New space new work
Posted on March 21, 2008
After the struggle purchasing from a relo company, we finally found the house we’d been looking for. It took about a year and a half to find and finalize the sale. We didn’t intend to move in town as much as that is just where the house we wanted happen to be anchored. We both enjoyed living in Pelham with the new growth and freshness. I don’t however miss blasting home just to beat the 4:45 rush.
So the home had a bunch more space, a basement (I wouldn’t budge on that one), and a whole lot of stuff that needs to be … well… made right. The house was in no way a fixer upper, but it just needs some updating. So the list begins…
The story is that the previous owner was viewed as an uber handyman. I said viewed- but his work was close but to me that’d translate as worthless. If you’re not gonna do it- do it right. So now the house is in our name and we have a laundry list of plans. The issues aren’t with doing the work, it is the order. Of course we have the kitchen that we’ll gut, but there were other things first.
Ok so our list:
- Basement bar
- Garage
- Kitchen
- Flooring
- Master bath
- Guest bath
- Basement bath
- Fireplace
We’re just a few cabinets shy of being done with the basement bar remodel. I’ll put up a post when I’m done with progress pictures. The garage will be a work in progress, but I’ll also post about that work too. With Abby’s arrival quickly approaching we’re planning on gutting after she gets here. So the plans are many, we’ll see how far the money goes- we plan on it being an ongoing process.
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Expectations.
Posted on March 12, 2008
Probably the biggest news since October of last year is that we’re expecting. What a rollercoaster that has been. We went off birth control in March of 2006 and thought we’d just not prevent anything. Apparently we didn’t prevent anything because nothing happened.
We put our house on the market in January of 07 just deciding to move on and get other things in order. Our house was on the market for ten months before we finally sold it (thanks to Lorainne Carrol!). All this time our anxiety level (mainly Julia’s but mine as well) was creeping up on us. It caused more unease and disappointment than frustration or anger. I told Julia long before, actually in July of 06, that we might not be able to have kids. She would label me as a pesimist, but I’m always more comfortable not presuming on God’s grace and to understand that more often than not does our plan match up with His. We have a pretty charmed life and I know it won’t always be that way. We all have our struggles and we’re reaching the age where we’re going to start really being challenged. Grown up problems.
Without going into specifics Julia went on Clomid to regulate her cycle. She was on that for a few months with some marked improvement in the beginning but nothing substantial. Getting those women hormones where the should be apparenlty was difficult for us. I still wasn’t worried. The difficult part for me was month after month of not being pregnant and all the negative tests. Time pressed on and a few close friends had become pregnant- that was tough. Not so much envy as a reminder of what wasn’t happening for us. Her doctor had been very incouraging and our hopes were not quite dashed. After a few more months, we could tell that the doctor had pretty much done as much as she could before we would have to look in other directions. So finally she and Julia had a talk about it and recommended an infirtility clinic. That was a rough day. We never wanted to go that route, but we had purchased a new home with lots of space to fill.
So we thought about it… then thought about it… and it was my decision to leave it totally up to Julia. I told her that I didn’t feel like that is what we should do, but I was determined to support any decision she made. She made an appointment. To be honest I saw dollar signs, but I really didn’t care- I knew that Julia was meant to be a mom.
We were driving up the 31 hill and I had been thinking a lot about what we were about to head into. I asked again how she felt about it. She said that she didn’t feel right about it. I had been thinking that even though we were leaving it up to God, we weren’t actively participating in the process- especially in the area of prayer.
For as long as I remember I’ve vewied prayer as a chance to talk to God, but never an avenue to change His plan. We decided to stop the Clomid and cancell the appointment and do nothing but pray. This was such a great exercise for us. Every night we’d read the Bible together and then I’d pray over her belly. A few weeks later I felt her get out of bed… I knew what day it was and I remember dreading the result. She kept rustling around and she shook my shoulder… I expected to see some tears, but not these kind. I haven’t that surprised or excited in a very very long time.
No drugs, no clinic, no one else to give credit to. Prayer worked for us and the experience was amazing. To see God work was just amazing. We’re now just 8 weeks away from Abby’s birthday.
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I think I may be back…
Posted on March 11, 2008
It has been quite a while since I’ve put up any sort of blog post. Lots of things have changed in my world- some good, some bad, some amazing and several that aren’t worth a mention. My goals are to update once a week and hopefully more. With so many things going on I have plenty to write about, the question is… is it worth reading? In either case I find blogging therapeutic and a good exercise to see where we are and where we’ve been.
~Me:)
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