We built a house... part 2!

If you know me, you know that I hate cardboard boxes.  Especially when moving! I've made it my cause to rid our house of cardboard boxes each time we move.  I ponder a plan for days, weeks even, so I know the best way to tackle the box situation.  This time was no different.  And in similar fashion to previous moves, there was a holiday or visitors {or both} days away.  That my friends is what we call "bonus motivation".

When we planned our home in the early stages, we didn't want something extravagant or too big.  Rather, we wanted an open living space where we could all be together.  Plus sleeping rooms.  And an office for Patrick -- he needed an office in a bad way.  Our room, the boys room and Elise's room are on one side of the house.  The guest room, play room and laundry room are on the other side.  Kitchen, eating and living rooms are in the middle. Patrick's office is right by the front door. And we have a blue front door.  For the record, I didn't get excited and squeal about too much with house building...but when I saw the blue door I definitely squealed and did a dance! Live life in color!

We didn't buy too much to add to the house.  I needed to get a new shower curtain for the kids bathroom because there were things on that curtain that I would rather not discuss. Bleh! We got barstools for the island and two couches {that are not in yet} so we could have a good amount of seating when friends are over! Oh, and I bought the most fantastic rug on overstock.com! A few bathroom rugs here and there, a few things to hang on the wall, and two new pillow covers for the living room and we were set!

I did my absolute best to stay within budget for each section.  I went over a little in lighting, but I've been told it's hard not to do so.  We were budgeted for granite counters, but chose to get soapstone in the kitchen.  Because of that, we did quartz in the bathrooms and laundry room to offset the cost a little.  I was under in hardware and right on with flooring and tile.  We got a few "extras" just by asking for them and I'm so very glad! 

The other day a friend asked if I would change anything.  After thinking, I simply replied "no".  I can confidently say that I made the best decisions I could at the time, with my circumstances in hopes to make our house feel like home.  And honestly, at the end of all things, it's just a house.  It's nothing crazy or defining or life changing -- it's boards and beams and concrete and stuff.  I don't want to spend the rest of my days thinking of what I could have done differently.  I want to enjoy this space and this place and do what I'm called to do -- that is love and serve my family well. 

I didn't tell too many people we were building a house and it was always something very uncomfortable for me to talk about.  There were a small number of people that would make odd remarks or not respond kindly about building.  After the house started taking off, it was slightly easier to talk about because there was a tangible thing.  It just felt {feels} so extravagant and luxurious and high maintenance.  I am not those things! {well, I bet Patrick would say I can be high maintenance...haha}  It's humbling to build a home and I don't take lightly the gift that this is.

We are grateful, though, for this home.  It's not something we deserved or earned. We pray hard and try to be good stewards of our finances and things.  This was an incredible extension of God's kindness.  It's not been without trial and struggle and tears.  In fact, after a slew of unfortunate events, we still own our old house and are praying fervently for the Lord to provide new buyers {after the old buyers fell through twice}.  You are welcome to join us in prayer for this.  I believe God will provide and do great things -- for His glory! 

So here are a few inside pictures.  I took them with my iPhone several days ago, so they quality isn't really great!

Mud bench and the little counter space that has become my desk :)

Laundry things....

Straight into the laundry room

Guest bathroom

Living room and hall to bedrooms, from the table.

Fireplace and living room from the table.

Kitchen, from the fireplace.

Entry way -- coat closet on the right, Patrick's office on the left

From the guest hall way

Play room with an extra bed!

Play room closet

Guest room {come visit!}

Master bathroom, with our closet in the back.

Boys bedroom, well lived in ;)

Built ins in the boys room.

"Great room" from the bedroom hall

"Great room" from the corner by the table :)

I will eventually do a post with some fun details about the house that I love, even if I didn't love picking them out ;)

We built a house...part 1

I was never opposed to house building, but I always thought we would do it one day.  A dear friend of my built a house a couple of years ago and I walked with her through it and thought it was insane!  I was right.

We looked at houses around Edmond and prayed for two years about if we should move/buy/build.  In November 2013, Patrick found a lot he loved in a great neighborhood a few miles South East of our old house.  After that, as they say, the rest is history.

