Praying for a House

The Anderson's are house hunting.  Sort of.  I mean, we're looking.  But not with a lot of hope of actually finding something.  Because we've been house hunting for nearly two years.  Two. years.  And even if we DO find something, my optimism is waning that we'll actually be able to buy it.  Because we've put in offers on four houses in the last two years, obviously coming up short each time :(

We moved into our current house a little over three years ago when I was pregnant with Carter.  We knew it wasn't our forever home (since it was a rental), but it's what we could afford and it was better than sharing walls with our increasingly noisy neighbors in an apartment building.  And it's a good house.  Ugly.  But good.

But as good as it is and as many great memories as we've had here, our house is just becoming too small for our family.  I mean, for the size it is, the space is laid out well.  The kitchen is a good size, the dining room is big & open to the living room and I love that there's an attached double stall garage (a rarity in our neighborhood).  But our 2 bedroom, 1100 sq foot house is just, well, it's just small.  The boys are sharing a room and Bennett is sleeping in our room.  Not a horrible arrangement, but not ideal either.  And someday Chris and I will decide we'd like our room back and move Bennett out.  The reason we haven't yet is that the logistics of having three boys in one room is kind of overwhelming to me.

And not only is our house small,  but the yard is small too.  Our house is on a corner lot and all we have is a small patch of yard on the front and side of our house.  We've spent hours playing in that patch of yard over the last three years, but my heart just aches for a big, fenced in yard where my boys can run!  Oh, how they need to run.  And let's be honest, I would love a yard where I can send them out to play in the frigid cold and I can watch them from the warmth of my kitchen :)

We would love a house with at least 4 bedrooms and 2 baths and a double attached garage.  We would love a big kitchen and dining room to host friends & family and a separate family room so I can get all the kids crap toys out of our only common living space.  We would love to be in a better neighborhood where we don't suspect anyone of selling illegal substances across the street and preferably not on a corner lot.  We would love a ranch style home with a big back yard.  And we would love to find a house that meets all of our needs and fits within our single income family budget.

We already have so much to be thankful for - an amazing marriage, three healthy kiddos, a roof over our heads, and food in the fridge - that I feel even a bit selfish wanting a new house.  We truly are rich and we have more than we need.  But I know that God cares about the big things and the small things in our life.  So we're praying. We're praying that God provides a house for us.

And every time I bring this need to God I feel like He's telling me to go outside of myself for this.  To ask for prayer and for help.  And so, would you pray with us?  Would you pray that God would provide just the right house in just the right neighborhood for just the right price?  And I know God's timing is perfect, but I'm really praying for a house soon!

a quick prayer answered quickly

Have you ever said a quick prayer, but not really expected it to be answered?  You pray because that's what you do.  Or perhaps because you don't know what else to do?  That happened last night.

Let me back up.

Our two big kids go to bed every night around 8pm.  Bennett goes to bed around .... well, whenever we can get him to sleep.  He's always been a night owl.  Always.  I can count on one hand the number of times he's gone to bed for the night before 9pm.  And most of the time that's ok.  Because he's such a laid back baby and because a certain toddler of mine requires a LOT of my attention, I don't get to spend as much time with Benny as I would like.  So after 8pm is our time.  He get to play on the bed with Daddy.  Have extra snuggles with Mommy.  I think he's figured this out, and that's why he stays up so late.  And most of the time I don't mind.

But sometimes I'm just tired.  Weary.  And Chris and I have almost no time for just the two of us.  No time to have a conversation without being interrupted or without having a fussy, overtired baby in our arms.  And when Bennett finally falls asleep around 10:30pm, we're usually right behind him going to bed.

So last night I come home from work around 10pm (late night for me!) and Bennett is just waking up from a nap.  Lovely.  I try to nurse him back to sleep.  No go.  He seems content so I lay him down in his bed hoping he'll fall back asleep on his own (that does happen sometimes) and go downstairs.  Of course, because I'm desperate to see my husband and have an actual conversation with him, Bennett starts fussing.  Then crying.  (sigh)  It's going to be another long night.  (the night before he was awake until 11:30pm)

After a few minutes of crying, I finally muster the energy to trudge back upstairs and start the fight to get him to sleep.  Just as I'm heading up the stairs, I say to Chris "say a prayer that he'll go to sleep", but I didn't really expect anything from it.  But he prays.  He offers a up a quick "Jesus, help Benny to sleep" and off I go.  I make it up the last 8 steps and just as I'm about to open our bedroom door it's quiet.

