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.