We are Building a New House

Tony and I are planners. We like to plan well in advance of most things we do. We very seldom choose to fly by the seat of our pants. . .plus it's already hard enough to find a good pair of jeans, and wings on one's posterior would make it nigh unto impossible.

That being said, we are building a New House. In two years. We are building The New House in two years after already having planned for it ten years now. . .and already having worked REALLY hard toward it for another year. We, like most young married couples, had debt. We had SUBSTANTIAL debt since I stayed home with babies for five years. . .and during that time there were lots of dentist and doctor and car emergencies. You will not find "trip to Cancun" on our back credit card statements. We are now about two months away from COMPLETELY paying off our debt. (Imagine the Dora the Explorer mariachi band of snails playing their little "you figured it out" song here.) So now we are REALLY planning The New House.

Tony and I have been blessed with similar taste in decor--he's not girly--I'm not masculine--but we agree on what we like. For instance. . .we have an over-large (silver) pocket-watch clock on our mantle. If you know Tony you could imagine him saying, "That is not a realistic looking clock." But instead he says, "That is really neat." And I get to keep the unrealistic pocket watch clock. Plus 13 years of marriage has let me know just how much quirky/unrealistic/pink I can get away with, so I don't push it.

Summer is a time when we have more latitude to dream--we can stay up until 3:00 in the morning searching the internet for the perfect rooster weather vane to place atop our new home (we have wooded acreage in a nearby county in a rural area). We can finally get a table and matching chairs (6 chairs, no bench) to go in our kitchen and since we are no longer in debt and since The New House is only two years away, we feel we can buy the kitchen dining set now since the one we've longed for is on sale at a store near us (plus we get an extra 20% off tomorrow ONLY. . .so no chit-chatting after church). We have finally decided on a kitchen look we like (similar to Antique Mommy's only with stainless steel appliances), and we are close to deciding on paint for our interior (Sherwin Williams "Filtered Sun"--looks pretty muddy in the can, but is a lovely buttery yellow on the walls).

You see, we are planners. It's a lot of fun. It's also a little scary--the fact that The New House is getting close. Do we really deserve to have it? Should we really want it this badly? I ponder these questions in relation to what God would have me do. I don't have any answers yet. . .just prayers of thankfulness. . .and more prayers for wisdom.

Changes are pretty scary to much of the population of my present house. Victoria has already cried today (twice) over the immanent demise of the current kitchen table. She has pondered and plotted several ways to keep it AND the new one too (in 1400 sq. ft. no less). Part of it is she doesn't want anything to change ever (her exact words) and part of it is that she somehow thinks (although she didn't state it but I know because she is my emotional twin) that we will be hurting the old tables' feelings by casting it aside like a used popsicle stick (which she also wants to save for an art project). (Now you are thinking we should be spending our money on therapy for our eldest and me rather than a new home, I know.) The verdict is still out on Thad, but right now there's atleast hope or him. Maybe that's why Tony and I are planners. If we plan and think ahead enough--then the changes aren't so scary--we feel more in control.

Of course that's a whole other issue--because we really aren't in control of many things--that's why we also have several back-up plans at the ready should the need arise. I guess/am hoping it doesn't hurt to THINK you're in control as long as you KNOW you're really not.

Anyway--ponderings. . .musings. . .dreaming. . .planning. We are building a New House. We're just buiding it two years from now. I thought you'd all like to know.