House Reveal

Hello, friends. Long time, no chat. I'm writing from my lovely new home that is completely unpacked aside from two large boxes. The military taught me to move in quick and make my space home because we never knew how long we would be there. As I lovingly put together the house this time, I did so feeling as if we were finally home and I just wanted to get everything together so I could enjoy it. Seven moves in over the course of our (almost) four year marriage took its toll on us, but I can honestly say that we are doing well. It's great to have a space of our own now. It's more than that, though. It's a beautiful home that we surely don't deserve, but one that we are thanking God for every day we wake up in it. I want to stay here for years and years (and years). Here's a peek around. Honestly, this house is too big for us. We don't have a lot of furniture to fill it yet so it's all a work in progress. Won't you come in?

We'll start with some empty rooms:

These two rooms connect just off the entry hallway. The formal room is bare and nothing but our table is in the dining area, but that's okay...we'll get there.
Anyway...this way to the bedrooms!

The other bathrooms are new and completely re-done, but this one has the charm of an old home and I happen to think it's perfect as a jack-and-jill bathroom for the boys...

There's a sun room that will surely be an oasis for me when I fill it with comfy chairs. I imagine this is where I'll do my morning bible study.

It connects to the den and kitchen, both of which I love.

I grew tired of snapping photos and loading them, but there's a whole downstairs to this house, too that has a playroom (that I totally plan on making an exercise room in the future), a man cave area with kitchenette, a guest suite, and a closet especially for all my Christmas things! I'm a big fan.
So that's where I've been--setting up and enjoying this lovely home. I hope to catch up with all of you soon.

Love,

P.S. Step out of your readers and come see the new look of Mrs. K and Captain J, too. Freeborboleta Designs spruced it up! I love it.

Fall Fun

12 days (knock on wood) is what separates us from living as a family of four again. Our time in my childhood home is winding down and I'm looking forward to settling in a new town, finding a church home there, and making a life for ourselves. With each move we've made, there's been a sense of a fresh start. It's true for this one, too. I've been contemplating going back to work or going back to school. In general, life is looking up! We've had some struggles over the past few months but it must have been the stress of moving again. So many homes the Captain and I have shared together float through my mind and I can hardly keep them straight. We are happy to finally have a house of our own in a town close to "home" that we will be staying in with no plans of moving. We've never had a permanent place. The feeling is exciting. I hope we don't get anxious. We are very much a military family at heart, after all.

Enjoying fall has been a top priority around here lately. We also haven't had a true fall in a long, long time. Living in Louisiana prior to Florida didn't exactly provide for changing leaves and cool evenings. It was just hot all the time. 

A trip to the pumpkin patch was in order-

Some hiking around Frozen Head State Park-

and K even caught his first fish-

We're makin' memories and trying to enjoy the present. 

How have you and yours celebrated fall?

Running, Giving, and Living

(Lame title brought to you by lack of creativity and time.)

Well, it has happened again. Every place we end up, I inevitably make a friend that doesn't have a job like me and we are free to hangout most of the day. No plans are involved- just a daily "Hey, wanna go for a walk? or grab some coffee? or watch LMN all day long?" Ok, so maybe I'm just dreaming on the last one. The point is that all good things come to an end. My sister has been walking to my house in the mornings and having a cup of coffee or two after everyone in the house leaves for work since I've moved back here. It has been lovely! But she has always been a working woman at heart, one who wants to work outside the home, one who thrives in that atmosphere. She goes back to work today and I'm just sitting here with my coffee and computer wondering how I'll start my day now. I guess the laundry calls.

I suppose I can start the day off by telling you of a way you can financially help a friend in need. I don't actually know this couple, but I do know the woman who set up the fundraiser. She's one of the strongest people I know. Her husband, Brice, is a veteran. They've been through a lot together over the course of his service and now his family is in need. Nicole is raising money for his aunt and uncle who have dealt with endless medical bills and now have lost their hot water heater. Every little bit helps! If you do choose to donate and donate at least $15, she'll throw your hat in the ring to win a diamond candle (every additional $5 will get you another entry). Go check out that opportunity to spread the love here. If you donate, be sure to let me know and I'll advertise for your small business or throw your blog button up on my side bar for a month or two!

