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Well hello, young readers, and a grand mornin' to ya.
Yes, we are officially moved in, and the chaos has not subsided much.
The kitchen is completely unpacked. The living room is, well, livable. At least the furniture is in place, and we can see the floor.
About half of the clothes are unpacked, and the bed is made.
The bathrooms are still a mess. We do have toothbrushes and toothpaste. I just put the shower curtain up this morning.
And still, in all this chaos, amidst all the boxes and bags and new-house noises, I am so very grateful to be where we are.
Little things make such a difference. Our bathtub is plexiglass (or whatever you call it) rather than tile. No more moldy grout that has to be SCRUBBED until it looks barely decent. Now, in comparison, cleaning the bathroom is a breeze. The knobs that we use to turn on the shower are not corroded and squeeky. They are new and shiny, and you don't have to adjust them to just-the-right place in order to keep yourself from scalding or freezing. Our water pressure is good, but not threatening to knock our heads of, as in the other duplex.
There are no burn marks on the kitchen counters. Speaking of counters - we have them! Yes! Counter space! No more mixing and pouring on the washer and dryer.
The air conditioner works WONDERFULLY! It's nice and cool when I get home in the afternoons.
Pippin has no carpet to pee on. He peed in the laundry room - on the vinyl - the first day we were there, probably because nobody was paying attention to his wimpers.
Since then, at 7am on the dot, he comes to the side of the bed (since he no longer sleeps in the bed) and wimpers to be let out. We get up, put him out in our fenced-in yard, and get ready for the day.
There are no stains in the carpet - because we have no carpet. Pergo all the way through, and it is lovely!
We have a dishwasher now. I cooked dinner last night - for the first time in weeks - because I didn't dread the clean-up afterwards. 10 minutes, and my kitchen was clean.
There are so many little things that make such a huge different in my attitude.
There is still work to be done, but the difference is this: to me, it is worth the work.
I know it sounds silly, but I never really liked the other place. I never complained because I was grateful to have a place to call our own. The Lord did provide it for us just when we needed it. But is always felt small and cramped and dirty to me, no matter how I arranged the furniture or how much I cleaned. In the end, I gave up.
But this place is different. It is worth the effort. I can't wait to get started on my next project. While unpacking, my back is killing me, my feet are swelling, my arms are aching... but I dont' want to stop! Because I KNOW that when all is finally unpacked, and decorations are finally up, it will look amazing.
And so, in little whispered prayers, I thank God every time I find something else I love about this place.
Thank you, Jesus, for providing this for us... for me. You knew all the little things that bothered me, even the things I never told you about. And you fixed them in this new place.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.