Back again…

You know those days (or weeks, or months) when time seems to speed by and you forget about or are too busy for non-essential activities (like writing blog posts)? I’ve been in one of those seasons it feels for quite a while. My life has been full of lots of excitement and surprises over the last few months. But I’m back, at least for right now.

Our Livie is 14 months old now. I can’t believe our baby is becoming so grown up. She can walk, but is very choosy about when she does. She has an ever growing vocabulary and is constantly keeping us on our toes and entertained. Livie is handling being weaned much better than I thought she would and hopefully she will be completely weaned by the end of the month. It has been a very sweet time for us nursing, but it’s time move on.

Why? Because….

Yep, our little family is growing again! Peanut is expected at the end of January. At the end of this month we should find out if we are getting another Princess or if Daddy is getting his Hunting Buddy. This baby was *quite* a surprise, but we are so excited about it. I never thought I’d have two under the age of two!

Morning sickness with a tiny toddler was a challenge I wasn’t looking forward to, but I survived. In the midst of it we dealt with a nightmarish stomach virus (Jacob and I) and Livie has been battling terrible sinus drainage. Thankfully we had help and made it through. It is times like these that make me realize just how much I need the Lord’s help, and make me call out to Him even more.

Now I’m trying to get back into a routine. I didn’t cook much at all during those crazy weeks of morning sickness and everything else so I’ve been trying to cook and eat at home more. I’ve really had trouble getting back on my feet this time. Our little Tornado makes housekeeping a challenge, to say the least. Some days I’m just thankful that my husband has clean clothes for work the next day.

I’m getting there, and with the Lord’s help, things will even out soon ;)

Livie love!!!

Our little Livie is already a month old! Time is flying by so fast. Here are a few pictures from her first month. Her homebirth story is on its way ;)

Daddy getting his first good look at his Princess.

Our new little family.

Adoring little aunts.

Me, my Daddy and Livie.

Tiny Packages

It has been said that the best gifts come in tiny packages—engagement rings, house keys, etc. The quality of the gift is not in the size or quantity. Tiny packages often hold the biggest surprises and change your life the most.

Next June we will be welcoming a tiny gift into our home and our names will change to Mama and Daddy. Glory to God!

Rehoboth, or How the Lord Blessed us with our House

Genesis 26:22
And he removed from thence, and digged another well; and for that they strove not: and he called the name of it Rehoboth; and he said, For now the LORD hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land.

  The Lord carefully orchestrates and orders the lives and steps of those who love Him and strive to serve Him completely. His timing truly is perfect and He has ways of preparing us for the next level and season. Jacob and I have seen this continually in our almost two years of marriage.  In our quest for a house, He continually placed people in our path to help us and share their wisdom.

  For most of this year we have been talking about and desiring a home of our own. Our little apartment had fulfilled its purpose by providing us with a place to live after we were married, but it seemed to grow smaller everyday. It was time for more room. My sewing business alone had caused us to outgrow the apartment.

Last July we began tentatively looking at houses. We never actually scheduled any viewings a realtor, we just looked at houses online and a drove by one or two of them. We were more than a little overwhelmed at the prices of most of the houses. We didn’t want the Taj Mahal, we just wanted a little starter home.

  We discussed getting a larger apartment for the time being. We really needed the breathing room and more storage space. We contacted the apartment manager and she said just to let her know when we were ready and she would set everything up. We were going to have more room one way or another.

  The very next day at church, Bro. Bobby (one of my husband’s mentors growing up) came to him and told him about a house that had become available to buy. Bro. Bobby buys houses, fixes them up and sells them. Jacob has helped him with a few houses before and had asked Bro. Bobby before we were married if he would keep a look out for us a house that we could buy cheaply  and fix up.

  We went with Bro. Bobby after church to look at the house and we liked it. It needed a lot of work to get it how we wanted it, but we were excited and went into it expecting to do a lot. After we looked at it, he encouraged us to get pre-approved for a loan, so that even if this house didn’t work out, we wouldn’t have to start from square one again.

It just so happens that we have a home mortgage manager in our church and he offered to help us through the process and handle everything for us. We decided to go with an FHA renovation loan since the house needed so much work.

