Our home story: the beginning (Part 2)

Boy did I end on a cliffhanger. I've thought about this post many times over the last 4 months ( I cannot believe it's been that long). But I wanted to do it justice, so it kept getting tucked away for later. I'm sorry for the suspense, and I hope you'll accept lots of details and maybe even a few pictures as an apology.

When we last spoke on this subject, we had done the best we could and placed our future firmly in God's hands, resolving to embrace the outcome, whatever it may be. What happened next... was overwhelming.

We expected to hear by Tuesday night, but just a couple of hours after writing that post, we got a call from our realtor. She said, "I heard back from the sellers. They've picked you." I was dumbstruck. She continued with, "You will never believe this, but one of the other offers was for the same amount. And they picked you." I think that's when the tears started. I still can't believe it. Apparently a couple of the factors that went into the decision was our handmoney amount (we just wrote a check for what our realtor suggested, there was nothing else to it) and the type of loan we were going for (also by suggestion). We could plainly see that this blessing was not of our doing, but a gift from God. Naturally I jumped around a lot, crying and laughing and dancing and rejoicing. Jon called all of our family and friends, beaming as he told people, "So, uh, we got the house." My friend Shelby started screaming when I told her. That was pretty awesome. We spent the next few days in a blissful haze. We felt God's hands all over this and I was just floored. It was super intense and wonderful and I was too emotional to write about it.

Our house!

After that, we flew into a frenzy. We spent the next 6 weeks scheduling inspections, meeting with our mortgage rep, getting appraisals, meeting with electricians, picking paint colors, filling out paperwork and packing like crazy.

Our girls running around the backyard during one of our frequent visits to the house. Notice the mini vineyard to the left. I cannot wait for Spring!

After closing, we spent the next week frantically getting move in ready: removing asbestos, getting the carpets removed or cleaned, painting, moving, more electrical work and closing up the apartment.

last remnants in the living room

goodbye kitchen

last load of stuff before closing up the apt

Since November 1st, we've spent the last two months de-wallpapering, painting, unpacking, cleaning, building furniture, moving in new furniture, shopping for and hooking up appliances, fixing wall cracks, and adjusting to life in our new home. It has been insane, but the good kind.

Celebrating our first night at our new house with Lucianos pizza. All you can really see of the house is the er,  'charming' wall colors. The mint green of the entry way and lavender of the dining room and living room were the first things to go. Unfortunately, that bold basket-of-fruit wallpaper in the kitchen is going to be with us for a while.

Add to that the fact that we had been planning a family vacation to Florida and Disney for the last 4 years, to take place the first two weeks of December. It was awesome and crazy.

playing in the waves at clearwater beach

view as we were leaving the magic kingdom. I love that you can see the Walt & Mickey statue in the corner too. we had a blast!

Now it is January 1st and we are feeling fairly well settled in. There are still plenty of boxes, but they are in the right rooms and will be okay for now. We got the girls successfully transferred to their new school (though with our vacation and then school break, they've only been there for 4 days) and they return tomorrow. We feel so blessed every single day. This house is perfect for us. It is everything I didn't even know I wanted. We have plenty of space, we love the layout. I always wanted a fireplace, and now we have seven. Yes, you read that right. Seven. It's God's number for perfection and completion right?! We have an amazing view from our bedroom, which we fall asleep to and wake to every day.

view from our bed. we actually got to watch the fireworks from home last night, too.

Someone asked Jon if it was weird adjusting to owning our home, if it felt like 'ours' yet. He said, "Nope, it's not weird at all. It felt right from the very beginning." Which is definitely saying something considering that we were sleeping on the couch for the first month, until we got our bedroom floor and walls done! We have plenty of home projects to keep us busy for many years to come and we're actually excited about it! Thank you so very much to all of our friends and family who have been praying for us every step of the way. We are so blessed and so, so grateful.

New Years 2014

After turning down several new years invites and insisting that I wanted to spend a quiet night safe at home with my family and turn in by 10 pm, I relented when my parents called and invited us out to dinner. So we spent last night at my parents' favorite place sharing a meal, all 8 of us. It was really nice. Still low-key, still relaxed, still filled with warmth.

On the way there, Jon and I reviewed our plans and resolutions for this year. There seems to be a theme of simplicity going on.

Here's a review of last year and how we did:

1. Learn how to be punctual - hah. I think we did worse this year than ever before. Just a few days ago we were over 45 minutes late to a family party. I was early- 15 minutes- a couple of times this year and I hated and regretted every second of it.

2. Learn Patience (Lyssa)- I have gotten a lot better at this! Although, it was not because of any conscious effort or technique. I think it's just a biproduct of spending more time studying God's word.

3. Pay off remaining school loan (Lyssa) - This did not go as planned. I only paid off 1 of 5K. But to be fair this was an unexpectedly expensive year for us, so our money went elsewhere.

