Catch You Up

Its been a while since we have posted about the house. Partly because there has not been much going on but mostly because I forget.


They have built a new set of stairs and given us what is perhaps the ugliest railing known to man. They had to install a railing to pass codes but because there wasn't one there before all that was in the budget was a couple two by fours which they nailed diagonally down the side. We also have the workings of a new fuse box.

Gluttons for punishment that we are - we decided that while everything was out of our basement it would be a perfect time to refinish the floors. Both Josh and I have always wanted stained concrete floors. Part of the reason we bought this house was because of that possibility with the basement which will eventually be finished out into living space.

My fabulous brother owns a painting and repair business: http://www.streetsidepaint.com/ and is helping us. I use the word help very loosely because really he has done all the work. As it turns out, the basement was not empty. My brother and his son spent an entire afternoon emptying the basement into the storage pod. We are working to get the old linoleum glue off the floor and then its onto refinish-ville!

There is a moisture treatment on the outside of the wall and the trench is filled in. They are waiting until the torrential rains stop to level out the ground properly, finish up the electric, and start on the ac.


Up until this point a lot of progress was made very quickly, so this is a little hard for me. Oh, weather why won't you clear up?

The Momma

E-Camp Peru

My Sister and Brother-in-Law are headed to Peru with a team of folks from Fellowship Bible Church to teach kids on another continent how to worship God. They held E-Camp this summer for our church and it was one of the most amazing and profound things that I have ever witnessed in my life. Watching kids learn to worship God in such a profound manner, then leading the church in that worship brought tears to my eyes.

You can follow their progress here: http://e-camp-fellowship.blogspot.com/ They will post as they can and will tell their story as they progress through the next 10 days.

Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
JandA Corp

Witness

As time rolls on and I am daily more entrenched in my new life - the life of a stay at home mom, I tend to feel frustrated. Not to say that I am not happy, I LOVE being at home. No, my frustration is more at myself. I feel the weight of the to-do list and yet most days it is a minor miracle that I get into the shower before 5pm. Somehow I just can't accomplish in a week half of what I used to in a single day.

And then I come across moments where I am reminded of what it is that I do all day. I had one of those this afternoon. I laid Noah down on the floor so I could do something really quickly and as I glanced back over my shoulder, there he lay.

Head up, resting on his elbows, eyes alert. A picture made even more perfect by that little bit of drool dripping from his lip. I could not help but turn back and revel in how big he is getting, how strong he is becoming, and how fast he is growing. And then he puked all over the place....

So what is it that I do all day?

I am a witness.

A witness to the growth and development of this precious, amazing little boy. To his smiles, his coos, his burps, his cries, his dirty diapers, and yes being a witness also means cleaning up his puke. I have the honor of seeing him every minute of every day - except for the few times El Presidente and I get a movie night.

I am also a witness to my husband. I get to see Josh sacrifice his time to support his family, I see him wrestle with the how to become the man he wants to be, I see him adore his son, and I get to see how much he loves me.

Most importantly, I am a witness for God and how immeasurable He is. There are no perfect words to describe His faithfulness, His love for me, His unfathomable plan for my life. He has this unstoppable way of bringing me to my knees in praise - by force in allowing a truck to hit my house, in awe as I watch the son He made and gave to me, and in joy as I see how He is growing and softening the heart of my husband.

Today I was reminded of what I do and Who I work for. It was Him who gave me Josh and Noah to love and to lift up. This phase of my life wont last forever and I bet there will be a time when I long for quiet days like today. So what if all the little things fall by the wayside, I am doing my job.

The Momma

Meet Melvin Cornknuckle.

He's me....or rather the name I've given to my sin nature. I was having a conversation the other day with The Momma, and I was relaying to her how some days I won, and how some days my sin nature won whilst dealing with work matters. Some days I feel lazy and let my sin nature take over and I am not productive. Some days I win..and I still feel unproductive.

So while ironing my shirt for my part time job at the de-pot, I relayed that I was going to name my sin nature Melvin. It's a name that doesn't conjure up anything scary or threatening. It's a name apt to my sin nature because it/he sneaks in smooth like, whispers innocent things in my ear...and whala...day goes to crap.

It's amazing to me that although I know Christ has beaten sin....I still feel trapped by it daily. I feel set in stupid routines that go counter to everything I could be if I just let go of those things that I shackle myself in everyday. How foolish is it to get out of bed...and gladly hop into shackles that you don't need? Honestly? Yet every morning I get up...look down at the dirty dingy things like they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn...slip them on, and walk out the door.

So from here on out I will be writing down in my day planner who won that day. Me or melvin. Here's the sad part....melvin has lost already...I just give him the field to play on. So on the days that he win's..it's my stubborn born-in sin nature that didn't trust God that day for the work He has already done.

Josh
President of Fatherly Duties
Assistant Slayer of Melvin
JandA Corp

Episodes 3-5: Trenches, Scaffolding, Rubble & Dirt

Episode 3:

They began excavation on the house last Saturday (I know, I know I need to update more often) and there is giant trench around the entire side and curving around both edges.


The view from the back of the house...


Standing at the top of the trench....


Episode 4: No progress was made on the house Monday and Tuesday. When I went by on Wednesday morning the entire cinder block portion of the wall had been removed leaving my basement open to the air. I had to grab something really quickly from the house so I didn't take any pictures.

Episode 5: By the time I drove by later that evening it was already bricked up. Its amazing how fast they work. I guess when they are paying for the repairs its a little more motivating. These pictures are from today when we went to pick out brick to fill in where they wont be able to use the ones they removed from the house.


It is so wonderful to see progress being made. Soon we will be home - sleeping in our own beds, with our things in their rightful places. Maybe, just maybe we will be able to settle down into some sort of rhythm for our new life.

I can't wait for the day.

The Momma

The Momma