House

We're having another snow day today.  It stinks. Big. Time.  I wake up in the morning with such dread on days like this, wondering how I will entertain my children yet again without leaving the house.  (As I write this, Brennan is ironically singing, "Mr. Sun, Sun, Mr. Golden Sun, please shine down on me!")  I think this is our fifth (?) snow day in just a few weeks!  It's enough to make me ca-ray-zee.

I'm keeping myself entertained with thoughts of our new house.  I have fabric swatches and paint chips lying around everywhere, teasing and tormenting me, as it will be a long time before the house is built and we have enough money to do all of the things I want to do.   Nonetheless, I will plan and dream because it's half the fun.

We have a model home of our floor plan in Hendersonville, less than an hour from here.  I've been out to visit once, and Jim has been out twice.  On his second trip, Jim took a bunch of measurements and lots of pictures.  If you don't have a great imagination, it will be hard to picture how great the house will be beyond the crazy decorating in this model.  But you can try.

This is the formal living room (open to the dining room).  It is the first room on your left when you come in the front door.

This is the view from the front door with the living room and dining room on your left and the family room and kitchen straight through in the back:

Here's the view from the middle of the house looking forward:

To the right of the stairs is the entrance from the garage and a coat closet, and the closet to the left of the stairs is nice and deep.

Here's a view of the family room from the kitchen:

And below is obviously the kitchen.  We will have black appliances and different countertops, and the floor will be wood.  The cabinets will be about the same, and none of the paint in the house is what we will have (they're painting everything white and we'll paint colors ourselves).

All four bedrooms are upstairs (exactly what we wanted) as well as a play area for the kids and the laundry room!  (I'm so excited to have the laundry upstairs near all the bedrooms!)  There is also a huge storage closet off our bedroom (separate from the walk-in clothes closet).

The master bedroom is absolutely huge.  You can't even tell in this picture how gigantic it is:

It's fun to have time to think about how I will organize, decorate, and nest before the house is even built.  Knowing my sick personality, Jim took pictures for me of all of the drawers and cabinets in the kitchen so I could pre-plan where I would put everything before we ever move in.  (True love, I tell you.  I didn't even ask him to do this.) 

And I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am to have this:

It's a walk-in pantry, and half of it is hidden in this picture!  I never dreamed of putting a walk-in pantry on my wish list because they are ridiculously uncommon.  But it is, along with the upstairs laundry, one of the things about which I am most excited!  Well, those things and this...

This is a study located just off the family room.  It's tiny, but it will be a dedicated space for my craft supplies.  It has a door on it, and there won't be a server or other computer equipment in it.   'Nuff said.

Now, if it would just quit snowing so that people could go to work and finish approving our loan, prepping our lot, and ordering our materials, we'd be much closer to making this house a reality!!

For the last two years we have been renting a beautiful house in Nashville.  We moved here in February 2008, unsure of what exactly our future held.  We put our house in Dallas on the market and loaded a small truck with only our clothes, dishes, and other essentials, prepared to stay in a semi-furnished condo until our house sold. Before we left, I prayed very specifically that our house would sell to the first person who saw it.  I begged God to make an already-difficult move easier by giving us a more permanent home as quickly as possible.  And God moved in a big way.  After three days on the (already-failing) market, we sold to the first person who saw our house.  I was overcome with gratitude.  I still cry when I talk about it.

Our House in Dallas

When our house sold so quickly, we had to move fast to find someplace to live.  We knew the size house we wanted, the area we hoped for (based on limited exposure to Nashville), and the price we were willing to pay.  We wanted to rent so we could save for a down payment on a new house (we weren't yet debt-free prior to the move), and it seemed like our wish list was impossible to fill.  And then God moved again.  A house in our price range with a desirable location opened on RealTracs.  The catch?  No photos.  We all know what that means.  It's usually a dump, right?  Well, we drove by and found this:

It's anything but a dump.  In fact, it's beautiful.  It's a crazy story, but, in the end, suffice it to say that we believe God held out on this house just for us, because rooting us in this area was a part of His plan. 

