First Post from Here

I can't believe it has almost been a week since I last wrote to you HERE. And that was my "Last Post from" There...our now "old house".... a lot has happened since then...we have managed to make not just one big trip with the biggest UHaul truck from there to here, two trips in two days with the biggest UHaul truck, plus several other vehicles and trailers filled to the brim, and we still have one more trip to make tomorrow to with our car and our son's truck/trailer to hopefully finish up, clean up, and close up that chapter of our lives for good! Our closing on that house will be Friday for us as the sellers, and Monday for the buyers.  And then we can concentrate on getting ready for closing on our new house and preparing to move everything again in about a month!!! Wow...you think your head is swimming from all these details...you should be sitting where I am right now! So you may be asking, "Where ARE you sitting right now?"  Well, if you follow me on Facebook you will know that through the blessing of God and the kindness of some wonderful people, we are staying in our church's currently empty parsonage.  Empty only in the sense that no pastor is currently living here. Full in that we are able to store all of our belongings in this lovely house and 2 car garage, and I will tell you it is full to the brim!!

Fortunately, this is a large home, and we are able to set up some living space in the family room with room for our recliners, computer, and TV.  And we also have a bed in the master bedroom and our son, who is with us, also has a room, 

so we are comfy cozy

 And if it wasn't so hot, we could even have a fire in the fireplace...

But I prefer to relax in my recliner under the ceiling fan:

So we are so very thankful to be here, rejoicing in God's perfect timing in that this house became available for us when our former pastor retired and moved out, and the new pastor already has his own home nearby and doesn't need the parsonage.  God knew all along that our house would sell at this precise time, and He already also knew that we would need this place for a temporary shelter until our new house is ready for closing.  What a wonderful God we serve!!

 So here we are on our first morning walk here, enjoying the beauty of this lovely home and setting...

 "The Parsonage"

Beautiful crepe myrtles blooming against a magnificent blue sky

Lovely garden spider in the garden, of course...

Such a wonderful hydrangea blossom...

And...well,here's hubby doing whatever...fixing his hair? When I told him I wanted to take his picture on our new walking road.   Yes, this is a lovely, peaceful, quiet place...a perfect spot for us to rest up for our next moving adventure in a few weeks.

And speaking of our next move...last evening we took a ride over to our new house to just walk around and get the feel of it in the evening. I was hoping for a sunset, but it was too cloudy, but God blessed me with this amazing view anyway:

 Do you see the heart in the picture above?  I put this on facebook last night, and everyone saw it right away...it is a picture of love from our Heavenly Father, smiling His blessing upon our new home. That is what I believe, anyway...

 I am really looking forward to waking up to this view every morning and enjoying it throughout the day.

Today we went back to the new house to meet the "Inspector", who was giving it the whole house/4 point inspection. We will get the results in a day or two. We are trusting there are no major issues that cannot be readily addressed. We know there are a few things we are going to have to take care of before we move in, but hopefully there won't be any other surprises.  We enjoyed meeting this very knowledgeable elderly man, who has led an extremely unique and interesting life. He is a widower, and we could tell very lonely, as he just seemed to enjoy talking and sharing his life story with us. He apologized for talking so much, but he said, "I've got two chihuahuas and one Pit Bull at my house, and although they are wonderful companions, they aren't very good conversationalists."  Hubby and I have determined that once we get moved in and settled in our new house, this gentleman will be one of our first house guests for dinner, along with our very sweet realtor lady here, who is also an elderly widow and such a wonderful person. No, I'm not "matchmaking"...I don't think they would be that compatible, but they would make entertaining house guests...so that is something to look forward to in our new home.

Many have asked for pictures of our new house, and so far I have not shared any of the house itself, because it is going to need some cosmetic work on the exterior (nothing major...just some refreshing) before we move in, so I want to save that for later.  However, I will give you tiny glimpses of some things I was looking at today:

 Above is the view from the dining room (front) window.  Yes, we were about to have a big thunderstorm, so we had to cut off the conversation with the Inspector so he could get back to inspecting and we could get on home...but I liked that view of that magnolia tree across the street.  You can also see that we will now be living on a paved road...which is new to us after many years on dirt roads out in the country.  We are still not too sure about our walking route in this new neighborhood...we shall see how many dogs bark at us...that usually determines where we want to walk. We may just drive back over to "the Parsonage" and walk there where it is real quiet...we'll see. Some adjustments ahead for us you can see.  (We are more accustomed to watching for deer and bears when we walk...)

And above is a view of the back of the head of The Inspector, and also the light fixture above the island in the kitchen, and some of the kitchen cabinets.  Interestingly all of the upper cabinets have these glass doors.  They are pretty, maybe a little dated, but I'm okay with them,  as I have had to give up my big white china cabinet and these glass cabinets will give me a place to display my dishes.  There is also this wallpaper in the kitchen, which also may be a little dated, but I do have a lot of blue accents in my things, so again, I'm actually happy with this.  If I get tired of it I can always paint...but for now I am very happy with the interior of the house and look forward to sharing more of it with you as time goes by...

 Here are the rest of the cabinets in the kitchen..and you will see below that there is a gas range...which will be a FIRST for me! I have never cooked on a gas range before, and people tell me I will love it...but I just pray I don't blow up the place.  Better pray for me...I am truly a little nervous about it...

Well, that's all I'm going to share tonight. Need to save something for another time.  Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during these stressful days of selling one house, moving out, buying another house and moving again all in a month's time. So very thankful for this time of rest in the meantime  as we wait for the next move. Oh, but wait, tomorrow we still have to go finish cleaning the "old house"...and believe me, that is going to be a chore! I never realized how much dust could accumulate behind and under and around things that we couldn't move in over seven years...  I am also determined that when we move into our new house we will only be moving in what we really want and what fits. I expect to be sending a lot of extra stuff to the church thrift store before we are through with this move...or giving it away to whomever walks through the door and says I'll take it!!

Here's a thought for the day from our devotional reading this morning:

Our Bible is our "EOB", "Explanation of Benefits", much like the explanation of our health benefits we receive from our insurance health plan...only the Bible gives us our "Spiritual Health Plan"...

"Bless The Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name!  

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits; 

Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, 

Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's."

Psalm 103:1-5

Our souls have wonderful benefits from the Lord, who guides and strengthens us along life's way. There can be no better "spiritual health plan", which has been given freely for life, both for now and for eternity! Be sure to read this "explanation of benefits" every day for a healthy soul, mind, and body!!