God's Fingerprints . . .

I haven't posted in so long, so I thought I would log a quick update. We have officially sold and closed on our house and have moved into rental property. We had three weeks to pack up and move just before Christmas--but we loaded everything into pods and officially 'moved' last weekend. We are so amazed and thankful for the way God has shown his fingerprints throughout this entire process. Here are just a few that come to mind . . .

Selling--the fact that we sold our home in this terrible housing market is the biggest indication of God's work! Also, that our home was priced higher than many of the other homes in our subdivision and yet our buyers still chose our house. We prayed for our buyers to come and God brought them!

Timing--we received the offer on the house the day before Thanksgiving. I am SO THANKFUL that we didn't get well into the Christmas season and have to take down our Christmas tree and the sentimental decorations. That seems silly and trivial I'm sure, but taking down the tree really would have made the move even tougher for the children--and more work and emotion for me!

Friends--During the week of packing and moving we had so many wonderful friends who took our children and cared for them as their own. We had friends who offered their 'muscles' to help move heavy furniture. We had friends who brought a meal to save us from eating pizza or fast food. We had friends who simply called or emailed to make sure we were doing okay. Thank you Lord for surrounding us with such an incredible support group!

New Home--Andrea Jenkins was so thoughtful to let us know of a mutual friend with a furnished basement. It has been the perfect arrangement for us; it is completely furnished so that we were able to put everything in storage. Definitely beats moving twice--well, unpacking twice! Everyone seems to enjoy the new living arrangements. Doug and Karen have done more than necessary to make us feel comfortable and the kids have loved getting to know each other. Anna Beth has been a little 'weepy' with all of the changes, but she is adjusting. Also, our 13-year-old black lab Bailey has adjusted to a new home as well--she is used to sleeping in our basement and has now taken-up residence outdoors. She absolutely LOVES her new igloo doghouse; it has really surprised us all that she has adjusted so well. Although it really shouldn't come as a surprise--the boys prayed for her and God has answered.

Family--the timing of this move allowed us the perfect opportunity to spend the holidays with our family. Normally we rush down to Warner Robins on the afternoon of Christmas, spending two hours on the highway, enjoy some time with our parents and then head back a day or two later. This year we decided to spend the whole week with family, enjoying time in a familiar environment. We've been here 24 hours and it has been a blessing already.

Those are just a few examples of the many blessings we've been given during the past few weeks. God is so good and we are so thankful for all He has done. I encourage you to look for His fingerprints in your life as well!

Christmas Blessings!
Amanda

Now In Color!

We don't have a lot of time right now (read below!), but I couldn't resist posting pictures of the house exterior IN COLOR! It was painted earlier this week and we are thrilled with the way it turned out. It is so hard to tell how the colors will look together until it is on the house--but we are very pleased with the end result. The metal roofing still has to be painted and shutters will be added later. They also installed the columns (the stone bases will be built later) which will be painted the trim color later on. On the schedule for this week: finishing the deck and starting wood flooring and trim!





This will probably be my last post for awhile. As many of you know, we have a sale contract on our house and have two weeks to pack up and move to a rental. Thanks be to God for his work in this terrible housing market, he deserves ALL of the glory and praise! Thank you also to all of you who have prayed with us. Your calls and emails pledging your prayers and then follow-ups to see how we were doing mean more than we can even express. Several of you even offered your homes, your basements, your trucks for moving, info on homes for rent--we have been so blessed with such an incredible circle of friends! Thank you for giving of your time and yourselves--we pray that we can help you in a time of need as well.