Tuesday, July 31, 2007

before and after

now that we're living in the house, it seems a good time to show some before and after shots, especially for those who are far away. i just recently finished a memory book of pictures detailing the entire process, so here's just a taste.

the kitchen before...and after




the downstairs bathroom before...and after

as you can see, God has certainly blessed dad and justin with amazing talent and skill.

Friday, July 27, 2007

can't believe i'm doing this

well, it seems to me that a great way to keep up with friends is through a blog...and since our family is going through some major changes these many months, it seemed like a good time to start one. justin and i are in our first house and have jumped head first into all that entails. he and dad have worked vigilantly to fix everything in the house and what a blessing they've been. i cannot say enough how blessed i am to have such a determined, hard-working, and diligent husband. not to mention, a father-in-law who would spend countless days here, long past dark, helping his son and daughter-in-law to get into their new house. we have the longed for CO (certificate of occupancy) in hand now and have enjoyed 2 weeks here in our new house. what a blessing!

as if that was not enough, we are also expecting our first baby! baby baloche or "little one" as i have been calling him/her is due at Christmas...on Christmas! we'll see if we have another holiday birthday in the family. this baby business is not what i expected. i cannot seem to wrap my arms around the reality of a little person being made and growing inside of me. the Lord's handiwork is more than evident and i am in awe of His working within me...yet i cannot grasp it...some moments it's more real than others...like the first ultrasound when we saw that little heart pumping at 7 weeks old! or the second ultrasound when "little one" rolled around frantically, turned, and waved at us with both hands as if to say, "here i am mom and dad! can you see me?!" maybe when i'm feeling like this is all just too surreal, i'm just to focus on God's work in all of this and remind myself of those little moments. for so long i have clung to psalm 139 and how many times i have read "He knit you together in your mother's womb"...and now i'm watching and standing by as my belly grows and He creates another one is His image. praise God!