a houseful

Sarah and Mike with their kids, Mary-Celeste, and Matt's siblings Zak and Rose just came to visit this past weekend. We all had so much fun, and the house felt used and full and alive, which was so wonderful. Now that everyone is gone, the house is probably a bit cleaner, but it feels bigger and less friendly. Anyone else want to come and visit? :)

I've been a little suprised at how difficult the move has been for me. I know, though, that with all the moves to come in the military, I need to work on making new places feel like home as soon as possible. I know that I will miss this place tremendously in 5 years, and I'm eager to start building so that in the end, I won't regret wasted time.

So, when I meet new people and greet them with judgment and suspicion, I think of the weird and wonderful people that eventually became my best friends in other places--despite my initial suspicions that they wished me evil. Without exception, every new person I meet becomes more and more dear to me as I get to know and serve them.

I also walk through the house in disbelief and feel like everything is out of place and foreign. I miss my old window seat and the big kitchen window and the azaleas and dogwoods. But then I see the my old goofy pictures hanging on freshly painted walls, and my old battered desk in a new cozy corner, and I start to feel the beginnings of love for the new space. And when I go on vacation, I'll come back and enjoy the familiarity that snuck up on me while I was away.

The unfamiliar streets will begin to seem second nature; the new and intimidating gym will gradually fill with friends and inviting routines; the playgroup full of other people's kids will gradually begin to fill with faces like those of Grace, and Barrick, and Miriam, and all the other kids that I learned to love nearly as much as my own.

It hasn't happened yet. But I have to believe that it will.

Pictures of the new kitchen

So, I couldn't find the old pictures of the kitchen before we spruced it, but people keep asking for pictures of the updates, so here they are. We kept the cabinets, but replaced the countertops, sink, and faucets, and added a tile backsplash and cabinet hardware. My only complaint is that it is so gorgeous that I can't believe that I actually live here. :)

Matt actually built the corner cabinet because we couldn't find one pre-made to match the other cabinets. It pays to have a handy man around--the corner cabinet really pulls that distant lonely end of the counter back into the kitchen.

Needless to say, the kitchen is much less fun without friends to cook for and hang out with. Are you all absolutely sure you don't want to move to Las Vegas??