Pictures of the house

I thought that I would post a few pictures of the new house for those of you that were interested (especially my Grandma!)

This gives a nice view of the front porch.  Just waiting for some rocking chairs, don't you think?

The master bath

Kitchen

This shows the side portico...where the carriages used to pull in and drop off people.  I think I will put a table and chairs under it.

Every room has a fireplace..this is going to be the formal room ...

or Mommy's "parlor"

The front hall staircase

This shows you some of the bedrooms upstairs

 

 

 

 

We are still waiting on a couple things...the appraisal has to be done by the end of the week, but we may not hear on it till the beginning of next week.  This is teaching me patience, patience.  :)  I am slowly beginning to do some packing.  Can't wait till it is all in full swing.  We are going back in the house to do some measuring, etc on Thursday.  Stefanie will get a chance to see it then, too.

In other news...
E had her second round of dental work done this morning.  They sedated her this time, but it was still pretty traumatic for her.  She is doing ok though, and going to take a nice nap this afternoon.  I can't get her full though.  After not eating or drinking all morning, she has now had second helpings on ice cream, 2 applesauces, 2 scrambled eggs and 2 packages of instant oatmeal.  :)


Must run for now!

Update on plans...

The days continue to move on.  S comments on how often we are laying in bed next to each other saying goodnight again...the scripture speaks of life going by faster than a weavers shuttle and we see that to be true.  I have to admit though, I am looking forward to time passing speedily for the next 3 weeks.  We have a Nov 4th closing date right now.  The inspections looked good.  A few small things, like our hot and cold being mixed up needs to be fixed...we have heated toilets!  LOL!  The radon test results will be back on Tuesday.  Everything looks real good though.  We still await word of when the appraisal will be.  That will be the last hurdle. 

One funny quote for you to have your laugh for the day.  When we were describing the house to Stef (who has agreed to move in with us) he told her that she would not have to clean because it was clean everywhere.  She told him, that when we moved in we would get it messy and it would need to be cleaned.  He also was quietly sitting there giving his imputs and declared "and no tv".  I said, "D, how do you know that there will be no tv at the new house."  "Because I looked everywhere and there isn't one in there!"  LOL!  We had to explain to him that when we move everything we own goes with us!  He was also concerned that he had not found a washer and dryer.  I guess in his mind, we moved in and lived in an empty house. :)  H also was asking if we were bringing our beds.  :>)

I am 14 weeks pregnant now.  All seems to be going well and I think I have actually been faintly feeling the baby several times now.  I am very thankful.  Ever day I am feeling a little better and am trying to wean off my Zofran (the anti-nausea medication) now.   I am thankful that I am entering into the better part of the pregnancy, especially since I will be needing to be very busy in the next month or two!  Packing, packing...here we come!

So as you can tell, there is alot of excitement in the air this fall here at our house!

Many are the plans of man, but the Lord directs His steps!

Ok, I can hardly breathe I am so excited.  We are hollering and jumping up and down around here.  The Lord has completely surprised us this week and at first it was very difficult, but now I see that the Lord had something way better for us!  To be concise...the appraisal for this home we are in (and were planning to buy) came back way lower than our landlord needs for this house.  Because of the economy, houses are not worth what they once were.  At first we thought we might still go ahead, but then began to think that it would not be wise to purchase a home that we were in the red with equity from the get go.  So then the question was, what now?

We started looking online at homes in the area.  One home caught my eye, but seemed beyond our price range.  It came up again while talking with the realtor..so we went and saw it. --- Wow! It was p.e.r.f.e.c.t. for us!  We were overwhelmed.  No addition to put on, no need to even paint or cleanup anything before we moved in.  Beyond beautiful!  Two days later...we have a contract on it!!!!  The owner went down over 50,000 off his original asking price!  We are still spinning!  So let me tell you briefly about this place...

~on almost 4 acres
~ten minutes from S's work (he can come home for lunch!)
~ten minutes from shopping

~5 bedrooms, living room, den, dining room, 3.5 baths
~fireplace in every room except kitchen
~kitchens and bathrooms are like something out of a magazine...with two jacuzzi tubs!
~barn with stalls for animals and a workshop
~gigantic oak tree and lots of woods for exploring
~over 100 years old, yet completely renovated.  So EVERYTHING is brand new, but they kept the beautiful character of the old!  New wiring, plumbing, wood floors, sheet rock, paint, windows...everything new, but preserved the beautiful beadboard and rosette moulding, etc.
So, LORD WILLING (pending inspections and all the other hoops that have to be jumped through in buying a house) we are going to own this beautiful place the first week in November!