And so the fun began! We started looking at flooring, paint, trim, you-name-it. We wanted something that looked like wood for the floor in most of the house and found some nice laminate that was just what we had in mind.  I was finally going to get to paint my kitchen yellow and was thrilled because I’d found some antique-looking cast iron knobs and drawer pulls that looked just like my great-grandmother’s.  Jacob was going to build me a clothesline in the backyard so I could  start hanging out laundry again.

   After we started the loan approval process and were approved, our mortgage company sent us a contract for the house. We read through it and were very confused by most of it. We didn’t know what options we needed or even what most of it meant. We were suddenly very overwhelmed.

    Once again, the Lord provided the help we needed from another one of our church family. There is a lady in our church who is a realtor, in addition to buying houses, fixing them up and turning them into rental property with her husband. Jacob called her and asked if she could go through the contract with us and explain and show us what would best to do. She was happy to and was a great blessing to us. She further went on and offered to come look over the house with us. With she and her husband’s experience in buying houses, she had a good idea of what would and would not pass an inspection for the loan we were getting. Needless to say, we welcomed the help.

     A few days later she went with us and looked at the house. After a lengthy inspection, she told us that she didn’t think the foundation would pass muster, as it was cracked, and that most banks will not approve financing for a house with a damaged foundation. We knew it was cracked, but had planned fixing it as part of the renovations. We didn’t realize it would have to be fixed beforehand. The individual we’d be buying the house from was not willing to repair before it was sold.

  As we were leaving with slightly heavy hearts, she offered to take us by some property she and her husband owned that was almost ready to rent. She said that if we were interested, they would probably sell it to us. She went on to tell us some of the things they just done to the house, such as repairing the foundation and putting a brand new A/C unit in it.

     We figured it couldn’t hurt to go look so we followed her to house. On the way there Jacob and I talked about that at least now we were pre-approved and could go house-shopping. We decided that the first house—although it was a disappointment—was the Lord giving us the nudge we needed to get everything started.

  We arrived at the new house, walked in the front door and fell in love. Throughout the house were the original oak floors—they were gorgeous! We walked into the kitchen and were shocked by what we saw. They had just painted the walls yellow and the cabinets had the antique knobs and hinges that I’d wanted. Then, we looked out of the kitchen window into the nice-sized backyard and there stood a clothesline. Clotheslines are a rare find these days, especially in the city.

The living room was painted almost the exact color we’d picked out and many other details confirmed to us that this was going to be our home. Things that we had wanted to do in the first house were already completed in the second. We have stood back in awe at how the Lord has worked everything out for us.

We had to wait almost three months to begin closing as the house’s title needed to season, but we had that long to prepare and get the rest of the down payment together.

We love our new home! We have been in it almost a week and even though there are still boxes everywhere, it is already home to us. As I get more decorating done I’ll share pictures. The walls are pretty bare right now, as I was sick while we were moving and it is taking a little while to get my feet back under me.

Enjoying cooking the first meal in the new kitchen ;)Thanks to Jacob for the photo.

All things truly do work together for the good of those that love Him! (Romans 8:28)

The big day is almost here!

The big day is almost upon us! We will be moving this weekend, Lord willing.  Please say a prayer for us that all goes smoothly and quickly. I can’t wait to be in our little antique house.

Bulldozers and cinnamon rolls

Our spring break is over and life has to get back to normal. Hopefully I can get on a more regular blogging schedule again! Here are a few pictures—I didn’t take my camera out the entire time :( but thanks to my pastor’s wife I have a few.

We had a wonderful time at the deerlease—we played the whole time. Jacob got to do quite a bit of bulldozer work in a few of the fields.

One evening Sis. Melody (my pastor’s wife) and I whipped up some cinnamon rolls. They turned out soooooo delicious. Last year I didn’t make any until the last evening and almost everyone had already gone home. This year they wanted me to make them the very first evening I was there—they didn’t want to miss out again.

Mmmm going back and looking at the photos again makes me want to make another batch!