Tuesdays are the days when I update you on my fitness goals/progress, right? I wish I had great news to report. I'm struggling getting into a good routine here. I know that will change when we get into a home of our own. I made several goals this month. Honestly, I don't know that I'll accomplish a single one. The main goal was to do fifty miles in September. After 100 in May, I though that is should be easy but between getting sick and house hunting, I have had little time to get away to run. No excuses, though. I'm at 31 now and it is still a reachable goal. The Marine Mud Run was this past weekend. I got up bright and early with my husband, my bro, and step-mom and went for a run in the pouring down rain. The obstacle course ended up being a lot of fun and I did better than I thought I would. I wish we had pictures to show for it, but the rain and mud would have ruined my camera and no one in their right mind would have come to watch us that day. The rain was awful.

Later that day, we went house hunting again after the second house we made an offer on fell through. I'm hoping third time is the charm, though. We are in negotiations with another house that we love. It's the opposite of everything we initially said we wanted, but it just feels like home. Regardless, we need to find something soon or Mama is gonna go crazy. Maybe I already have.

What else is new? Not a lot. I apologize for not keeping up with all of your blogs right now. Being unsettled means not having a lot of me time in my schedule. I try to read from my phone/ipad but I rarely comment.

These photos have nothing to do with this post.

No one likes a post without a picture, ya know.

That's what has been going on around these parts. 

What's happening in your neck of the woods?

House Blues and Happy News (Vlog)

Sometimes I should ask myself, "Does this matter?" or "Does anyone care?" before I post these things, but today is not that day. 

The Scoop

Thanks for the well wishes on our house hunt. There was such a heavy load lifted from my shoulders when we signed the papers for our new house. It was everything we wanted and we had our move-in date and everything! Two weeks before closing, we got word that the appraisal came back $14,500 less than what we agreed to pay. Trouble was- the owner had gotten an appraisal months before that was much, much higher and so that's what he believes the house is worth. Obviously, we decided not to pay that much money for a house that isn't worth that right now. The owner declined our appraisal offer (with much sass, by the way) and so we walked. Bye, bye beautiful house on five acres. Hello, house hunt. What did we learn? Well, house buying is frustrating. We also learned that maybe we don't want a lot of land right now. Maybe we want the convenience of being closer to the interstate. That house was about 15-20 outside of Cleveland and we were beginning to worry that we had made a mistake although I know we would have been happy there. Everything works out the way it is supposed to, doesn't it? Still, I have an urge to bust into the toddler's room as he naps and grab the countdown-to-closing chain we made and set it on fire since it no longer applies.

I'm pretty discouraged today. For weeks now, I've been telling Holly (our dog) that it won't be much longer and things will be back to normal for her. She went from living inside with us to staying in a pen on the back of the property here. She's lonely. Furthermore, we are still in my parents' hair and I don't know what our next step is. Saturday we are going to look at 8 more houses and if we don't find anything interesting then I think it will be time to look for rental homes as bad as that sucks.

Want some good news, though? My husband is coming home in about an hour from his business trip. Yay! We've missed him.

Uncomfortable Grace

I'm pretty sure we lost the house. It sucks, it does, but that's not what I want to talk about today. My initial reaction is, of course, to feel a little sad and disappointed. When I got the news via text earlier today, I got out my iPhone to listen to a sermon. I needed something else to think about. I needed my quiet time with God. What I heard was an invaluable lesson and it is the sole reason I haven't completely flipped my lid in this new development.

