Home Stretch

Now, no cheating! No one is allowed to jump to the pics before reading the blessings that we have experienced through this home renovation! :) I realized a couple of days ago that I have been taking many snapshots as we have journeyed through this home renovation, but little documentation. So I will try to bring everyone up to speed on where we are at with this thing.

I have to say I am so very excited to finally be in the home stretch! We have kind of been forced to be in the home stretch when we were told we have a closing date in about 20 days or so. Egad! I am just trying to take one day at a time and make the most of each day. I am presently working diligently on painting trim while my husband has been laying floors.
I cant say enough how wonderful it is to have a close knit community of Christ followers in our lives! We have always been close to the people in our church through Sunday gatherings and the countless house churches we have held. They have ministered to us so much in our time of need with this timely renovation. I would say at least once a week we have had individuals from our church donate their time to Tommy and I. There have been two Saturday's where about 10-15 people have shown up to do whatever was needed of them. Taking about 2 weeks of work off of our shoulders. They painted the entire interior in a day! In addition to all of this, my mother in law, Fay has driven down all the way from New Port Richey several times a week to take care of Preson so I can go over to the house and work or going over herself to get down and dirty. My sister and Brother in law have also helped with babysitting Preson so I can get work done! I am RICH! Well, I know it seems that so many people have come and worked on our house, but I promise I have done a little bit of work on it too! :)

Aside from all of this hard work, we also had a home blessing. It was a very special evening where all of our family, friends and supporters came out to bathe our new home in prayer. My mom had told me about a family in her church whom their church was building a home for- the whole church came out and engraved scripture in the cement of the foundation and prayed over it. I immediately was inspired and knew that I needed to call in the troops to write prayers, scripture and blessings all over the floors and walls before they were painted. Needless to say, I just know the Lord met us there and now there is a peace that blankets our home. No longer do I feel afraid when I am there alone or sense the evil that once permeated this place. It is such a different house. It is becoming a HOME!
Please take time to read my dear friend, Jen Smith's blog as she beautifully documented and photographed of the evening.
Your Prayers are coveted as we have so much to do in such a small period of time!
Below are a few of the before and after shots of some of the main rooms we will be living in. So here it is- still a work in progress, but we have gotten A LOT done in 3 months!

The Kitchen


Looking through the kitchen at dining room from the other side of the kitchen

What used to be a secondary kitchen with the roof falling in, is now the main bathroom. Here is the beautiful flooring my husband worked so hard on.




Preson's once-pepto-pink room is going to be beautiful once we get all his dark wood furniture in there




Remember the eerie, creepy black and red rooms upstairs? Still got a ways to go, but what a difference already!

It's hard to see here, but the walls are a very light grey with bright white trim and the ceiling still has to be painted again



I can hardly believe the transformation now that my hubby has begun putting in the wood floors. And My what a difference a coat (or several) of paint makes!
Interior design tip: When craving a fresh look for your space, the most cost efficient thing you can do while having the biggest impact is give your room a fresh coat of paint!





and of course the grand finale...


Preson finally has a (very small) space to crawl around! This is the very first time he has ever crawled on the floors of his new home!

God-breathed beauty mark

Life has been quite overwhelming lately. We recently found out that it is official that we have 30 days to close on our house. This means we have to finish the renovation of our living areas in the new house, pack and move in 30 days!! I have been an emotional roller coaster and suffering from short term memory loss these days- Im just not all there. So that all said, I have confession. I am the world's biggest worry- wart. I have struggled with this my whole life. Im sure there is some deep rooted psychological reason that I am always bracing myself for the worst thing possible to happen in every situation. Of course all the things I just listed are at the forefront of my mind when it comes to worry, but the biggest test of my worry stems from my almost-11 month old.

He is the most amazing child I have ever encountered and yet I constantly worry about him- from him not lifting his belly when he crawls to his light weight to his disinterest in food. The list goes on and on. The other day I practically admitted him to the ER after getting a stomach bug.
Today I was on the phone crying (of course) to a dear friend about all my fears and worries and of course she gave me godly counsel which encouraged and set me at ease. Wiping my tears, I hung up, and as I went to pick up Preson, something caught my eye. I looked a little closer and discovered on his little thigh what we in the south refer to as a "beauty mark". I totally lost it as I stood there alone in my kitchen holding my baby. I realized that it was God's perfect timing in waiting to let me discover this little reminder that my little one is beautiful. Despite all my fears and worry, God created him beautiful and perfect in every way. He created my baby boy and know matter what fears I may have, HE CREATED HIM, so it is going to be ok. Period. Not only that, but if I spend all my time living in fear and worry, I will find myself missing all the little beautiful things God wants me to enjoy as my little grows. I dont know, it was just a very spiritual moment for me- it was God talking to me through a beauty mark. As I continue in my adventures of first-time mommy-dom, I hope and pray that God will show it to me frequently as reminder not to worry and that HE is in control...


(This seems to be a recurring theme in my blog, I know)

.2009.

The year 2009 was the most wonderful year of my life. Since my husband and I were first married in 2002, we have had a very rich and fullfilling life together- filled with the strongest of loves, happiness and joy. God truly did create each of us with the other in mind. We never anticipated having more love in us than when we had our first child this year. It has changed our lives in every way for the better. I always knew I had purpose. I just never realized the extent of the purpose until now.

Every day there are hidden joys throughout that unexpectedly reveal themselves. Right when you think you have it all, God reveals a whole new portion of the spectrum of life to you that you never knew existed. It is a piece of the pie many had spoken of in my previous years, but I can truly say I could never understand it until it was. Preson Peek Phillips III. This child is our greatest blessing in the truest sense.