Under Contract

We put our house on the market last Monday. On Saturday, we received an offer to purchase our home from the second set of folks to tour our house. Six days! I can't say I am totally surprised. ( though I am feeling more and more stunned as the reality sets in). We really pushed hard to get our house ready and on the market by the end of April. There is a first time home buyer credit of $8000 available to home buyers who are under contract by the 30th.  We knew that first time home buyers were really our market, so we were prepared for the possibility that our house might sell quickly. Not to mention that Gabe did such a great job with the remodels and we priced it really well.  Tomorrow our house will be inspected, and if all goes well with that, then we are officially set to be kicked to the curb on June 15th. Six short weeks from now.

We are really excited, but also very anxious about what will happen next. I have very, very high and specific hopes for our next home. We are praying hard that we will find what we are looking for in the next two weeks. If we don't, then we will be looking for a temporary home while we keep searching! I'll keep everyone updated on how the inspections go and better yet, how the house hunting is going. Check out our MLS  listing for a great look at our finished product:)

Before and After

I know I've shown you guys some of these before. But we've made more progress on our house and I might go as far to say that we are finished (!) with the renovations. In fact, our house goes on the market Monday.  I would love to show the TRUE before pictures... the pictures of what it looked like when we moved in... but I'll need to figure out how to use my scanner to do that. Meanwhile, here are some mid-way before pictures and some after pics.

30 Days of Happiness :: Day 12

Today, I was able to help Gabe with work around the house.

Typically, I am unable to help because I am tending to the children and most of the work he does is so far out of my league that I would be more hindrance than help.

Today, however, Adah napped at just the right time; I put on some old clothes and got my hands dirty. I mowed the lawn and painted many boards that will be used for window trim. What I did was minor compared with what he did and does on any given day off work. Nonetheless, I was happy to be able to help at all: to, in any way, lighten his load; to help his day go more smoothly; to spend time with him; to be able to marvel, first hand, at all he accomplishes.

We are so close to being finished with the renovations on our house. We bought this house from an investor who bought it as a foreclosure. When we moved in, it was truly gross. Now, by the sweat of Gabe's brow, our house is actually quite cute. There are days, weeks even, when Gabe is ready to put a match to our foundation, walk away and never look back. I don't blame him. This is hard, frustrating, expensive work. And it is all hanging on a prayer that it will pay off for us. It is especially hard on both of us that every nail driven, every brush stroke, every success and failure rests on Gabe shoulders. He works 40+ hours a week, all the renovation work is done in time off.

Sigh. I will be really, really happy when it's all done. We've been at it for 3 years.

Anyways.....

For me, today, happiness is making Gabe happy.

*We are fresh out batteries for our camera so, I have no pictures to share.*

30 Days of Happiness :: Day 7

The children and I have been out of town for the last few days while Gabe worked on our house. Happiness is coming home again... seeing Gabe and seeing the beautiful work of his hands. This photo is for my family ( my mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law) who asked to see a picture of the work Gabe completed while the kids and I stayed with them. For those of you who have never been to our house, the floors are new and they look fantastic!

Progress

The renovations continue. We are still living in a disheveled state. BUT! Progress is being made and here is the proof:



What a gift a from God to be moving from that to this.... we are still not done, but here is where are now...



Isn't Gabe doing a great job?

I want to tell you...

...about how our renovations are progressing; how one project wickedly mutated into 10.

...about our upcoming vacation and how we were given $2000 with specific instructions to use the money only for a vacation!

...about the tornado (yes, true) that ripped through our neighborhood and down our street last night, leaving a path of destruction steps from and completely not including our house. Thankfully, all of our neighbors are safe, but many suffered property damage.

...about Gabe's oral surgery tomorrow.

...and while speaking of Gabe, I want tell you how he conquered work that needed weeks to be accomplished in only days, living in a construction zone; our house devoid of all modern comfort.

....and how his truck died last week during renovations, leaving him to walk to work everyday (since we were out of town). His days while we were gone: Wake in construction zone, walk to work, work, walk home, work on the house to the wee hours, sleep in construction zone, repeat.

...also how E. has started hitting me; how we have been so at odds lately, like two people who hardly know how to be together and how sad this makes me; how I know that it is my fault but I don't know how to fix it; about how deeply I long to heal our relationship and fix what has been broken somehow, somewhere.

...how A. is still not crawling (she is almost 10 months old now) and I am beginning to worry. And about the guilty truth that I like that she doesn't crawl because it makes her my baby in my arms for a little longer.

...how I might be depressed, or maybe just tired and overwhelmed.

...about my decision to be fit again; that I will begin with a complete overhaul of my body and mind...how being out of shape, overweight, lazy and gluttonous not only encourages the worst in myself but also mocks God--Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and your spirit which are God's. -1 Cor 6:19-20

...how our kitchen and bathroom cabinets ( rather old and rotten) were ruined during our renovations last week; how we have 0$ to spend on new ones.

...and, lastly, how we were given a complete set of kitchen cabinets and a bathroom vanity from a perfect stranger yesterday because the Holy Spirit told him to (his words).



I want to tell you all of these things and more. I want to go into detail and share all this with you as if we were girlfriends sipping coffee, in a quiet cafe, having the mom's night out that I so desperately crave right now. Sigh. Maybe one day. But not tonight and probably not for a while. Life is upside down and I am hanging tight on trying not to fall off until it rights itself.

But the Lord is good. And He is good to us.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
James 1:17

Renovations!

Oh boy. What an ordeal. Boxes piled high with every little thing, furniture askew and missing. Panicked over time constraints and wondering how it's all going to work out, we are preparing for major renovations at our humble home.

Spices, books, movies, pots and pans, photos, food all are tossed into boxes and then heavily sighed over. Everything, really, just about everything in our house, will eventually make its way into the storage unit, a giant box, parked in our driveway.

Thanks to the proximity of the move, nothing is being truly "packed" or organized, just hastily gathered and shuffled into the giant box in the yard. I am no fan of disorder, even with two youngsters, I manage to keep our house fairly tidy. I like it that way. I don't like it this way...

Once everything is settled into the big box beyond our walls, Gabe has the monster task of ripping out said walls, plus the ceilings, cabinets, sinks and appliances; stripping the house down to the studs. Yuk.

All for good. All for good. Say it with me...."It's all for good and worth it. It will be over soon."

Once he's done, the drywallers will arrive, and soon we will have fresh new ceilings and walls.

YAY!!! Those of you who have visited my house know how badly we need this. I'll post one "before" pic now, just to give you an idea of why we are so excited (excluding present conditions) for this work to be done. I'll save the rest for a grand before and after post in a week or two when it is all finished.

Originally, the plan, when we bought this house, was for Gabe to do all of the renovations. He has completely renovated Elijah's room and partly finished two others, and has done a great deal of work on the exterior of the house, as well.

As a major gift to him and to all us, we chose, with gratitude, to use part of our tax returns to hire pros who will knock this job out in a week's time.

This is the last of the major overhauls for our house. We still have lots and lots of smaller projects left to tackle. All of which will feel worlds more manageable when this project is done.

Tomorrow, the kids and I take off to my Mom and Dad's house until the work is completed. We are sad to be leaving Gabe for so long, especially since he has such hard work ahead of him. He is glad we are leaving, as all renovations are infinitely easier without babies underfoot.

I hope to be posting more often over the next week while I'm at my parent's house in SC. I have exciting news about future plans and new challenges that I would love to tell you all about! It's good to be back.