And now we are being humbled once again.  God provided funds for a down payment even in a difficult economy (I still don't know how we saved anything these last two years), and we started seriously searching for homes at the beginning of the new year.  You would think that after providing for us again and again, I would expect big things from our Heavenly Father, but I never like to expect a gift.  Regardless, God is a giver, and He loves to lavish us with things we don't deserve.

Our next big gift?  Well, I don't have a picture yet, but it will probably sit right here:

And this will be in our huge back yard (minus some of the brush):

(This one is taken at the end of the street.)

And I will get to drool over this view every day:

If God continues to work the way He has worked all week, this sign will no longer be there on Saturday afternoon:

Gratitude doesn't begin to cover it. 

Back in January I wrote this post about my attempt to turn our loft into a useable space and all of the challenges that have gone along with that. 

I think for now we have done all that we can do, making this space into a craft room / play space / server room / guest room.  I am thrilled to have it mostly done.  There are still several projects I want to tackle, but don't I always say that?  To stay focused on the positive, I'm happy that when we try to accommodate our parents on an air mattress on the floor next month (the guest room is now a nursery), they won't have to search for a space to lay down.  

Here is my craft table which hides the huge server cabinet underneath.  I'm really pleased with it, especially when it is clear and I can actually work there!

This is an overall view of the room, with a train table that doubles as a coffee table! 

Please forgive the over-saturated light that comes from taking pictures in the middle of a sunny afternoon.  I know most self-respecting bloggers would wait until the light was better, but I was too eager to put this post out there and prove that I have accomplished something of late.

In the photo above you can see some piles on my craft table that I still need to put away.  They are the final things I need to put away before I can check this room off my "nesting list."

While I am working in the loft, here is what Brennan does:

And here is how we have to temporarily store his toys:

I know I have to invest in some better storage for this space, but I'm hesitant to pay for it since we won't live here forever.  It really needs to be done since we could end up being here a few more years, but the part of me that's in denial wants to pretend that it's a short-term problem!

I'm not completely satisfied with this loft, but at least it is functional, organized, and semi-attractive.  Until we have a house with more rooms that are dedicated to various purposes, it will have to do.  And at least I'm not mortified to take people upstairs anymore!

Have you ever found something in a store and been so excited that you started up a conversation with the checkout clerk, just so you could tell someone how happy you were? I do it all the time, but yesterday I wasn't sure I could wait to check out. I almost texted my husband who wouldn't have cared less about my finds. (I didn't do it, because I knew he probably wouldn't respond, and I didn't want to have my enthusiasm squelched.)

Yesterday I took Brennan to TJ Maxx Home Goods store to look for a new lamp for our living room. I didn't find what I wanted, so I was just wandering the aisles, when I saw this:

I was really excited, but I almost shrieked with delight when I turned it over and saw the price tag: $7!!! Yes, seven dollars! Now, I understand that not everyone would be as excited as me over a metal antique-replica car, but I have been looking for antique-looking automobiles to put in Brennan's new planes, trains, and automobiles bedroom for almost a year! Sure, they can be found, but not for $7! These babies typically sell for about $25 - $30 each, and I wanted several. I just couldn't bring myself to put $100 - $150 in the budget for such frivolous accessories.

I found this other car for another $7, and an old-looking tractor for $5 all on the same shelf.

As if I wasn't excited enough, I turned the corner and saw these fantastic airplanes! I had to keep from making ridiculous noises, and Brennan asked me if I was okay! They were a little more expensive than the cars, but they were still a steal and they were the exact colors, shape, and size that I wanted!

Later, on a trip to Michael's, I got this adorable little box to put on his shelf, and at Stein Mart I got this apple for a dollar in the Christmas clearance section. Michael's has more of the boxes in different sizes with different things featured on top like a tricycle or wagon, and I may go back for more if I can think of a good use for them (or even if I can't!). I save Michael's coupons for my business, so I've always got a good 40% off coming my way.

