Semiorganized chaos

One of the things we've LOVED about having a rental house so close to our build is walking to the house *almost* every day. We've walked in various combinations of our family... and sometimes with neighbors. It's been a great time to talk to the kids or Jason about what's going on in their lives. The walk to our new neighborhood isn't far, but it's a bit complicated. There's a big, overgrown field that I'm certain is full of snakes. The kids don't seem scared of it, but I refuse to walk through there. Hopefully they're loud enough to scare any snakes away from their path. The alternate route is right on a busy street. Like really busy, with nothing but a shoulder to walk on. It's not the safest route, likely, but I figure it's safer than the heart attack I'd have if I encountered a snake in the field. The bigs (especially Lucy) would rather handle a snake than be seen walking on the busy street by anyone at school. She. Would. Die. (h...

We walked to the house yesterday for the first time in awhile because it's been rainy and gross outside. The hip that was accidentally added on to our house is gone and it looks great! The retaining wall has been changed to exactly how we wanted it and everything looks great! Yay for a straight wall!  The steps are even now and I love it! It just rained, thus the discoloration.

We have enjoyed so much the daily walks and trips to the house. Sometimes it's the 6 of us together. Sometimes we walk with the Spiveys, sometimes it's just me and one or two of the girls. But it's always full of fun conversation, sometimes some dribbling drills, always me yelling "car!" multiple times. It's been a time I'll always remember fondly. Our rental house is one mile from driveway to driveway and it's always fun to see what the house looks like. Sometimes a lot has been done and we walk around, looking at every detail. Sometimes, a lot has been done, but we have no idea what we are looking at (plumbing, electrical, etc). We often text the builder with questions that make sense to us, but are probably super annoying to him. Thankfully, he's always patient to explain to us what we are looking at. Dutch door on the side of the house. Adelaide calls it the "preschool door" Shaker shingles (that's primer, not paint ...

Beginning with the first time we saw the land, our youngest, Miss6, has had to go potty on almost every trip to see the property/house. Jason helps Maebry potty behind a tree on our very first trip to see the land. Now, when we go and she has to go potty, she hides behind a huge tree stump. She's always concerned that she's going to get it on her pants/shoes, so she takes everything off from the waist down and lays it, carefully, on top of the tree trunk. Including her shoes. One day, Maebry started crying and admitted that she had to go poop and she "accidentally" did it ON THE PORCH. After laughing hysterically, I showed Jason and he took one for the team and moved it to the woods. Ha!! Maebry POOPED on the porch! Jason relocated it into the woods. Ha!

There have, of course, been some mixups, some mistakes and some miscommunication. So far, everything has been fixed and we have been on the same page, for the most part. A couple of the funny things that we have had to work on together: the retaining wall and the brick on the front of the house. We didn't discuss the retaining wall at all. We knew it was there and that it would be bricked, but we never saw a picture/drawing/design for it. So, imagine my shock when I walked up to see this. The wall is beautiful, but the uneven steps just about drove me bonkers. After a quick talk with the builder, they changed it and this was the next version. Where the arrow is, we've asked them to raise it 3 bricks so the drops are even. A couple of days later, Jason took the girls for a ride in the Jeep and he called me a couple of minutes after leaving the house. He said, "We have a situation." He turned the camera on and showed me the house. I think my eyes bugged ou...

I know many people are so overwhelmed by the process of choosing their finishes, but I was so excited about it! I knew what we like and prefer. I knew what our budget was, and I was pretty determined to stick within that budget, while remembering what is most important *hint: it's not the cabinets or the hardware.... it's the fact that our family will be here, together* The designer in me had already prepared with multiple inspiration photos and things written down. When I showed up to meet with the Scotch Homes designer, Bee, I was ready to get down to business. I showed her what I liked and we got to work. She picked up quickly on my style (I like to think of myself as a cozy minimalist). I insisted on staying in budget and we worked pretty quickly to make our decisions. Here's what we chose! White shaker cabinets for the perimeter cabinets in the kitchen Black pulls We chose a natural stain on the island and a black vent hood. Here is our inspiration pi...

One of the things I hope to always remember about this journey is the amount of thought and prayer that went in to it. We walk to the house *almost* every day, as long as it's not raining and muddy. I find myself praying on our walks to the house and while I'm walking through the house. Praying for our family and for God to bless our house and all of the memories, activities, fellowship and ministry opportunities that will take place there. I pray for each family member as I walk around to "their" area of the home. I pray for our builder and his wife and son. I pray for our project manager and his family. I pray for the numerous contractors, the ones we see, but don't know. I pray for their safety, for their family and that they will feel the presence of God in our home. That they will know that we are His. I've loved the time with our girls that we have had while walking there, from our rental. I've even loved the time in our "cozy" rental, we...