Worth It All.....

       
           It’s hard to believe that one year ago today we moved into our new home.  What a stressful day that was!  I hope we never have to move again!  It was January 12, 2011.  I packed our belongings from the previous house on the 10^th and 11^th while Matt was at work,  and on the 12^th the two of us rented a truck and moved all of our belongings into a house that I fell in love with from the moment I walked through its doors.  It was a large home that we could grow in, and with a little TLC could be the home of our dreams.   It needed some work, but I saw its potential….and with the right price tag on it, the hubs saw its potential too;) 

            We had twenty-four hours to move out of the old home and into the new one.  My brother came to help us in between his classes that day, but for the most part it was just the two of us….well, the two of us and a lot of snow.  Yes, we moved in a snow storm!  What are the odds of that?!?  It wasn’t fun, that’s for sure.  We were slipping and sliding all over the place as the snow from our boots began to ice over on the hard, cold metal floors of the moving truck.   And then there was the obstacle of moving furniture in knee-deep snow….NOT FUN!  But as I’m sitting here in our bedroom drinking a cup of coffee a year later, on yet another snowy January day, I can’t help but think that the entire moving process was worth it….yes, it was worth every bit of the hassle!  It was worth moving in a snow storm.  It was worth only having two days to pack.  It was worth the headaches that the bank we purchased the home put us through.  It was worth all of the unknowns that came along with house hunting.  It was worth the last minute house showings that we thought were going nowhere.  It was worth every penny that we saved for the down payment and every penny that we continue to spend to make it our own.  It was worth it all!  It was even worth saying goodbye to our starter home…..a  house that we both put precious time, hard work and abundant love into making our own…..a house where Matt proposed and wonderful memories were made as we began our journey of marriage….a house that while I couldn’t wait to get out of, brought tears to my eyes as I alone gave its empty space one final late night cleaning before giving the key to the new home owner.  Yes, it was even worth that bitter-sweet moment of saying goodbye to something so special, because saying goodbye meant moving forward to something new and exciting for our family. 

                        Most days I look around our home and am reminded of the many projects that still need to be completed within these walls before Matt and I enter the next step of our married journey….creating a family.  And most days that thought saddens me, because I so very badly want to move onto that next step.  However, I'm overwhelmed with the awareness of the many unexpected financial setbacks that have occurred since we bought this house one year ago.  While those thoughts have the tendancy to weigh me down, today I can’t help but look around and thank the Lord for this home….unfinished projects and all! Today I am reminded of the progress that we have made in one year's time.  The progress on this home may not be moving as fast as this impatient girl would like it to, but we have seen progress.  In the right time this house will be finished!  It will be the house that I envisioned it to be when I first walked through its doors!  In the right time, not my time, we will have the new floors, the white picket fence and the finished basement.  In the mean time, we have what we have…...so today I'm reminded to be thankful for all that we do have.  So while most days my “glass-half-empty” spirit walks through this house and only sees the projects that we can’t afford to do at the this time, today I can only see a house that we are slowly but surely turning into our home.....and today, I am reminded that it was and still is worth it all!