We had originally wanted several acres.  But the price is high for such a thing.  After much prayer, Patrick laid down those desires and God really gave him such a great peace and conviction about living in this neighborhood.  Land means a lot to a man, I suppose, and I'm proud of Patrick for seeing that right now isn't the time for that.  But it would have been fun!

The good news is that our house has a good back yard that backs up to a green belt and there are trees to the south for miles. The boys have little back rubber boots that they wear and spend hours in the "forest" -- digging and exploring and making things and being boys just as boys should be. 

Anyways, we easily found a house plan that we both liked and tweaked it slightly to fit our desires.  It's not too much bigger than our old house, but it does have an office and an extra bedroom that is currently a playroom.  But if the Lord gives us another child, or we need family to live with us for a bit, or we need to host a multitude -- we feel prepared and ready to use this home to do all of those things. SO by December we were ready and we gave our downpayment in January.  They broke ground and got started in early April 2014.

House building is not for the faint of heart.  And friends, I am THE faint of heart.  I'm too Type B to handle all these things and decisions.  But by the grace of God, I survived -- although a little wore and weary.  Patrick handled, extremely well and joyfully, all of the construction type things.  His eyes were always opened and ready to text or call our builder with questions or concerns.  I barely saw blemishes.  I only saw chaos.

I made every.single.decision regarding the design and decor.  Brick and paint and lights and hardware and plumbing and counters and appliances and tile and floor -- you get the point.  It was so hard.  I don't make decisions well and I don't have an "eye for design".  I was grateful for my friend Jodi that helped along the way! I cried many tears during the process and lost a little of myself to the stress.  I don't mean to be dramatic, but it was crazy!

I went to most places with three small children, sometimes two and rarely one.  They were mostly unhelpful, but this was their home too {and it was the middle of summer}. It didn't help that I still had post-pardum hormones in me, was learning life with three babes, my gramma was very sick and Patrick's job changed a bit causing him to be less available.  It actually was a perfect storm.  And I learned a lot through it.

Lesson #1: Never build a house again.

Needless to say, when everything came together and nothing looked awry, I was simply delighted and praised God for His sovereignty -- even in house building.  I prayed and prayed that this house would feel like home from day one and that people would feel comfortable and peaceful here. I still pray that and hope to see the Lord move in this place. 

Here are house building process pictures:

This is where the boys room is -- I had them stand by what would be their window.

Because sweet brothers.

Selfie by the sea of concrete. {early april, I think}

Bricking made the house seem more "real" to me.

Choosing paint colors for the whole house...

Minus the office, which was going to be a different color.

Mud room/laundry room

Bare bones of the kitchen.

Getting concrete walk sidewalks! 

All the painted cabinetry resting in the master bedroom.

Kitchen.

Painted kitchen!

Office built ins for all the books in the land!

Outside light fixtures are up! And our archway.

Light fixtures and appliances are in!

Elise and I talking about her bathroom vanity.

Finished and moved in!

Landscaping and blue door!

Whew! What a long several months.  I'll post pictures of the inside in "part 2" -- plus more of our house story!

Nursery tour...

Please excuse my soft voice, as I was trying to quietly video without the boys coming in! And also, Patrick is blowing his nose at the end of the video.  Sorry about that poor timing :) Enjoy!

Wall art

I have the hardest time being creative in decorating. I always have good intentions, it just never looks the way I imagined it to look. And over the years I've changed my decorating style quite a bit!  I really want my house to look like this...

Either way -- I ordered a few prints from Etsy recently and they needed to be clearly seen!  So with a few other things, they got haphazardly placed on the wall for all to see! Lucky for me, I'm not much of a perfectionist.  Unlucky for me, most of my friends who come over are {including my sweet husband}.

I'm still deciding if it looks how I envisioned it -- maybe I need some more framed art. Or pictures. Maybe I should evenly space what's already there. Humph. Someday I will be awesome at this.  Or maybe not.  I'm clearly not gifted in this way.  Which makes me glad I know people who are!

