Fresh Clean Start

When a person wants to do a makeover it’s always wise to take before and after photos. I didn’t think of that. Dang!!

Old Eating Area

Old Living Room

Color difference

John painting

Finished 

If I would have taken pictures with purpose the lighting would have been the same and color comparison would have been great. Basically we went from a Benjamin Moore Alexandria Beige to a warm gray color that would lighten up the house and still allow for my brown furniture. I love it. 

I would love to update some of my decor and furnishings but I was told I have a budget of ZERO. As you can see my hubby is better at saving money than I am. I am slowly repurposing items. 

Check this out...

 

 This 15 year old sign became that repurposed sign

Please don’t notice the dust on top of my refrigerator

Bathroom Beautification

As a parent of teenagers I became a facebooker, instagramer, tweeter, pinner, etc. You have to. This post isn't about parenting or social media but I promise you, it's important to be able to navigate the same sites your children are. Obviously, they do it better and more often but I make my presences known. ANYWAY, one day as I was scrolling through instagram I found a post by daily_bibleverses that I knew had to go on my bathroom wall. Fast forward about a year and finally there is paint on my bathroom walls so I could start the creative process.

Here is the finished product. I love walking into my bathroom each morning and the first thing I see is this design with a reminder that With GOD all things are possible. 

I don't want anyone to think I am more capable than I really am. An old-school projector helped me shoot the image on the wall. I had to free hand the four ends of the cross but all that tough stuff I had a guide. Here's the kicker, my bedroom, bathroom and laundry area all have to be clean all the time so I can show off my artwork. I guess next time I will do something like this in the entry way. Ha

VERSE OF THE DAY

With man this is impossible 
but with God all things are possible

Matthew 19:26

So often this verse, like many are misused. It doesn't mean if I follow God I can do anything that I hope and dream for. This verse is in the middle of a passage about what it takes to get into heaven. Remember we are saved by FAITH! Jesus is telling a rich man and the disciples to follow the commandments and sell your possessions to give to the poor then follow me (Jesus). The rich man was sad and Jesus tells them,  it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. It's not our possessions that hold us back, it's the love of our possessions that gets in the way of us fully devoting ourselves to God's purpose. This is when Jesus points out to them, with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible. God is good all the time.

Now I'm off to Hobby Lobby to purchase a canvas. I have two orders for this design. Oh how I love to create. Have a great weekend!

Home. Sweet. Home.

And how sweet it truly is!

The last time I blogged we were still living at Nana and Papa's house, anxiously awaiting being home owners again. Spring is finally here and we are now in our home, loving every minute of it. I know we are incredibly blessed to have family who would take us in. We are loud, messy, crazy, busy among other things and they embraced all of that with great grace. Thank you just doesn't seem adequate.

I. Love. To. Paint. With that said, I have never painted this much in such a short period of time. I'm kind of OVER IT! Hours after closing the sale of this home I began wiping down walls and priming. No rest, I didn't stop for 10 solid days. Now 6 weeks later I still have a little bit to do but I'm not painting every day anymore.  whew!  The walls looks great! I have a few thank yous to dish out. Uncle Jim at Sioux City Painting and Decorating helped us with our paint selections. Kelly, Krista, Tracy, Nikki, Susan and Ingrid all pitched in a variety of ways while I had the paint brushes out. You girls are all a blessing to me, thanks!

Twenty-four (24) gallons of paint is a little overwhelming. Turns out I bought a little bit too much but it will be ready and waiting for me when we get our basement finished next year.

Creativity is too often squashed for one reason or another. I just hate that! My girls pick their room colors and designs, no matter how crazy. They did a great job. Reagan's room was really fun because it was quick and turned out great! Emma's room is nearly done (sorry no picture) and I'm feeling good about it. Olivia's orange wall took seven (YES 7!!!) coats of paint. Now it's time to decorate.

 

M. O. V. I. N. G.   D. A. Y. was better than anyone could have imagined. All credit due my husband. This guy makes a plan and sees it through. We had one moving truck and two storage units. Most everyone showed up by 9:30am and I was feeding the crew before 1pm. (I have to mention that Aunt Helen made all the food...so good!!) Boxes and furniture flowed through the house with minimal breakage while I stood in the entry way directing traffic. Thanks to a few practical jokers we had some kitchen stuff in the basement and boxes relabeled with items I can't even mention on a PG rated blog. All in all it was fun and again we are so thankful for the outstanding turnout. Love you guys! I'm a little afraid to mention names as I may forget someone, there were so many.
Birges, Kellers, Blacks, Bitters, Ratliffs, Wimmers, Glecklers, Meyers, Eastridges, VanSurksum, Jensens, Snyders and Kruses.

It looks like Joe Jensen is the only one working, pretty funny!

Here are some pictures of the house...

View from pantry before painting began

My kitchen

I really like my doors

 

Chris added shelves to the pantry

I made this and will add to it... love it

In the midst of moving we still have daily life... work, school, concerts, soccer, family fun, church, friends and snow. I know eventually both vehicles will fit in the garage, the donation pile will get taken to the shelter and all the boxes will be emptied. I'm not stressed. We are so blessed to have a home and family. God is good to us, better than we deserve. I mean those words. Thirteen months ago our family was teetering on the edge of a very dangerous cliff. None of us knew what tomorrow would hold. Each day we take a step on the journey of our new life together but only because we trust God.

