oh my gosh, it's really ours!

Guess what, everyone?!  We're bonafide homeowners now!!  We had a successful final walk-through (oh house, so good to see you again after a few months) and after running a few house/closing-related errands (yay paint for the bedroom!  new locks to install!  certified check from the bank!), we closed on our house.  I can't even describe how happy and excited we are!  Our closing costs were even less than our estimate last week which was awesome.  And, we got to take our first load of stuff over.  We are going to stay overnight in our new home tonight, camping out on our futon mattress on the floor.  How sweet is the end reward after our waiting!  Thank you, Lord!! :)

{pics to come soon...I have them, just haven't gotten to download them to my computer to upload here.}

it's really happening!!

We annoyed/bothered/harassed the bank all morning/early afternoon today due to a miscommunication that we were not happy about, and by calling multiple times and sending a very stern email, then calling our attorney again, we finally got a closing date!  HOORAY!

We are set to have our final walk through Wednesday morning and to close that afternoon!  WE ARE SO EXCITED!!  It's such an awesome feeling, and we are so excited to start moving into OUR HOUSE!

GOD IS GOOD! :D

one year blog-iversary!

Today marks a year since I started this blog.  I am so glad I did and can't wait to share so much more over the coming years.  Even though it's only been the tip of the iceberg, writing about certain parts of our life has helped already.  And so, in celebration:

top 5 most read/popular posts:
-love wins
-WOOT WOOT!
-Sermon: Bitterness
-what are the chances...
-yes!

my 5 favorite posts (excluding any of the above):
-my life verse
-pieces to the puzzle
-THE REAL DEAL!
-he did it!!
-The day of extreme emotions...

lately I'm...

...trying so hard to wait.and.trust.

I think know I stink at it.  And so I continue to pray.

Also getting me through:

~game nights w/ friends

~Skyping with Deanna for the first time since she moved to Nashville
~date night out to dinner (yay giftcards) and the movies in our 'hood

~empty, relaxing nights and weekends with hubby

Hoping soon to have a more exciting update.  Yes, we are still at our apartment   No, we do not have a closing date.  For now, we're still on the roller coaster ride.  And I'm seeing more and more how waiting on others is a very big weakness of mine.  Enter in, my lesson for this whole process.

Sunday morning wind and ice-capades

This morning as we pulled into church, one of the parking lot attendants/security guys stopped us and warned us that the entire parking lot was black ice.  We thanked him and slowly found a parking spot, where we then braced ourselves for the frigid cold and wind and climbed out of the car.  We carefully did the small "step-step-steps" of ice walking, until a huge gust of wind snatched our offering envelope out of Col's Bible and whipped it up in the air and away.

I exclaimed how, "We can't even run after it!," because of the ice, so we headed in the direction that it had blown as quickly as one possibly can on sheets of black ice, which really isn't that quick at all.  I couldn't help but burst out laughing as I pictured the two of us, trying to stand upright on the ice and chase down our offering.  Not only that, but the envelope was white and the wind so strong and constant, that we lost sight of it. 

During this time, I also noticed a gentleman in his car who looked ready to park but then pulled towards us as if to help but was probably thinking, "What the heck are these two doing?!" because I'm not sure he saw the whole thing happen.  He ultimately decided to just stay where he was and park.  Col asked where it went, and thankfully we spotted it stuck in the snowbank.  He grabbed it before it could fly away again, and we made our way carefully back toward church and inside, laughing the whole time.

Sometimes, something like this would stress me out (hey, money blowing away is never good).  I'm so thankful that today I didn't even think about that and instead saw how hilarious we looked.  There's nothing like a good laugh to start off the day! 

oh happy day!

After last week's waiting and let down, I was sure that we wouldn't hear if our grant was approved the second time around until the end of the day Friday. The bank contacted them and was promised an answer this week, so I decided to just assume it would be late afternoon on Friday so that I didn't have a set deadline in my head. Having one last week caused a resurfacing of anxiety and a mini panic attack when it wasn't met. However, having put into practice not to worry as it would do nothing about the situation, I gave it all to God and decided to just wait and see, but not let it consume my thoughts.

I was in an adjoining room at work when I thought I heard my phone vibrating. I went back to check it just missing a call from Col. He never calls me at work unless something important is happening, so at the same time I refreshed my email and saw one from the bank. I was nervous because the subject line said, "First Home Club Grant......." and the "......." had me thinking it wasn't good news. I simultaneously reached Col and opened the email and read:

……………..HAS BEEN APPROVED!!!!

We just received the email that has approved you for the grant!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Col and I celebrated on the phone for a few minutes, after which I danced around work and told everyone that it had been approved. I didn't realize how upset I would have been if it hadn't gone through this time until I saw how excited and happy and relieved I was when we found out it was approved.  I am so thankful that our year-long program participation has paid off!

And so, we've been floating on the home-buyer's-grant-second-time-around-approval cloud today.  HOORAY!!

a new favorite song i'm lovin'

Kings and Queens

By: Audio Adrenaline

Little hands, shoeless feet, lonely eyes looking back at me

Will we leave behind the innocent too brief

On their own, on the run when their lives have only begun

These could be our daughters and our sons

And just like a drum I can hear their hearts beating

I know my God won’t let them be defeated

Every child has a dream to belong and be loved

Boys become kings, girls will be queens
Wrapped in Your majesty 

When we love, when we love the least of these

Then they will be brave and free

Shout Your name in victory

When we love when we love the least of these

When we love the least of these

Break our hearts once again

Help us to remember when

We were only children hoping for a friend

Won’t you look around these are the lives that the world has forgotten

Waiting for doors of our hearts and our homes to open

If not us who will be like Jesus

To the least of these

If not us tell me who will be like Jesus

Like Jesus to the least of these

Boys become kings, girls will be queens

Wrapped in Your majesty

When we love, when we love the least of these

Then they will be brave and free shout Your name in victory

We will love we will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

We will love the least of these

"get me out of here!"

If you've ever had your house packed up, or have ever had no use of a room or two for a while, you know that after a couple days, or maybe hours, sitting in the house drives you crazy.  After a particularly lazy string of evenings this week, I was ready to get up and out and do something because all the boxes are driving me nuts.  I was feeling a little like the voice that yells, "Get me out of here!" from a box that my husband received as a toy when he was a kid stuck in the hospital.  So I came home Friday from work and told Col that we were going out on a date.  Off to Olive Garden we went with gift cards in hand where we had a delicious dinner and didn't talk about the house, grant, or stress of waiting for the approval.  It was wonderful!  That evening we also decided last minute to have a game night with friends which was fun and a bonus out-of-the-house time.

Because Saturday was supposed to be super warm for January (50's!), we both had the uncanny idea to go to Mendon Ponds Park Birdsong Trail (where we got engaged!).  And so off we went (after a delicious gift-card-paid-for stop [gotta love those gift cards from Christmas!] at Panera for breakfast) to meet my in-laws who also had the same idea for the day (weird, right?).  We hiked the trails for a long time, got some great exercise and fresh air, fed some birds out of our hands, and showed them our engagement spot.  That afternoon we took a nap, awesomeness, and met up with Col's rents again for dinner and ice cream while they watched our niece.  We ended the evening with a Redbox movie.

on the bridge we got engaged on, overlooking the brook

Today we enjoyed church, football with friends, and an evening getting things done around the apt.  It was the perfect mix of out and about and productiveness.  While I cherish an empty, no plans, stay-at-home weekend more than most, this time I was happy to fill it up spending time with people outside the apartment.  Learning to love the in-between!