Hello, nice to meet you. I’m Abigail Douglass, homeowner.

 

It’s been all of about 100 hours now, but things are in full swing at the new abode. I have to say that I’m SO tired, but every minute is a fulfillment of something deep inside me that’s been waiting in the wings for years now. I’ve scrubbed, swept, unscrewed, wiped, carried, folded, packed, watched, helped, picked up, stretched, envisioned, and generally just got in the way for every task you could imagine. We’re slowly getting into shape. I like to tell people that the best thing so far has been that we started at zero, not in the negatives, so everything we do is an improvement. The new paint job in the Master bedroom, the cleaned carpets, the wiped down bathroom and cloroxed kitchen are infinitely better than they were just those 100 hours previously. The appliances that were never cleaned (not once) are now shining and sparkling their presence in our roomy kitchen. Progress is sweet. We have one more load of mismatched furniture lingering at the one-bedroom apartment to pick up, and then we’re completely moved in. Surrounded by things in boxes and bags, but moved. It’s a dream!

 

The upstairs is coming along really well, now that the carpets are all cleaned, and the rooms are just waiting for their coat of paint. The laundry room is almost complete, too, with the washer fully operational and the new Kelly Ripa dryer just about hooked up! The next step is to continue unpacking and finding places for our things, and to get all this painting done! Phil’s main objective after today is to rip out a large section of drywall in the basement and replace it with new so that we can start using the storage in our basement as well. We have room to put things!! The baby’s been most helpful in keeping me motivated to get this stuff done. I’ve been really impressed with my own stamina and am pretty pleased that we’ve managed a lot of this alone. Shoutouts to Ken, Jenn, Nate, Tim, Chris, and Kylee—who were our big helpers.

 

So, for a rundown:
Nights slept in new house: 2
Trips to Home Depot: 4
Pieces of real mail at new address: 1 (thanks, Callie!)
Buckets of bleach used: 11
Rooms painted: 2
Carpets cleaned: 4
Pieces of furniture actually unpacked: 3 (bed, dresser, armoire)
Hours slept: 30 in five days. Definitely not enough.

relief

My blood pressure today was 104/62.

“Pretty good, right?” I asked the nurse.
“Yes, that’s great”, she replied, entering the data into my health records on the computer.

That blood pressure screening always makes me so relieved because of the stress on me and Phil right now; I’m concerned for the baby.

However, I was having a great morning: I woke up early, got to work early, it’s a quiet Thursday morning, the best day of my work week. England and the USA had won yesterday, Phil was coming home tonight, and I was in a happy mood, despite the [house] difficulties that we have going on in our lives.

I opened my email and saw that the fare for a flight from Atlanta was on sale. SO, I bought my ticket to go to Callie’s baby shower! (and bought a few things on Etsy for said baby shower)

It was going to be a good morning.

I had my bi-monthly doctor’s checkup later this morning. It went great, we’ve not gained any weight in the last two weeks (we’re healthy!) and her heartbeat sounds loud and strong.

Then, miracle of miracles, as I’m driving back to work from the doctor’s, Phil calls to tell me that the one bedroom apartment we’re hoping to rent will only be needed for one month.

Because we got approval on the house.

Praise God, through Whom we have all things! We’re so relieved and happy and excited!

We’ll move in sometime in July, after closing goes through.

Give God some praise!

 

Expectantly Waiting

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD. 2 Chronicles 20:12 & 13

The pastor at the church we visited this weekend used Scripture from 2 Chronicles to illustrate the need for us to pray for our nation and to seek God for direction on the healthcare issue. While I may be shortsighted, this verse leapt out and grabbed me, for me.

“But our eyes are on You” is exactly the attitude and feeling I have.

Peace. [Yoga breath: deeply through pursed lips]

Then Monday morning, I opened my daily Bible verse from Sunday’s emails and:
bLAM! How about 2 Chronicles, Jehoshaphat seeking the Lord?!
The call was quite clear and we’re praying and fasting today.

I know that there will be an answer on the house; how could it be any different when so many people are praying, fasting, and hoping on it?

But, first and foremost, “our eyes are on You”. And in that, I find rest.

We’re moved out of our apartment, nearly completely, and on to the next phase.

It’s shown me some interesting aspects of my character—the need for a “home” and a secure place to live. While I thought I was up for the adventure of living on the fly, it’s harder than I thought, especially since I feel like I need to be painting something, or refinishing things I need for the new baby, and becoming acquainted with our new home!

Being grounded and reminded that the Lord is meeting our needs through those tangible attention-grabbers really was perfect timing.

It always is. Expectantly waiting.

What are you waiting for? Are your eyes on Him?