1. enjoyed a day of parties. The boys' friend, John Phillip, turned 5 today and invited us all to join him for a birthday lunch (and cupcakes) at Ria's pizzeria in Pratville. The boys had a blast in the game room most of the time, and the pizza was delicious! We came home for a quick 30 minute nap for Jake and then headed back out for a "snowflake party." My friend Nikki had our little preschool playgroup (we've been meeting on wednesday mornings for a more structured preschool-like time with a craft, lesson, snack, playtime, etc....the kids have loved it!) over to their house late this afternoon. We made snowflakes, watched Frosty the Snowman, and had hot chocolate and snacks. So much fun and a great way to end the holidays.
2. one advantage to a low key Christmas is less to take down and pack up. Took the tree down, packed it in a box, put some ornaments in a bag, and 5 mintues later...voila! Done.
3. lately after getting the boys down for the night, I have high aspirations of folding some laundry or cleaning up, but the moment I sit down, that's it. I'm done for the night. Hence the blogging begins...especially if Brian is not home but his laptop is. :) (our other computer is packed up, so my internet access is limited). This week Brian has had meetings the past couple of nights, so I've been trying to play catch up on this here blog.
4. So I've always said that I would NEVER pay someone to paint the inside of our house. We've always painted ourselves (sometimes with the help of friends and family); it's not hard; and I just didn't think it was worth the money. So it seems we've changed our tune. With 12 ft ceilings, lots and lots of trim work and crown molding, me being pregnant, and our time table, we decided hiring someone would be worth it. And wow, they have done a great job! The 3 bedrooms, laundry room, and entry hall (not to mention all the trim work and doors) have all been painted in the last 3 days, and it looks beautiful! This weekend the floors in those rooms are going to be repaired in some areas and refinished, and then we'll shift the furniture (that's all crammed in the living room) to the finished rooms, and start the painting process on that side of the house and then refinish those floors. So progress is being made! The plumbing in the bathrooms is now completely finished, although just this week we found out the whole house has to be re-plumbed. The work just keeps coming. :) We also need to insulate the walls, as well as the attic, which I think some of this is happening this weekend. The kitchen cabinets have been ordered (which will be in the 2nd or 3rd week of January), and our new stove/oven arrived right before Christmas (but still needs to be hooked up). We still need to put up some dry wall in the hallway, the kitchen, and all the closets. One bathroom is halfway done, and the other is still without a floor and walls. Lots of work to be done, but still there is progress. I'll have to post pictures soon.
And then we find this out last night...
We've been in the s-l-o-w and agonizing process of getting a construction loan for the past month and a half, and up to this point have had no reason to believe it wouldn't work out. Our credit is great; we've been pre-approved; we had done all the necessary paperwork; found a contractor; drew up plans and itemized lists of all the work and money; and the loan officer was confident. And then came the appraisal of our house. The appraiser didn't even come but any hope for a construction loan is now out the window...because of the neighborhood. Because there have been no sales in the past 6 months (except for our purchase), there are no prices to base an average on, and so therefore, it's just too risky. And now the loan officer is shaking her head at us, saying we should have seen this coming...when you go and buy a house downtown. Not that they would understand our vision and why we're living down here or anything. And I'm still confused why this wouldn't have come up earlier in the whole process. Why now? Why at the very end???
And so for me, frustration and anxiety have set in. We've almost completely exhausted our profit money (from selling our Crawford Street house) on all the repairs and work we've done thus far at the Martha Street house. And the plan was to finish up the rest of the work (mainly in the kitchen) with the construction loan. So we're at a stand still. There are other options (although not the best option and not what we were hoping for), so we'll see what transpires..hopefully soon, seeing as we're running out of time and money. (The agreed upon date to be out of this house was January 15th, which I thought a couple of months ago would be no problem, but now it's almost here and a lot has to be done and paid for before then).
Thankfully Brian has been such an encouragement for me and has been reminding me of the Lord's provision for us and how he's excited to see what the Lord is going to do through all of this and how He's going to do it! We have continued to experience the Lord's faithfulness, and this time will be no different. So last night we prayed through all of this before going to bed.
And then today...
Brian called me this evening to let me know that the administrator at Young Meadows had mistakenly been taking money out of Brian's paycheck every month when he didn't need to, and so now we have an extra $1000!! Praise the Lord!! He is providing already...
My sweet friend Slaton texted me this tonight (after sharing my woes to her this afternoon)...
"For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and
a shade from the heat;" (Isaiah 25:4)
The entire chapter is just so encouraging and exactly what I needed to read and be reminded of tonight!!
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