2011 - A Look Back

These last few days have been all over the place for us.  We have been working on revamping some of the aesthetics of our youth spaces at church, visiting with some of our past students who were in town for winter break, gearing up for a new year in student ministry and house updating all while trying to squeeze in some rest when we have a moment or two while our sweet little boy cuts a new tooth.  Rest and teething just don't equate but we are ready to get rolling into a new year.  Before we go all gung-ho on you we think it would be a good time to stop and take a look back on some of the things that happened on this little blog last year, so sit back, relax and come on this journey with us....

1. The Beginning: So first off, this here little blog is not really even a year old yet.  We started blogging about our little house remodel in March of 2011 so we are approaching the one year mark soon.  We have so much enjoyed this blog experience, from the awesome people we have met to the support we have had from old friends, it's been great all around.  We are just surprised anyone cares to know which faucet we chose or how we painted our yucky paneling but we are humbled that you have.  If you are curious, here's our first post that kicked this whole thing off.

2.  The Big Move:  This year marked the year we bought a house - not for the first time, but it was a purchase that we had waited on for a while.  Home Ownership is something we did not want to take lightly so we put some things on hold while we worked on getting Justin through school and eliminating debt from our past.  Here's a post about how we got our finances in order and another on how we felt about being home owners.

3. Painting our Hearts Out:  Once we were all settled in our new place we had a big chore ahead of us and that was painting pretty much the entire thing - in and out.  We haven't gotten to the outside part yet and still have that last little bit in the laundry room but we are a far cry from the original.  You can check out how we painted our knotty pine cabinets, our master bedroom paneling, our kitchen backsplash and our bathroom floor.  Paint is the ultimate in bang for your buck.

4.  Our Favs: We've worked little by little this year as we have had the funds and time, it can get insane around here when trying to paint a floor, feed and entertain a 14 month old and somehow find time to blog about it in the process but it has worked and we have been blessed.  Here are a few of our favorite projects from this last year - our chalkboard closet doors, new bathroom faucet, our low-cost bathroom mirror update and of course our new kitchen light (my most hated foe, the giant fan is finally gone).





5.  God's Truth: One of the things I love most about this blogging experience is how it has allowed me to reflect on God's truth in the little things of life.  God is at work all around us, he brings his message to us through his word, through other believers, through circumstances and through prayer.  I have experienced God this year as I have prayed while painting, contemplated his love through organizing our bathroom, been reminded of a scripture while filling in holes in our kitchen and been uplifted by so many wonderful and godly people through comments and messages through this blog.  Our God is truly amazing, he continues to pour out his love on us in our everyday life, even when we find ourselves busy, hurried and overwhelmed - He is there.  My prayer for this next year would be that we would all not find ourselves to busy with life to not meet God in our day to day, our chores and our work - that living would mean believing that every breath is a gift from the most Generous Giver.  Let's meet with God this year.