We see the Lord's hand in this because this place is an amazing blend of S and I.  He loves the heritage, and quality of the old.  I like the easy to clean, freshness of new.  This is both! 


This brings up two questions, I know.  #1...the name will not be Restwood.  S has a new name that will be announced. #2.  I am not going to change my blog again..this will still be my blog address, however, I will be changing the blog name.  :)

This whole saga has shown us so much of resting in the Lord and that His plans are better than we could have imagined!  Sometimes we think He is leading us one way, but it is only a curve in the path towards something better.  Stayed tuned as this saga unfolds! Until we have the keys...it is not done, but it sure is exciting to take each step!

History Lesson!

Photo taken from Here

I continue to wonder if history class is for the children or the Mama.  I can't believe how excited and passionate I can get as I teach and learn at the same time.  Today we studied the life of Josephus and the destruction of the temple of Jerusalem.  Did you know that Josephus and Nero were contemporaries? Josephus also was a Pharisee, but his loyalty was split between the Romans and Jews.  He was good friends with Nero's successor and did not encourage the Jews to revolt against Rome.  But, he still fought for the Jews when the time came.  We spent some time reading in Josephus today, his account of the burning of the temple.  I find it quite fascinating!  God had decreed that the temple would be destroyed.  He had stretched out His hand of mercy time and again to His people.  But, they had rejected the Messiah, the Savior.  They clung to their traditions and crucified the Lord of Glory.   

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen [doth gather] her brood under [her] wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until [the time] come when ye shall say, Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord." Luke 13

But, this is what I find fascinating...In the Romans discussing their plans, Titus (the commander) decided the temple should NOT be destroyed.  It was one of the soldiers, in their frenzy, that took of the inner fire and, with another soldier lifting him up, set fire to the window of the temple.  Titus even tried to have the fire stopped, but the soldiers could not hear him above the noise.  In the pandemonium and fury of the soldiers the temple was burned down!  I find this amazing.  God's prophecy will be fulfilled, no matter what the plans of man are.  He had decreed it should be destroyed.  And it was. 

I bless the Lord who has extended such love to His people...stretching forth His mercy with so great salvation. His patience with the Jews for so long is astounding. 

But I also fear the Lord who also has declared in Psalm 2...

12   Kiss ye the Son, lest in his ire
          ye perish from the way,
     If once his wrath begin to burn:
          bless’d all that on him stay. 

How much we have to learn from the Lord's dealings with us throughout history!

Dental work!

It's been a tough day.  For starters, after a couple of pretty good days, it was a little more of a queasy day for this mama...but that's ok.  But, E had her visit to the dentist today.  We knew she had a bad tooth and anticipated that it would need to be pulled.  What we did not anticipate was the massive amounts of work that the dentist determined that E needed.  Suffice it to say, when it is all said and done E will know the staff at the dentist's office really well, and they will know our bank account even better.  Poor E had to have three things done today...one tooth filled, one tooth with a mini root canal and a cap put on it, and another tooth pulled.  Now, remember this is E...my tender hearted little one, who can cry if you look at her wrong.  This little precious one is the one who is the most concerned when others are sick or hurting.  Let's just say, I don't know if E or Mama was more traumatized today.  She came home with a bag of goodies, a new coloring book and crayons, a movie to watch tonight (Annie) and a tooth to put under her pillow.  We are all breathing a little deeper tonight and needing rest.  We aren't even going to think about the second and third visits right now.  I have to say, this pediatric dentistry is top knotch and deals so well and gently with these little ones.  But, no matter how sugar coated...the work she had to have done was a bitter pill to swallow.  But, we made it through today and God's grace is sufficient for what He has for us tomorrow. For now though, I am glad that is behind us...

E getting her teeth cleaned today.

History Lesson!

As I did last year, I plan on occasionally posting updates from our world history lessons.  I find it so fascinating that I hope others will too!  We are now studying around 64 AD and focusing on the early church martyrs.  Did you know that the reason John was on the Isle of Patmos (where he had the book of Revelation revealed to him) because he had been exiled there under the persecution of Domitian?  And listen to this powerful quote by Ignatius before he was thrown into the den of lions..." I am God's grain, to be ground between the teeth of wild beasts, so that I may become a holy loaf for the Lord."

I am grateful that we live in a fairly peaceful time for Christians in our country, however I was sharing with the children that the church actually flourishes more in times of persecution than in times of peace.  I feel that I must prepare my children...our nation is becoming more and more Godless, mimicking the days of Rome.  What might they have to suffer for the sake of Christ?

Our new building!

Stefanie made this slideshow of our first Lord's Day in our new building...thanks Stef!  Enjoy seeing the blessing we are enjoying now!