The Big Move!

I haven't updated this blog since I announced that we sold our house and were moving!  We are all settled now and LOVING our new place!  I didn't realize how much I missed living in the country...  Dan and I both grew up living on acreage in the country and it feels so wonderful to have that again and we look forward to having that to share with our children.  Every morning, while we eat breakfast, we look out on our land and watch a family of bunnies, playing and eating grass, watch all sorts of beautiful birds fight for their spot at the bird feeder, and see all of the trees turn from death, to vibrant green!  It is so peaceful.

I have completed a ton of projects already!  The kitchen has been completely transformed.  We sanded and restained the floors from a light oak color, to a deeper dark color.  We painted the oak cabinets white and added hardware.  (It is amazing what paint can do to brighten a place up!)  I'm a sucker for white trim, so I've been converting the whole house.  (Which is time consuming!)  I've made curtains and painted doors...  I honestly love home renovations!  I think I would enjoy having my own HGTV show (K, thats a stretch) or start a hobby of flipping properties... 

I met one of our neighbors so far.   Such a nice family!  She asked if we had children, to which I responded that we're in the adoption process for our first child.  She shared with me that they have 11 children that are adopted!  I couldn't believe it!  How neat to have another family formed through adoption right down the road...

On June 4th we have 9 baby chicks that are joining our family!  I am so excited for them to grow and start laying.  We have plans for a chicken coop in the works...  Poor Dan, he has so many projects!  I am starting my garden right after I finish this post!  I have a big area this year, and I am so excited to get my hands in the dirt! 

I look forward to the day I can teach our children about how to grow plants and help me gather
eggs.  There is just something about growing up learning these things...  It is a lost art.  I am thankful that my parents taught me these valuable things when I was young.

I will post some before and after pictures of the kitchen soon!

A Much Needed Update!

Wow...  I have a blog?  I have been so busy with life, I haven't realized I hadn't written a blog post since November!  Well, a lot has happened in the last few months...  Here is a brief rundown on the recent happenings.  (And no, we are not parents yet.)

Early in February, we took a break from the cold Minnesota winter and took a road trip down to Corpus Christi, Texas!  We went with another young, married couple.  We had a blast!  Here are a few pictures from our trip.

 Becky and I still smiling on the first leg of our 22 hr car ride!

 We stopped at Starbucks a lot on the trip!

 My weird husband found this little toy gun on the beach... What a model.

 I love being married to this guy!

 Dan and Garrett waiting for food.

Garrett and Becky

 Dan and Garrett building a sandcastle Mordor...  :)

 On the pier just before it started to downpour!  We sprinted back to our car!

 We stopped at the Salt Lick on our way home.  Best BBQ food EVER! 

In other news....  We sold our house! 

Dan and I have been wanting to buy a house on acreage for, well, as long as we've been married!  We spent the last 4 years putting sweat equity into our current house, and it has paid off.  It sold the first day it was on the market!  :)  We found a house we love on 6 acres a little north of where we live now.  We are excited to have some land to have a dog, cat, and laying hens.  (I have wanted chickens for farm fresh eggs for so long now!)  We are super excited about our move, and will have plenty of updates when we get settled into our new place.  We will be moving in exactly 2 weeks!  Crazy busy, fun, exciting times! 

We are so excited to see the temps rising and the snow melting!  Spring is finally here.  We are so ready for summer...

Video Clip

I came across this video clip today and it touched my heart, so I wanted to share it with you.

A Finished Project

Dan and I have put a lot of work into remodeling our home.  We recently finished up the biggest project we had to complete.  Our basement bathroom was pretty nasty when we bought the place, but now, it is a beautiful room!  Here are some before and afters of the remodel. 

Lovely teal walls...

They made yellow toilets?!

I refinished this vanity, and we replaced the top

The doorway leading to nothing

Man on a mission

Our brother-in-law did the framing for us

Dan's first tiling job!  He did awesome! 

Here are the 'After' pictures. 

   
        I LOVE how this turned out!  All of the hard work has paid off, and we're loving having a bathroom in our basement.

Remodeling Our House

Dan and I have been so busy these last few weeks with house projects!  We've owned our house for 3 years, and we are just now getting to the point where we will be done with major projects.  So far, we've spent all of our attention on the interior and very little on the exterior. (Sorry neighbors!)  A few weeks ago we started working on the exterior.  We replaced some bad siding, and then we painted.  We went for a drastic change, and we are so happy with the results!  So are our neighbors...

Here is the before picture:

 

Here is the after:

Next up, some landscaping to finish it off.

We love our house, inside and out, and how it has turned out!  We're ready to enjoy the fruits of our labor and relax in our fully finished home. 

Failed Adoption

Dan and I have been matched with an expecting mom for a few weeks, and we just received news on Monday that she has changed her mind and decided to parent.  Although we were disappointed in finding out the news, we are comforted in knowing that God has a plan for our family!  His ways are perfect, and even though they don't always make sense at the time, we can find peace in knowing that He cares for us, and wants what is best for us.  We know we will find our baby.  It may take a little longer, but that’s okay.  He or she will definitely be worth the wait!

Dan and I feel so blessed to have such loving and supportive family and friends.  Everyone was so excited for us when we shared our news of expecting a baby, and when we shared the news that the adoption plan fell through, we were moved to tears by the love and support that came flooding our way!  Just yesterday, a lady from our church came to our house with her young daughter.  They brought a beautiful plant and a basket of fruit, and expressed their sorrow and their continued prayers for us and the little one that will eventually join our family.  WOW!  Thank you Lord, for using others to comfort us with your love.

 

God is GOOD, all the time.

Yellowstone

Dan and I celebrate 5 years of marriage on Saturday!  To celebrate the occasion, we went on a road trip to Yellowstone.  We had a wonderful time!  Neither of us had ever been there before, so it was a first for us both.  We really enjoyed seeing the wildlife and the 'weird' sulfur pits and geysers. 

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

If you've never visited Yellowstone, we highly recommend it!