4. Keep home "company ready"- This did not happen. Like, ever. I still think it's a noble goal though.

5. Drink more water - I think I doubled my caffeine intake instead.

6. Blog more than last year - Check! Still no pictures though.

7. Read the Bible at night together - We did this for like a week. But I don't see it as a failure. Jon and I were at totally different schedules back then, so it just wasn't working. Now, we go to bed at the same time every night (early!) and we do read together, but not from the Bible.We read a novel, usually mine, and it's possibly my favorite time of the day. We regularly read the Bible on our own, usually in the morning. It wasn't the plan, but it's working for us.

8. Read the Bible to the Girls (Jon) - This fell by the wayside and I doubt it will be picked up again anytime soon. They do have Bibles of their own, though, which they love and read often.

9. Read 50 books this year (Lyssa) - I did this, but completely forgot about trying to keep it down to 50. Oops. But my interest level tapered off the last couple of months, due to life events, so it all balanced out.

10. Make a Will - nope.

11. Get Life Insurance - Check!

12. Complete my Degree - Done and done. And I'm still in school, because I like it.

13. Start a Retirement Plan - This went well. We consistently saved our goal amount (5%) until Jon started Highmark. Then, we saved 4% which Highmark matched, so it got bumped up to a grand total of 8%. Yay! This year we should be moving that up to 6% plus company match.

All in all, I think we did so-so. But this was a really big year for us in a number of other unplanned-for ways. Sometimes, the best laid plans need to fall by the wayside so that your hands are free to fully grab onto whatever gifts God throws your way.

This year, as I said, our goals are a lot simpler:

NYR 2014:

1. Friends- I have been blessed with friendships with so many awesome and amazing people in my life. So much so that it was a hard lesson to learn that some relationships are only ever meant to last for a season. And that's okay! I've not been very good at letting relationships ebb and flow naturally, and the only ones that I've ever really let go of are ones that ended on super bad terms. But I've been coming to terms with the truth of friendships lately and now that Jon and I have a lot more free time, and can choose how to spend it, we realized that we need to be deliberate with our choices here. I can have 20 good friends who I see several times a year when we catch up, or I can have about 5 really close friends who I see regularly, who are plugged into my life enough that it's weird when two weeks go by and I haven't seen them, who I can call to check in, because we actually know what's going on in each others lives at any given moment. My life choices made the former necessary, but we've settled down a lot and now I want the latter. I want substance. So the plan is to make a conscious effort to build into those relationships. And to be okay with the others that come and go.

2. Make a Housing Project Plan- this has been on several To Do lists and it's actually going to be very fluid. We have learned that we can plan and plan and plan but that doesn't make our plans God's plans and ultimately, we just need to roll with it. So this is more of a general guideline, where ideas are organized and laid out.

3. Get registered for activities- All four of us have interests that we've been talking about doing for quite some time, but lack of time and money prevented it. Now that we're fairly settled, we're ready to make good on these plans.

And 4, last but not least: Travel- a lot of people talk about all the places they want to go, but never actually go anywhere, us included. But we're ready to change that. We'll be starting small, domestically, and progressing outward as life allows it. A few years ago we made a plan to do at least one "family vacation" and one "adult vacation" every year. We've stuck with it, but again, time and money constraints made the destinations fairly modest. Now that things are changing, we're pretty excited about some of the places we're researching. In the next few years, we're hoping to go to Louisiana (New Orleans!), Tennessee and California.

That's it for our New Years resolutions, though I do plan to roll over a couple from last year that won't be concentrated efforts as much as they'll be goals to loosely keep track of, such as: reading about 50 books, blogging as much or more than this last year, paying off my school loan, drinking more water, making a will, taking pictures and working on punctuality. Hopefully, they'll happen on their own, with little effort. But if not, that's okay too.

Whatever your motto is for 2014, I hope it's filled with joy! Happy New Year!

Love's Awakening review

Love's Awakening

by Laura Frantz

 

The path to true love lies somewhere between two feuding families
In the spring of 1822, Ellie Ballantyne leaves finishing school and returns to the family home in Pittsburg only to find that her parents are away on a long journey and her siblings don't seem to want her to stay. Determined to stand her ground and find her place in the world, Ellie fills her time by opening a day school for young ladies.
But when one of her students turns out to be an incorrigible young member of the Turlock family, Ellie knows she must walk a fine line. Slaveholders and whiskey magnates, the Turlocks are envious of the powerful Ballantynes and suspicious of their abolitionist leanings. As Ellie becomes increasingly entangled with the rival clan--particularly the handsome Jack Turlock--she finds herself falling in love with an impossible future. Will she betray her family and side with the enemy?
Masterful storyteller Laura Frantz continues to unfold the stirring saga of the Ballantyne family in this majestic tale of love and loyalty. This is the Ballantyne Legacy.

My Review: 9/10

I really enjoyed this book. As a native of Pittsburgh, I found the historical information very interesting. I can imagine it was just as beautiful as it is today.

I tend to avoid period stories that center so strongly on the issue of slavery, just because it's so overdone. While an important and interesting part of history, many novels that center on it seem to only show one opinion, one kind of protagonist and a flat and predictable storyline. To me, it's interesting to read a multitude of viewpoints and a main character can be be fascinating without being progressive.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with this book. The Ballantyne's involvement is a little extreme and it does appear to paint slave holders as being singularly evil people. But as I mentioned, these elements are typical, so I was able to look past it because the rest of the book was so good.

