Remodeling Our Brick Ranch: Flooring, Fixtures and Tile

Do you ever feel like just when you get too focused on things of this world, God gives you a great reminder of what is really important? 

I don’t think it’s fair to say I was obsessed over getting this house ready, but it obviously took up the vast majority of my focus and time for weeks on end. I poured my heart and soul into it, even dealing with first trimester nausea and fatigue. My family did the same, minus the whole pregnancy stuff. I wanted everything to be just perfect for when Will arrived.

Two days before his plane pulled in, our house was broken into. I walked in that morning, after yet another trip to Lowe’s in anticipation of working on the last few things we had on the to do list to have the house ready for move in, to discover everything that could be carried out was gone. We had thousands of dollars in tools, brand new appliances still in the boxes, light fixtures waiting to be hung, and even Aubrey’s big girl bedding I had just bought and had waiting in her closet. As well as two little canvases with her foot prints made to look like butterflies that my MIL made for me for mother’s day. 

I’m thankful that what was taken can mostly be replaced. I’m thankful no damage was done to all the work we had completed. I’m thankful no one was there and hurt in the process. I’m thankful our household goods weren’t in the house because a good portion of them cannot be replaced and have significant meaning to us as we’ve collected them during our travels and moves. I’m thankful we have great insurance with USAA. And I’m thankful that in the end, it was all just stuff. 

But it was still heartbreaking. 

I didn’t have to deal with the violated feelings most do when their house is broken into, since we hadn’t even stayed a night there yet, but I was sick to death at what my family members had lost. And I was sort of devastated that after working so hard for so long that we were faced with this setback. And for a few moments I gave up hope that we could actually move in when Will got in. It was also hard to swallow, like the straw that broke the camel’s back, after all the challenges we’ve been through in the past year or two. 

But that’s the thing about God’s grace. At the times when nothing makes sense, and everything hurts, he gives us a comfort that we can’t explain. In the two days that followed my family and friends rallied together to round up even more tools and man-hours to push through and get what was needed finished. Already overrun with pregnancy hormones, I was an emotional basket case. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so weepy in my life. 

And finally the day was here. 

We threw a mattress on the floor, borrowed a crib from my mom and dad’s church, and a collection of odds and ends to function from Will’s parents. 

That night we had a beautiful welcome home party on the ground floor of the barn (the one where this blog stared), and started a new chapter in our lives. 

Two days later the coup took place in Turkey. It was a little more than I felt I could handle dealing with the house being broken into, but God has impeccable timing sometimes, because I truly am not sure I could have dealt with Will having been in the midst of the chaos in Turkey on top of everything else we had going on. I am so beyond grateful for his safety and to have him back home and in my arms. Thank you again to all of you who sent up prayers during this time, and who have been never ending sources of support in these last couple of years! 

We’ve done a lot since these photos, and we’ve got a long ways to go still, but for the first time…well, ever, we’ve got nothing but time to get it done…together.