55 Weeks of Growing our Patience

God is so good!  The first thought that comes to my mind each time I think about the past couple of years is simply that.  God is so good.  I know I've said it over and over and over, but now that we are to this point in the journey I am overwhelmed with how blessed we truly are through Christ.  When you put your own personal desires aside and pray for God's will to happen, you just never know what will come your way.  I still have moments where I miss the city so much, but then I recall what brought us here in the first place and I sit in wonder at how God answers our prayers in ways we can't even imagine.

Pam's Place is 99% complete.  The only things left to do are projects for us to work on over the next several months.  We signed up to do all of the painting inside and out as well as completing her deck and the landscaping, in order to save a few dollars.  It actually saved several thousands of dollars, and since we know we are very capable, it is worth it in the long run.  Not to mention it will allow us to take a summer vacation this year!  Woohoo!  Looking forward to that after not taking one last year.

• 
  

So, here it is in all it's glory!

Before:  

Back in January when they were just getting ready to start construction.

And After: 

Still a few minor things for them to come finish up. But we are just so delighted to finally have everyone settled. Our new three car garage for all of us to keep our cars all comfy cozy in the winter months is a true luxury.  After scraping windows all winter God has given me a new appreciation for this special place.   While we share the same stairs to the house from the garage, our entry is on the the left side and Pam's entry is on the right side.

 We will be completing her deck and painting the exterior of the house something similar to the brown color on her eave.  The trim will go white...we think!  I am toying with a darker brown tone but have a few months to decide.  We can't paint the new stucco for 90 days in order to let is completely cure.

A place for Nana to enjoy the outdoors.

•  

Upon entering the front door you walk into a small living room.  Just enough for a chair or two.  Her hope is to get a plush chair that will fit in the space, but for now she is simply enjoying the enlarged area compared to what she was living in for 383 days.

•  

While the living area is small the kitchen area is so large and open. She even has an area for sewing and reading, as well. 

• 
  

The bedroom is just delightful.  Enough room for her bed and a small study.  She has her computer set up in one part and her sleeping area in the other.

Her cat, Barclay, is so happy to finally have some room to spread out as well!

Going with the glass door between her bedroom and the main part of her home was such a great idea.  Let's so much light into the place!

•  

The bathroom turned out great. Large enough to get a tub which she really wanted.

We are so relieved the construction is over and that we can each have a place to call our own.  While we know this is just our temporary home and that our true home is in Heaven, we are so grateful that they each turned out as lovely as they did and that we can now just sit and enjoy them.  Of course, I am certain that we will each tinker with and change a thing here or there...it's in our blood!

Again, I Say...It's been How Long Since the Last Posting?

I know when my kids look back on our yearly blog books they're going to wonder what happened during the past month. All I can say it that life gets busy, and our priorities aren't always in line with what we think they should be in line with.  Memory keeping is a huge part of my life, but as of late, I am just trying to stay afloat in the present. 

Today I am thankful for so many things. 



Dirty dishes--because I have a dishwasher to clean them. 

Toilet bowl rings...because I have rubber gloves, Ajax and a scrubby to get rid of them. 

The anticipation of my mom moving soon and the donation truck that will be parked outside my school this weekend because I have been sifting through my home for things that are no longer being used to give to others. 

But most importantly, today I am thankful for snow days. That way I can add this posting to our blog!

I can't really believe my district called a snow day today since there isn't really any snow to speak of, but "they" are forecasting a crazy blizzard to pass through and dump between 3-8 inches depending on the elevation you live at.  My school should get about 3, but I live about a 1000 feet higher, so we are anticipating those big drifts to be gracing our driveway again.  We shall see.  Right now the wind speeds are anywhere between 30 and 60 miles per hour.  So it seems to just be blowing the snow right on through without giving it much time to land to the ground.

Thank you Jesus for unexpected gifts!

On the home front:

I know I haven't updated about Pam's place for a while.  Things are still moving along.  In fact, there is a worker here this morning.  The appliances are scheduled to be delivered on Thursday, so we are diligently praying for a weekend move out.  Please pray for us as we are all ready have our own spaces back.  

During spring break, the long dreaded process of updating our septic system was actually one of the easiest parts of this whole process.  I smile when I think back at how much I was worried about this part.  But in actuality it really only took about 2 hours for them to disconnect and reconnect our water system.  We now have a system that is twice as big and the best part is that we won't have to call an excavator company if it ever backs up.  They put risers and lids where the four access points are, so it will be a breeze to have it cleaned out every few years. 
(When we were looking to buy the place in July 2011 Craig, our realtor and I spend several hours digging in the dry dirt trying to find the cement lids and had no luck whatsoever.)  We knew it would be a minor fix, so we bought the place anyway...clearly!

 The septic tank itself is a concrete box. Underneath the black risers are cement lids. In the pasture they had to add a new leach field so the amount of dirt that had to be dug up and moved around was a whole lot more than we anticipated.  All worth it in the long run.  The "peace of mind" feeling is worth every ounce of dirt!

Pam's place is moving right along...

 The hearth and fireplace are ready to go. 

Kichen cabinets and counters are installed.  Just need a few adjustments.

 The bathroom tile is installed and just needs to be grouted.

Appliances are scheduled to arrive on Thursday, the second coat of stucco is to be applied on Friday (weather permitting) and we are praying, praying, praying for a weekend move in. 

We have entered week 11.  Our patience threshold feels like it has been tested to it's maximum limit, but we keep reminding ourselves that our Father gives is only what we can handle. We have grown so much during this past year. 

Today I am thankful for so many things...