Confessions of the Condo: Barns and Bats

~If you had not already heard, there was a bat living in our Master Bedroom window at the house. I've had some bad experiences with bats, namely one flying way too close to my head. Apparently my father in law has dealt with the issue and I'm not asking questions.

~I saw one of the windows that was taken out of the Master Bed yesterday and replaced. It literally looked like a window that you would take out of a barn, not a house. 

~The 40 minute drive between Wilton and Bettendorf is starting to weigh on my nerves.

~In light of the above, trying to maintain two households is tiring. I feel like I am spending my time going back and forth either transporting our belongings or cleaning one or the other.

~I'm having a hard time with the whole transitioning between households/moving/trying to get a really old house ready to move in to WHILE taking care of a toddler thing. Most of the time I feel I am just sitting here while other people work on my house and I do nothing b/c he needs a nap, or b/c he needs to go to bed. Benjamin is the type that goes into I'm a homicidal maniac mode when he starts to lose sleep, so I will do all that I can to get him as much as possible. Thankfully, my Mom had some time last week off and took care of him so I could get it cleaned up for my inlaws who are currently staying there. I couldn't imagine expecting them to live there for a week in the condition that it was.

~Again, in light of the above, I'm learning there's nothing like having a little one to teach you about priorities and selflessness. And there's nothing like moving twice in 6 months and having to fix up a place before you can move in to teach you about patience & strengthen your marriage (assuming you don't constantly get frustrated at your husband for having to be gone every night while you sit here and do nothing b/c the boy needs to sleep)

~On a different note, Benjamin loves being out there. He has a kitty, which he loves. He has a cow, which he is ecstatic about (especially when we get to feed them), and he loves being able to run around outside. We may have to move again, but I don't think he is going to mind.

~We have an electical pole outside the house that has a light on it, which of course was burn out. Last week when my Dad went to climb it to change the bulb, it was discovered that the pole was basically only held up by the wires, because at the ground it was totally rotted through.

~Regardless of all of these things, in another month or so we will be moved and I know it will be easier. At the end of the week we will hopefully have all new windows. And in the next couple of weeks we will have freshly painted rooms and some new clean carpet.

It's just a matter of getting through these next few weeks...

Confessions of the Condo:Reality

~We closed on our new house last Wednesday. When we entered our new home, we were greeted by stinky dog smell lingering from the back room they were allowed to go in and out of, a fridge full of food, and trash bags sitting in the middle of several rooms.

~I spent over 4 hours today cleaning. I had to take all of the shelves from the fridge outside to be hosed off. I had to spray down the stove at least 3 times w/ degreaser and I still didn't get it all.

~Kev and my Dad tore out the first window last night. There are at least 15 more.

~Kev found a not so lucky goat somewhere out in the pasture. I know, gross, but we're talking reality here.

 ~I didn't really want to post pictures until we got it more fixed up, but, I think giving you a glimpse will help you see just how much better it looks when we do get some things done.

So hold your hats, and your breath:

Mudroom. It does not smell good.

 Pantry/Old dog room/reason the mud room does not smell good.

 It REALLY does not smell good.

Kitchen: Notice the nice rotting fruit and vegetables on the counter.

Kitchen: It's really pretty dirty. The trash doesn't help.

Future office.  

Bathtub. It seriously looked like there was dirt in it. 

 Guest bedroom.

Despite all of the dirtiness and lack of upkeep, I can still see a lot of potential and am excited to get past the cleaning and on to improvements. I do not however enjoy cleaning up other people's trash.

Hopefully I will have some "nicer" pictures to share with you soon. Until then, here's my favorite from that day:

Now doesn't that make it all worthwhile?

Confessions of the Condo: House Edition

So we're on target to close Wednesday, and I realize I haven't shared much about our new house.

Right now I'm in between a state of excitement and being overwhelmed and stressed. On one hand it's so exciting to finally see our prayers answered, but on the other there's so much to do. Then there's the whole change thing.

Change is good (usually), but it's never easy.

So on that note, rather than me going on some diatribe and trying to pen all these swirling emotions, let me just share some facts.

~It's been 6 years since I lived in the country (with my parents of course). I am more than ready to get back, but it's going to require some majorly improved organization skills on my part. No more quick trips to the store because I forgot I was out of something while trying to make supper. I think now I run an errand at least every other day, so condensing my shopping into one or two trips is going to be a major change.

~It's been 8 years since Kev moved to Iowa and starting looking for a place in the country. To say he is excited would be an understatement.

~We started our house as a married couple in 2008. Remember this house? We made offers on 4 houses in the last 2 years.

~The week we looked at the house for the first time, we were praying that we would find something that week. We looked at this house thinking it would be something to do while we were waiting for the right one to come on the market. I went into it highly guarded sure that this was not the house b/c it was too far from Kev's work. The 30 x 19 Master Bedroom is what sold me.

~Right now the house has the washer & dryer in the office. The house also has what we think are the original windows, and the house was built in 1855. Before we move in, we hope to replace the windows, doors, open up a new doorway in the living room, and paint everywhere. We hope to have this done by the middle of September and be out of the condo by October. Throw in a week's trip to Indiana and we have about 3 weeks to get that accomplished.