Dr. Paul Tripp started out by saying that faith isn't natural to us. It is fear or worry we typically turn toward when times get rough. He gave the example found in the book of Matthew when Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him on a boat so they could cross the sea of Galilee. In the night, the disciples encountered a fierce storm. If the wheels are churning in your mind now you might know where I'm headed with this. Sometimes God puts us in less than desirable situations in order to produce in us a true faith in Him that we could never arrive at on our own. Dr. Tripp called this "uncomfortable grace." The potential loss of this house does not signify that my Heavenly father has forgotten me; He hasn't forsaken my family. On the contrary, we're being loved through this. He's developing me, moving in me. I truly don't want this house if it's not where God wants us. I do have faith that God is in control and He works for the good of those (me!) who love Him. This situation isn't ideal. It's uncomfortable. But God is working here.

Jesus could have calmed the waters without the big to-do of walking out to the boat. Instead, he walked on water, looping around so that all the disciples could see Him. They saw Him but did not recognize Jesus. The disciples believed it was a ghost and were very frightened. Jesus says, "Take heart- it is I. Do not be afraid." That storm was crucial for the disciples to see the glory of God. How many times would it take? They had heard Jesus speak and witnessed miracles at his hands. But there's a big difference between being amazed by God and truly walking in faith with Him.

I'm amazed by God a lot. When I walk in the woods, I see the beauty He threw together so perfectly. When I look in the smiling faces of my children, I'm amazed that He has chosen me to be their mama. I'm amazed by how much he loves me despite how despicable I can be. Have I trusted wholly in Him over the last few months? No, I haven't. I've questioned timing. I've questioned purpose. 

Maybe my storm today is devoloping my faith. Although it might feel like it sometimes, I'm not alone in this-

 the Great I AM is here with me. I shouldn't be afraid. I'm not. Not really. It'll work out, right? ;)

I'll keep you posted.

(Go download Mars Hill app. It's free and full of lots of sermons you can listen to on the go!)

Waiting, waiting

We've been home for a month now and I'm sure you're wondering how the process is going with the house. I'm wondering, too. We haven't heard anything since we got all the paperwork turned in. It's a waiting game. As a former military spouse, I've played this game before. It's not really my favorite. Still, we might as well make the best of it and so we lovingly tear off another ring on our paper chain every morning when we wake up. Closing is still set for late September.

I think September is going to go by fast, though. There's a lot going on. I mentioned my fitness goals for this month. Those will keep me busy! In related news, I signed up for a mud run with my husband, dad, step-mom, sister, and brother in law. I'm excited! I feel ill prepared, though. I haven't been running and working out as much as I hoped I would during this move.

We are also hoping to catch a football game this month. J has never experienced game day at Neyland Stadium! My brother was blessed with the opportunity to be a team manager this year. He's loving it! Saturday, he ran through the Power T with roughly 90,000 people cheering. His faced graced the tv several times as he was "working." I got a lot of texts- I saw Jake on TV! What an opportunity of a lifetime. I hope he soaks up every bit of it. Anyway, it would be nice to go watch him in action...and see the Vols play. I haven't been in about three years.

Anyway, there is A LOT going on here, but some things are slowing down, too. Baby A has finally started sleeping more. Praise the Lord!

It makes me appreciate slow moments on the porch like this one-

Over-n-out,

Welcome Home

I've had the urge to write a lot lately, but the time hasn't been there. We've been busy and in the moments that are slow, we've been trying to relax. Easier said than done. Baby A didn't go to sleep until 11:30 last night and the night before? He was up every.single.hour. We are so tired and feeling awful that we're keeping everyone in the house awake, too. I may or may not have been strolling around a whiny kid in the dark last night, barefoot, and holding back tears. Why does life feel so much harder when a baby won't sleep? Ha! Honestly, he has NEVER been like this. Even as a newborn and young babe, he slept more than this. It's quite an adjustment.

Good news, though...

I've got an appointment today to get my tubes tied.

Kidding.

The good news is that we have found a house we love and pending inspections going well today, it's ours! Isn't she a beauty?

We love it and can't wait to settle in. It will be awhile, though. You know what I'm talking about if you've ever worked with the VA before!

