our dozen beautiful feet

Often over the last two months, I've wondered what it would feel like to sit down to close on a house and feel a sense of accomplishment and finality. Because at ours, it was like someone just handed us a permission slip to start working. :)  When we closed, there was not much anticipation of moving, settling, nesting. It was all plans for what to get started on first. Through the closing process, I had found a contractor that I really gelled with and trusted, though for no apparent reason. :)  I just liked him because his bid was incredibly detailed on a massive spreadsheet with prices, taxes, product names and everything. I knew we would get along. So once I had seen what all each project would cost, we were able to narrow down what we could do ourselves and what we needed the professional to do.  Let's start with the top floor. Upstairs has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Two of the bedrooms are larger than average, and one is a pretty normal size. :) There wasn...

Through the fall, I kept watching Zillow, but honestly, everything was now compared to what I thought the house from June could be.  (I mean, I had probably 15 pages of graph paper drawn out of floor plans, remodeling lists, and more... so much for having put it out of my mind, right?)  I kept trying to figure out a way to buy it for their opening bid and still be able to remodel it, but it just wasn't going to work.  I had peace and trust though, that God would lead us to a good house that would be a blessing to us for a long time. Having done my research, I knew the house was in redemption until November 10th. So, my expectation was that it would get listed sometime in November, December, or January, for the asking price at the auction.  I had also figured that we'd need about $30,000 to remodel it and repair all the damage. One Saturday morning in late October, we were all rushing around getting ready for the last of the soccer games for the season.  I h...

When Paul and I got married, we really thought we'd never own a home.  We felt called to give our lives overseas for the kingdom of God, and felt like that would prevent us from ever buying and putting roots down somewhere.  But as is often the case, God has plans that don't necessarily go in a straight line like we imagine they will. When we'd been in India for seven years as a family, my body spazzed and I got so sick I lost over 40 pounds. Most of you know that story, but, it ended with our returning to the states quite unexpectedly. Once we realized and surrendered that we were back to stay, we scrambled to figure out what we were going to do.  Paul ended up going to work with my dad, which was a really good fit for our family.  But, it meant that we wouldn't qualify for a home loan for two years.  I had figured out that now we were back, we'd be able to buy a house, and I was anxious to do that. But since I'd been waiting so long, and since I'd mov...