~Then there's all of our stuff. We figured out the other day we have it scattered between 5 different locations. 2 storage units-in different locations. The condo. A friends barn. My Dad's barn. I can't wait to be done and have it all at one centralized location.


~We originally saw the listing for the house when it came on the market. In fact, it was on the market when we sold our house. Why we waited until July to look at it, I don't know. But God does. One thing I do know, we've learned a lot and we've grown a lot in our short time here.

In closing, let me share some verses I have meditated on in the last few months (emphasis mine):

But you must return to your God; MAINTAIN LOVE and justice, and WAIT for your God ALWAYS.
Hosea 12:5-7

Wait for the LORD; BE STRONG and TAKE HEART and wait for the LORD.  Psalm 27:13-14

I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the descendants of Jacob. I will PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.  Isaiah 8:16-18

But as for me, I WATCH IN HOPE for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God WILL HEAR ME.  Micah 7:6-8

I say to myself, “The LORD is MY PORTION; therefore I will WAIT FOR HIM.” Lamentations 3:23-25

We wait in HOPE for the LORD; he is our HELP and our SHIELD. Psalm 33:19-21

Yes, LORD, WALKING in the way of YOUR LAWS, we wait for you; YOUR NAME AND RENOWN are the DESIRE OF OUR HEARTS. Isaiah 26:7-9

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:2-4

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who ACTS on BEHALF of those WHO WAIT for him.  Isaiah 64:3-5

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:4

Don't ever be afraid to put your hope in Him. It may require some waiting, but in his time, He will give you the desires of your heart.

Confessions of the Condo: News!

~I haven't wrote for a few weeks. I've been either too busy or too tired. Or too stressed. Or all three.

~I'm having a major allergy attack today. I've figured out that when I sit down I stop sneezing, but otherwise it's like 5 sneezes a minute and a faucet for a nose. Not sure how they act up when I haven't even been outside.

~I guess since the appraisal is back and high enough I can officially announce that we are on our way to purchasing a house! I'm excited but there's so much to do/plan/accomplish and we have so much going on already!

~In lieu of the above, I have been frantically searching for good deals on paint. The house is 2800 sq ft so there is a lot of painting to do. I like to frequent the home improvement stores' "mistint" section along w/ our local Habitat ReStore for bargains. We have an entire closet full of paint here at the condo.

~In our old house we had a lot of hand-me-downs, and my husband had lived there for over a year by the time I started adding my touch. I've decided that I want a fresh start in the new house, so I'm having a lot of fun planning colors and decor. Of course w/ a limited budget (and a BIG house that needs ALL new windows, doors AND eventually siding), I have to be creative w/ my bargain hunting and repurposing. I'll do my best to post some of my projects and finished products here!

~We discovered a week or two ago that our Master Bedrooom in the new house is 200 sq ft less than our entire condo (the BR is 570, the condo is 785).

~I also discovered recently that feeding Benjamin too many black beans is a really bad idea.

Back to sitting and enjoying my sneeze break.

True Woman 101: Sisterhood is Powerful

 

For our last week, we took a final look at the definition of womanhood, comparing a biblical perspective with that of the culture and also reviewing what God had in mind with his original divine design.

While the Bible places a high value on marriage and motherhood and sees it as a noble calling, our surrounding world often devalues marriage and motherhood. Culture upholds our own ideas of success and fulfillment, which usually involves a career, money, and independence. Neither marriage or motherhood is not looked upon as fulfilling, but instead we are encouraged to pursue our own wants and desires outside the home to fulfill us.

As we saw, motherhood is at the heart of womanhood. But having a "mothering" heart does not necessarily mean you need to bear children.Though we often think of motherhood as a physical calling, it is also a spiritual one. Married or single, we as women can demonstrate a mothering quality as we bring up and nurture children in the faith. Bearing and nurturing life is a God given task. As women, we have a tremendous responsibility to be fruitful-that is, to be spiritually fruitful, producing and nurturing sons and daughters in the faith. Adoption, fostering, mentoring, teaching-these are all ways that an otherwise "childless" woman can practice her mothering bent. A woman doesn't have to physically bear children to be a "joyful mother."

When we look at our divine design, we also see that God assigned woman the primary responsibility for creating and managing a home. God designed women to have a unique responsibility for creating and managing their home because he also gave them a bent for creating warm, inviting spaces that are conducive to welcoming and nurturing life. 

As we think about our new home, my husband and I have a markedly different approach in what needs to be done to make it a true home. Where he is concerned about practical things like new doors and windows, I am concerned about furniture, paint, and decor. My concern is for making it look and feel warm and homey, whereas his concern is in making it practically liveable. Before doing this study, I had never thought about it being a God given inclination.

As I finish this study, I think one of the best lessons I can take is regarding the importance of leaving a legacy of True Womanhood for the daughters of the next generation. Because the young and upcoming women of our world are going to be influenced by somebody, and I'd much rather that they be influenced by a legacy of True Womanhood than by that of the culture. The ideas that the culture promotes are counter to these beliefs and dishonoring to God, and following them has only left us even more empty and unfulfilled.

As we close, I hope you have gained some insight into the ideas that we have been studying and have maybe even seen some application for your own life. And of course, if you haven't done it, I would highly recommend this study for your upcoming fall Bible Study! 

Thanks for following along with us.

For more information, be sure to visit www.truewoman101.com.