Simply Renovated

So it's no "secret" that the last few weeks have been trying...to say the least.  Last week we finished the drain field and all of the issues that surrounded it (plumbing).  One day I was taking a shower in the sink and the next day I was doing dishes in the shower.  Finally...after much repair and more repairs after the first repairs, we have a fully working house.  Laundry, toilet, sinks and showers! Whew! Project 1 of 1,000 done! But back to being trying.  After water came in through our basement (because of our own failures) and Brian waking up to a flat tire...we still sat down at the end of the night in our home...a warm, cozy home...and could still say at the end of the night that God is still good.  

I have no words of encouragement on my own...but I have some pretty great words of encouragement from the only Word worth listening to and remembering...

  

 

"Praise the Lord, my soul;

All my inmost being, Praise His holy name.

Praise the Lord, my soul;

 and forget not all his benefits—

 

who forgives all your sins

    and heals all your diseases,

 

who redeems your life from the pit

    and crowns you with love and compassion,

 

who satisfies your desires with good things

    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

The Lord works righteousness

    and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses,

    his deeds to the people of Israel:

 

The Lord is compassionate and gracious,

    slow to anger, abounding in love.

 

He will not always accuse,

    nor will he harbor his anger forever;

 

he does not treat us as our sins deserve

    or repay us according to our iniquities.

 

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his love for those who fear him;

 

as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,

    so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;

 

for he knows how we are formed,

    he remembers that we are dust.

 

The life of mortals is like grass,

    they flourish like a flower of the field;

 

the wind blows over it and it is gone,

    and its place remembers it no more.

 

But from everlasting to everlasting

    the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,

    and his righteousness with their children’s children—

with those who keep his covenant

    and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven,

    and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels,

    you mighty ones who do his bidding,

    who obey his word.

 

Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,

    you his servants who do his will.

 

Praise the Lord, all his works

    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul."

Psalm 103

Seriously, how incredible are those promises? How indescribable are those comforts? How assuring is His love? This is the Psalm I will be meditating on through this house renovation and pray that it will be ingrained as I go through life.  Because no matter how hard life gets...God is still all of the above and worthy of all of my praise!

I came across a few incredible blogs/posts this week that really encouraged me and I highly encourage you to check them out and read them...

This is a post from my friends facebook page (hopefully she doesn't mind me using it.. :) )...

"Have you ever noticed when the sky is the most cloudy and gray, the sun's rays reaching down to earth are most evident. It's truly striking and beautiful. Just like my God in dark and troubling times: His presence seems the most evident. My pain will be made into something beautiful. Am I waiting on the rain? Or Looking for His rays?

 — feeling inspired."

I loved her analogy.  I am waiting for her to write one up about the sunset ;).

Then my beautiful friend and sister in Christ started a blog (I've been patiently waiting for her to start writing) and she had some pretty encouraging steps on how to beat the grumpy mom syndrome...take a minute and read?

Here are a few pictures from our week!

I love LOVE L-O-V-E FAll!!!!!  I love the cooler weather, the fires, the world around me changes color and I love apple cider.  I love big sweaters and cozy socks! And I love that my chances of curling up by the fire with a book or kids grows greater in the fall due to unpredictable rain and windy days! Here is my favorite cold day drink (and the kids' as well)

Wassil...

Some very yummy chicken noodle soup on the stove as well as a great dessert drink, Wassil. 

Once again...those fall colors are beautiful and those falling leaves? Well, they make for GREAT art projects!

Even mom had fun ;) and I used it to prepare them for our "field trip" the next day.  We traveled bravely to art prize! And these are some of the kids' favorite pieces from the day.

And we ended it with lunch at Applebees (which we NEVER do for very specific reasons ;) ).

Here is a small update on the house ;).  The drain field as I stated above is good, new and working.  I decorated for fall because Fall and Christmas are my favorite seasons to decorate for so I just had to...plus it helps it feel like a home. I am painting the crazy amount of knotty pine in our living room, dining room and front porch and so here is a small patch I am trying to make sure the knots don't bleed through...I'm SO excited to see if come together!

This is our first family dinner in our new house where we all sat down and ate together...it was incredible!  What a blessing!

This is the "boy" closet for now until their room is finished ;).  This was actually difficult to fit everything into but it works for now!

And I was incredibly grateful for a small amount of time spent with my grandma who was diagnosed with Dementia.  It was awful to see her mom go through it and it's awful to watch her go through it...thankful she still knows who I am and who my kids are.  Cherishing every bit of memory I get with her... 

And my last instagram post for the week...after Benny Boy was sick...

"Brian is out fishing (in our front yard) and I AM going to sneak a small amount of sea salt caramel truffle ice cream before my workout because it makes me happy ;) (just kidding)...but after weeks of issues...drain field and plumbing issues, water in the basement, showering in the sink and doing dishes in the shower, flat tires and backing into trees, sick kids and lots and lots of stress, hurrying, mistake after mistake...I WILL count it all joy! Because I have a God who measures the universe in the palm of His hand! And as far as the heavens are above the earth (and we don't even know how far that is) so is His love for those who fear him! His love stretches as far as the east is from the west! My God is greater than any littler or big problem here in earth! #preachinggospeltomyself #thankful #joydare2014 #onethousandgifts

Amen!