Beginning of the Journey...

I'm not sure if this blog will benefit any of you out there, but I'm sure that it's therapy for me.

To begin this story, I would like to reveal a little about myself to those who are politely reading --My husband Mike and I have been married for a little more than 22 years. Most of those years have been spent in a nomadic-type lifestyle, since Mike was active duty with the United States Air Force. We have spent those days, weeks, months and years dragging our beloved possessions from one place to the other. Honestly, most of the time, other people were doing the moving for us. With the military lifestyle, we have always tried to make our house our home, but it was always a temporary resting point. Some places we bought a home, some places we rented. But there was always the thought that we either didn't have the money or time to fix up our "home" the way we really wanted it to be. That mindset has changed recently.

Mike finished his years with the Air Force this last October, and we have made the decision to stay in Virginia. It is a little different when one has been moving on every 2-4 years to come to the realization that you are not going anywhere. Now, when I say "different," that's not necessarily a bad thing. In our case, I am most definitely looking forward to being a regular "civilian" (military talk), and putting down roots.

The house Mike and I are living in now with our family has been ours since 2006. We love the location, because it is in a quiet neighborhood at the end of a cul-de-sac, with woods on one side, and a spring-fed pond in the back. Very relaxing. We have great neighbors, too!

In the last 2 years, Mike and I have begun to do things for our house that we probably wouldn't have done if we knew we were moving on. Things such as grounding and modernizing all of the electrical outlets in the house, sprucing up the 2 story barn in the backyard. Just recently, we had the chimney inspected, and found that it had some hazardous cracks in the flue. We took the time to fix that as well.

I'm not sure why it makes me feel this way, but I'm feeling more connected with those around me, because I know that it is our plan to stay here in Newport News. It gives me a sense of actually having a "homestead," instead of a "place to live." Does anyone out there know what I'm talking about? A few months from now, we will have lived longer in one place than we have anywhere else in our married life. Could it be that I actually belong here?

For the future, we plan on starting with redoing our one full bath in our 1100 square foot home. That project will start in a few short weeks. Who knows how many days we will be without a bathtub or shower? (I plan on posting pictures of the project) By the way, can we rent anyone's bathroom during those days?

Soon after that project is done, we hope to do an addition to the house, including a family room and a master suite, in addition to that,a rennovated kitchen. For right now, we plan on doing it in 2 steps. First, the family room and kitchen rennovation. The last step will be to add on the master suite.

I've heard that the beginning of a buiding project like this is the toughest part of a rennovation. All of the ground work has to be done thoroughly and correctly, or the project could be a complete wreck. During this entire planning process, God has stressed to me that it is very important for me to have the proper foundation for my life, and to continue to fortify it with making the right kind of choices, based on what God says. To finish today's post, I will leave you with this Scripture:

I Corinthians 3: 10-11 "According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."