home sweet home

you guys- 

i love my house.

every morning i wake up and am just reminded 

of how stinking awesome god is....

and how lame-o i am.

but we've already established how i handled the last two months of

"where will the bachmans live?"

so let's move on to nicer things.

like my house.

'cause.... i love it.

funny- we had made a list of all our 'have-tos' for a house,

and a list of our 'it would be nice ifs'.

this house has all the have-tos and almost all the nice-ifs.

i know- god is pretty great, right?

i'm eating a giant slice of humble pie right now.

and it is delicious.

so- here is our new home!

i am praying that we get to stay here for a long, long time.

because moving (surprise) is not my favorite.

get ready for a photo overload,

along with some dreaming :)

not that i have any plans to do all of the things i talk about...

it's just fun to think about it, right?

hello, house!

kinda prison-ish from the outside, but that's ok.

because it is enclosing the biggest front patio ever.

with a sidewalk wrapping around the house.

many scooter/bike rides have already happened,

and i don't have to worry about kids getting hit by cars.

awesomesauce.

also- security doors.

not pretty, but letting a breeze in far makes up for the pretty factor.

i do want to jazz this area up a bit.

furniture would obviously be the best, but maybe not possible.

other ideas?

ok. let's go inside!

the living room

we finally got a new couch!

yipee!  our three-seater couch was just too small for our family of five.

so we got this fun gray tweed number from ikea.

(yes, it looks blue in the pic. but it isn't)

i love it.  and we all fit at the same time!

getting a new couch meant getting to re-vamp a bit, which i love.

i want a modern/rustic feel in here... does that make sense?

and lots of color.

and patterns, and textures.

and fun.

right now it's on the more modern side, but i'm working on it.

i have an idea to make a big sign out of fence wood kinda like this

but without the giant word going across.

just a small word in the bottom right corner.  

can't decide on my word yet.

i like this rug in gray.  saving my pennies.

is chevron too much?

hmmm....

i still love it.

i had fun with pillows.

embracing color and texture and patterns.

on the opposite wall is the entertainment center.

see that corner with the fan and cords?

she needs a chair.

i'm stalking craigslist, hoping for something bright and lovely.

like this (although i'm not holding my breath it will be this awesome)

 

and this little wall that i love.

yellow lamp.  wall of 'b's'.

crate full of snuggly blankets.

and here is the wall to the right when you walk in.

it still needs something.. i was trying to use what i already have.

for sure new candles?  what else can you do with candlesticks?

bring on the input.

now.. on to the kitchen/dining room!

k.  so trying to decide on what kind of fabric for some sort of valance or something.

thoughts?

and eventually a new rug.  cause that one has seen better days.

and note the far counter with the pic & vase on it?

all of that is covering up computer cords...

not sure what else to do?

i def want to get a more fun pic...

not necessarily a photo, but maybe a neat print.

and ditch that gold vase.

but it was what i had- can you paint vases?

opposite wall-

needed a place for the microwave, and i wanted to hang up cute aprons.

i like it.

the kitchen looks into the dining room.

which is soooo nice and open.  

i love how big the dining room is...

i can put the leaf in my table,

which is crazy, because almost every other house was too small for my table.

happy.

i had to put my computer on the kitchen counter, 

which isn't my favorite, but i'm not too sure what else to do.

i want to have it out in the open instead of back in a room.

but i do like having a little office area.

fireplace in the dining room.

love it.

beautiful 'abide' painting from my talented friend, jen

trying to decide if i want a fun patterned panel for that side window?

now..

on to the rooms!

first up,

charlotte's room

i would love to paint this wall,

but i probably won't.

my guess is we'll put the girls together in a year, so i didn't want to do a lot.

but we did buy this cute leaf to make her a little reading nook.

she LOVES it.

i feel like that wall needs something

(more in person that in pictures)

what do you think? 

ideas?

 jackson & isabella's room

you walk into this wall when entering their room.

i told them it made their room the 'secret room' which they loved.

i put up racks for their backpacks,

and behind the door are hooks to hang up their clothes the night before.

i'm trying to expediate the crazy mornings that are around the corner.

i love this pic of them on the wall,

but i think i want a canvas of this pic to put there eventually:

here's the room!

i want to get some maps up top for jackson.  

that kid LOVES maps.

note the gigantic hammock of stuffed animals.

