Our New House!

We got the house! It happened last night, but I have been so busy day dreaming about my colors, that I just haven't gotten around to blogging about it. :) Just teasing. We did call family and some friends last night and I was busy today doing some cleaning - Boo and the bathroom. That's another story for another day.
This is the front of the house. That is a bonus room over the garage!

Ahh, the great room. It has a huge vaulted ceiling. The color is a little dark, so we will be lightening that up a little.

This is the kitchen. Don't get used to it, since it's all going away. The wall is a nice green, but it is not pretty. The countertop was spray painted as well. In the background you can see the red color, which is the dining room. They took this picture standing in the breakfast nook. We will most likely put some hardwoods down, get new cabinets and new appliances.
So, that's a small sneak peek into the house. When we repaint and fix it up, I will post more pictures...that will be a few months.

Karen

Covenant vs Contract

It just blows my mind what can happen in a week. A week ago last Wednesday I called a realtor lady whom we met at a Home Buying Seminar. She was nice and I clicked with her, so I figured she might be able to help us locate a home. We have been looking for a while, so I just needed some help finding what I wasn't seeing. By Sunday we were out looking, by Wednesday we had narrowed it down to a neighborhood and Friday my mom came to look at the two we had chosen. I was okay with the houses. Did you hear? I was just okay. I have settled in my mind that we couldn't go any bigger or any more money, so I was okay with it being a small cute house in a nice neighborhood...and then we said, well, can we just go by these two other houses in two different neighborhoods in a different school zone? They are a little more money, but we want to see them. Voila. We see them on Friday with my mom and gracious alive, she and I love them and Jeremy loves it too! Dinner, tried to sleep, and by 6:00 PM today we made an offer. DID YOU HEAR ME? We made an offer on a house!!!!! Now, this is not really a time of celebrating, it's just a time of waiting. pure torture, I say. :) hee hee.

In dealing with all that, it gave me a new found perspective on this contract and covenant thing. We hear and preach so much of marriage being a covenant, much like the one Christ made with his Bride, the Church and it was so hard bringing the word contract back in my realm of thinking. When we sign those lines, it is a contract. We want certain things, a price, closing costs, warranties, etc., and the other party wants money. We are thinking of paint colors and furniture and this is a big deal.

My marriage is just as equally a big deal! I didn't sign but one piece of paper, the marriage license, to marry Jeremy. Aside from the words and promises I made to Him, before God and everybody, there is no "contract" of sorts. It's a covenant relationship. It's vital. It's important. It cannot be broken. So, in the midst of all this, remind yourself this week that your marriage is not a contract, it's a convenant.

Spend the Night

Boo had a spend the night on Friday at his grandma's house. He was sooooooo excited...I think he actually forgot to say goodbye to me! We had a social to attend, but we really just wanted a full nights sleep. He has this annoying habit of waking up in the middle of the night and taking his pallet and bringing it to the living room and laying down on it. This morning he actually got up at 5:30 and turned the TV on...uh, no. I told him to turn it off and he did, but then he brought his pallet to my room to sleep. That lasted about 20 minutes until he crawled into bed with us. By this time, it's like 6:30, so I didn't say anything...I mean, good cuddles are fun! He actually fell back asleep, which was nice...

All that to say...nothing. Absolutely nothing.

You want a cute story? Here's the dialogue from this morning:
So after he did all that nonsense stuff, around 7:45 AM, he comes in sniffling. Sometimes when he is acting sad, he sniffles. So, he was sniffling and I said, what's wrong. He said he "wants a baby." Uh. OK. I just look at Jeremy, who starts to snicker. I picked him up and he hugs me tight and says he "wants a baby." Again, OK. So, like what would you do with a baby. Response: "Um, I would put it in the carseat and put that in the stroller and push it." That's sweet Boo...would you like a brother or a sister. "I want a brother AND a sister." On that note he leaves and I look over at Jeremy (again) and he says, hm...I hope he isn't prophetic.
I can't really decide if I would rather Boo not be prophetic about the two kids...I mean, I would like 2 more, preferably not at the same time, but ya know, God knows, and it could happen.
All that to say...I want a baby. Are you praying?

--Karen

Time for Reflection...

I think it's good and healthy to reflect on the places, phases, and points in your life where the greatest impact of change has taken place. Let me be clear that this is not a point in time to worship the place, phase or point or wish you were back in that spot...I have done that and that is NOT healthy. Let me be clear when I say this is a time to reflect on Him.
This very day two years ago I was resting uncomfortably in a hospital bed. I was sick. I just had gallbladder surgery five days ago and was unable to keep anything in my system. Although I didn't feel too bad, the on call doctor said no fluid down, must come back to the hospital...the last thing I wanted to hear. With that said, I arrived there and they made me comfortable and the doctor met me before I got to my room. He said it will most likely be overnight and then see how it goes. Bad turned to worse when they would give me food and I would not be able to hold it down. For three days I had no food, not even ice chips...it was horrible. My in-laws came to visit and helped take care of Boo...Jeremy had only been at the church about 2 months when all this started...my two very best friends came to visit me in the hospital, which was so great...it was a trying time. I didn't see Boo all week! It was hard. By Day 3 end, I was irritable, and my angel arrived for the night shift. She was a member of our previous church and I had worked with her daughter in the college ministry. She took me on and got me the help I needed. I practically diagnosed myself and by the next morning I was waiting for the doctor for his 6 AM rounds. I demanded a new nausea medicine...one that didn't make me sleepy and sick, and I got it...and that made me turn a new corner. You could only have the medicine every 12 hours! So, I got my dose at 8 PM that night, loved it, and expected it the next AM at 8. Yeah...right.
It wasn't ordered, so at 8 AM, they had to order it. The lab, being backed up in the morning, was running a bit slow...this is exactly the moment the Lord stepped in. He was always there, but now more evident than ever. For the next hour and a half I waited. I was hungry and my breakfast had arrived and I couldn't eat it, because I was so nauseaus, because I was waiting for my medicine! Vicious cycle...
And that's exactly where the Lord chose to meet me at. I had no one. I had no one else to turn to...but HIM! I prayed for what seemed like hours, at 10 AM, I was dosed up and was able to eat my first meal in weeks! It was only liquid, but it was still oh so good. By the next day the moved me to soft foods and I was able to keep those down all day and then got to go home. It was the longest 6 days of my life and yet it seemed like just the beginning.
My life drastically changed after those days. I never felt more free in my whole life.
I got a lot more bold after those days in the hospital. I also found my true calling in the Lord.
It's good to reflect and see where I have been...nothing happens coincidentally and although it was hard and painful, and I missed my boys and my family worried, it was all for the sake of knowing Him more.

In Christ-
Karen