Our Nest of Two is Becoming a Nest of Three

In just a few weeks our "little birdie" will be finished incubating and ready to hatch : ) On that mid-June day when we found out we were expecting it was hard to imagine what our lives would be like nine months from then. As I reflect on these past nine months many changes and blessings have come to our lives and I praise God for His faithfulness through it all!

As many of you know we have been undergoing a lengthy moving process. We sold our house back in October in Linwood, KS that we had been living in since we got married. Our little house was a wonderful place for entertaining, close to several lakes for our boat, and the perfect size for two! However, once we found out we were to be three we put our house up for sale. Due to the housing market we weren't sure of how long it would take, but God was present in that situation too. Our house sat on the market for about a month without much activity, and then within about 5 days we had 11 showings and 3 offers. The offer we ended up accepting was above asking price and to a couple that we knew would love the house as much as we did! The only downside to the quick sale of our house was that we were still in the middle of the hunt for a new house. My Mom and Dad were quick to let us  come live with them in their house in Shawnee, KS until we could find a house that fit our growing family's need.

Luckily, not long after moving we found the "perfect" house only about two miles from my folks house. The only thing not "perfect" about it was that it was short sale home. Take it from me there is NOTHING short about a short sale. Coincidently several years ago we had passed through the neighborhood where this house is located and talked about how this would be the ideal neighborhood to raise a family in, so it was hard to pass this house up! After what seemed like an eternity (67 days but in pregnant days that is a loooonggg time) on Christmas Eve they finally accepted our offer : ) We had a few more bumps in the road after that, but we were able to close mid January. The house is in need of some updating and we are probably looking at about six weeks of renovations, but we could not be prouder of our little fixer-upper.

Brandon has taken on most of the renovation projects himself with help from friends here and there. Our hope is to have all new flooring, paint, and bathrooms done before the end of February. Then new kitchen, family room, and various other projects by Spring. We are planning on being at my folks house until all the major renovations are done. This most likely will mean that we will have the baby before we are able to move into the new house. However, I consider this to be a huge blessing that we will get to still be at my parents house. I figure the first few weeks I will want my Mommy's help as much as possible as I navigate the unfamiliar waters of motherhood :)

Throughout it all God, our family, our friends have proved their faithfulness and love and we are eternally grateful! 

Andrea

P.S.-Stay tuned for updates and pictures!