This is a compilation of the pictures (mostly iphone pics) taken since we’ve been here on the eastern shore. This is also my first attempt at an iMovie. I hope you like it! The song is “Just one drop” by PLUMB. I personally dislike when songs are cut off so I let it play itself out once the sunset picture shows.
So far it’s true, we love the nature here on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. We also love the wind. It’s ALWAYS windy. ALWAYS. It also makes it about 10 degrees cooler feeling than where we were in North Carolina. We are LOVING IT!
view from our new home
windy, ALWAYS.
These three things, Joy, Peace and Thankfulness have been on the top of my prayers lately. I am desperate to be thankful in all things. I find myself so anxious when things don’t happen quickly, and that leads me to pray for peace. I find myself a little grumpy at this interim, and that leads me to pray for Joy. I have this desire to call all my friends and ask them to pray for me, but then I remember, I can pray! So I do. I pray Lord, give me peace in YOUR timing, give me joy in THIS moment, and show me how to be thankful for what You are doing and are going to do.
I get antsy, and then the phone rings. The gal on the line says she ran into someone she grew up with and he’s moving out of his house. She says he’s interested in renting it out. She meets me and shows me the house, and I fall in love (as much love as you can for wood and stone and glass).
our new home, from the front
our new home, from the back.
This is a great GREAT place. I prayed for something that wasn’t too big or too small. It looks a LOT bigger than it is. I prayed for a place with hard wood/tile/NON carpet floors (because of the boys allergies, and easier to keep clean). This place has NO CARPET. I prayed for a place close to Scott’s work, and close to town. This is both of those. It is such a clear answer to prayer, and we are so happy and thankful for this gift God has so richly given us. I am blown away, and kind of in shock at the abundant blessing.
We are aiming to move in June 1, so only three more weeks of hotel life! We are kind of getting the hang of it, but I know the dogs are bored to tears not being able to get about and sniff everything. I’ll post more pictures of the home here as soon as we are inside. It’s really neat!
Three things I think about each day. What am I going to have for breakfast? What shoes am I going to wear and what handbag will I carry today?
Breakfast at home is usually oatmeal, yogurt or wheat toast with peanut butter. Here at the hotel they have all those things, but it’s not fresh made bread or greek yogurt and I don’t have my berries to top it all off. I decided that while we are living the hotel life, I’ll stick as close to what I have at home. That means no biscuits and gravy and no pancakes. That was pretty easy and I think it will serve my body well to eat as closely to what I eat at home.
What shoes am I going to wear today? I have an obsession, a collection of Birkenstocks. My favorite style is the Gizeh of which I have about 5 or 6 different colors. So for hotel life I brought three of those (black, navy and a summer print), beige fabric flip flops and my running shoes. I imagine that once we are sailing around the world in ten years I’ll have two pair, one being boat shoes and the other being walking shoes.
What bag am I going to wear today? I am a BIG TIME handbag addict. The only reason I ONLY have twenty or so handbags is because I’m not filthy rich. If I were, we’d be in big big trouble. I love Miche bags because you can have one bag and change out the outside appearance or “shell” to match your outfit. I however chose one shell for hotel life. It’s the one I always use when we are traveling. It’s got loads of outside pockets and because it was originally designed for use as a diaper bag it also wipes clean with a damp rag. I also brought a utilitarian blue canvas bag that is great for the beach or any hiking we may do, and I brought a white leather bag that is lighter and easy to carry cross body. That’s it. For me, a gal who has been known to change out her purse three times a day, this is a big deal. I’ll let you know how this experiment in LESS changes me, if at all.
Yep, this hotel has mice, and they’ve made the sleeper sofa their toilet. As I unfolded the sleeper sofa tonight I saw a “collection” of little brown turds, all in a group. I carefully scooped them up using tissue and a paper cup, and walked it down to the desk. I waited for all customers to pass before I brought up the issue. I gave the very kind man the cup o poo and explained the situation. He quickly brought clean sheets down to the room and changed the bed out for us and said he’d have housekeeping do a “deep cleaning” of both rooms tomorrow. He also said he was taking 25$ off of the price. Scott’s company is paying for our stay but I appreciate the sentiment. I’d rather have coupons for free dinner somewhere, even though we are getting reimbursed for our meals out, it still comes out of OUR pocket up front.
Scott has been sick for a week and has slept most of today. He had last night and tonight off work but goes back to work tomorrow night. We have at least one property to look at tomorrow. It would be just the neatest if this property is THE one. I’ll let you know! Either way we are here in the hotel for at least another week because of the shipment of household goods needs a week lead time before delivery. So hotel “vacation” continues. That’s what it feels like right now, until we are in our new home this feels like a vacation. Staying up late and watching movies with the boys, yep, vacation. I will enjoy it while I can. After this world wind busy time I deserve it, we all do.