(thank you, cori, for the great idea!)

we actually had to get rid of a whole box full.

since both kids will be in school this year,

i wanted to have lots of places for them to create/do homework.

so i made this little area in their room.

$7.99 ikea tables, some vinyl letters, and buckets from the dollar bin at target.

toys, books, and corkboards for pics of friends and artwork display.

and the drums are back in the house.  for now.

next.. a quick peek at the studio.

which still has a lot of work to be done.

but there is a room just waiting for babies and little ones!

and my friends who want to come visit and have their own room to sleep in :)

lots of dreams for this space,

but they are going to have to wait awhile :)

for now, i am just SOOOO happy to not have to move charlotte's furniture

every time i have a photo shoot!

a peek at the guest bathroom

i love my family rules print from my super talented friend, emily at hope ink.

go check out her beautiful prints!

i'm very excited about a new one i have coming for the living room :)

and finally, the master 

which also has some plans in the works.

i'm trying to decide if i want to do a bunch of pics from our 10 year anniversary pics,

or just a big canvas of this one:

because i think we look pretty darn cute here.

and most days, when i wake up with my morning hair and sweats,

it would be nice for my husband to be reminded 

that i can clean up okay,

right?

(all 10-year anniversary pics by the incredible derksen photography)

opinions?

nothing fancy happening here.

needs a little pizazz.

and to the right is a slider to the backyard (also a slider from the dining room)

i am SOOOO happy to have a backyard.

and grass.

seriously.  

god is so awesome.

welp.

there it is!

our sweet little home.

hope you liked the tour...

i'd love any ideas you have-

especially ones that are free/cheap ;)

i am so grateful that god blessed us with this house.

it is even better than anything i thought we could get,

which shouldn't be a surprise.

but i also recognize that He did not have to give us a home like this.

it was by His grace and goodness that He did.

i hope i would have been just as excited about any other home He provided.

i am so excited to see what the story of this home will be for us.

i hope you'll be a part of it!

come on over friends...

our home is ready for you.

and i promise- there are no boxes for you to move.

the eleventh hour {also known as 'we have a house*'}

remember back in june when i was worried about finding a house?

that's funny.

hindsight is 20/20, right?

our lease is up this friday

(as in 5 days from now)

and until a few hours ago,

we still had no options of a place to live.

(other than extended stay americas... which we had most definitely checked in to)

we have been into over 38 houses.

looked at hundreds online.

applied for around eight.

you'd be amazed how many landlords don't want 

three small children living in their home...

i can't imagine why ;)

the last two months have been quite the journey,

and i wish i would have always handled it well.

i would love to say i have believed unswervingly that God would take care of us,

but in truth, i have doubted Him more than i am proud of.

through our own prayers and the prayers of others,

we kept feeling like it was going to happen in the 'eleventh hour'.

as the 24th (our lease ending date) loomed closer and closer,

i felt my anxiety grow exponentially.

daily i prayed for peace and faith,

and each day, something would happen that just rocked me:

applications turned down, cars breaking down, etc. etc.

i kept allowing my circumstances to dictate my belief in who God is.

seriously.  when will i learn?

friday afternoon we were out looking at homes with our newest realtor.

(we found that they kind of ditch you after two searches.  we must have been deemed as 'too picky')

while driving to the first house, 

i checked my email and saw a new home had just been put on the MLS.

the picture was super tiny, but it was close to where we were,

so we decided to check it out.

the minute we opened the door,

i knew it was a good one.

but i didn't want to get too excited...

i'd had that feeling before and it didn't work out.

we quickly walked through and told our realtor we wanted it.

she began making the necessary calls,

and we sat in the empty living room with our children and prayed.

two agonizing days of waiting later,

we got the call today that it was ours!

we are cautiously optimistic that this little house in irvine will soon be our home.

we can move in on thursday.

you know... one day before our lease is up?

i know, i know.

the eleventh hour.

i admit that a part of me is still waiting for the rug to get pulled out from under us again.

i don't want to fall too in-love with this house,

but i have already started decorating in my head.

it is the perfect little home for our family.

here are some of my favorite things:

*it has FOUR bedrooms, which means i'll have a room for photography!  

i cannot begin to describe how exciting this is.  

