New Beginnings

We are officially in our home and I am so happy!  I feel like all the the sacrifices and hard work has finally paid off.  Our Open House day was on May 5th, so a week from tomorrow it will have been a month since we moved in.  It has been so wonderful to feel the joy of being in our own home that I can now fully appreciate all of the hard work we have put into it.

Speaking of hard work, take a look at how many hours Rhett and I have put into the program that assisted us to help build our home.  If you can't read the small print, it says 1822 hours!  And I'm telling you I feel the sacrifice of every one of those hours.  Blood, sweat, and tears literally went into this home, so to see the reward at the end is an amazing feeling.  It took us 9 FULL months.  Exactly 40 weeks of building.  We averaged 45.55 hours of building per week.  Gave up EVERY weekend and most week nights to achieve this dream.  Including such precious family time.  That was the hardest part.  Well that and the fact that....

I was pregnant 35 out of the 40 weeks that we were building!  That's right, I got pregnant with our third child 5 weeks in to this enormous commitment.  I definitely wasn't able to "take it easy" with this pregnancy, but am so fortunate to have had such healthy pregnancies that all of the physical and emotional stress of this project didn't present complications.

First trimester framing, second trimester throwing shingles for roofing and rocking exteriors, third trimester trim, caulking, flooring, landscaping.  Those were the BIG jobs.  With ten thousand little and medium jobs in between.   But the knowledge I gained through this process is invaluable.  The confidence I have in myself and my abilities are so much more.  

As I sit back and look at every detail of my home and know that my husband and I along with the help of some great neighbors did this, I beam with pride.  Although, I can't do much sitting back and relaxing quite yet.

 I am 38 weeks, 2 days pregnant.

With a lot of unpacking and preparing for a newborn to do, my nesting instinct has kicked into full gear!  You see, I had my baby shower that my sweet sister Rebecca threw for me last week.  I got my crib, car seat, and bassinet just last week as well as digging out what I had left of newborn clothes from Keegan from one of my many storage bins.  So there has been a lot of washing, organizing, and putting away baby things.  All while trying to unpack and organizing the rest of the house.  I swear I'm not complaining!  My sweet Kalista has been so helpful too.  The patience my good kids have had with me I am so grateful for, and I can't wait to welcome my sweet baby boy in just a short time.