we've got our work cut out for us

we're done! we no longer have two addresses. but the real work is just beginning. the house on petalo is approximately 500 square feet smaller than vista ridge. we lost the formal living/dining room, a bedroom and the third car garage. yikes! our first month here, mdh and i were able to park both our cars in the garage. last week, mdh had to park on the street -- oh, and did i mention we have a third car? the last few days my car has been in the driveway. it sure was nice while it lasted. come, i'll take you on a virtual tour of all that needs to be done:

this is the garage that both cars used to be parked in. the goal is to get my car in there and have room for storing my supplies and inventory, a work bench for jay, a place for the treadmill and stuff and stuff plus all the stuff that lives in the garage normally, i.e., camping gear, tools, christmas stuff, etc. i'm already missing our third car garage. let's move on to the inside. come on!

entryway

entryway/hallway

that's the front door and entryway. the wood door with glass panes is the door to the office/tv room. here's a peek inside that room.

 

the office

so that desk and computer just to the right in the previous photo? yeah, they're supposed to be in here too. good luck, right? here's the hallway.

future command center. right now it's just a hot mess.

i dont' post these to embarass myself or mdh. it's quite a chore fitting 2000 sq ft of stuff into 1500 sq ft of house! keep in mind we sold all the office furniture, a twin bed and have already purged a ton of stuff for the garage sale last weekend. i see more purging in the near future (and possibly another garage sale and/or huge donations to local charities)! no, the purpose of this post is twofold: accountability and to show our progress. okay, just a few more rooms now. let's go back to the general living areas: the living room, dining room and kitchen.

this room is generally tidy, just needs finishing touches like a lampshade and wall hangings

i spy gracie in the mirror!

the mirror in the photo above will go on this wall. this table is mdh's work station.

the dining room is just off the laundry room, hence, the linens and steamer!

the kitchen...it used to be clean

this was from a month ago and my goal!

what you've seen a lot of is my pet peeve: clutter on flat surfaces. about an hour after i took the pictures i did a little tidying up, so it's already improved but still a ways from the goal. and finally, i'll show you our bedroom. 

yeah, that dresser is really in the middle of the room. we just got the two dressers over from vista ridge so we've been living out of laundry baskets and 30 gallon trash bags. if you had any idea the amount of clothes i have...don't worry, i'll take pictures...the stuff you see is nothing. trust me. and the closet...the majority of the clothes hanging in here are mdh's. so much work to be done. li's bedroom will remain private as she's not here to defend herself. :)

well, that's the home tour. we'll revisit in a few days. hopefully, you'll see a difference. until then, stay grateful and always let your light shine. :)

lord, let me be a doer

photo credits

lately, i've been really trying to "move my hand away from the rich soil of my heart and welcome seed that sows salvation 'to the uttermost.'" i borrowed that from beth moore's james: mercy triumphs study, p. 77. i really want to allow God to do his work in me, to live out "i am God's workmanship" and not just say it. if you ask mdh, he'd tell you he hasn't noticed, because i have betrayed myself. i think i'm so self-righteous, a martyr, always doing what god calls me to do. honestly? what a crock.

i have been the man in james 1:24: looking intently at myself in a mirror and as soon as i walk away forget what i look like. ouch, God. that hurts. but i really love when God is faithful even when i don't want him to be. remember, God is just as faithful in judgment as he is in blessings. i had a conversation with a new, but much-loved friend about this exact thing. i am so moved by a message i've heard, a scripture i've read, lyrics to a song; even as i worship, tears pour down my face as i feel God speaking to me. half an hour later, i am berating mdh for some small slight. what if God did this to me?

oh, i am so thankful God does not keep a record of my wrongs. i need a makeover from the inside out. i want God's Word to change me, not just touch me. i want to live the Word, not just hear it.

as always, quit hiding that light under a basket; let your light shine.

take my own advice

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i know i said i wasn't going to make any resolutions this year -- didn't i? well, i'm not. instead i'm going to change the way i think and how i use my words. it has been my standard cop-out to put things off and say, "i don't feel like doing that now" -- whatever that may be. okay. i have a confession. i'm a hypocrite. i have given this advice to the few who ask me for it: don't make decisions based on how you feel. feelings are temporary. make decisions based on the truth. your feelings will change but the truth never does.

i am going to speak things that aren't as though they were; i am going to do it 'til i feel it.

big day for j in court tomorrow. prayers please.

let it shine today.

hello, 2012!

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i'm blogging. my technical prowess has grown by leaps and bounds since hubby gifted me the latest, greatest iPhone for my birthday. thus, i have become that which i most despise and went from a simple facebooker to a twit, a pinster and now a blogger.

j and i have been laying pretty low the last couple of years, so instead of the annual letter and greeting card, we blog...well, i blog. j unknowingly contributes. after all, it's his life, too, right? the goal: one post a day. nothing crazy. like a diary. no big deal, right? but what you don't understand is, it's me. my track record on journaling is "no so good." you know what i mean?

your role in this? accountability. no. you don't really have a choice. either you're going to read it or you won't. i won't know. i'm sitting over here convincing myself what i have to say will hold your attention on a daily basis. who knows?

so i started this process (making my blog) shortly before midnight on new year's day. the sun will be rising in, oh, forty-five minutes -- give or take a few -- and i still haven't gotten my first post up. not looking so promising.

to start: it's j, me and li (part-time) and three four-legged boys: black, yellow and 'tis. those are "the boys." the six of us, including the part-timer, are mid-move. a couple of blocks away, but a move nonetheless. i abhor moving. actually, it's not the moving that bothers me. it's the packing and the unpacking. ugh. i have so much to do and so little motivation. i look at the stuff -- and there is a lot of it -- and wonder where to start. totally discouraged. so we've got that going on.

so i could tell you what's been going on the past couple of years, but that would be moving backward, not forward, and we are a family that will move forward. convincing, huh? but really, this is about learning from our mistakes and moving on.

well, it's almost six in the morning and for all my perfectionism, deleting, writing and rewriting, of course it's this last attempt that's raw and uninhibited/unedited that's going up. sometimes i just need to remind myself to k-i-s-s: keep it simple, stupid.

that's all for now. let's go out there and let our little lights shine.