These little items may just inspire me to start tackling that big boy room so that it is more than a room full of furniture. Maybe Brennan can convince Daddy to hang the airplanes over his bed this weekend! (Uh-oh, I see a honey-do list coming...)

UPDATE: Julia at Hooked on Houses is hosting a Hooked on Fridays event. You know that I'm hooked on these antique-replica cars and planes. Go see what others are hooked on this week!

Several months ago I made a comment to a friend when she asked to see the upstairs in our house. I told her it was a mess but it didn't matter too much because we never go up there. The loft is unusable, the guest room is just a guest room, and Brennan only sleeps in his room, so we really have no need to go up there.

Well, after my friend left that night and I headed up to put Brennan to bed, I started thinking how ridiculous it was to not use an entire floor of our house! Then, several weeks later, just by chance, Brennan made the move to his new room and his big boy bed, and I began working on turning his nursery into a guest room. The rooms are now functional, but that's all. Over the next weeks and months, I hope to transform Brennan's big boy room into a really special place. I also want to make a few small changes to the guest room that I will blog about some day, too. But today's focus is the loft.

I have been frustrated with our loft since the day I moved in. I want a beautiful, comfortable studio for crafting, but I have to share the space with all of Jim's computer stuff. There have been several specific obstacles standing in the way of me creating a beautiful, functional space:

The sofaIn our old house we had a formal living room, and in it, a formal parlor-style sofa that had belonged to Jim's grandmother. I initially hated the sofa, but its lines and shape grew on me and I eventually came to love it after I had it recovered. Well, our rental house is much smaller than our old house, and there is only one place to put our family treasure: right smack-dab in the middle of my work space. This would not be such a bad thing since it is pretty and girly, except for the fact that it takes up a much-needed wall. Why is it a much-needed wall? Because of obstacle number two:

The server cabinetOh, how I loathe this thing. It's big, it's ugly, and it's in the way. What is it, you may ask? (You will only ask if you aren't one of Jim's techno-geek friends.) It is a cabinet for housing the computer servers Jim runs here in our house. Without it, the servers are insanely loud (as in, I can't hear people on the phone when I'm across the room from them). With it, I can't decorate. It has to go in a certain space because it needs particular jacks and ports and things I don't understand. It has to lay flat because it opens up for access to the servers. And it has to be silver and ugly because men who love these things do not have women like me in mind.

The heatThe excessive heat that comes from all of Jim's computer equipment is bad enough, but add to that the fact that we live in a house with more than two dozen windows (trust me, it's a lot of windows), and the loft is blazing hot every day except in the dead of winter. It does not inspire me to create great things, other than ice cold lemonade.

The deskThe corner (L-shaped) desk belonged to Jim and was in his bedroom growing up. I am not a big fan of the wood, and sometimes the shape can be a pain to work with. In this case, it works out fine because it makes use of our limited wall space, but it isn't a good desk for crafting. I need a lot of surface area and places to spread out.
 

So, what do you do when faced with these kinds of challenges? Work around them! (Literally!)

The first, revolutionary step was figuring out that a large folding table fits over the server cabinet, allowing me some space to work and, just as importantly, a way to hide the cabinet. The second step was finding fabric to coordinate with the sofa. This was a very difficult task. I have been looking for fabric to coordinate with that sofa for almost five years. Lucky for me, I finally found some, completely by chance!  (I was looking for something else when I found it.)  This awesome striped fabric coordinates with the colors in the sofa, while bringing a slightly more whimsical look to the room. (Who wants a stuffy craft studio?)

From this fabulous fabric I have made a table skirt to hide the server cabinet, as well as matching curtains.  I also took a piece of fabric left over from the sofa and covered the opening on the desk (where the chair goes) so I can use it as extra storage.  

