You can probably guess what she thought of them.

Our house as we purchased it

Ok, peeps, I think it's about time that I give you a glimpse of the house we bought. We have already owned it for over a month, and we're getting really close to being done with all of the renos/updates on our list. The house itself is really solid and nicely finished - it was just lacking our flair and needing one more bedroom in the basement. Oh, and we were waiting for the kitchen to be delivered. That's what we call a "biggie".

This is our living room/dining room, and our plan is to keep it really simple and leave just a table and chairs as our main furniture in this area. We have plans to build a new, bigger table in the future, and that will fill up this space nicely without overcrowding it. Oh, and aren't you loving the dingy-yellowish-green colour? It is definitely not my cuppa. 

It's really hard to get a grasp of the kitchen from these shots, but it is a galley style with upper cupboards on the one side. The counter will wrap around that L-shaped wall and give us a bit of a breakfast nook/counter to work with. The stairs to the basement reside behind that L-shaped wall, by the way.

These pictures are THRILLING, I know. The top is our bedroom, the bottom is Lydia's. They are so without character in these photos, it's ridiculous. I don't even know how to make it more exciting. TRUST ME. IT WILL BE WHEN WE'RE FINISHED.

And now we head downstairs. Tis a dismal sight, no? The bare concrete floor doesn't help.

It's really hard to describe what's going on here, but these are basically opposite shots of what will be the living room. In the first picture, the far half of the room (with the single-paned window) has been turned into a bedroom. The rest is our living space. That's where our family room will be, and where the kids will play.

And last (but not least) is our basement bathroom. It's a lot more roomy than our main floor bathroom. I will be so happy to have more than one bathroom in this house!

There are a few more pictures I could have shown you, but you get the gist of it with these. I can't wait to get all of the painting done so we can take some "in between" pictures and show you all of the changes we have made! And, then, once we're not living in Box City, perhaps I will post some finished-for-the-time-being photos. What fun!

of Benji and Lyddie

Ever since Lydia was born (four months ago! whaaat?!), her brothers have been enamoured with her. It blows my mind how gentle they've been, especially Benjamin. He is, after all, only two. I feel like much of the preparations we tried to make before she arrived went over Ben's head. I was so scared of how he would take the transition to being a middle child. Would he lash out at her? At us? Would he get lost in the middle of the preschooler and the newborn ?

To my relief, he has taken it all extremely well. He doesn't show his appreciation in quite the same way that Judah does, but there is no doubt that these two are going to be great friends. I happened to catch a moment between them, initiated by Benjamin. Seeing him pay her undivided attention is a bit rare, but oh-so special.

By the way, can you tell that Benjamin has discovered the fake, "CHEEESE!" smile? I wish that children didn't have to learn to smile on demand. Oh well. He's cute anyways. ;)

Lydia is just pleased as punch when anyone spends time with her, so the whole arrangement suits her quite well. 

Aaaand, this leads me to something (almost) just exciting as sibling love: Lydia is now big enough to use her jolly jumper! Oh, the suppers I will make! Oh, the sheer joy bobbing up in down an hour-glass of fabric can bring!

seasons

I need to remember this. People come in and out of my life. Things come and go. Where we live may change. My physical appearance fluctuates. My children grow up. And through it all, God stays the same. 

it's the most wonderful time of the year

Somehow, it seems like I missed out on the entire season of Autumn last year. I suppose it's understandable, what with a move and a baby in the making. It's really tragic, though, because fall is my favourite season. No matter how cold, miserable, and spindly that time of year may get, it is always outweighed by those golden days with a warm sun and a crisp, cool breeze.  

Today was one of those days (and I know, it's not "technically" fall yet). 

 

brother dear

I am so glad that these boys love each other. It isn't easy to do, but when they do it, they do it well.

I'm excited to see how a little girlie figures into this mix.

the valley of vision

If I look back to those blurry days that began my crash-course into motherhood, I remember a lot of fear, excitement, confusion, sadness, and joy. It's such a crazy mix of emotions, this whole rearing children business. I remember days when I would be holding my screaming baby, sobbing out "why won't you sleep? What am I supposed to do? I don't know anything!" I remember phoning my husband at 10:00 at night, calling him away from his camp director duties because I couldn't do it anymore. I would throw myself on my bed and stare at the ceiling as tears burned my eyes and wonder what we were thinking when we decided to have a baby. Two babies. Three babies. It was hard, so so hard, to fight the thoughts screaming "You are inadequate! You are irresponsible! You are foolish!" and rest in the faith I have in Christ my Lord to bring me through, one day at a time. 

But yet, as the days have flown by and my children have grown up, I've realized something: the harder it's been, the more rich the blessings have become, the more I see my need for God's grace. Sometimes the valley is deep and dark. Sometimes the air is thick and nothing seems to make sense. Sometimes you forget what the sun even felt like. 

But then. 

Then God leads you out, and you are greeted by the friendly sun, the sweet air, the magnificent view. You can breathe again. God gives you the perspective that evaded you in the valley. You commune with him, and your heart is full. His grace is astounding and you love Him all the more. You go back into that valley, full of fresh hope and sweet gratitude for the One who is imminently involved in every aspect of your life. Your perspective is back on the One who died to reconcile you to God, who leads you through green pastures, still waters, and even the valley of death. 

And even though the valley will get just as suffocating and terrifying as it was before - perhaps more; you know He'll lead you out again.