It's Ours!

Pulling up to the house I was so excited. It was empty inside and it there was a key waiting on the counter inside Just for me! :)  Caleb carried me over the threshold! Didn't have my camera yet, but the memory is in my heart forever. I love the feeling of being in his arms!

We got the carpet torn out of the master bedroom and the walls are painted. We need to spot treat a few places that the coverage wasn't the best, but overall its on its way. Our helpers included my new friend Ann Marie Schiller, my sister in law Abbey, my dad and my older sister Sarah and her husband Kevin. They were huge helps. All of them. We even tore down the wall paper in the kitchen. Bird houses are cute, but they just aren't my style. My mother in law did a perfect job sizing the paper so it came off in sheets. I've never had such an easy time removing wall paper. Thank you for your time and care!!!

I still have a long way to go in making the house our home, but we got a lot accomplished tonight and we both feel good about it! Very excited to move in on Saturday. Can't wait to see what else we will get accomplished before then!

Here's the room before.

 Caleb is patiently waiting for me to take a few pictures before he starts tearing out the carpet.



This is the only picture we took of the two of us today. We're home owners! Praise the Lord!

Two of the amazing helpers, Ann Marie and Abbey.

The wall paper was SO easy to remove. And that is why it's all gone.

My sister Sarah painting the room.

Kevin being so helpful!

Removing base boards and staples is serious work!

And here's where we are at the end of the night... different already! :)

Beyond Blessing

I've been blessed beyond my wildest dreams. I have a smokin' hott husband who I love and cherish, a good reliable job, a new group of friends in the last year or so who have made all the difference in the world, a family full of love and laughter, and a Heavenly Father who is orchestrating it all. I use the term orchestrate because I love the picture it brings to mind. I'm listening to some classic Motzart right now and it's so beautiful how each of the different notes work together to create something that is just beautiful. I love how classical music, without the words, is full of emotion and movement. Also, because of the absence of lyric, each song can be something different to every individual that is listening to it. Sometimes I love to just close my eyes and let a song wash over me and draw out memories or emotions and often thoughts of my Savior. How good it is to belong to Christ. I am beyond blessed just to be chosen by Him.

 Eph. 2:8-10

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

I'm so thankful that I am not my own; I don't write my own story; I don't control my circumstances- just my response to them- and even then, he provides the faith- to get through tough times. However, I'm not really finding myself in "tough times." In fact, I'm finding myself in a promise land of blessing. I listed a few above, and those are the major things I count blessings- but he has provided a beautiful new home for my husband and me to move into in just one weeks time. It's been amazing to watch Him lead us through the hunt for a home, guide us to the right one, give us the faith to pull the trigger, and the money required to buy it. One other neat thing I love about being a Christ follower is that we can look back and see His hand SO evident in our lives. Another thing I really love is that anything He gives us, is still His and we are just stewards of the gift. My desire is to honor him in this latest new HUGE gift. We are so so so beyond blessed. We're overwhelmed- so, may humility and thankfulness be something we are always full of.

I know I said I wouldn't use my blog in the normal way people blog, but I've decided, for me, I will probably use this blog to talk about how God uses our house, and the fun he lets us have along the way. I can't wait to nest in it. Make it our own. Make a space comfortable and welcoming so we can share our gift with others. This is my truest desire in benig a home owner- to use it to honor God by loving others.

I'll post a few pictures we took at closing sometime soon. As well as our first project in "making it ours:" The Master Bed/Bath.... yes, I'm very excited!!

Cup of Tea and Time for Me

One thing I'm learning is that as a working woman, it's VERY important to take time for myself. Here's how I came to this conclusion:

