Pardon me for the extended break that I have unintentionally taken from this here blog!
Let me just tell you how crazy this past month has been!
In mid-November, Theo’s brother and sister-in-law (plus 3 children), moved from French study in Quebec back to the Ohio area. They own a property, but they have rented it out to a family, so the most logical option was for them to stay with us until they headed off to the DRC. It was a four week stay, but they were also traveling a good portion of that time to visit family and friends. We had a blast with them around, but I’m not going to lie….it was a little bit chaotic. And it all went great until they brought home the stomach flu. Then, I almost kicked them all out of my house. I’m kidding, it was a total blast and a precious time to have them around. They are spending three years (at least) in the DRC, so we sure do miss them already! I can’t believe that Tera will be three the next time they come back.
Missionary Ethan…
Tera loved her cousins, and they loved her!
Then, I went ahead and volunteered to host Thanksgiving for the first time. Thankfully, it was just us, my brother and sister-in-law and another MK friend. It was a lot of fun, and we are so thankful for the time that we all got to spend together.
At the beginning of November, we signed the contract to buy a house. Yes, a house. Closing date was on Dec. 8, and it took a good month to get all the paperwork signed, the inspections complete, the necessary work done on the house, etc. We closed on the 8th and Theo and Ethan wasted absolutely no time getting to work. Within an hour, they had already cut down the massive tree that sat right in front of our house. They had also brought over several loads of things and we had all begun painting the living room (a job that took FOREVER).
I know this picture is super blurry, but I wanted you to have a full view of the tree that was cut down. And the very tip top of that big tree directly behind us? It’s now our Christmas tree!
Timber!
Us in our old house, the day that we moved out. Yes, that is Tera sleeping on the floor behind us.
We moved in last Thursday. The first night in our house was a complete disaster. I didn’t know where anything was except my bed. I’m thankful we had that, at least!! The water smelled like horrible sulfur, and Theo had to go to work at 5 am the next morning. That was a miserable day/night for me! I hated every square inch of this house and was convinced I could never, ever make it a home.
We have worked hard this past week to make at least one room livable. We painted the living room, tore up the carpet and have settled some furniture in. I now absolutely LOVE my living room, and the rest of the house is also growing on me. It really helps to have at least one room that feels ‘comfortable’. I’m still working on unpacking, and we are slowing making progress in fixing up the rest of the house (but like I said…it will take years before it is completely ‘finished’).
Before…
Painting the walls
Ripping up that carpet (Oh, it was NASTY underneath!)
And look at those gorgeous floors!
The Lord has opened a door for us to have a renter, starting at the beginning of January. We have four bedrooms, and we are honestly only using one (Tera sleeps with us). We put an ad on Cedarville classifieds, and had several responses almost immediately. One of them is a prof that is moving her family to the Cedarville area…in June. So she needs somewhere to live for a few months. We would appreciate your prayers as we get used to having another person living in our home. We are very confident that this situation is an answer to prayers- both our financial needs, and her needs. Plus, it will be nice not be alone for 24 hours straight!
Tera Evelynne is a beautiful four months old, and has taken all this transition like a champion. Except for sleeping through the night. That is not happening at the moment, and I’m hoping that it will start happening soon. Going through all these major life transitions with very little sleep is really getting to me. I find myself having more breakdowns over the silliest things, simply because I am not prepared to cope with the challenges of the day running on very little sleep.
Here is Tera, sleeping in her carseat in our empty house. She has been doing great with her daily naps and play time and has hardly fussed the whole time we have been running around like chickens with our heads cut off.
And that, my dears, is why I have not had as much time to blog! Hopefully I will be back on track soon! Thank you for all the prayers and support throughout these last few weeks!