A Happy Birthday

So it was my birthday.

 And all four of our kids were here and my parents came up... and Mom even made me a double chocolate fudge cake with lots of candles to humor the kids.

Steve bought me a beautiful pellet stove for our home.

Saffron thinks it is for her.

We had a lovely day together.  There was LOTS of laughter and that is what makes for a truly Happy Birthday in my book.  God has truly blessed me far beyond my grandest dreams.

Starting at the Top

**Photo intensive post**
Our first major project here was a new roof on the house & detached garage.  We had several companies and contractors bid the project and were shocked at how expensive roofing is - of course this house is much larger than the house in Merrimack and we have the additional space of the garage AND we were doing thick rubber roofing on the sun porch & back dormer due to the low pitch on both surfaces.
This project was unusual in that we didn't go the traditional route of choosing the least expensive bid, but instead actually opted for one of the pricier companies.  This proved to be an EXCELLENT choice!  One of those prime examples of 'you get what you pay for'.
We went with Viking Roofing and throughout the entire process were very thankful that we had chosen them.

 

From the beginning we were impressed with Jeff Taylor - one of the owners - as he talked extensively with Steve about what they would do and how it would be done, as well as many different options for accent work and the types of materials that could be used.  He was extremely knowledgeable and not pushy at all.  You could tell that he spoke from years of experience and he inspired a great deal of confidence making us feel comfortable that he really knew his stuff without leaving us feeling like more educated consumers. 
The crew that worked on our project was made up of 5 guys and led by Joe R.  They were all extremely courteous and polite.  Joe took care to explain the work progress to me and they were a really great bunch of guys.  This was the first time I'd ever had a crew of construction workers on a project where not one person used foul or off-color language or spoke harshly amongst themselves.  I was tremendously impressed and truly appreciative of their behavior - especially as we have teen children here at home that hear everything!
The crew cleaned up every evening, swept the driveway & deck and were very thorough in using the magnet bars to be certain there were no stray nails in the yard anywhere.  Given that my kids go barefoot as much as possible and we also have a big dog outside a lot - this detail was very important.  They also used tarps and covers to protect the house & shrubs, moved anything (like my birdbath and bird feeders) that was in the way and replaced it after the fact.  They were very careful with our property and I was thankful for the extra attention.

These are some of the many photos we took during our project (mostly taken by Steve as he takes such marvelous pictures!).

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entire project took about 5 days to complete and we are absolutely thrilled with the way the roof looks and are more than willing to recommend Viking Roofing to anyone who has a need.  They won't be the cheapest - but that is something to really consider... you do get what you pay for and when it comes to your home - it is worth spending a bit more to have the job done right.

New Wall Art

Moving to a new house means new decorating challenges.  This house has many more walls than our old one did, so I'm going to have my work cut out for me in the coming months.
Last night I found this....

And it is now hanging above my desk/computer.  It makes me smile.

Settling In

We are now a few weeks into the process of settling into our new home.  We love our new place!

It has been chaotic, messy, and slightly crazy with a large snowstorm just a few days after we moved!

Living room chaos

Kitchen chaos (and me!)

Ben on the sunroom roof clearing snow

Our new back yard... what a view!

We are thankful for all those dear friends who have helped us with the move, cleaning and unpacking.   We are also immensely thankful for the prayer support of so many.  More than anything we are offering all praise and thanksgiving to God who has blessed beyond our imagining to give us this new home in the place of our hearts' desire.  We are so very blessed!

Organized Chaos

So we are just days... literally... from our move.  We get our truck tomorrow morning at 8am and can begin loading up!
It's been a crazy few days with a last minute mini-crisis and God's ever-present help and provision showing up yet again.  He has proved over and over that He is faithful and there are not words enough to praise Him and thank Him.
These are a few photos from our organized chaos... complete with crazy orange cat hanging out in random locations.

On Friday morning at 9am... this is a reality!

And now we wait (and pack!)