*laminate flooring.  because other people's carpet repulses me.

*a GIGANTIC cemented front porch.  that wraps around to the backyard.  

so kids can ride their bikes and scooters all the way around the house.  

and really... just having a yard rather than a little patio.  such a blessing.  

(we need some serious patio furniture.  good thing i'm an awesome craigslist-stalker!)

*irvine schools- good for jackson, and bella can go to their transitional kinder this year

(and they may even be at the same school!)

*library and heritage park super close 

*a fireplace.  because they make me happy.

*did i mention 4 bedrooms? ;)

we are saying that we have a house* 

(with an *asterisk*)

we still have some hurdles to wade through, 

like crazy-big deposits and the chance of the landlord changing his mind,

but we are praying that everything gets figured out,

and on thursday we'll move into this new chapter in our lives.

i know that this journey has been about much more than just finding a house.

if it were just about that, i believe God would have given us one months ago.

through this time, i know there have been things He wants to show me.

some of it is areas that i need to grow in, 

like trusting Him completely, and giving up control.

but i also believe He wanted me to know how very loved we are.

we have been surrounded by friends that have been family to us:

serving us with meals, prayers, encouraging calls, packing our boxes, leaving flowers on our doorsteps and dropping off treats, watching our children, and lending us cars when ours broke down.

we have witnessed true community and are overwhelmed with the love poured out on us.

and of course,

i am reminded today,

of how faithful my God is.

even when i doubt Him.

yell at Him.

feel abandoned and alone.

He was taking care of us all along.

i feel foolish and grateful, all at the same time. 

i can't wait to see why this house was THE house.

what our story will be because of this new chapter.

what i know is that He has already written it....

so it must be good, right?

double negative

today we turned down two houses.

it seems like a crazy thing to do,

especially with how hard it has been to find anything we have loved.

one home was darling,

with great updates and a park for a backyard.

but tiny. crazy tiny.

just too tiny for our family long-term.

the other was very pretty.

all upgraded and more space.

but expensive.

more than we could afford.

i tried to figure out how to make each of them work.

i could turn the garage into a playroom!

i could have a lemonade stand! or sell things on ebay!

i could have a triple-bunk-bed made!

and then i prayed.

and asked friends to pray.

at the end of today...

we didn't have peace about either home.

i feel a call on my heart to wait.

which is not my favorite thing to do

and trust that god has this.

jeff spoke with a wise friend yesterday,

who answered the phone by saying

"i was just praying for you today! 

and the word that kept coming to my mind was 'the 11th hour'".  

god's timing is not my timing.

but his timing is always perfect.

so every day is a baby step.

trusting he has a neighborhood he is preparing for us.

a school for my children.

a home for our family.

i so want to learn the lessons he has for me in this situation.

(um, especially so he doesn't feel a need to teach it to me again! :)

a sweet friend gave me the jesus calling book last night, and the devotional said this:

stop worrying long enough to hear My voice.  i speak softly to you, in the depths of your inner being.  your mind shuttles back and forth, hither and yon, weaving webs of anxious confusion.  as My thoughts rise up within you, they become entangled in those sticky webs of worry.  thus, My voice is muffled, and you hear only 'white noise'.  

ask My Spirit to quiet your mind so that you can think My thoughts.  this ability is an awesome benefit of being My child, patterned after My own image.  do not be deafened by the noise of the world or that of your own thinking.  instead, by transformed by the renewing of your mind.  sit quietly in My Presence, letting My thoughts reprogram your thinking.

so good, right?

i wanted to share this today,

because i know there are many of us wrestling with 

the questions and worries of life.

circumstances are different,

but we all face choices, and sometimes it is so hard to hear god's voice.

today i was reminded to stop and listen.

and to trust him, even when it's scary.

i can't wait to share good news with you soon...

because i know he has the perfect house for us.

and i am excited to see it...

whenever he decides to let me.

what can I do?

i seem to think pretty highly of myself.

because when any sort of problem comes,

who do i look to?

me.

i can fix it.

i can do it best.

i can handle it.

most of the time,

i am so sadly mistaken.

i continue to pile myself with burdens that are beyond me-

leaving me weary,

discouraged,

and feeling hopeless.

this is not the type of life that god wants for me.

and he never asked for me to do it all myself.

