Oops, been a while again. I fell into a
little rut, thinking there wasn't much to update on because nothing
“big” has been happening. Then our message today in church was
about David and Goliath, and how God can use our ordinary life for an
extraordinary purpose. Which made me realize that there might not be
a single person who cares about the ordinary past two months, but I
certainly don't want to forget them, either. And maybe there is one
person who can be encouraged by us. And so I write.
We've been in the Farmhouse now for a
little over two months. It took a while to sift through all of the
boxes and clutter. And to be honest there's still quite a bit of that
to go around, but it's mostly isolated to one area in the house that
we don't really ever go in. This space will eventually likely be
“formal” (we are not formal people) dining and living room. And
also we have three large living spaces in this house so having one
out of commission is not a problem. Ergo, stacks of unpacked boxes.
Some of the projects we've tackled
since the last post are:
- We re-papered the back of an original built-in cabinet in the kitchen. For the cost of one roll of craft wrapping paper from Hobby Lobby we gave a pretty instant update to what was kind of an eyesore before, compared to the rest of the freshly refinished kitchen. I considered painting the shelves and doors, but just changing the backdrop updated it enough for me to leave the rest alone for now. I also changed out the knobs with something I found in the garage.
- The guys had originally framed the laundry space in the mudroom to be more of a laundry closet with bi-fold doors, which I painted white a few months ago thinking “it's a closet, I'll use cheap left-over white paint.” But after thinking about it, we decided we really didn't want doors as this space is pretty much used constantly, and it's just one more thing to get in the way. So I visioned up a cute solution to make the laundry area feel more like the mudroom it's in, rather than just a closet that got forgotten. I re-painted the inside a few weeks ago to match the mudroom (technically it matches the upstairs family room, but you can't tell. Leftover paint strikes again). This immediately made it feel warmer and more like it wasn't supposed to be a closet. Then we hung some stock cabinets from Menards which I chalk-painted green so we have some storage in there. All we need now is a counter top, which Ben is going to make out of wall studs that come out of Colt's bedroom closet when we renovated the upstairs. So it will have a reclaimed wood, rustic style countertop that should make this space even more functional and HOPEFULLY not just a place to unload junk. We struggle with that.
- Ben finally got the garage organized close to his liking and we can now get both vehicles in with room to spare. I have to take some blame for the previous state of the garage, because at one point when we were getting down to the wire before final inspections, I moved EVERYTHING that was in the house that didn't belong in the house (aka Ben's tools, wood scraps, stray nails and screws, paint supplies, dust masks...) into the garage to deal with another day. Since then Ben hasn't been able to find anything in under 10 minutes so he's been understandably frustrated. He also owns the fact that I didn't really have a choice, as the house needed to get cleaned out, and he didn't have time to sort through stuff then either. Regardless, he finally feels better about his garage and I don't live in guilt for that fateful Saturday in March anymore either. It also helps my case that Ben's mom helped me with that chore, and he can't be mad at his mom, so really he can't be mad at me, either.
- The basement is safe again and is fitted with a sump pump and some new blocking and drainage. A few weeks before we moved in we realized that some of the original, very very old stone and mortar foundation was crumbling. Like big stones just fell down and into a nice pile on the floor. I about threw in the towel at that point, but Corey and AJ came quickly and secured the basement with temporary braces. Greg got right on it and got quotes to fix it permanently, and we are now in a good spot. Nobody was ever concerned that the house was going to collapse. But if you ever come over, I would suggest staying away from the South-West corner of the house. Between you and me.
- Straightline Lawn Care (Ben's employer during his college years) came and power raked the yard and sprayed hydro-seed a few weeks ago, and we have a thin lawn now. Kind of looks like a 4 month old who started out with a lot of hair and is now losing it. I'm sure it will come in thick again. Some of the original grass is starting to come back too. It all took a huge toll with all of the heavy machinery, re-grading, etc. that took place during the fall/winter/spring. We'll be very thankful with a full yard full of grass, as boys and a dog in clay alone are enough to make me pull my hair out.