But now life is back to normal and I have a mountain laundry to conquer. It will take quite a bit of doing to get things back to how like I them. My livingroom still has luggage everywhere. It was late when we got home Saturday night and almost the whole day Sunday is spent at church so today is catch-up day. And I’ve got a lot to catch up on.

On another note, I’ve added some new items to my Etsy shop. Stop by and check them out if you have a minute.

Til later,

Rebecca

Goodbye, 2011, Hello 2012

2012 AD is here. Where did last year go? My head is still spinning from all the events of 2011. I feel as though I’ve barely caught my breath and here comes a new year.

The holidays and the New Year are come and gone and my home is empty of our company and quiet again. Back to our routine, just we two…

  Last year was full of milestones and transitions for me. At the beginning of the year Jacob and I married, went on a wonderful honeymoon, then settled down to domestic bliss in the city. I became a stay at home wife, instead of a stay at home daughter. Instead of many family members to fill my day, I suddenly only had one, and most of the day he was at work.

Last year was also full of weddings! It seemed like everyone we knew was getting married. My best and oldest childhood friend married six weeks after I did, not to mention several others who tied the knot soon after.

I reached the ripe old age of 23 last month. I really don’t feel like I am that old—I still feel like I’m seventeen!

I moved twice last year. I don’t like moving. I can see now that living an hour away from my family was just practice and preparation for living four hours away from them now.

I am so excited to see what this new year holds for us. I generally don’t make resolutions—though I will have a few goals I’d like to reach and areas I’d like to improve upon.

  For example, I would like to become a better manager of my time. I can get away with a lot of wasted time now, but once we have children, that won’t float.  I want to do better with menu planning and ordering how the house is run. I want our home to be a haven for Jacob and me. I don’t want it to be a place of disorder and be unable to be restful and peaceful.  I want to be more productive this year in my sewing and other domestic pursuits.

I want to be a better helpmeet this year. Last year was a transition year—from a daughter to a wife. Now that we are nearing our first anniversary, I want to make this year the best yet.

I want to grow more in my love for Jacob, but even more than that, I want to grow more and deeper in my love for God. I want to be what He wants me to be. I want to live my little everyday life in line with His will and His Word. I want to deal with and handle situations according to His word, and answer with a soft answer, full of grace and wisdom. I want to bless the people I come in contact with—whether they be church people or people at the store—and give them a glimpse of God’s love.

Well, I guess I have made a few resolutions. :) Happy New Year!

24 Days of Thanksgiving: Day 7

Today I am thankful for adventures that the Lord gives us.
 I feel like my life has been full of adventures thus far. A few months after I turned sixteen my family moved Campeche, Mexico. My father had a job offer to manage a rice farm there. We lived there for a year. It was one of the most fun and unique things I've ever done. We were in a completely different culture, away from everything and everyone that was familiar to us. It caused our family to grow closer and stronger.
  We were almost in the tropics, and we were surrounded by iguanas, howler monkeys and wild parrots. We lived 45 minutes away from Mayan ruins and six hours away from Cancun.

Not too far from us there  was a very old city named Palizada. It was an import city on the Palizada river. The houses have red-tiled roofs like you would see in Italy or France. The ships would use the tiles for ballast on the journey over then would remove the tiles and fill with cargo and leave the tiles in Palizada.
  It was always hot where we lived, and for two birthdays in a row (my 16th and 17th) I got to go swimming. This was a real treat as my birthday is in December! My 17th birthday was spent in Rio Indio, a small little place with snow white sands and clear deep blue water. It was heavenly! We had miles of beach all to ourselves.
 We moved home when we learned that Mom was expecting Hannah.
 My father and I went to two father/daughter retreats in Georgia. It was wonderful. The second year we took Wendi with us.
  Now the newlywed adventure occupies me and we have been presented with another opportunity. We're moving!  Jacob's work is moving us to another city about 4 hours away for a few months.
 I'll be preparing this week, deciding what to take and what to leave. I never thought I would live in TWO cities! :)
  I was visiting with one of my grandmothers last weekend and she told me that we never know how what we are learning now will affect our lives down the road.
 So even though I am a little unsure about this next little adventure, I want to learn everything that I can from it, and be content wherever I am.