In the basement

My favorite thing about our current residence is the basement. I will miss having it, but am not sorry to be moving. :) Currently, it is getting very full very fast. We bought appliances and a dining room set off of craigslist. They are quite large, so are being stored at our church building. The eight chairs plus two bar height however are in the basement.

Our new table can seat up to eight. We are very excited to be able to invite people over to the new place and not have to crowd around a table made for four. :) We were told that the chairs were not in good condition when we purchased the table, but we could take them if we wanted to. We were going to just make it work, but realized when we picked them up that they smelled very strongly of smoke. Since the fabric was worn, we decided to strip the fabric and try to re-cover them in some way. We didn't realize that it would take 4 hours for the two of us to just get everything off.

The foam is still a little smoky smelling. We febreezed them twice and I have baking powder on them now that I should be downstairs right now vacumning up. They are definitely improved. We'll see what happens. We are forced to get creative with a lot of things due to the limited finances.

We are closing on the house - finally! It has already been pushed back twice, but this is it for sure. We will get the keys and get to work. Mission #1 - painting. I'm getting excited and only a little overwhelmed. :) Tomorrow we will be homeowners!

I don't consider myself a crafty person, but the projects that are lining up right now are pretty impressive. It should be fun once we're actually moved in and can take our time on a few things. And I'll be sure to share some before and after photos.

Reminder

I've been a little overwhelmed in the last month. Since Josh works full time, a lot of the phone calls, errands, paperwork, etc involved with purchasing our house has fallen to me. I'm not complaining, because I am thrilled to be getting a new home. However, being as I am struggling to keep up without the extra most days end with a long to-do list, wondering where the time went.

All things considered, I am doing very well emotionally. I was thinking today of the stress level during my senior year of college and this has been way easier than that. lol I am trying to take one day at a time and not get too caught up with the non-necessities. My mom called it survivor mode. You do what has to be done and then take the rest of it as it comes. Since stress usually causes me to be crabby, I am trying not to let it ruin my attitude.

My sister-in-law Krystal (also mommy to my three fabulous nephews) is a great example to me as a wife, mother, and Jesus follower. I am so thankful to have her in our family. :) Nick did good. lol She reminds me enjoy moments in life rather than let them pass me by. The last six months definitely went by too fast. And I want to take it all in. Especially time with Sophia, but also enjoying time with my husband, the process of purchasing our first home (although ocassionally a pain in the neck, it will only happen once), etc.

I love pictures because they capture a moment in time. They take me back to a time and place. They evoke memories and emotions. I got great advice on my wedding day to stop and take a mental picture every now and then because the day will pass by so quickly. I did on that day. A second of calm in the middle of a whirlwind. :) It's good advice for other days too. And it is impossible for me to do so without being thankful.

Speaking of pictures, here are a few for you. Just because I can.

Guilty

I enjoy blogging. I take photos with blog posts in mind. I enjoy having a record of the new thing Sophi is learning. I am excited to see if there are any new comments (hint hint!) It's not usually anything deep, but it is a nice outlet. But lately, it's just not happening.

Let's just be honest, my time management needs work. lol Lots of things in my life and home need work. I feel guilty whenever I sit down at the computer because there is so much other work that needs done. That was a lot of words to basically say nothing. :)

I found out today that we will not be closing on the house tomorrow. It is being pushed back for the second time. I am not surprised, but I am very sad to lose the weekend that we had planned to paint. We are basically trying to paint every ceiling, wall, and trim before we move in. It sounded great when we had a month to get it all done, but now we are down to two weekends before we have to be out of the townhouse. It's making me a little stressed thinking about it.

Thankfully, we have had so many people offer to help with what we need. We are just at a stand still right now. This whole process has been hurry up and wait. We find out that there is something that we need to get or do or sign and have to scramble to get it together by tomorrow, no make that yesterday. Then are waiting two weeks for the seller or realtor or appraisor to do their thing. I've never bought a house, but I'm thinking that's pretty normal.

It's amazing to me how little I have actually packed and how many boxes it has taken already. That is probably what we will be doing this weekend instead of painting. :) And I may have to squeeze in a few yard sales.