I hope we'll be happy there for a long time. I'm sure we will. We are used to making houses we don't love home and we really really like this one! We are looking forward to not mooching off our families anymore. Whether it's dog sitting, baby sitting, groceries, or moving help, we have exhausted our welcome here, I'm sure. We are very blessed by the wonderful friends and family who have helped us in our journey "home"!

I can't believe this kitchen will soon be part of our very own home...

I'm going to bake all kinds of goodies in there.

Anyway, I just wanted to pop in and show you a glimpse into our house since so many of you requested it on facebook and IG. More to come in the next few weeks.

Love,

Monday (creative title lacking)

Mondays really are awful, aren't they? There's the argument that stay at home moms (SAHM) don't get a weekend really because they're always on the job, but at least on Saturday and Sunday I can expect that my husband will at least change one diaper between the two of them and that's one less diaper for me. Then Monday rolls around and the youngest won't eat, yet he wants to chew on his spoon, thereby making an awful mess of carrots on his neck, face, and shirt. Then he won't take a bath sitting up apparently and the baby bath is tucked away in a garage a couple houses down the street. Then the two year old is bored, maybe? So he runs around whining excessively and smacking random objects in frustration. Now everyone is crying for no good reason..and how do I deal? By eating a leftover hotdog, piece of birthday cake, and coke from the night before because nothing says I'm stressed like getting fat.

This move has been awfully stressful on us. I think it's just because this is it. We aren't moving again for awhile. We get to buy a house. It's a lot different this time. I'm nearly thirty years old and I've never bought a house. It's all new to us. We want to do it right, but we also are in a hurry to get out of my parents' house because, let's be honest, we are freeloadin'. It's so easy to take their groceries, use up their water for showers, and weasel our way back into their routines. I don't know why I feel this way because many people have offered up their homes to us, but I just feel bad. Undeserving of help.

We went house hunting on Saturday. We looked at seven houses and it was a very long day. Looking at houses is supposed to be fun, but I felt bad all day for leaving one of the kids with his uncle all day (on his birthday!). When we were done, all I could think about was that we didn't love any of the houses and we were no closer to finding a home than we were the week before. Now, another week will go by because we can't house shop throughout the week because of J's job hours and how far away we'd have to drive to look at a house.

I know I sound so ridiculous. Everything we've ever wanted has happened for us. We have a happy marriage, beautiful & sweet children, and now we live in East Tennessee again! And it really has only been a week. I'm sure we'll find a place soon and we shouldn't rush the process, but I'm just feeling the pressure to get my crew into a place of our own before we all go a little crazy. Baby A just isn't adjusting well. His sleep patterns have changed drastically and he has been so fussy lately. I know kids need stability and I feel bad for interrupting that for him, too. Ugh.

It's definitely a Monday.

Homecoming

We very recently got completely unpacked and pictures hung on the walls so naturally it's time to move again. You think I'm kidding, but I am not. Get this: We're moving to Tennessee! Home sweet home to me.

I can't believe it. I'm still in awe of God's blessings for us. Let me explain how all this happened, how God had his hand in this from the beginning...

