Rest and Trust

I have had some of the most stressful and worrisome couple of weeks that I could ever remember. This surprise and blessed gift of a late pregnancy has been wrought with a myriad of emotions and issues. I have spent countless hours in tears- crippled by the fear of losing this precious baby. Yet every single time something happens and another chunk of my hope is challenged the amazing women in my life step up, reach out, and sometimes just plain slap the nonsense right out of me. But they all do it with Love, and Love is what I feel more than anything else.

Just this weekend…. Doctors put the fear of God in me and I just buckled under the pressure. Quite frankly I really feel, generally speaking, that I am a much stronger woman of faith than I have been over these last few weeks. It’s such a blessing to have strong people surround me and stand in the gap for me.

This morning in my Bible readying I came across a verse that just knocked the wind out of me.

Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

I have experienced a God who is present and impossibly current. He is not an old fashioned deity… He is good and consistent and faithful. He has done miracles in our life… amazing moves of God. So why, in this time where clearly I am disconnected, would I not rest in His promises?

A commitment I am making to both myself and my God is to return to that place…. the place of faithful assurance and belief in the absolute provision and care of my Father in Heaven.

Even in this week as I struggle to find insurance to cover me during this pregnancy… I will not go into this hunt without first trusting God has everything under control. Like Isaiah 55:12 Says; “You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”

The PROJECT House!

Hey there everyone!!! I hope you all had a great 4^th of July. Lots of fireworks and cookouts….. as for me, well I was moving. 

My husband and I decided; Why not move in on the 4^th of July. Do be honest; we had “been” moving since the 1^st so the 4^th was really just the furniture. However, that evening…. I went to bed by 6pm and Ben and Tristan went to do Fourth of July with some family.

 A bonus to moving back to our home town is having family around every corning.

How we got this house is a pretty awesome story, at least it is for us. My husband Ben had been laid off from work and since he was 19, whenever he was out of work his old youth pastor and boss would call him up and offer him a job. The pay was never quite enough to support a family so Ben always declined. This time, however his offer came with better pay, a very hopeful serious promotion, and… believe it or not- a house.

Now Ben is from Sanger, my son was born in Sanger, and our church is in Sanger. We were living 25 minutes away in North Fresno. We moved there because at the time, my husband was working in Madera which was 25 minutes north of Fresno and I was working in north Fresno. So it made sense. 4 years later, we have been trying very hard to move back to Sanger.

It may seem to some of you that perhaps moving back shouldn't be that hard to do. It really was for us. The homes were too expensive or they didn't allow pets and if they did they certainly didn't allow pit bulls…. And we don’t go anywhere without Kenya.

So long story short, this house is in Sanger. And he didn't care what kind of dogs or how many we had. WOW!!!! I said yes before every even seeing this house. I made up my mind that this was a gift from God and no matter what it was; I was going to make that building our home.

After seeing the house for the first time, I knew I had one heck of a project on my hands, and man was I excited. I was planning all the things we could do and when we would do them… spreading out our projects. Then one day something funny happened.  I found out I was pregnant! WHAT??? My only son will be 9 in September… what the heck? Another Blessing!

So as you can imagine my project list- though vast- is now more of a priority! So as I work through these projects, I will post about them, before and after pictures, DIY tips and so on… and hopefully before these 9 months are up, I will be able to offer you a house tour. Below is my list. I know- it’s a lot, but hey there is a little one on the way and I want to be ready!

Thanks for following!

The Project House

The PROJECT List!

Living Room:

1. Paint- PLEASE!!!!  
2. Refinish the two Craigslist Side Tables
3. Rehab two BIG OLD LAMPS
4. Some sort of Coffee Table
5. DIY NO SEW Curtains 
6. DIY Dresser into Entertainment Console
7.  Book Shelf Styling  
8. 3 Coordinating Dog Beds- SEWING " YIKES" 
9. A Couple giant floor pillows
10. Gallery wall or two
11.  Do something to create a welcoming entry way.

Laundry Room/ Pantry:

1.  Paint!!! YEA
2. DIY Batten board Wall
3.  Laundry Cabinet Redo
4. Appliance Cabinet Redo 
5. Stinky Pantry DO OVER!

Kitchen:

1.   DIY Refinish and Seal Concrete Counter Top
2.  Clean out and refresh ALL Kitchen Cabinets & Drawers: total of 28 cabinets and drawers
3. DIY Build a Breakfast Bar off the peninsula  
4. DIY Curtains or Shades????

Dining Room:

1.       FIX Dining Room Closet

2.       PAINT

3.       DIY Rehab Old China Cabinet and Hutch

4.       Figure out what to do with the built in shelves

5.       DIY Old Kitchen Cabinet up do

6.       Styling an old Fireplace

7.       DIY Curtains

8.       DIY Dining Room Table Build

9.       Office Cabinet Refresh

Tristan’s Room:

1.       Fix paint job by adding moldings and doing a little editing.

2.       DIY Curtains or shades

3.       DIY Platform Twin Bed

4.       DIY Gaming Lamp

5.       IKEA HACK Desk

Nursery:

1.       Paint- PLEASE

2.       DIY Window and Closet Curtains

3.       IKEA Hack Rocking Chair

4.       Update Garage Sale Crib

5.       DIY Crib Bedding with Mom

6.       Reno old Dresser for Changing Table

7.       DIY Décor

Master Bedroom:

1.       PAINT

2.       Closet Curtains or doors

3.       DIY Curtains

4.       Redo my DIY Head board

5.       DIY NO SEW Bed Skirt

6.       DIY Up do Craigslist Side Tables

7.       Refinish Grandparents dressers

8.       DIY up cycle Thrift Store Lamps and Mirror

9.       DIY 3 Coordinating Dog Beds for the bedroom

AND THEN THERE IS THE GARAGE: AKA Jens Workshop!

1.       Something nice with the floors

2.       DIY Build Work Bench

3.       DIY Build Wood Storage

4.       DIY Build Tool Storage

And… The back Yard

1.       Fix Fences

2.       Take down tree in the ally

3.       Excavate the yard for new grass

4.       Pull flower beds for fruit or berry producing plants

5.       Clean out and build in my Raised Garden Beds in the Side Yard.

6.       Expand Patio

7.       DIY Build Outdoor Dining Table

8.       DIY Build Out Door Buffet Cabinet

9.       DIY outdoor Dining Area

Hall Bathroom:

1.       New DIY shower curtain

2.       PAINT

3.       DIY Storage Solutions

Master Bathroom:

1. Storage Solutions 
2. Décor and stuff

WHOA! That’s a lot! But I am looking forward to getting it all put together! Thanks for following me on this cool journey.