for the kids for free. One of those wooden $2000.00 kinds I've always wanted but had a hard time justifying the expense of. Not a bad return on a "God investment" of $17.00 in diapers. We have seen time and time again how Luke 6:38; "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." really works when you apply it. Never because you are expecting something in return but because you genuinely desire to make a life better for someone who has less. We are saved by grace, my marriage is strong, my children are healthy and the Lord goes with us. We are rich.

Why?

Well, we're looking to the Lord and leaning not on our own understanding. We had the keys for a whole day and a half when someone smashed in the back door and stole things and vandalized our home. It still feels like a bad dream. We have been praying for guidance since we began looking for a home and this is the one God gave us and we are so very grateful for it. There is a reason for this, which we don't understand. The problem I'm having is not with the stuff that was stolen, stuff can be replaced, but with the feeling of a loss of innocence. This was the peaceful home where we would finally be able to raise the children in the country, but it just feels scary now. I spent the weekend thinking about the house and crying and then thinking about people who really have it bad right now, like the people in Japan or that family in Pennsylvania who just lost 7 of their 8 kids in a house fire. Then I feel selfish for putting my small troubles in front of theirs and cry some more. I need to put my focus on helping someone in a worse place than me right now.

Waiting...

We are the new owners of an old house. Yay! Now we just have to sit patiently and wait for the old owner to move out. We should have a vacant house sometime around the 10th of March which oddly enough is our 10th wedding anniversary. What a wonderful way to begin the next 10 years! I'm full of excited and sad feelings. We met the wonderful former owner of our home at the closing and she has graciously offered to show us how to use the wood stove to get the right heat from it for cooking or keeping the house warm. She added propane ($600 from her own pocket) to the tank to make sure we would be warm. She just seems like a fantastic Christian woman and I'd rather be learning from her, side by side, than "pushing" her out of her home of the last 40 years. But she's ready to move on. Still, I don't envy her the emotions she'll feel when she pulls that door closed for the last time, or that moment as the house slips out of view on the last drive away. Though we were only in our Detroit home for 5 years, we made a lot of memories and some do bring a few tears with remembrance.

In the beginning....

This is my first post for our new life. Or my last post for our old life. I guess it depends on how you look at it. We will be closing on our 1st homestead property tomorrow at noon. This is something we have no experience with so it should be quite the adventure. We recently moved from the Detroit area and have been living with my very kind in-laws until the sale is final. I thought it would be a fun idea to journal the transformation of our lives as we move from big city to quiet country. This was a big decision for us which sprang from a desire to create a slower, more peaceful, God centered life for our 3 kids. We would like to be able to provide them with a depth of life that seems out of people's reach in today's society. We want less electronic entertainment time and more face time. We want them to see the power in the work of their hands and to have less of the distractions that pull families apart. We want fresh air, fresh water, and fresh food to grow healthy minds and bodies. This will be an interesting journey for us as our family works towards self sufficient living