Our Dream Home

After Nate purchased a house in July, we've been working to fix it up to move into once we're married. After getting the apartment rented out at the end of November, we were able to focus our attention on the main part of the house - and it has been exciting to see the transformation!

We've put in countless hours cleaning, fixing, updating, and painting. The whole time we've been praying about the various ways the Lord will allow us to use this space in the years to come. We're looking forward to it being our home, but we're also praying for unique opportunities to minister to others within these walls.

Here's a peek of what we've been up to & what we're looking forward to:

Living Room: Perfect for game nights, cozy evenings by the fire, sunshine through the large picture window, spending time with friends, and sharing life with those we love!

Office: Due to the color of the walls, this will primarily be my space. Due to the fact that I love to organize and manage paperwork, this space will primarily be used to keep track of those important things. Along with office items, I'll keep craft supplies in here for when I have time again to crochet, sew, and use my creative side!

Nate's version of this space is the garage. He has tons of room for all his tools - and his motorcycle! I'm learning that Nate appreciates organization too, and he's been out in that garage a few times to start finding places for all of his gadgets!

While these spaces reflect each of our hobbies, we're praying God uses us and our areas of interest to bless and encourage others.

Our Bedroom: While I had roommates in college and shared rooms with my sisters growing up, Nate has never had a roommate. We're sure it will take some adjusting to begin sharing a bedroom, but we're looking forward to learning more about each other and of course, not having to text or call each other to say, "Goodnight!"

Nate and I won't only be sharing a bedroom, we'll both be living in the same house for the first time. It will probably take a lot of grace, forgiveness, and compromise as our relationship is stretched, but we're praying that our relationship will grow and develop within these walls so our lives will reflect Christ wherever we go.

Guest Room: It will be exciting to see who the Lord brings through this door. Our desire is to show love and hospitality to all who enter our home.

Bathroom: This area of the house is where we'll take care of many of our daily physical needs. With only one bathroom in the house, I'm sure we'll learn about sacrifice and compromise real quick!

Dining Room: We picked a bright, cheery color for the walls in this room to help energize us as we start the day! Nate and I look forward to eating meals together and with family and friends in this space.

Kitchen: I've realized that Nate is pretty good at cooking breakfast, and I enjoy baking and trying new recipes. We want this kitchen to be a place of creativity as we prepare food for ourselves and others.

Laundry Room: From this picture, you can see it's also perfect for storage! No, we do not plan to keep our ladder and couch in this room, but perhaps some of our cleaning supplies and other odds & ends.

Upstairs Room: Part of the attic is finished, making a fourth bedroom. We're planning to use this space for a TV, lots of comfy pillows, and hanging out. With re-doing the rest of the house, this room has really not been touched. We'll get around to it some day, but for now - it will be our Random Room!

Up to this point, Nate and I have still only been dreaming about our future home. We're not sure what life will bring once we're married, but we're thankful for these many months we've had to work together on making this house a home. We're looking forward to discovering what the Lord has in mind for us to use this space for!

End of 2012

Now that we're 3 weeks into 2013, it's time to catch up a bit on the past month!

My sisters both traveled home for Christmas this year. It was fun to have them home and even more fun that we enjoyed a white Christmas this year!

My Grandma, Aunt, and cousins, Brian & Jason traveled up the day after Christmas. I had off work between Christmas and New Years, so it was nice to be home and spend time with family. The snow kept coming, which made for some tricky days of traveling, but we did have a blast sledding and playing in the snow - and we appreciated the extra helping hands to keep the driveway shoveled!

My extended family threw a bridal shower for me right after Christmas, and we all braved the weather to spend an afternoon together at Aunt Jan's house for food, games, gifts, and family. It was neat for my Aunt Pam and Grandma from Maryland to join my family from New York for the occasion.

Our family traveled again through the winter weather to celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family, and our typical 2.5 hour drive up took about 4 hours! After seeing several cars off the road, we were thankful for a safe trip to Grandma & Grandpa's and home again. Nate was able to have the day off work to join us for a great meal together, the annual tour of Grandpa's village, and family time.

Nate and I hit the slopes on New Year's Eve. We traveled to a ski place I hadn't been to before, and since we brought canned food, we got free lift tickets! Since it had been snowing all week, the trails were great and we enjoyed an afternoon together. We headed home in time to ring in the New Year with some friends and excited for what 2013 will bring!