Our House circa 1940 and then I digress...

We live in a very cute Cape Cod (from what I am told) house that was built in 1940. It has a ton of potential and we just don't have a ton of time to do all we want to do to it. We had found that if you decide to start one project, you end up with 4-5 other projects you had now created in the process. Thus, leaving you with 6 unfinished projects.

For example, when we moved in to the house, we decided to rewire the whole house's electricity and now we have an open socket in our dining room with 'live' wires and it is covered in duct tape. Lovely. Our bathroom has an open socket above the vanity light that needs to be covered as well. And all this came about because when the wiring was originally installed, nothing was grounded. And there were no sockets in the bathroom or kitchen that break if and when water is present to help avoid the person getting shocked. All good things to update but leaves an unfinished project.

So then it digressed to once the kitchen was torn up for the electrical work, why not replace the counter tops and the floors? But if we do all that, why not rip out some cabinets and the sink and properly rewire the dishwasher and garbage disposal so it functions that much better? So then you have lovely new cabinets, a dishwasher and garbage disposal that all work so much better and a switch for the garbage disposal in an appropriate spot versus on the outside of the cabinet below the sink. All for better function and ease and appearance. It looks amazing. But then we haven't finished framing in the cabinets and putting in the floor molding. So it looks good but not finished.

And so on and so forth. I am not complaining, just explaining. One thing leads to 25 more things. Thus the joy of an old house and doing most of the remodeling yourself.

I am thankful for many things for sure. We have a DISHWASHER! AJ and I lived in an apartment for the first 2 years of our marriage and it had a dishwasher and it was wonderful. Then we moved in to a house in Cottage Grove for two years and we didn't have kids at the time but there was no dishwasher and it was such a bummer as the rest of the house was so nice. It wasn't enough of a bummer not to buy it. But man oh man, we had the constant pile of dishes. Now that we have a 1 year old, I often think how thankful I am for the dishwasher. That is one convenience in my life I wouldn't want to have to be without. Most older homes weren't built to include these so whoever did that remodel on this home to build one in is my hero!

Also, our old house has a fairly new forced air heat system and fairly new windows. We don't have AC but summer is so short here, I rejoice for the constant heat the other 9 months of the year. Our house stays warm and cozy and all the windows open (good for the summer breeze and fire safety!) and keep the heat in that much better during the winter. Both things we did not have to do on the home. The sellers had recently done those updates before we bought the home, so it was another selling point for us.

And finally, another thing I am thankful for is a space to call our own. 3 years after AJ and I had been married, we found ourselves at a crossroad in our journey of life. I had recently graduated beauty school and AJ was unsure what he wanted to do with himself in life. He had completed his undergraduate degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management, but after a year doing that, did not feel it was his true calling. So his parents graciously offered for us to move in with them in a "transitional" period till we could see where the chips fell. We were both jobless, our house in Cottage Grove sold in a month and we knew we most likely wanted to be back in Salem. We were trying for a baby and were starting on that journey as well.

Well, long story short, we lived with AJ's parents for 3 years. We paid off our car, some student loans and some consumer debt. AJ discovered his calling in life and went to graduate school at OSU for his Master's in Counseling and I worked two part-time jobs which turned in to one full time job. God lead us through many challenges, triumphs and learning situations. We came to terms with the fact that we were having difficulties getting pregnant and then learning to let that go and let God take control. The hardest thing I have ever done in my life. Harder than being a mom. I was broken.

On goes the story to this quick snapshot. Spring 2008 AJ is finishing up his spring term and heading in to his final summer session. I am working full time and he has begun to apply for jobs for the fall. He does not officially graduate till December 2008 but he has to get a job in the fall to get the hours he needs to complete his degree. July 2008 we find out we are pregnant. No insurance, AJ does not have a job, I know at some point after the baby is born I am going to go part time. "Okay, God, what are you thinking?" I had finally come to a place of being okay with all this but we still lived with AJ's parents.

We talked with them and asked if we could stay at least till after the baby was born. They said yes and so we stayed with them till December of 2009. AJ got a job as a full time counselor and we did our budget and were able to work in a house payment and in June of 2009 started looking for a house. So after 6 years of marriage, 3 of them we had lived with AJ's parent's, December of 2009 we moved out of their house with our 9 month old and spent the first night in our new house. It was a little bit scary but exciting!

Soooooo, I love my in-laws, am so thankful for their hospitality and generosity and truly not sure how I am going to have a newborn and 20 month old without their help after her birth, but I am grateful for our own space. We had a great time with them and had fun eating dinner with them most every night, watching our favorite TV shows together and just hanging out. Porter got some good good grandparent loving from birth to 9 months that Maggie will never know and as much as Al and Lori love us, they were not sad at all to see our dogs move out! It was an adventure and many memories were made. But I am thankful for our space.

I love our little house, all 1,080 square feet of it!