Our Big Move [God's Plan, Not Mine]

You may remember my third blog post ever in which I introduced you to "David's Kindergarten teacher", Ms. Niedrach. Here it is. Well, it turns out that God doesn't read my blog or at least He doesn't care about my plans. You see, Ryan knew that the job he had when we got married [he was the Bird Flu specialist for the state] would not be his job forever. So, we had a two year plan to live here and then move closer to my family [and Ms. Niedrach]. Because I'm such a planner, after that two year mark I began worrying more and more about when we were going to move. Then David was born and I got more anxious. By the time Rachael was born I was scouring every real estate website every day. We even went to look at a few houses, but none seemed right. David started PreSchool, I got really nervous that we weren't going to get moved in time. Then Rachael started going to PreSchool!!! The years were going by quickly and we were still in the same house we had moved into after getting married. I was scared. And emotionally exhausted.

 One night in the Winter of 2013, I was rocking Rachael to sleep and I realized I wasn't enjoying the time and the memories we were making in the house we were in because I was so consumed with finding the next one. It was in that moment that I prayed to God for His will and guidance. I gave up all my stress, my plans, my worries to Him and gave Him full control of our fate. I recognized that we might be in that house forever, and that was ok. I wanted to be where He wanted our family. When I was finished praying, I was overcome with the most tranquil and peaceful feeling ever. I stopped looking for another house and started appreciating the one I was in, the one my family was growing in.

In late Summer 2014, we bought a new house just three miles away!! It is an absolutely perfect home for our family.
 We love it SO much!

The inside needed some major changes and improvements. We looked at it several times before having the opportunity to purchase it. During our third visit to the house Ryan started pointing out things that could be changed in order to make it more functional for our family.

The kitchen before:

 The dinning room [blue wall] and the living room. The wall between the dinning and living room made it very boxy and closed off. I love open floor plans and this was NOT it. Ryan suggested that we knock down this wall, and another 3/4 wall not pictured, to help open this area up.

The staircase is beautiful, just needed a little updating [to be seen later].

It is on a mostly finished basement with a full bathroom and one-door garage. I really wanted more storage in the basement as well as a place for the kids to play. With this configuration that wasn't possible. Oh, and also the mold that was on the walls and ceiling tiles needed to GO!

 There were a few other changes, but we'll get to those later. 

We decided to try to buy the house. Ryan purchased it at the county's monthly foreclosure auction. Surprisingly, I was not a nervous wreck that day. It was in God's hands.

After the purchase, it was time to get to work! The kids loved our many trips to Home Depot and helping out around the house.

There goes the dinning room walls!

Chief helped with demolition too.

Ryan installed a pocket door in place of the laundry room door that originally opened into the laundry room.

There was no floor where the wall used to be so finding floor to match was fairly difficult.

Ryan built a wall in the basement to create some storage space and still give the kids a playroom.

The stairs getting their update...

There were lots of picnic lunches during the renovations.

When it was time to shop for furniture of course we had to visit the store with the largest mattress in the world!

The Master bathroom got a little facelift- new granite counter tops.

Rachael was always certain to bring toys along.

David mostly just wanted to help his Daddy.

Putting some sheet rock mud on the holes in the walls of his new bedroom.

Rachael supervised.

 

The basement progress.

Chief loved to go out in the backyard.

David's new room got a fresh coat of paint.

The light blue powder room.

The foyer. The open door is to the powder room, closed door goes to the playroom.

Beautiful new ballisters and railing for the main stairs.

Our Master Bath.

Where our kitchen table will go.

Looking in from the front door.

Ryan put down new hardwood floors in the Master closet, Master bedroom, upstairs hallway, and his office. The kids liked to "help".

Rachael loved getting a chance to use her own big potty!

The playroom coming together!

Master Bedroom

 

Enjoying the new carpet.

We moved in in February and have loved everyday in our new home. David and Rachael each have awesome bedrooms, we have a guest room [!], Ryan has a secluded office, and I love the kitchen! We hosted David's 5th birthday party [I hope to post about it soon!] and it was so fun to have all his friends and our family here with plenty of room for everyone. 

I am thankful for the moment that I surrendered my stress to God. Since then we have remodeled this house and made it into a perfect home, found a wonderful church home where we have made many new friends, love the PreSchool/Kindergarten the kids attend, and most of all we have settled into our lives here without worrying about where we will be next. We are here now and we will enjoy our time here for as long as we are here.