Do you not know?

Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God,   

the Creator of the ends of the earth. 

He will not grow tired or weary,and his understanding no one can fathom. 

 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  but those who      hope in the LORD    will renew their strength. 

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary;  

they will walk and not be faint. 

-isaiah 40:28-31

two days ago, we received an email from our landlords

letting us know the owners are selling our home and we need to move.

we had just decided the best decision for our family was to stay here one more year.

moving just seemed too daunting a task in the midst of our over-busy lives.

looking at a calendar, we realized we had mere weeks to figure it all out.

i immediately transitioned into 'i' mode.

"i need to go home and get on craigslist"

"i need to start sorting things tonight"

"i need to start figuring out childcare"

"i need to find boxes.  change our address. figure out new schools"

"i need to figure out how to pay for moving expenses"

"how am i going to be able to find us a place in the right neighborhood?"

"i can't do this"

i found myself entering into a place of being overwhelmed and anxious.

and then i heard it.

a voice in my head, over and over.

"YOU can't do it.  but I can.  I am doing something.  trust ME."

moving my family in the next three weeks feels impossible for me.

but obviously god is doing something that is making us move.

i don't know what it is, but i know that he has good things for us.

i need to fully trust and believe that the god who created the universe

can also find me a place for my family to live.

the truth is that I cannot do this.

it is too much.

but He most certainly can.

we have under three weeks to find a home, pack everything, and move.

everything in me wants to take over.

but i am desperately trying to allow god to do his work,

so that he might be glorified in this.

i believe that he cares about every detail of our lives,

and desires to be intimately involved.

so god.... we are trusting you.

we know you are doing something in our little family's lives.

help me to submit to you,

and allow you to be my strength in a season of craziness.

i can't wait to see what YOU can do.

home sweet home

last wednesday was moving day.

we were amazed by how many sweet friends came to load the truck.

even cooper got in on the action!

little sawyer was a big help!

we had magicians in the truck.  when 3/4 of the truck was full, i was pretty sure there was no way it would all fit.

but it did!

after filling 26 feet of uhaul

 (and a few cars)

with all our possessions,

we were hungry!

our sweet friend, sonja, at chick fil a

provided food for all our friends.

it was just what we needed!

cooper and the kiddos in our empty living room.  

it was strange to see our home empty again.

it felt like we had just moved in.

a lot of life happened in that home.

we spent the night on an air mattress.

(note for the future... when moving, leave one blanket out to sleep with! 

 it was a cold night with no covers except a damp towel!)

we left bright and early the next morning,

ready for our new adventure.

the best news of thursday was that we had stowaways!

late thursday night,

my brother, jakie, and one of my besties, jen,

decided to come with us for a few days to help set up.

while 2 extra hands were invaluable, 

it also really helped to not drive away from fresno feeling like we were leaving everything.

it definitely helped make for an easier transition.

and we were excited to share our new life with such special people.

after a long morning in the car

(and some cat pee in jakie's car... sorry jake!)

we finally arrived at our new home.

we had our walk through and then backed up the truck to unload.

at 3:00, we were once again amazed by the amount of help that came!

our new church family really came through, 

bringing hands to help, supplies and snacks,

and prayers for our new home.

it was done in 40 minutes!

i had a moment where i looked around at my things in this house,

with people praying over my children's rooms,

and i felt overwhelmed at the enormity of what had just happened.

as soon as our new friends had left,

we started unpacking!

jakie and jeff got to work putting furniture together.

jen & i worked hard on the kitchen.

i don't know what we would have done without these two!

by midnight thursday night, we had unpacked the kitchen and put all the furniture together.

friday morning, we headed out to ikea!

we had to buy kids furniture and some serious storage.

it was jen's first time going.... that made it even more fun :)

we enjoyed a cinnamon roll before jumping in to almost 3 hours of shopping.  

whew!

after that,

the girls went to target and the boys headed to boy stores.

we met back up and got hard at work.