New House Timeline

It has been fun the last 6-7 months to watch this house building process. Usually once a week after picking up the girls from school we drive by "our dirt." The waiting has been challenging for all. Each of us have had our less than pleasant moments but I do want to say that our girls have done a great job adapting to different living environments. Thank you girls for remembering there is an end in sight. Now that we have only a few days left I am about to go out of my mind.  I want to move in NOW!!! (3 yr old tantrum right there)

I have a series of pictures below with dates. We have hit several holidays and milestones during this process...

School started

All 5 of us celebrated birthdays (Chris turned 40)

Thanksgiving 

Christmas

New Years

Presidents Day...that's a big one right?

But we will be in before St Patty's Day. I might even want a green beer. Wait, no I won't. HA

We signed the builders contract on August 1st, one day before we had to vacate our home.

An interesting sidenote: the new home owners on 162nd Ave already have the house on the market. I hope everything is okay, probably just a job transfer. I wish them well.

October 11, 2013- digging began

Digging the Hole 10/15/13

October 18, 2013- Poured the footings

Basement Walls then wait 30 days 10/23/13

November 11, 2013-Garage floor poured and pipes in basement

November 16, 2013- Driveway, sidewalk and basement floors poured

Liv on the backside of the house

November 19, 2013- The wood arrives

Wood Dropped, now 90 days from completion

November 26, 2013- Opa makes a visit to the building site

Opa and Olivia on the main floor

December 2, 2013- we sneak in for a photo without the roof (can you tell it's unseasonably warm)

upstairs close to the laundry room

December 6, 2013

December 8, 2013- Windows installed
December 10, 2013

Backside of the house

Nothing significant, I just think this is cute.

December 14, 2013- We write scriptures and prayers on the floors and wood beams of our walls.

John 3:16

Isaiah 40:31

Romans 12:21

Our Happy Family

Writing scriptures on the walls of a building has nothing to do with magic, instead it has everything to do with the foundations of our new home being built on the Word of God and His promises. We will use this house to honor and glorify our Lord, Jesus Christ. We laughed as we froze our fingers trying to write on rough wood. I wanted to have something in every room of the house. There really isn't much in the bible about laundry so I may have taken that scripture out of context. :)

December 19, 2013- Siding & Garage Doors went on

December 28, 2013- I walked around the inside of the house video taping the walls so we would know what was under the dry wall, where pipes and wiring were.

First week of January- Drywall and mudding

January 10, 2014- Back deck was completed

January 14, 2014- Interior Doors and trim was installed

January 22, 2014- Cabinets through out the house were installed and exterior lighting

kitchen cabinets

January 31, 2014- Tile and hardwood installed
February 4, 2014- Counter tops installed & fireplace stone completed (love both of these!!)
February 11, 2014- Carpet guy came back to finish the install

Carpet

February sometime the door was painted. The house will be painted when the weather warms up.

Oh I have a brown door...I like it!

February, 17, 2014- A pre-walk through with the agent.

They approve

All that's left now is a few appliances and a some touch ups.  

February 24, 2014- Official Walk-thru

February 26, 2014- We close (hopefully)

March 8, 2014- is our official BIG move in date. Aunt Helen is making food for the movers, so it will be yummy. If you are reading this you are invited to come help. (Vicki, I know you won't make it.)

There are several things that we want to do to the house in the next year. I will give you before and after photos as they are completed.

-painting, upgrading light fixtures & ceiling fans, seal the deck, landscaping, finishing the basement, more stone on the house and new front porch posts. Chris says "we'll see."  Oh yes we will.  ha

  

It's A Wonderful Life

Let me introduce myself...

Other than living in a state right now that is riddled with frigid temps, I am an incredibly bless girl. I'm a mom of three terrific daughters and married to the man of my dreams. It would be fair to say that we are an active family, some would call it chaos but we call it a wonderful life. (That's one of my all time favorite movies!) 

The year 2013 was a year I have a difficult time labeling. It was like driving through the Rocky Mountains. The scenery is beautiful but if you aren't careful you might die. There were mountain peak moments and there were valleys so low I honestly didn't know if there was a trail to get out. Looking back on the journey through the Rockies, I had no idea how majestic the view of the mountain tops were until I was stuck in the depths of trails below. 

I don't want this blog post to drag on forever so I am going to hit some of the high points.

We sold our house

We bought dirt

We picked out house selections

Portillos in Chicago

Soccer has kept us on the road whether it's in town for training or city to city for tournaments. Elite Girls Academy has taken us to Chicago, St Louis, Minneapolis and Kansas City in the last year. I was so excited to finally see Mall of America. We need to go back. Then finally this spring I get to see my friend Marcy in Denver.

  
The girls started school... three kiddos in three different buildings. If soccer, cello, church and play dates don't keep us busy, 3 school schedules definitely do.

Oh what I didn't mention is that we moved out of our house on Aug 2nd and officially became homeless. Thankfully Nana and Papa welcomed our family of 5 into their home. Five months later we are still living in Elkhorn but anxiously awaiting the big move back into Millard and into our own home.

We celebrated my brother's 50th B-day

We had a wonderful Christmas. Chris' parents decided to winter in Arizona (wonder if 5 extra people living in their home had anything to do with that??) so we spent the 25th with the Heller's in Omaha and the 26th with my parents in Kansas.

We celebrated our marriage

 B  I  R  T  H  D  A  Y  S

Yes, these are the happy pictures. Believe it or not, I didn't take pictures of the valleys. Satan is real and wants nothing more than to destroy lives. We struggled but we clung tight to Jesus. Thank you Lord for loving my family and leading us out of the valleys of 2013.

I have pictures of the many stages of building a home. 

More to come later!