I finally feel like we're ready for this little blessing. We've lived here for nearly a month now, and finally have almost every box unpacked (at least, the ones that needed unpacking), all the shelves hung, and things put in their place. We had a huge hanging party last week where my parents came over and helped us hang most of the photos and shelves, so we could unpack all the little things that were cluttering up our space and our minds. Just about the only things in boxes still are the boys' clothes (both outgrown and soon-to-be worn sizes), and some random screws and wall hangings we don't plan to use right now. We have so much space compared to our apartment, we don't need to utilize every inch of wall space like we have in the past!
We also got to just relax this weekend, for the first time since moving. God hears our prayers! We had gorgeous, cool weather almost all weekend, so we went for a walk on Friday (which I was scared to do until we had more stuff completed--didn't want to set off contractions!), the boys painted in our craft area (pictured below), played outside in the yard, weeded the flower bed, watched some Olympics, and my hubby and I even snuggled together while we stayed up and watched a movie the other night! We've been enjoying our new home, and he even said this week, "This is exactly what I pictured when we were buying our home." I am so thrilled! I even promised the boys we would go to the zoo tomorrow. We won't walk the whole circuit, because I have little stamina right now, but we'll ride the train and the boat and see some of our favorite animals.
Now that things are falling into place, I feel like we can better mentally prepare ourselves for this child as well. We got to discuss some goals today for the coming week, we have been praying and reading together more, and my hubby can come home and just spend time with the boys and I, instead of hurrying through dinner so we can get whatever project crossed off our to-do list. I still have a list (I always have a list...), but the pertinent items are quickly going away, and the rest of the stuff is mainly just aesthetic or wish-list items, like some fabric projects I have had supplies for since we moved last, or digital organizing on the laptop. Nothing that should keep me up at night, like not having the car seat installed in the van or anything.
Since I feel as though we're set up at home, I took some photos of the house so I can have a record of what it looks like before the baby. I don't know how long things will look this good (it could use some tidying, but I wanted to get this posted soon), but for now, this is where we call "home."
This is the living room, taken from the kitchen. We love the fireplace as the focal point, and how open it is to the rest of the house. Lots of room for entertaining!
This is my kitchen, minus the fridge (off to the left). I love how much space there is for us to move around, and all 4 of us can be in the kitchen at the same time. I even bought some cute little stools from IKEA so the boys can help me cook and bake.
Our pretty new dining set! There's a bench on the other side, so it seats about 6 or 7 with little people on the bench. The stairs to the basement are off to the side.
My (very full!) pantry and lesson corner. I hope to be able to start giving piano and guitar lessons here once Blessing is sleeping better and life calms down a bit.
The boys' bunk beds and trundle. Their room is still pretty basic, by design. They have all their books in here, but just the one large cube to play with, so that they associate this room with sleeping and not play. And also, so the toys stay downstairs and not all over the house.
I love their little reading nook! We took the doors off the closet since we put all their clothes in the dresser, so I found a fun, cheap lamp at IKEA and put their giraffes in here. They love to curl up in there and read.
The master bedroom in this house was actually 2 bedrooms, converted into 1 master suite. It has a nice walk-in closet (behind the door) and an extra several feet that made the perfect space for a crib and glider. I don't love the idea of the baby being in our room for a long time (they make so many noises when they sleep!), but I am not ready for the boys to be in the 3rd bedroom downstairs for a couple of years, so this was our only other option. We'll make it work...
Here's the rest of our master. Not too much going on, as all we really do in there is sleep and dress. The shelf on the wall has a hanging I made for our wedding reception 5 years ago that says "happily ever after."
There is a door from our room to the bathroom (pictured in the corner), as well as an entrance from the hallway. We put a motion sensor in the light switch so the boys don't have to get help to turn on the light every time they need to pee. It works great, until the cat decides to explore the toilet at 2 a.m.
That concludes the tour of the upstairs! Downstairs is one large open room that we've divided up into crafts, hubby crafts, entertainment, and play. It is also home to the 3rd bedroom and my laundry/utility room.
Here is the current craft area. I have some cans that I spray-painted to hang on the pegboard, as well as a few other hanging bits, but haven't gotten around to finishing them up yet. The rack is an over-the-toilet rack from our 2nd bathroom at the apartment, but we only have 1 here, so this is now my felt rack :-)
Here is my hubby's craft area, courtesy of IKEA. We are very fond of that store, if you haven't noticed. He assembles and paints Games Workshop miniatures, so he needed a place to do that and store them.
Here is the boys' play area. I can't imagine them having more toys than what they already have (it's a pain to keep track of everything and keep it organized), but we have lots of room to grow.
Lastly, this is the entertainment area. We had just finished dinner downstairs while we watched the Closing Ceremony in Rio, otherwise it's usually a little neater. The "entertainment center" is made of 4 IKEA Billy bookshelves, and they had the doors on sale for 75% off! We didn't mind that they didn't match for that price!
There you have it. This is where we'll call home, hopefully for the next several years. It isn't extravagant, but I think we'll be content here, and we definitely have room to grow. And it's OURS! I wanted to paint every wall, which we did, before we even put a piece of furniture in, since we've been surrounded by beige apartment colors for the last 5 years. It's so refreshing, and it makes it feel cleaner to me.
That's all I've got time for today. We have our first Parents As Teachers meeting of the year first thing tomorrow, followed by the zoo, so I need to get my rest. Maybe I'll have a baby update next week, and maybe not. Either way, I'm okay with it now. Take care and God bless!
Today's encouraging verse: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God; and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds, in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
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