that night, our new friend, corrine,

sweetly brought a delicious dinner and her helping hands.

we worked until midnight again on friday night.

and pretty much everything was put away.

saturday morning, 

jen & i worked on decorations while the boys hung the pictures and curtains.

jakie & jen left around 1:30 on saturday.

when they left, the house was basically finished!

less than 48 hours.. that must be a record :)

we could not have done it without them.

it was hard to see them go.

luckily, we had our kids to distract us :)

my super wonderful mom & step-dad had kept the kids at their house in fresno

wednesday-saturday.

that allowed us to get things ready child-free

and have the house waiting and 'normal' once they arrived.

i cannot begin to describe how helpful this was for us.  

it would have taken SO much longer with little ones underfoot.

my sweet mom drove the kids down on saturday.

the kids were so excited to see their new house!

(the kids with 'gramma fresno' and my older brother, aaron)

would you like to see it, too?

come on in!

when you enter the house, 

you walk right into the dining room straight ahead, and the living room to your left.

dining room (the stairs are just to the right)

'storage' area to the right of the front door

(i love ikea)

living room when you look to the left after walking in the front door

view from the stairs

the kitchen

(i should also post a picture of the two shelves in the garage which are my extra kitchen now :)  

if you turn right after walking in the front door,

you'll go to a little hallway with charlotte's room and a full bathroom.

charlotte's room

we got this little crib off of craiglist for $75!  it is little but perfect for her room.

i got her toddler bedding from target.  i love the owls!

the colors matched all the accessories we already had, which was perfect!

the room has built-in shelving, perfect for toys & books

i found vinyls at target that matched her decor.  

they really jazzed up the mirror-painted-white closet doors.

inside her closet is her dresser/changing table & clothes

across from her room is the downstairs bathroom

i already had everything for this room :)

if you travel upstairs,

you'll find the kids' new bathroom

we went with the brown shower curtain with bright colored polka dots, and used the bright colors throughout the rest of the bathroom.  

across from the bathroom is jackson & bella's room

i knew i had to get all new, skinny, tall furniture for this room

(thank you ikea & walmart!)

i decided to use a lot of accessories from their old playroom and go with bright, fun colors.

i think it turned out super cute!

a little nightstand to hold a lamp & their bible/devotional/pray book

jackson's bed up on top.  

thanks, cori, for the great idea of book shelves and little lights next to their beds!

bella's bed down below

thank you, stacy, for sewing all my pillows!

the book/toy corner

i love the covered corkboards to put their art and pictures of their friends up.

we got this super cute sun from ikea.  

(along with pretty much everything else in the room!)

my awesome brother put it together.  

we don't have overhead lighting available, but i think it just makes the ceiling look so fun!

just past the big kids' room is the master bedroom.

i miss my orange wall.

i think it needs something over the bed... it still doesn't feel right to me.

ideas?

i need to get some of our 10 year anniversary pics in these frames, stat!

master bath

sweet earring holder some of my precious friends made me and helped me fill.

finally, the back patio.

i have big dreams for this place.

i envision swooping white lights & cute seating.

(gotta save up for that!)

our living room is so tiny... 

i'd love for it to be an overflow of the living room so we can have more people over.

we've actually set it up more since this pic.

jackson's fountain is in place and running!  

we're waiting for labor day sales to get a shelf outside to put all the art supplies on.

hope you enjoyed the tour!

while we were basically 'finished' on saturday afternoon,

we have been so busy with all the extras.

100 trips to home depot.

spending a small fortune to refill our fridge/freezer at costco,

organizing the garage & closets,

getting jackson registered at his new school,

and spending time with our kiddos.

we've been trying to find our way around and explore all the fun things in our area.

like the beach

and fountains 

they're everywhere!!! and huge!!!

 and merry-go-rounds

it has been a busy week.

(thank you for all the texts, emails, and phone calls, and facebook messages.  

i apologize if i have not responded to them.... i hope to do it soon!  i have been a bit overwhelmed by it all.)

to be honest,

i'm not totally sure if the reality of it has hit me yet.

it kinda feels like someone took all my stuff and put it in another house.

like a really weird vacation.

but jeff started work this morning.

and jackson starts school next thursday.

little by little,

this will become our home.