What I DO know is that I LOVE my bird print and the "heart OK" print. And of course I just can't get enough of seeing my boys ;)

Do tell -- where do I go from here!?

Tornado shelter...

As requested, here is our tornado shelter...

Underground. Under the CR-V.

You might not believe it, but it seats eight. It would be a very snug eight, though.
There are three {removable} steps to get in and out. And a bench on each side. We just stacked both benches on one side for more room...
And it gets dirty quickly :)
You're welcome to come over and sit in it for a fuller experience :)

Upstairs tour...

I'm so scattered in this video. It was a long day. Finally, though, you can see the upstairs of our house! :) If you missed the downstairs tour, click here. I shall warn you thought, much has changed.

Also, please excuse my random insert of the word "batteries". What I was trying to tell you was that the camera battery died a long time ago and we couldn't find the charger. Ohhhhh boy. Next video starring me, I'll make sure my hair looks good and I slept a little more.

Enjoy :)

Song birds!

So, we painted our kitchen. Wait. First you should know that I have the most incredible and patient husband. Okay, now I was telling you about the kitchen.

It use to be dark brown. It made the kitchen look so small! I went to Lowe's and picked out a yellow that I thought would look great. We primed and painted and I didn't love the yellow at all. I mean, it was nice. But it wasn't - it.

I've been agonizing over the color of our kitchen for weeks. We went to Home Depot tonight and I found a color I really liked. When it came out a lot brighter than I hoped, the wonderful woman added more color to it to make the paint darker. You know what? It's perfect!

Now, it's a big step for me. My kitchen is now green. Note: it looks quite lime in this picture. I don't think it looks lime in real life. Although, I'm still in shock. Don't listen to a thing I say about color.

Oh boy. That's your sneak peek. I'm not sure if I love it yet. It makes me nervous. But it makes me really excited all at the same time. I immediately got online to see if I could find something to decorate and put on these grassy walls. Of course I found a thousand things I like. But these plates, well I had to have them...I love little birds. Plus, these plates incorporate all the colors in my kitchen. I think they'll be a great addition to the walls. I also have a cloth napkin that I got years ago (and now I want several, but alas I only have one) that I'm going to cut into squares and frame. Instant art!

I'll keep you updated on this crazy color and the decorations that go with it. Until then, I think I need to recover from the shock. I can't believe I just painted the kitchen pea green!!!

Quick house pics...

Here are some pictures of our house. Please know that a few video tours will be up and coming, I'm just waiting until things are a little more settled. I'm mostly unpacked, with a few exceptions, and we're exploring and learning all about Edmond.

Thus far Benjamin and I have visited the zoo, joined the YMCA, went to Chick-fil-a for lunch, had lunch and played at a park near our house - all with friends! I signed up to do the OKC Memorial half marathon on April 25th. Yes, that's in 10 days. I'm not 100% sure what I was thinking, but I did it. I'm a little nervous, now that I'm thinking about it.

I'm looking forward to more exploring and sight seeing, but mainly I'm looking forward to all of the boxes being gone and our house being settled. Our days are spent sorting and playing and trying to nap. Mainly Benjamin because he left his (not very good to begin with) napping skills in PA. We'll get there as we all get more acquainted with our new home. Patrick doesn't come home for lunch anymore and that's kind of sad. We liked seeing him and it makes the days a little longer without him.

Speaking of Patrick. He's really liking the new job. He's pretty busy and there has been a lot for him to figure out, a lot of people to meet and a lot of meetings to attend. He's very optimistic and so far, it seems like a great fit for him! Praise God!!!

Breakfast area. Which is our every meal area. Someday (maybe tonight?!) those coats will not find themselves hanging over the chair. Instead, they'll be nicely hung on a wall rack in the laundry room.
Kitchen. You can see the laundry room and it's not very organized yet. So you don't get a closer look just yet :) Well, unless you come to visit. There are exceptions to every rule.
Master closet...most of it.
Precious little man. He finds pens and carries them around. Also, he likes to draw with them. And eat them.
Some of B's room...
Guest room...
Master...

Whew. Quick, I know. And not very thorough pictures. Patience, patience. :)