Typical day in the life of me starts when I roll out of bed litterally 5 min. before running out to the parking lot to scrape ice off the car to arrive at work 20 min late with my make up bag in hand and a can of beef ravioli for lunch. I don't ever fully wake up and have gatherd my thoughts enough to realize I'm hungry until about 10:45 when I wonder to myself is it to late to warm up that oatmeal packet that tastes awful because I buy it with high fiber because I am not "regular" enough to suit myself. I rationalize that if I eat breakfast at 11, it'll help me stave off starvation for lunch until closer to one which will make my afternoon seem shorter, though it'll crawl by no matter what time I actually make the trip to the microwave, pop open my can of lunch,and nuke it for 2 and a half min. I'll most probably get distracted by something dumb when I get back to my desk so that when I take the first bite of lunch it'll no longer be hot. Oh the afternoon will drift slowly on, and mercifully 4:30 will arrive and I'll pack up my office to leave. Get home to realize the fridge is empty, feel guilty cause I never cook for my husband the way I'd love to, and suggest taco bell or something equally as healthy for dinner. If it's monday or tuesday or wednesday, we'll rush off to church with out so much as a glance in the mirror to see if the make up I put on in my office at 8:30 is even at all still doing anything for me. After getting home from whatever appointment or hang out we had scheduled, we'll waste the rest of our evening in front of the television catching up on shows that were DVR'd up to 2 weeks prior, crawl up to bed about 10:40, wash my face and brush my teeth (something i DO make time for each and every day), get in my t-shirt and cut off sweatpants, flop in to bed on sheets that are about two weeks over due for a wash, check the alarm clock, kiss my sweet husband (mouthpiece and all), close my eyes, toss and turn, pray, the fall asleep... only to repeat.again.again.&again.

See what I mean? Theres NOTHING in there besides maybe the face washing I do nightly that is actually for me. I consider taking care of my face as an investment in my future beauty. But, I don't make time to read my Bible, kneel to pray, and consider the gifts I've been given. I'm overwhelmed with business and hurry. I can't even plan a meal or enjoy a night out with friends with out thought of what I have to do the next day. Oh, I do occasionaly get lost in a good movie with some good friends or laugh histerically at ourselves with my mother and sisters. But, I don't feel like I'm living. I don't feel like I'm capuring the time I'm being given. I don't feel like I am investing in my future- except for maybe the facewashing. I need to spend time with God. I need to talk to my husband. I need to call my bestfriends who have moved far away. I need to take long showers. I need to paint my toes, shave my leggs, and re-organize my dresser. I need to do things that help me take time to look at what really matters in life... my realitonships, mental health and peace of mind. I want to look back and feel like I've had a life well lived... not a life that wore me out.

So tonight, I had a night for me. I took a hot shower.Turned on some Nora Jones. Put my clothes away. Made a cup of tea. And decided to write... for myself. It makes me happy to write down whats going on inside me. I'm truly enjoying the close of this day... hopefully this will make for a better tomorrow.

To God be the Glory

I need a place to write. I get awfully thoughtful towards the close of a day, and feel the need to create a place to express myself. I'm not writing to be read. I'm writing to write. I like to journal, but I get too self conscience about my handwriting and about my spelling to make much of a habbit of it, and ultimately, my hand-written words can't keep up with the thoughts in my head. I type much faster than I write, and as an added bonus, blog spot has spell check. It's something I've wanted to do for a while, journal/or blog, but tonight is the first time I seriously considered what I'd call it so, I decided to sieze the day and do it. Come to find out, most of the titles I had concocted were unavailable. But, I really wanted to use the word "muse" in my title, because that is exactly what I intend to use my blog to do.You see, I'm crafty, but not enough to share my ideas. I like to bake/cook, when I have time, but I don't feel I'm experienced enough to share the imperfect method with which I do it. Besides, most of the things I make are from other peoples kitchen's anyway. Oh, and I would love to be a photographer some day, but this is not that day- so I don't plan to share pictures on here that do anything more than illustrate a point. However, I do fancy myself a poet, and maybe I'll share a line or two. Ultimately I desire to do with this blog the same thing I desire to do in every other facett of my life- and that is to glorify God. If at any point I take glory for myself- I will and should be stopped. I tire of people that toil and spin to get comments, reactions, and followers. Though I do not know their hearts, and I do not wish to judge them, I often wonder if the persuit of such things comes out of a desire for approval and acclaim. No, not a desire, a need. It has become evident to me in my short life that these things do not satisfy for long, and were not meant to. The only approval, the only love, that can fill a vacume as big as the one we humans carry around inside is God. Our creator. It's awesome to me though that He, as a creator, takes joy when we're creative. So, to those that blog, and post creative things they've done and ideas they've had and beautiful pictures they've taken, may you all be doing it for the Creator, and may I begin to do the same. To God be the Glory... I think that's what I'll title this maiden post.