We are officially moved out of our home and in the hotel in Virginia. Tomorrow we will go look at a few rental properties and drive around figuring out the area. Today? We napped, we swam and now we’re going to go shopping at WalMart and get dinner at Happy Buffet.
Perks of hotel life.
Down side to this day so far is…….Noah slipped on the bathroom floor after the threebies showered and SOAKED the floor. Upside? Nothing broken. Whew. Baths for the threebies from here on out.
It is hard to tell folks how you pray, and harder to share how God answers. But I have felt it very important to document this, to journal it and to share it. So here goes. After reading a post from Flower Patch Farmgirl, I had prayed that God would show me who He is and show me how He loves me, and then all of this amazing stuff started happening (like literally, that first day). And all awhile it felt weird sharing that because it seemed like I was saying “God loves me with worldly stuff”. So this weekend I sat on my porch enjoying the sun and cool breeze and I started praying, just asking God to explain this way of answering my prayers. What I got, if I can explain it, what God spoke into me, was this:
I have loved you since the world began. I loved you as I knit you together. I loved you as you wandered the world in darkness and I loved you as I came down to save you by paying for your sins with My death on the cross. Because I know you, and I know how you FEEL loved, that is why I answered your prayers with this job and this move, because that is the language that you speak.
Now doesn’t that just beat all? As I typed this out I thought of the catchy words “love language” and realized, God showed me HIS love in MY love language. That just tells me even more, that I have absolutely no real concept of the depth and complex layers and infinite amount of love that God has for me.
And P.S. He loves you that much too!
Field Day. Max you were so excited. You threw the ball as hard as you could and you ran as fast as your legs would take you. You only made the mistake of comparing yourself to others. Never do that Max. God made you exactly how you are, and you are enough! Don’t be discouraged, don’t be sad, just be yourself and be happy with who you are. I love you Max. You have grown and changed so much in your short 9 years, and I am so excited to see how much more you will grow and change as you become a man. I love you Max and I believe in you and believe in God’s design for you.
Always yours,
Momma
Let me back up just a bit. My dad found out he was sick with cancer in March 2011 and immediately we started praying that God would help us get out of this house and closer to our parents.(right now we are 3.5 drive away) Both our parents are in Virginia, about 15 minutes drive from each other. It has always been our mindset that we should care for our folks in their old age, and dad’s diagnosis was just the thing to get the prayer going with real regularity. I want to tell you about “the phone call” but that involves more than myself, and after writing up a draft I’ve decided to just tell you MY side of things. This involves skipping a bit for the “public” but I have documented it all in my personal journal and can tell you, God was in it all. To sum up that call, I learned that I would have to wait a bit longer than I had expected, to give in my notice. I wasn’t upset and had a lot of peace about it actually. I turned forty April 6 and I had it in my heart and spirit that I WOULD be back home with the boys by my birthday.
As it turned out, because of a great job opportunity for hubby, we are moving to Virginia at the end of next week. Once I knew we would be moving I gave in my two weeks notice. The end of that two weeks was three days after I was to turn forty. However in the middle of that two weeks one of our sons was hospitalized, and because I wasn’t sure when I could come back to work, my work took me off the schedule for the remainder of that period. Hence, not only was I home FOR my birthday, I was home almost a full week before it. God is in this. And you saw that the job is IN Virginia? Virginia is a big state, we will be only 1.5 hours from either of our parents. God is in this.
So, I would love for you all to do something for me. I would love you to join me in thanks to God for this move, for my coming home to the boys, for this great new job for my hubby and for the new proximity to our folks. God has answered so much and more. I would also love for you to join me in petitioning God for 1)the quick sale of the house; we don’t want to make one cent, we just want to pay off what we owe. God is big enough! 2) for us to find a house to rent with a fence, and in a good neighborhood. Fences aren’t something the folks where we’re moving to do much, so it’s becoming an obstacle, but God is in this and I KNOW he has a house that is JUST what we need. So far He has done “exceedingly more than we could ask or
think” and I am so thankful and excited to see what He has for us next! Lastly, as I’m left behind with the boys, cleaning and painting and getting things ready for the move in 7 days, please praise God for the peace that He has so generously given me so far. I haven’t freaked out once! Yes I’m overwhelmed and Yes I’ve got to have a notebook with me at all times to write down things to do and people to call and emails to write, but I haven’t freaked out. I prayed in the beginning for peace, and God has so graciously given this to me. Thank you Father God!
Also, I really see a future for my boys in painting! They’ve each contributed in some way to the taping, rolling, trimming and painting of three different rooms so far (two in the last three days!)