I pause.  Still quiet.  Did he really just fall asleep?  Just now??

I wait some more.  Sweet silence coming from the room.  After another minute of listening, I tip toe back down the stairs, kind of stunned.  I can't believe he actually fell asleep.

I do believe that is one of the quickest answers to prayer I've ever received.  Thank you Jesus!  And it seems so trivial, but Chris and I were able to sit on the couch, snuggled together, talking about our day, just the two of us.  And Lord knows we needed that!

Humbled. Blessed. Grateful.

We're a pretty scheduled bunch around here.  Chris and I are both firstborns.  Brooks is obviously a first born.  And Carter?  Well, Carter is just trying to survive among us.  One such regularly scheduled event is grocery shopping.  Every Monday morning we head to Hy-Vee to do our weekly grocery shopping.  Every Monday.  Like clockwork.  In fact, this is so ingrained into my four year old that one day he randomly said, "You know what would be funny??  If we went to Hy-Vee on a Tuesday!"

Yes, my son, that would be funny.

Well, such a funny thing happened this week.  With yesterday's high temp a balmy -15 with wind chills close to -50 (that's 50 degrees BELOW zero), we clearly didn't make it to the grocery store.  We didn't even leave our house.  So tonight, as our fridge was running a bit bare, we all headed to the grocery store as a family.  I know I could have gone by myself (and boy that would have been nice), but with being 39+ weeks pregnant, I gladly accepted my husband's help in loading and unloading groceries.

Knowing that baby could arrive literally any day now, I planned my menu to include meals I could double and freeze.  Plus stock up on other essentials in case I don't make it to the store next week Monday (I'm really hoping I won't make it to the store next week).  Well, with all that extra food needed for the extra meals, our grocery budget for this week was going to go over.  Waaaaay over.  I cut things out, rearranged meals and tried to make it work, but there was no way around spending the extra money.  But, I figured, after baby came we would be eating off these reserves and wouldn't be spending as much in the weeks to come.  "It will all work out" I told myself.

So we shopped.  The boys did great (despite our radical change in routine) and we headed to the check-out.  And then it happened.  That moment when God whispers (or perhaps shouts) to you that He cares.

Chris is unloading all the groceries, I'm trying to get the boys bundled back up in hats and mittens before heading outside and this lady - a complete stranger - walks up to me and asks, "Can I do something for you?"

Um, sure.

She then proceeds to open an envelope and pull out a card from inside.  She explains to me that her employer gave her an opportunity to bless someone and to "pay it forward".  She'd had this card since Christmas, but forgot about it in her purse until tonight.  Then she hands me a $50 prepaid Visa gift card and said she wanted to help pay for our groceries.

I seriously had no idea what to say to her. I was so humbled.  Blessed.  Grateful.  So in as many words as I could muster I told her "thank you" and hugged her.  (I rarely hug my friends, let alone strangers, but I didn't know how else to respond.)  I don't think she really knew the enormity of that random act of kindness.  There's no way she could have known our situation - how "over budget" our shopping trip was.

But the amazing thing is that God did!  He knew.  He knew we would be at the store on Tuesday evening instead of Monday morning.  He knew that she would "forget" about that gift card until tonight.  And He knew not only how much we needed the grocery money, but also how much I needed that reminder that He will always know our needs and provide for every single one of them.

My ugly kitchen

My family and I live in a 100ish year old house that we're renting.  It's big and for the most part offers the space that we need.  But because it's old and because it's a rental and because I always dream of someday owning our own home, I grumble.

I grumble about living on a corner lot where we don't really have a yard.  And what we do have is all weeds.  I grumble about the hardwood floors.  Because although I'm sure they were very nice at one point in their lifetime, they are now scratched, and dented and pretty darn ugly.  And I grumble because all the windows in our homes, even the ones that don't even open, are rotting and very very drafty.

And then there's my kitchen.  Oh, the kitchen.  The room of the house with mustard yellow counter tops, pressed board cabinets with unidentifiable (and non-removable) gunk on the outside and a 1960's style linoleum floor that's curling at the edges and has cigarette burns throughout.  Yes, cigarette burns.  Oh, and don't forget the blue plaid wall paper mixed with some awful country style border at the top.  It is quite possibly the ugliest kitchen I have ever seen.  I try to be thankful, but seriously, you should see it.  Ugly ugly ugly.

Grumble grumble grumble.