Now I have just a few things left to do and I will have a great space. I need to hang pretty things on the walls, install a ceiling fan (Jim has checked, and the wiring is all set), and find a way to organize Brennan's toys so he can play upstairs while I work. The last step is my responsibility, but the other two tasks fall on Jim (trust me, you don't want me putting holes in the wall of a rental). I also need to finish the bottom of the table skirt.  It is unfinished and fraying because I couldn't get it quite long enough without buying more fabric, and it isn't cheap fabric.  I have a few tricks up my sleeve, but I still need to decide what I want to do. 

Hopefully this project will get wrapped up soon so that I can move on to other things! I will post before and after pictures when I finally get done. In the mean time, I am pleased to say that I have started using the loft to create some beautiful things, and our upstairs is no longer a useless part of our house!

I have said it before, and before that, and probably even before that.  I really do intend to be better about posting — to be more deliberate and consistent — each time I say it.  It's not that I don't have things that I want to say or share on this site, but I guess I have a hard time getting up the motivation to actually sit down and write, not to mention that we have a 2-year-old running all over the place.

Well, my department leader at my job has inspired both me and Lissa to take up what will hopefully be some more regular posting.  That, combined with the fact that Lissa and Brennan are out of town this week, has given me some motivation to technologically update the site (mostly under the hood) and write this.  Needless to say, much has happened in the past 27+ months since my last post when Brennan was born.  I will try to recap in some semblance of chronological order:

1. We made it home from the hospital safe and sound (as you probably guessed), and got little sleep for awhile.  But, Brennan is amazing and good, so everything has gone smoothly overall.
2. We paid off Lissa's car. No more car payments!
3. We paid off Lissa's last student loan. No more student loans!
4. We are debt free except for the house!  (Sensing a theme?)
5. We led a Financial Peace University class at church.
6. We traveled to Nashville to be trained as Certified Financial Counselors.  Yes, both of us!  Note:  Financial Counselors, not Financial Planners.  There is a huge difference.
7. Brennan turned one.  We rented a pavilion and attempted to have a cookout to celebrate, but it was freezing, and we ended up back at our house. 
8. After much prayer, discussion, angst, and advice-seeking, I applied for a web development position with The Lampo Group, Inc. in Nashville.
9. I — and actually Lissa too — had several e-mail and phone interviews with Lampo over the next 3 months, and when they were seemingly about to hire me, I turned down the job.  It's OK.  That particular position just wasn't a good match for me.
10. We took a vacation to South Padre Island with my parents (my mom was newly-semi-kinda-retired), and we hated it.  The trip and the company were great; it was the area that we hated.
11. While in South Padre, Lampo got back in touch with me about another position that matched exactly what I had told them I was hoping to pursue!
12. <<Insert more e-mail conversations and phone interviews here.>>
13. Lissa and I traveled to Nashville without Brennan for final in-person interviews.
14. I accepted the job as Lampo's new System Administrator, I tendered my resignation to Idearc, I did a knowledge transfer at work, we worked endlessly and tirelessly on the house to prepare it to sell (with immeasurable help from friends), we moved to Nashville, we lived temporarily in a condo, I began my new job, we accepted an offer on the house after three days on the market, we found a rental house in Nashville, we traveled back to Dallas to pack the house and move, and we moved everything we own to Nashville (ourselves) and into the rental house...all in the span of two months!  <<Deep breath.>>
15. We are completely debt free and have a fully-funded emergency fund.
16. Brennan turned two.
17. We experienced the remainder of what have likely been nine of the craziest, most exhilarating, most difficult, most rewarding, most faith-challenging, most relationship-challenging, most emotion-draining, greatest months of our lives as we learned and fought and grew and prayed as a family.
     
     
     
     
18. ... Oh, yeah.  Then we got called by our former neighbors in Dallas to tell us that their had been a police standoff at our old house, and a man had been shot and killed on our front steps by a sniper.

All in all, it has been fairly quiet and calm in our lives since my last post.