When we moved here to Jacksonville, FL we did so with the knowledge that we would probably be here for awhile and then we'd have to move again in a few years. Our list of hopeful locations was small. We wanted to be in the south, for sure. But honestly, we wanted to be pretty close to family. Our dream location was Chattanooga, but there was no shot at getting it because the guy who maintained that territory was young with no plans of leaving. We began to accept that Florida was about as close to family as we were going to get for a good long while and who were we to complain? It's not so bad here. His position here in Jacksonville was one of which he was basically a student. He was working in sales under someone who was showing him the ropes. Typically, it takes about a year to move on up the ladder.
Anyway, J received an email that went out to several people. In it, Chattanooga was indicated as an open territory. Immediately, J began to make phone calls. He texted me with the news and asked me to start praying. I asked A LOT of other people to start praying. We just felt as if God has placed this opportunity in front of us; it had been highly unlikely before. His superiors weren't even sure if they could get him an interview since he was a very new employee, but within hours we got news that he could travel to sit down and meet with the person who was doing the hiring. It was so exciting for both of us! We began to feel God comforting us, saying He is always with us and that He has our best interests in mind. Our prayers began to change into, "Lord, your will be done." I won't lie and say we wouldn't have been disappointed if His will ended up not taking us back to Tennessee, but at the same time we knew in our minds that our prayers were being heard and that God was going to take care of us either way. There was nervousness-yes! But there was a peace in our household, too.
Captain J went off to ATL for a week to work with that team and interview for the position. He felt prepared and confident and that's all we could have asked for. Meanwhile, back at home, I was taking care of our boys and toying with the idea that we would actually be living in Tennessee by Christmas time. Daydreaming was distracting, but so much fun.
Long story short, the position is his! He starts in Chattanooga immediately. As I'm typing, there is much to be done. Loose ends to tie up. Lots of them. But none of them matter much because I know all of this is going to work out. I just know it.
Nothing is packed.
We don't have a house to move into in TN.
No place to put Holly while we wait to buy or rent.
We're stuck with this lease until January 2014 yet we are leaving tomorrow.
We're in a real pickle.

None of that matters, though. We're going home!

Four years ago- almost to the day- I packed up my life and moved to Alaska. Four states and two kids later, and we're all headed back to where our hearts have always been. We're so grateful.

God is good. Thanks for praying.

Florida Digs- Work in Progress

I hadn't even left Tennessee yet and I was already getting texts, "Send us pictures of your new place!" My blogging community has expressed the same desire so here I am...with anti-climatic photos of our new digs.

It still feels slightly bare because our walls are still waiting to be covered, but already it's home. I like it here.

It's not the nicest house we've ever had, but that'll happen when you shop for rentals online. I'm pretty pleased with it, though. It could have been a real dump.

The bathrooms could use some work. The kitchen doesn't have the bells and whistles...

but it does have a pantry, a garbage disposal and a dishwasher so that's more than I could ever ask for, really.

The "random area" listed above? I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be the dining room. But who puts carpet in a dining room? Furthermore, why is it as soon as you walk in the front door? And, oh yeah, it's separated from the kitchen area, too. I don't get it hence the stick-all-the-extra-furniture-there-for-now logic.

My favorite area is our bedroom. It's spacious and has a huge soaking tub in the attached bathroom (i.e. ALL I'VE EVER WANTED).

The rest is kind of a work in progress. Give me a break, people. I just got here ;)

How's that for a tour? Chances are if you're reading this and you care enough to make it this far, I wish I was giving you a tour in person. Just pretend I've just poured you a glass of wine (or a cup of coffee)- name your poison. Can we also pretend you're sitting on my couch now and we're swapping adventure stories? This housewife is officially bored! You know what helps with boredom? YouTube.

Thanks to my friend, Whittney, I just laughed at this so hard I had my toddler pretty worried. Now every time I turn it on, he laughs, too.

Oh my gosh. I'm dying.

Fridays are Fabulous!

I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers today for a little Fab Friday! Here are the fabulous things going on in my world today:

* My husband is coming home tomorrow! I haven't seen him in forever (or so it seems) and I can't wait for him to join our family again.

*Both kids are asleep as I type this and I'm about to watch a movie by myself and paint my nails and OH! IS IT GOING TO BE FUN!

*I have a winner for the Starbucks giveaway! Drumroll, please...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*The movers are supposed to come back today and take away all of the 191 boxes they left here. Every other military move we've done, we had to find a way to dispose of them ourselves. I'm so so grateful that they're dealing with it this time.

*Once the boxes are gone, my new house will be a home. I'm sure of it.

*My youngest finally smiled for the camera yesterday. Mama was proud.

*Scentsy has a whole bunch of their Fall/Winter products on sale for 10% off!

*Did I mention my husband is coming home? Can't wait to give him a big hug, hand the kids over, and run out the door!

Love,