What We Did to the House

Today our friend Tom Lingenfelter came and installed a beautiful storm door for us. Eric's parents blessed us with the storm door, and Link, as we call him, blessed us by installing it for us. Once it was installed it became clear that we would have to change out the light fixture just outside the door since the door banged into it and could only open a third of the way. Link took it down, and I ordered a new one. This whole process started me thinking about everything we have done to this house, with a HUGE amount of help from family (especially Eric's mom, Charlotte,) and friends: Ralph and Vickie Benson, Mike May, Kenny and Betsy Collins, Tom and Mary Lingenfelter, and a few others I'm probably forgetting. I'm trying to remember everything:

--Stripped old wallpaper in kitchen.
--Fixed walls in kitchen.
--Painted nearly every surface, including all ceilings. Closets were left alone.
--Tiled the dining room, kitchen, pantry and laundry area.
--Replaced ceiling fans in Caroline's room.
--Replaced carpet in living room, hallway, and three bedrooms.
--Replaced moulding around fireplace.
--Had a window/hole/pass-through thing cut between kitchen and living room.
--Fixed ceiling fan in one bedroom, replaced remote control for it.
--Replaced all outlets (Eric did most of this, electricians did a few GFCI ones.)
--Installed hood microwave over stove.
--Re-floored master bathroom.
--Removed old whole-house water filter that was gross and disgusting.
--Had electricians repair doorbell, broken light switch, and a few outlets.
--Finally, today, had storm-door installed.
--In about a week, we'll be putting in a new light fixture outside over the door.

There are probably other things I'm forgetting, but those are the main ones.The bulk of the work was done by Eric and all those other people I listed. I did a lot of painting and wallpaper stripping, but I was trying to keep the kids doing school for the three weeks it took to do all of this. The kids also did quite a bit of painting in their own rooms in the afternoons after school. God blessed us greatly with friends who know how to do all of this stuff and who volunteered their time and labor. We could never have afforded to do all of this otherwise. We now have a house that looks and feels inside like a brand new home.

PRAISE THE LORD! His mercy and grace are never-ending. He has taught me in great detail over the past couple of months that He will provide all of our needs (and many of our wants!) according to His riches in glory. When Eric and I sold almost everything to move overseas, I had great fears and doubts--What will we do if we have to come back? Should we put everything in storage? What if? What if?
Eric always steadfastly maintained that God is in control and would provide if that happened. Sure enough, since we came back He provided us with a place to live and then with this house, furnished by donations, outfitted with love by our family and church family. What have I learned? Well, I can't truthfully say as Buttercup says in The Princess Bride "I will never doubt again." However, I do know that what Westley says is true: "There will never be a need." My sin nature will arise and I will probably doubt, but there is no need. God will provide.

NEXT POST: Some reasons I think God is letting us have respite from troubles these days...

New House, No Voice

So, we've moved into a new house. We bought it on Dec. 29th last year, and spent a month renovating. We painted every surface including ceilings, tiled the dining room and kitchen, and re-carpeted all but one of the rooms. And be "we" I mean our whole family, Eric's parents, and MANY friends who volunteered time and talents to make it a beautiful home. We are so blessed! Our church family threw us a house-warming party, and ALL of our furniture was donated except the couch and love seat (which we bought new, and have yet to be delivered.) Even the TV was a gift. God has shown us over and over how He provides for his children. We moved in on Jan. 24th, and have been enjoying it ever since. My desire is to have our home be an oasis of peace for our family and for anyone who comes over to visit.

On a different topic, I lost my voice last Thursday and have not been able to talk out loud since. I can force it to come out as a raspy thing that sounds like I've been smoking for thirty years (no, I haven't!) The kids say my Roz-from-Monster's-Inc. imitation is spot-on...."Wazowski, did you do your paperwork? Your stunned silence is very reassuring." But seriously, it hurts to talk at all. Therefore, I'll be having Caroline call the doctor for me in a few minutes.

Now that we're back on-line I'll be writing more often.