no news

The rain pours steadily, as cars splash through the puddles on the street below our open window. Impatiently the people rush by, embodying the feeling we are thankful to avoid. We are waiting still, in the rush of summer, for any news on the house that fills our favorite conversations. Whichever way the news falls, we'll be happy to hear it, but this silence as we wait: too quiet for too long. Still though, there are boxes to pack, jobs to work, and smiles to collect. So we sit and wait, praying all the time for babies and open doors.

beautiful

Today we're making piles of unused items. Honestly, I'm a big fan of planning ahead and being ready for the next stage before it arrives (which is why there's baby stuff hidden away in almost every room), but sometimes it's time to say, "Maybe we will need 42 cloth napkins someday, but today is not that day, and honestly, we're not napkin people." Also, shoes I NEVER wear but keep because they just make sense. It makes sense (to me) to have black closed-toe heels, black flats, and black open-toed heels, but I haven't worn the open toed heels in years. It's just silliness really, imaging that someday I might wish I still had them, when I don't ever choose them now. De-cluttering feels freeing. Makes me think of that saying...

change

Everything is alive and well, and life is filtered through the rose colored glasses of "the seller has accepted the offer, and it has moved on to the bank". Extra rooms to fill with babies, a mud room to make messes in, more cabinets than we could possibly fill: these are the things that fill up our conversations. I'm mentally painting shutters, planting fruit trees, and rearranging all of our furniture again. Matt won't let me start packing until July, and so instead I continue with the normal, finding joy in patience. Remember the coin jar I mentioned forever again? Well, after two years of marriage we decided that the move was a good excuse to count our pennies (and nickels, dimes, and quarters). $800 in that half filled coin jar. Makes me feel better for all the times I stopped to pick up change. We're aware of how much God has blessed us with. Obviously I'm not just talking monetarily, but everything. We've been given everything we need and SO much more; and if this house isn't the one, there'll be something even better waiting for us.

moving

My favorite part about this post is that it isn't a post about the future. This isn't another " I can't wait..." post. This is a post about today. My job (as a nanny) ends this August when the freshman girls arrive, and my boss chooses a new girl to fill my shoes so that they will be set with someone before I need to quit for baby reasons (still not pregnant). August- job ends. Rent- already month to month. Matt's company has a branch in Virginia. Same job, same company, different state. We have a chunky down payment saved. Add all of these things together and we can spend the same we are spending here for rent on a mortgage at home. We started looking last week. We got pre-approved for our loan. We happened to already be going home for a wedding, so we checked a couple of houses out while we were there(drove by at least a dozen, but got to see inside our favorite). It was all happening really fast, but every door seemed to be open. We put in an offer on our favorite. It's more house than we need and under budget even though our offer was over asking price. There's also a land lord opportunity with this particular property (a one bedroom detached apartment). Today Matt's boss sent him a text about having spoken to the Virginia Beach company about his transfer. The text ended with "... You're pretty much hired no matter what." Since our loan is contingent on Matt's job transfer, this is a matter we've been praying hard about; Praise be to God, this door looks open! As you can imagine, the idea of moving home, starting a family, buying our first home, and having jobs waiting for us (I'll be working as a secretary for my church, which is exactly the kind of flexibility I'll need as we look toward children) is the most exciting thing is the whole world for us! Keep praying with us that we'll get the house that the Lord wants us to have and that we will be patient as we wait! Virginia Beach this fall? Oh, yes, please!!