Long Overdue

I know, it's been a very long time since I've been on blogger. So, I know in writing this that many people will probably not read it, because it has been so long. Anyway, for anyone who is reading this, I'll give a quick update since July. I started my new job in July, and we moved into our house in August. Since then, we have been doing little things around the house, like painting and small home improvements. Anyone who owns a home knows how much of your time your house can take up. Keith and I have learned this now too. But we love having a house, I love my job, and even though life is busy, it is good. We are planning on painting our living room the week between Christmas and New Year's. I have picked out rosy sandstone for the wall color. It is very earthy, like most things in our house. We have also painted the master bedroom and the first floor bathroom. So, we're getting somewhere. I'll be glad when the living room is done. I still want to have an official housewarming party hopefully sometime before the spring gets here. I know most people we know haven't seen our house yet, and I feel bad about that. I should get some vacation time soon, and I definitely want to host a party.

In other news... Keith and I are going to be leading a new Young Marrieds Life Group starting sometime in January. We are really excited about it too! We will meet every other Sunday evening with however many couples God decides to lead to our group. I'm so excited to start connecting with people in real, meaningful relationships! I thrive on relationships, not necessarily big groups, but more small, intimate settings. Meaningful conversation with friends about real life stuff that sustains life in people's hearts and ultimately glorifies the Lord is what brings joy to my soul. Keith & I aren't exactly sure we know what we're doing, because we've never lead a small group before, but we do know that God has us in this place at this time for a reason, and we know He will be faithful to us as long as we remain submitted to him. We truly want this to be an opportunity to let God bring life to the hearts of the ones He loves, and at the same time, to develop deeper relationships with people who share our stage of life.

That's all for now, I guess. It's 3:40 am on my night off, and I can't sleep. Maybe I'll balance the checkbook.

Do you know what today is?

Today is July 20th - the 3 year anniversary of my first date with Keith! This post is for you, sweetie!

When it hit me this morning that that's what today is, I started reminiscing back to that delightful afternoon/evening. I can still remember the feeling I had in the pit of my stomach when I flew out of my dad's house after talking to you on the phone and got in my car on my way to see you. I remember parking in the driveway, taking a quick look at my reflection in the side of my car, and starting toward the door. I remember walking to that park, sitting on a blanket, listening to the old men play old music, and talking to you about Andy & Rebekah's wedding and listening to you talk about Cedar Point. I remember really taking it all in... looking into your eyes, paying attention to every detail of the day, having a very keen awareness of all of my senses, almost like something deep inside me knew to make that day a vivid memory that would last a lifetime.

I can still clearly see you lighting candles on the porch, pouring me a glass of wine, walking over to the wicker couch I was sitting on, sitting down, facing me, talking for hours. I can still hear you tell me how you felt about me. I can still feel my heart do a flip when I remember back to that moment. I remember your feet touching mine as we watched "Return to Me." I remember feeling so right sitting so close with your arm around me. I wanted to freeze that moment in time and just stay there forever.

I fell in love you 3 years ago today. You are the most incredible gift God has ever given me. I am more and more in love with you with each passing year, and even though that newness of our relationship is gone, it has been replaced with unconditional love, sacrifice, deep friendship, committment, partnership. I would not trade our life together for anything in the world. I love you SO much! Happy anniversary, sweetie :) Thank you for being everything and more than I ever imagined my husband would be. You have my whole heart forever. I love you!

Pictures of the New House

As promised, here are some pictures of the new house. Hope you like them!

This is the front of the house from about halfway up the driveway.

This is the foyer - to the left is the kitchen, to the right is the laundry and garage, and straight ahead is the door to the backyard.

This is the dining area of the eat-in kitchen. (I get to keep this table!)

This is the rest of the kitchen - lots of cabinet & counter space!

Off the dining area is the family room...

...and off the family room is the living room with a woodburning fireplace, skylights, and built-ins on the right.

The laundry room is also on the 1st floor.

This is the 1st floor master bedroom.

This is the 1st floor bathroom which connects through to the bedroom.

Here is a view of the same bathroom from the bedroom.

Here is the jacuzzi tub in the above bathroom :)

This is the biggest of the three 2nd floor bedrooms.

This bedroom has a walk-in closet...

...and a skylight...

...and features a half bath right next door.

This is 1 of 2 smaller bedrooms on the 2nd floor - it will be our office.

There is another bedroom about the same size as the one above, but it is not pictured. There is also a full bathroom on the second floor, as well, complete with double sinks :) I can't wait to move in and have a place to have friends and family over for parties or whatever. I am so excited about our first house! Keith & I want to stay here a long time... it's so perfect for us - I can't wait for you guys to see it! Hope you liked the pictures :)

We bought a house!

Yippee! God is good! We bought a house! The seller came down the $20,000 we needed her to come down, and we bought a house! I'll try to post pictures later... gotta go to bed here soon. But I wanted to let you all know the wonderful news! Pray that we are officially approved for our loan (we've been preapproved already) and also that God continues to provide all of the up-front costs that come with buying a house. Talk to you guys soon! Love ya!

"I want a barbie in a pink dress with a tiera and a veil."

So, for those of you who have seen "the Bride" you probably recognize that line from the production. For those of you who have not seen "the Bride", that line is spoken by a little girl representing the young, immature church (the bride of christ). She is having a conversation with the holy spirit who has just told her that he is going to give her gifts. He is trying to give her the gifts of the spirit, and she wants a barbie in a pink dress with a tiera and a veil. Which to her is just the best gift in the whole world - she is really asking for something special.

So what does that have to do with anything? Well, I kinda feel like her this morning. I am asking God for something that is very special to my heart. (Not that the gifts of the spirit are not, that is not where I'm going with this - hang with me.) You see, Keith and I have been looking at houses since January. And last night, we made our very first offer on a house EVER! This house is in Northfield Center (a thirty minute commute for each of us to our respective places of work). It is a 1948 cape cod that has been completely remodeled from top to bottom with additions and an attached garage sitting on 2.9 acres of beautiful land. And there's something about it that just brings life to my heart. And I've been really seeking God on this, and really questioning my motives for wanting this house, and I really don't think that this is a selfish desire. I truly feel like God wants to bless us with this house, and I also think that he wants to use this experience to build our faith and to show us more of how he really sees us - his kids - his bride.

So there's an awesome excitement and sense of adventure in my spirit this morning, not just because we might get a house, but also because God is doing something in our hearts. He is taking us on an adventure, he is asking us to trust him to provide, to believe in his faithfulness, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He has something great in store for us. I can see him up in heaven with a smile on his face, saying "I've got something up my sleeve for you, my beautiful ones." And I am just so excited to see what he's gonna do.

This house is my barbie in a pink dress with a tiera and a veil. And even if we don't get this house, if this is not God's plan for us right now, I just know that he is doing something really great, and I can't wait to see what it is. But for now, I am doing what he's asked of me. I am believing him for provision, and I am believing that He has a great something in store for us because He loves us so much because we are his kids and for no other reason.

Our real estate agent faxed our offer to the seller's agent this morning. So, now we are just waiting. The seller is asking a price that is about $20,000 too much for the house and the area. We offered them even less than that. We have settled on a number that we can't go beyond, and God has given us a peace about that number. So, we have some wiggle room for negotiation and counter offers, but not much. The seller is going to have to come down on her price that $20,000 in order for us to buy this house (and throw in some furniture). But I'm not nervous at all - only excited to see what God is going to do! I just love living this adventure with him :)