I enjoyed the imperfect portrayals of the various family members and relationships. The romance was predictable, but fairly well done. I didn't realize this was a sequel when I requested it, but it read just fine as a standalone novel. That being said, I will definitely be reading the first book, which I've since heard is even better, as well as looking for the 3rd book when it gets released next year!

Rebellious Heart book review

Rebellious Heart

by Jody Hedlund (Goodreads Author)

 

Because she's a woman, higher learning was always closed to Susanna Smith. But her quick mind and quicker tongue never back down from a challenge. And she's determined to marry well, so she'll be able to continue her work with the less fortunate.

Growing up with little to his name, poor country lawyer Benjamin Ross dreams of impacting the world for the better. When introduced to the Smiths he's taken by Susanna's intelligence and independent spirit, but her parents refuse to see him as a suitor for their daughter.

When the life of a runaway indentured servant is threatened, Susanna is forced to choose between justice and mercy, and Ben becomes her unlikely advisor. But drawing closer to this man of principle and intellect lands her in a dangerous, secret world of rebellion and revolution against everything she once held dear


My Review: 2/10

It was a little slow going at first, but then became a page turner, but not in a good way. I was a little confused about the set up of the romance in the first couple of chapters. I found the scene in the beginning... odd. There is a total lack of regard for propriety, which I found hard to believe. The atmosphere was way too sexually charged. I have a 5, almost 6 year old. I cannot believe that anyone would hold against her something offensive that she may have said, no matter how sensitive they may be. And it seemed way too far fetched that they would both remember the words and have any emotions connected to them 13 years later. But this was an accurate preview of the melodrama that would ensue throughout the rest of the book.

I regretted reading it afterward because it was way too violent and disturbing for my taste, which was unexpected with a romantic historical fiction novel. Luckily for me, with a trite romance for the baseline, it was soon forgotten.

A Talent for Trouble book review

A Talent for Trouble 

by Jen Turano

Miss Felicia Murdock firmly believed her destiny was to become a minister's wife. When the minister on whom she had set her sights marries another lady, Felicia is forced to take a close look at her life and comes to a few uncomfortable conclusions. Determined that something needs to change--and soon--Felicia discovers she is finally ready to spread her wings and embrace life the way she's always wanted.

Grayson Sumner--or Lord Sefton, as he's officially known--has had more than enough of spreading his wings and only hopes to settle into the life of a normal, respectable New York gentleman. Prompted by some well-meaning friends to lift the spirits of the disappointed-in-love Miss Murdock, he is surprised to encounter a young lady who seems to have become quite adventurous and quite determined to get herself into all sorts of troublesome situations.

Intent on remaining independent, Felicia is reluctant to accept Grayson's help, especially as she finds herself developing feelings for him. However, just as Grayson decides he's had quite enough of her antics, his past comes back to haunt him and his presence in her life has endangered Felicia. Will Grayson and Felicia decide they want to spend the rest of their lives keeping one another out of trouble?

My Review: 3/10


This book was definitely an improvement over the last two. The first 5 chapters or so were really engaging- interesting, fairly well written and funny. But things quickly went downhill after that. It was so hard to slog through that it took me 3 months to get through 75% of it, before deciding that it had dragged on long enough and life is too short to waste time reading books that hold zero interest for me. I'm sure I could predict every major plot wrap-up anyway.

The writing style was almost constantly distracting. Each and every sentence was too wordy, stuffed to the brim with the same 10-15 adverbs, such as entirely, slightly, disturbingly, rather, quite etc. and phrases like "clearly evident."

The plot was transparent immediately, but it was more the way that it was stretched out that bothered me. Felicia's story would have kept my interest longer if it had started earlier, with more of her pursuit of the reverend being covered. The shenanigans she'd have gotten into and her obliviousness to her feelings being widely known could have been very entertaining. And it would have given time for Grayson to develop real feelings, being present, though not front and center until the middle/end.

I'd have liked to then see Grayson make a stand for her (it would have been so much better than the whole, "she'll never love me, I don't deserve her" self pity reminiscent of Twilight. So unattractive), and her learn to trust and love a man with a past over time. There could have a been a great Christian message there. While Ms. Turano does acknowledge these themes, they are only challenges for the blink of an eye, before the heroine senses from God that she is being judgemental and should forgive Grayson. The rapidity of tehe switch was nrealistic and unrelatable.

I thought she missed the point with Eliza and Grayson's talk. It started well, but went downhill when in response to Grayson's comment that God couldn't or wouldn't forgive his level of sin, Eliza was decides to talk Grayson out of taking as much responsibility as he did and feeling the levels of guilt that went along with it. What? I think the message should have been, God, the creator of the universe and every cell in your body is capable of forgiving any level of sin. And to harbor guilt after asking for forgiveness is to hold disbelief of His power in your heart. Ask Him for forgiveness, give your guilt over to Him and ask Him to help you start fresh. Because He can and He will if you will only come to Him.


I like Ms. Turano's humorous approach and I still think she has potential, but I think she misses opportunities for better stories when pursuing the cheap and tired storyline.