- We found a cool old baker's hutch at the Youth for Christ donation center last month and it fits perfectly in the kitchen. Actually, Ben found it in January and said it would be perfect, but I wasn't ready to commit and we didn't really have a good place to store it anyways. So I said no, and life went on. Then six weeks ago or so I started getting serious about actually finding a vintage hutch or something else to fill a 4+ foot space in the kitchen. My friend Melissa was getting rid of a hutch that would have been PERFECT if it was 3 inches smaller. It was already painted a lovely blueish/teal, and had all of the nooks and compartments I wanted. Alas. It was not meant to be. The baker's hutch turned out to still be available in May, so we took it home. It looks great in the kitchen and helps bring a touch of old into the space that is now brand new, except for the floors. And the built-in.
- We just this weekend hung some shelves and closet rods in my closet. I'm getting anxious to organize this room, so this should help a lot. It's a big closet with a lot of potential. It also doubles as my “dressing room” since Ben is often asleep when I need to get ready. Can't wake up my sleeping beauty now, can I? Third shift wife problems.
In between all of this, we have just
been playing and puttering a lot. Figuring out how to live and
function in this new and old house. Ben and I have gone on a few
dates which have been great again. We went 7 or 8 months or so with
about one date total, and not much quality time at all. Our dates
usually end up being on a Monday or Thursday or something a-typical,
but it works for us. And more importantly, our sitter, Jaycee.
The boys just love it here. They love
digging in the dirt and throwing rocks in a little drainage ditch we
have in the backyard. They love riding their bikes around the
driveway which is quite flat. I often find myself missing Huizenga;
the sidewalks, walking to parks or to Captain Sundae, being able to
run up the hill to Dollar General when we forgot something, playing
in the backyard with luscious grass, living in a smaller house with
everything on the main level. I also love the Farmhouse, it just
takes getting used to the differences. While the boys do quite well,
bike rides down the road are terrifying, and I don't think I'd
attempt it by myself yet. It takes man to man coverage. The sunsets
are stunning here. The breeze is amazing. And I love being upstairs
and looking out the windows, feeling like I can see forever. These
are things we didn't get to experience living in town. We also didn't
have to experience manure spreading season, which one day was so
terrible we had to leave the house. Even Ben, and he “loves
manure”. We did get a surprise last week when Ben realized that the crops coming up in the farmland surrounding our house were soy beans and not corn. Which means my fear that the boys would get lost in a cornfield this summer will NOT come to fruition, at least by our house.
 |
| They recruited their friend Cooper to dig with them. This is seriously a thing here. "Hey Ellis, let's go dig!" "Okay, Colter!" and off they go. |
My coworker, Aimee, told me a few weeks
ago about a contest Joanna Gaines from Fixer Upper is doing, where
she'll choose someone NOT IN WACO, TX, to do a remote design job for.
So, I entered, because why not? The winner will get a living room
makeover complete with a design plan, a rug, a hand selected
furniture item, paint, and $1,000 spending allowance at her store,
Magnolia Market. And since Joanna is big into farmhouses, I think I
might win! Just kidding, there are so many entries. But the winner
will be announced on June 15, so I'm just crossing my fingers because
you know what? Somebody has to win. Maybe it will be me. I did win a
Kindle Fire one time, which only lasted 8 months before Colt/Ben
dropped it on the driveway. Joanna, if I win, I promise to not let
anyone drop anything.
I occasionally (or often) have a
hard time focusing on the blessings right in front of me, because I'm
looking ahead to something else that needs to be done or crossed off
the list. I'm working on it. I want to enjoy the here and now and
just be THANKFUL with what we have and how far we've come. In the last month we've
watched friends say “good-bye” to a dear friend with cancer who
left behind a wife and young baby. We've heard about (and seen, if
you're Ben) too many tragic car accidents. We've heard about yet
another mass shooting in our own country, possibly the worst one yet.
There is so much to grieve. There is also so much to be thankful for.
We never know when our number is up, when God calls us home, or just
calls us to walk through some hard times. I choose to be happy and
thankful and live life to the fullest right here and now. And to pray
for those who are too weak to muster up the strength for themselves
right now.
So, if you hear me complain about
something that I don't have or some project that is left 90% and not
100% complete, give me a kick in the pants and remind me to be
thankful and to go be a blessing to someone else. But if I win the
contest, just give me a high five and let me be happy about that.
