Home is where your people are

We sold our house at the end of May and have been living out on our land ever since then. For awhile I was posting lots of pictures showing the progress, and then all of a sudden I stopped. Do you want to know why? 

Pride. 

We have been out here for 5 months now and I've had to do a lot of growing up and really just getting over myself. You might have asked me "How's the shop coming" or "I'd love to come by and see it" to which you would have received a blank stare or maybe a nervous laugh as I said, "sure" having no intentions or ever following through. But if you know me well, and I mean really well. Like all of the messy, ugly, selfish, pity party kind of know me, well then, you're probably just tired of hearing about it. It was bad you guys. Seriously, at one point, I pulled up to our old house on Haynes Ave to pick up some mail and started sobbing at the sight of their beautifully mowed yard. There was a real driveway. No mud or trash or materials piled up. Just a clean suburban yard. But this was not my house anymore and I just had to put on my big girl panties and get over myself.

I am finally getting to the point where I can say that I am happy where I am. Both physically living in this shop right now and spiritually with my Jesus, cause Lord knows I have not been for awhile. I have allowed comparison to rob me of real joy. I have allowed my circumstances to control my emotions and I have felt completely validated in my whining and complaining. But NO MORE! 

I am thankful for what we have. I am thankful for what it is right now, and not just for what I hope it might be one day. 

So here it is...

The goal was to downsize, use recycled materials, and be as cost effective as possible. The walls are made of OSB and the floors are painted concrete.

   

We left the ceilings open and we are using the tops of the bedrooms for extra storage. There's also a garage door in the living room so that one day it can be used as a shop.

   

Everything is still in the process of being finished, but for now, this is my makeshift kitchen. 

We don't have cabinets or drawers yet so most of our things are still in boxes, but the necessities are stacked up on racks. We have a ton of old barn wood that we are going to put on the kitchen walls eventually and hopefully build some cabinets out of them as well. The dishwasher, microwave, and countertop/sink were all salvaged from Brandon's jobs.

   

This is the boys bedroom. They insist on all 3 sleeping in one room together and it's been kind of special. Due to limited space we have downsized their toys to just about Legos, books, and a few sports balls, but they really haven't even noticed or cared. 

   

This is the guest bedroom reserved for the few and the brave, usually just tired grandparents who have come to help for the weekend.

   

This is our bedroom and lovely blackout curtains/blanket for the time being. We've put down remnant carpet in all of the bedrooms and the plan is to use some of that recycled barn wood on the ceiling in here one day too.

   

This is one of my favorite things in the shop! It might not have a door but it is a pretty decent sized closet for me and B.

   

This is the one and only bathroom for my family of 5. (one in potty training) The walls are recycled wood siding that I pulled from the outside of a dilapidated house that was on the property. Some poison ivy came along with it, but all in all I think it looks pretty cool. The sink base is Bryce's old changing table and the sink was also a salvage piece from the old house. This is so much better than showering in the outside shower, while fighting off Mosquitos, and just praying the kids in the airboat with a floodlight don't come back by.

   

The bathroom also doubles as our laundry room so it tends to be quite the hang out.

Over the next few years we hope to save up enough to build a house in stages as we can afford it. In the meantime this is our home and you are more than welcome to come over and visit.

We can sit out back, watch the sunset, light a fire, and talk about how amazing God is. And if I start complaining you can just feel free to just slap me.

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-1