Wow!  So much has happened in the beginning of 2013 here.  God continues to amaze us with His provision and timing... even when my faith is small, He shows up big.  Guess He really meant that mustard seed thing. ;-)

We are now just one week from our closing date on our new home.  I am still completely stunned at how God has moved and answered prayer.  Over and over and over again.
The most recent example of this was during the end of last week and then the beginning of this week.  We'd had a roof/leak issue in the home inspection here -  that had been addressed a few weeks ago and yet our buyers were not satisfied.  They requested that we have a siding person come and further evaluate the situation to address this issue.  So... I did what any normal human being would do... I panicked and THEN I prayed.  Stupid ...I know. (head hanging in shame)
After praying, I called the installer who had done the siding work for us.  He was in FL.  But was returning to NH on Sunday and would be in touch with us on Monday to see what he could do.  On Monday morning he called me and came out to take a look.  Well... sort of.  He came out and stood on the deck looking at the siding and said "It's fine."  Not exactly what we had in mind.
I again had a knot in my stomach and Steve reminded me that we know God is in control and then he told me to call a friend of ours.  This friend is a contractor who we know has done some really great work including siding, etc.  So I called him and explained what we needed.  In God's perfect timing - he was available to come after lunch on Monday.  He and his son came out, climbed up and checked things out.  He is a smart guy and after some time on the roof checking things out discovered something that he felt should be addressed and took care of it for us.
There again was God's timing and provision.  Our friend sent me a write up of what he'd done for work and we sent it off to our buyers.

And of course we have this one last snow-storm here in Merrimack.  And now we are packing and waiting.  The stacks of boxes and furniture continue to grow as we move everything from the various parts of the house into the living-room & dining room to facilitate loading the truck next week.  Tomorrow we have a plan to rent a trailer and move all the outdoor stuff (picnic table, deck swing, motorcycle) out to our dear friends' house in Temple to store for the week.  Thankfully God is again providing and the forecast is for sun and warm-ish temperatures.

I was reminded this week - from our contractor friend - that God is good all the time even when we may not understand why things are happening in a certain way.
It is SO easy to offer praise and thanksgiving when things are going well.  The truer test is when things go south... would I still praise God if the roofing issues were BAD?  Would I still praise Him if the deal on the house fell apart?
So desperately I want to say that I would and I pray that it is true.  God knows my heart - He alone knows the depths of my desire to be useful for His kingdom and to always only bring Him glory.  He also knows how often I fall so far short and fail.  I doubt, I complain, I whine and wallow.  Yet when I repent... He is faithful to forgive and set me again on the right path.  That narrow way that leads to His righteousness.  I am so grateful for this truth!  This I will state boldly- that God is faithful and true and willing that we should ALL come to Him and repent and be saved.  Not because we deserve it - just because He loves us. 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
~1 John 1:9

Blessings on the journey~

When God Sends Email

Friends and I have often joked that we wish that God would send email sometimes.  I've discovered that He does... but it doesn't come from an @heaven.com address. 

It comes from a lot of various addresses and from various persons at just as many various times.  That is a lot of variety - but anyone who knows God knows that He is the Creator of variety!
I received one of these loving emails last night.  It was disguised as a message from a realtor with an attachment about electrical work having been completed at our new home.
How did I know it was an email from God?  Because it was just what I needed at the exact time I needed it.  Plain and simple.
We've hit a lull in our frenzied dash to moving to our new home.  We are now between 2-3 weeks away from our closing date/move day.  Our regular realtor is away on a vacation for 9 days.  We are just packing, stacking and waiting for the next thing.  We have received the mortgage commitment letter from our buyers and our letter from our lender is due on Friday.  Lots of just waiting now for loose ends and final dates and numbers.  I am not one of those people who loves waiting... for anything!
I like to see movement, progress, boxes being checked and list items being crossed off.  Waiting is awful for me.
Thankfully God knows this about me and loves me anyway... enough to send an email so I have the sense of things moving forward and boxes being checked.  Isn't He just awesome?  Not that He has to do this...  He just does it because He loves me.
And I am continually going to praise Him - even if He stops sending email.  Because He won't ever stop loving me.
"I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness." ~Jeremiah 31:3b