Sparrow Living

We're here. We're really here. Even last night as my husband and I relaxed and watched a little TV before bed, we would smile with disbelief that we were sitting in our new home, acting like this is where we really live!

It was a very busy and tiring week. Although we moved the majority of our things last weekend, we still had several items left in the apartment. Each night after work, my husband and I met at the apartment and hauled a few more things from the apartment to the house. I also worked at scrubbing bathrooms, mopping floors, vacuuming and overall cleaning of the entire apartment hopeful that we'll get all of our deposit back. Since we signed a lease through August (because our house wasn't supposed to be completed until August) we still had to pay our August rent at the apartment complex. However, since we moved out early, the management can now attempt to rent the apartment right away and then we'll get back the balance of the rent we paid. So, this is what we're praying for!

So, here we are, surrounded by boxes, and working at establishing new routines. I've moved the location of my silverware 3 times now...still not certain it has found a permanent home. Even establishing a new place for the pets water dishes and where to feed them is transitional. I'm sure they don't care, as long as they get fed.

We're in clean out and purge mode as we unpack boxes. We just have way too much junk. I was transformed while cleaning out and getting rid of the majority of my mother's things a few months ago. Seeing how much "stuff" she had accumulated and stored...it really made an impact and has made it much easier to get rid of the extras now rather than wait. We also have accumulated so much extra furniture and at least 20 boxes of other nick knack-y things from both of our mothers that we have more than enough items for a garage sale, so that is our goal at this point.

Our cable service was hooked up late yesterday afternoon (yeah) so we can communicate with the outside world once again. It is fun to see how resourceful your kids can get when they don't have Internet, cable or a phone to use. They quickly found the "games" box and have played endless rounds of "Life", "Clue" and "Mancala". I almost hate to be "connected" once again. I didn't miss the quiet that comes with being disconnected from technology. The phone didn't ring, You Tube wasn't playing on the computer, and the TV remained off most of the time. It will be good, however, to be able to do my online banking once again, as well as pay bills, and keep in touch with my blogging buddies. And the kids were having Facebook withdrawals.

Everyone is very friendly in our new neighborhood. Many have walked down the block to greet us and introduce themselves. Perhaps that comes from the understanding that we are all first time neighbors. Since this block is made up of all new homes, everyone is a new neighbor to one another. There are some families who have been here for the past year (the originals on the block), but the majority of the families, like us, have just moved in over the past couple of months. It is a multi-cultural neighborhood which is kinda neat. And multi-generational as well, although weighted more heavily toward the younger families with children.

One of the perks we have already discovered living 3 miles further west of our previous home is that gas prices are lower! We noticed yesterday our family-owned gas station around the corner lowered their prices to $3.84. We have become "regulars" there. Speaking of gas prices, my husband and I played a game this week where we kept track our mileage and time to our respective work places. Each day we each tried a different route for our commute and then shared our results in the evening. It was interesting to find that often the route that was quicker --because we can travel 50 mph on the back country roads--actually added 2 miles onto the journey, whereas the one that was shortest, added about 10 minutes because there were more stop lights and traffic congestion involved. At this point, we're opting for saving gas and leaving a little earlier.

As I write this even now, I am in disbelief that we get to live here. It is so beautiful, so home-y and so "us", I can't believe it. When I say "beautiful" I don't mean in the designer-type of beautiful either. We have old furniture and only enough for the family room, we are using our living room area as the office/computer/game room area and we don't even have color on our walls yet. (We didn't want to pay a lot of extra to have someone else paint before we moved in.) By beautiful I mean it is just such a good fit for us--open, airy, light, very functional, very comfortable. It is so quiet here as well and truly, feels like a place of rest. Of all the homes and places we have lived, this feels most like home to us--and we've only been here 7 days! We're so thankful and so keenly aware that the Lord is pouring His goodness out on us--and we're soaking it up. With all that life has held over the past years, I know the Lord has prepared this nest for us as a place of rest, healing and restoration.