A Tale of Two Kitchens

It's been the craziest of times around here.

Clean. Pack. Throw away the why-did-I-keep-that?

Up the stairs. Down the stairs. Sit and Breathe.

Close on the house. Goodbye Apartment. Hello New House.

Move this. Move that. Clean that. Hang that.

Pull down ugly wallpaper. Steam the wall. Do it again. And again. Prime the wall. Paint the wall. Do it again. Repeat in the next room.

Pull up carpet. Discover hardwood. Joy! Pull up staples. Many, many staples. Refinish. Sigh...refinish again.

Go to IKEA. Pick Curtains -- Ritva or Lenda? Buy Curtains. Hang Curtains.

Put dishes away. Put pantry away. Hate them there. Move it all again.

Have help. So much help. All moved in. Happy sigh. Feel so blessed. So very blessed.

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Yes, we have moved. Our little one bedroom apartment, home for four years, has been replaced by a twin with hardwood floors and federal molding.

It's been an exhausting but sentimental experience. That little apartment was where I first learned to be Brad's wife, learned how to glorify God as I did the dishes and made supper. Learned what things brought specific joy to Brad's heart and in what ways I was tearing him down. So much learning in our first place.

And now with a new baby coming, comes a new house. Saying goodbye to an era of just Brad and I with less responsibility and now taking on the challenges of raising a family and taking care of a home. Our home. One we own.



One of the biggest changes has been the kitchen. This was our previous kitchen.

This is my new kitchen. 

While I still have no idea what I want to do improve the decor of this room (wallpaper is already gone, but I have no idea what to paint it!), the functional differences between my old kitchen and new one have blown me away.

At my old apartment I had only one usable outlet and it was nowhere near the counters (of which I only had two feet!) Fail, designers...big fail. I used to have to make all my breads, cookies and cakes on a stool near the outlet. My big six-quart KitchenAid on a stool....very humorous!

Now, I have seven outlets in my new kitchen. Count them, seven! Who has seven outlets near their kitchen countertops?? There is seriously one every two or three feet. Such a blessing.

And a dishwasher. It is so nice to be able to spend 10 minutes cleaning up after dinner instead of an hour.

And a garbage disposal. Love sending those slimy peelings and stinky eggshells down the "InSinkerator".

We feel so blessed. We have experienced care in so many ways. From guys helping to move all our furniture, to a friend and his son pulling up our carpet to a simple bouquet of flowers from another friend to brighten my disheveled house.

And in waiting. God has shown his care for Brad and I specifically by making us wait for this place.... and this baby....and Brad's job at the warehouse and his new job as Children's Pastor at our church. We asked for these things for such a long time. And God said to wait. And we waited, not so patiently at times, not seeing the big picture, longing and asking. And then, when it was the right time, God said "Now!" and it all happened. I am so thankful for the waiting. It helps me to see other's needs. It helps me to see God's wisdom is so much better than my own. It helps me to trust Him for those future things I won't understand.

I wrote the following about a year ago, in the midst of waiting for God to give us a baby.

"Expectations. I have so many. Things I want God to give me. Things I want God to do for me.

God does want me to expect things of Him, but generally not the things I gravitate toward. I expect that God will do this, but God wants me to expect that He will care for me. I expect God will do that, but God wants me to expect that He is sovereign over my situation. God wants me to expect that the things He has for me are more than anything I could ever dream. God wants me to expect to trust Him. 

My future is bright. Not because all of my expectations will come true. But because I can trust my God. The provision that I dream about, the things I long for, may or may not actually happen, but I DO know that God will provide for me, lead me, care for me and change me in ways that I could never think up. I can expect that from Him."

And He has...in those times of longing, God did provide. He did lead and care and change me. And I'm so thankful. Not just for the physical blessings, they could all be gone in a moment, but for the assurance that whatever my God brings my way is for my good and His glory, that He will care for me and make me more like His Son in the process.