Casa Nueva

So, I posted her a while ago that we would be selling our house.  Well it sold in about two and a half weeks after about 17 showings which was insane but great.  Did I also mention Dan was out of town and it was Spring break so the kids were all home??  Anywhoo!  It sold.  That's all that matters! 

We close July 6th and we just signed the papers for our new house which we are building!  That is so exciting to me, though also very nerve-wracking!  We wanted to live in a specific neighborhood for the school, park, etc. and this lot was just the perfect spot!  The company that owns the land is run by a man who went on a mission trip to Mexico with Dan back in '05.  The trick is that we'll be out of THIS house before we're in THAT house...so we will be crashing on friend's couches for a month or so!  Woohoo!  Should be an adventurous summer.  We are so thrilled though, this house will be great for us, more space, more yard, a garage, main floor laundry, and the most exciting thing ever--master bathroom!!  The fun is just beginning because we get to pick out all sorts of things.  Right now I'm debating on siding colors.  Dan says thats funny because that's the last thing they put on.

I get overcome with thankfulness over this blessing-- and it surely is a blessing.  And we pray that God will use us and the house for his glory and that we wouldn't take it for granted or strive for more "stuff" but that we would strive to know Him more and more every day!

Oh, Elly.

The other night Dan took Eden to softball practice and I put a very tired Esias to bed around 6:30.  So Elly and I had some rare one-on-one time together.  This was something she said:

"When a cow 'moos,' what does that mean?"
I answered, "It's just a cow's way of talking."
Elly: "So, it's like their own language?"
Me: "Yeah."
Elly: "So like, it's how it talks to other cows?"
Me: "Yeah, I guess.  It's just how it talks."
Elly: "So what about a cow standing alone in a field saying 'moo?'  Oh, yeah, it's probably saying, 'Help!'"

Race.

Apparently, I posted this title with no post!  Sorry about that.

I tend to not want to talk about things that are controversial because I like to blend into the wallpaper when I know my opinion or my thoughts might not be popular.  But I am the mother of a black son.  And after Trayvon Martin was killed, I learned some things that I did not know.  As a white person, I had never thought of these things.  But now I have the privilege of raising a sweet little black boy into a fine black man.  And there are things that this mom will have to tell my black son that I would not have to tell a white son.  Like, "When you're pulled over, son, don't talk back.  Don't act angry or annoyed.  Don't reach for anything.  Keep your hands where they can be seen.  Ask to be questioned in public or with another officer there, hopefully there will be a black officer there too.  This is nothing that you have done wrong, son, it's just because you are black."  In black families, this is sometimes called "the talk."  I'm not saying that all police officers are bad or corrupt or racist.  I am just stating that things can escalate out of control and lots of assumptions are made based on race--assumptions that lead to an unnecessary night in jail at best...or a funeral at worst.  Remember when Henry Louis Gates (the PBS host and Harvard professor) had locked himself out of his fancy-schmancy Boston home?  He tried breaking in the front window, his neighbor called the police and he was arrested.  Despite the fact that that was his home.  It's these things.  These things that I will need to talk to my son about.  Probably the first time he comes home after being called a name that rips my heart open.  Or when he's getting his driver's license.  Or when he wants to take a late night jog through our mostly white suburban neighborhood.  Things I never faced, things Dan never faced.

I have not lost hope though.  The fact that families like ours can exist means there has been progress.  But for some, progress has not been enough.

Changes around here

Well, after ten years of pulling into this driveway, bringing two newborns home from the hospital and one one-year-old home from another continent (still can't believe we did that), we are finally moving out of our "starter" home.  It is with mixed emotions.  The house sold in under three weeks which is a huge blessing.  We bought this home in 2002 when I was just starting to show with Eden.  We were so blessed by this place!  We had NO money, I had no job, and we had no idea what we were going to do and had almost given up on buying because everything in our price range had rats living in it.  And then we were out driving after church one day and saw this house with a For Sale by Owner sign.  We took one look at it and knew!  We have remodeled nearly everything inside it to some degree or another.   It's not perfect but it's been a blessing for sure.   It's been a good good house for our family.  I'm going to miss our big front windows and the two giant shade trees in the front.  It makes me sad just writing that!

We are progressing with a plan to build a house in our town just down the road a ways.  We will still be able to attend the same elementary school.  The house will be bigger and have a garage and some other amenities that will be very nice to have.  The lot is across the street from a large park which is also a perk.  We've loved this neighborhood we're in and I hope the next one is half as fun! 

I'm sure there will be more nostalgic posts as the time draws near.  We close in July.