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Yesterday our 9 year old neighbor girl, Z, came over for an hour after school before her dad arrived home from work.  And while she was here a friend of hers stopped by and invited herself in (don't ask).  Anyway, I've never met this girl, obviously a classmate, but as she approached Z, she asked

"Are these your neighbors?  Wow.  They have a really nice house!"

(big sigh)

There are too many times that I find myself so caught up in my own grumblings and the "I wish I had's" that I forget how totally and truly blessed we are.  For as many times as I look at other people's houses and think "wow, they have a really nice house", someone can say that about MY house.

We are blessed.  And our home really is nice.  We have four walls that we don't have to share with our neighbors.  We have two bathrooms. (something I've NEVER had before in my life)  We have mostly matching furniture and a beautiful kitchen table that we all fit around during meal times.  We have curtains in our windows, which appears to be a luxury in our neighborhood.  We have beds to sleep on, toys on the shelves (probably too many) and a whole closet full of clothes.  Clean clothes, I might add, because we also have a washer and dryer in our house.

And my kitchen?  In my kitchen we have real plates that match, and a drawer full of silverware and wonderful stainless steel cookware with which I can prepare healthy meals for my family.  But most of all we have a fridge and a pantry and cabinets full of food.  And not just any food.  Good food.  Real food.  Lots of fruits and veggies and whole grains food.

So thank you Jesus for my ugly kitchen.  And forgive me for wanting what isn't mine.  We are blessed.  And we are rich.  We have more than we need.  

The Little Things

You know, I shouldn't really be surprised that God cares so much about the little things, but yet when He shows himself faithful and answers my (sometimes whiney) prayers, I'm still amazed.  A big concern for our family (as I'm sure it is with many families) is money.  We live on one income in a tough economy with rising taxes.  Our budget is juuuuust a little bit tight.  And I often find myself worrying about money.  Will there be enough?  How can we make more?  You know, all the usual "I'm depending on myself instead of God" stuff.  But three events have occurred over just the past few days to confirm that my worries are, of course, in vain and that God still sees me.

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1.  I need new clothes.  Now,  don't use the word "need" all to often (since most things are wants) but I really do NEED new clothes.  With our limited budget, money gets spent on other things, like ... you know ... groceries, instead of new clothing for me.  So my wardrobe has dwindled to only a few shirts that actually fit and have no visible stains on them.  So that's what I asked for for Christmas.  And Chris came through.  In fact, tomorrow we're going on a clothes shopping date.

But that isn't the God part.  Ok, well, maybe my husband offering to take me clothes shopping is kind of a miracle, but it gets better.  I wanted to shop at this particular consignment shop in town that has nice clothes for a good price.  (remember?  budget?)  And then, while checking my e-mail the other day I see that our local Groupon is offering a 50% deal to that exact store!  Seriously?  I know it may not seem like much, but every little bit helps with saving money.  So I bought one, of course, and I'm excited to go shopping tomorrow.

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2.  Chris was wanting a coffee warmer for work.  This definitely was a want.  But he sips his first few cups of coffee in the morning, and then chugs the rest of his lukewarm coffee before it gets cold.  He really just wanted something to keep it warm longer.  So we checked online and found that Bed, Bath and Beyond had one for $10.  "Go buy it" I told him.  It's not that much, we actually have a gift card to use there and I know he would really use it at work.

So he stopped in on his lunch break yesterday and told the store clerk what he was looking for.  She says "Well, we do have that one.  But we also have these other coffee warmers over here that are on Christmas clearance for 50% off".  And they were only $5 to begin with!  He went in planning to spend $10 and ending up buying just what he needed for $2.50!

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3.  Last night I had a "Mom's night out" with my friend Katie, something we do from time to time.  We usually head on over to Grille 26, grab a cup of coffee and dessert and enjoy some sweet "kid free" time.  Their desserts are a little pricey, but the $10 is totally worth it for the yummy cheesecake and good conversation.  However, last night we noticed that they have a "Happy Hour" special ... coffee and dessert for $5 after 9pm.  (We've been to this restaurant several times and have never noticed this!)  But it was only 8:30pm.  Hmmmm.  We asked our waitress if she would mind if we waited half an hour to order and she was more than happy to oblige!  So we had our dessert for half price.  Sweet!

Now, it might not seem like saving $5 is a big deal and in all reality, it's not.  But it's not the amount that matters.  Saving 50% off clothes or 75% off a coffee warmer is really God's way of reminding me that he truly does care.  We don't need to worry about money because He has it all under control.  (sigh)  So I'm learning to trust Him.  $5 at a time.