Home Sweet Home

So…. The last you heard from me, I was singing and jumping up and down uncontrollably because we finally got a closing date on the house. Well, here is what has happened in our neck of the Woods since then: (pun totally intended)

We closed on our new house last Monday, just four days before we had to be out of our rental. Wow, that was crazy. Thankfully, we are VERY blessed to have such a wonderful support system. Family and friends have helped us almost every day since then and we have gotten so much accomplished in just a week and a half. Red Head and my father have pretty much demolished the whole house and are currently building it back up again, making it look amazing and brand new. It looks like a completely different house! So, now that this house officially belongs to us (and the mortgage company) we have had fun recreating all the best HGTV moments. In most of the house, there was 20 year old wallpaper attached directly to the sheet rock, with another layer of wallpaper over that, and then a coat of paint on top of that! Yes, we dug and scrapped and steamed all the way to the dry wall. Then it was time for puttying, sanding, priming, and finally painting. So far, the wonderful team has almost finished three rooms: the kitchen, den, and master bedroom. Pictures to come soon, I promise!

Thankfully, my parents have been extremely helpful in the whole moving and destructing process. There have been so many days that I just want to come home and relax but with boxes everywhere, my type-a personality just can’t relax. That’s when momma comes to the rescue! She has come over so much to help me go through boxes, organize, clean, and get the rooms presentable and usable. THANKS MOM!!! And my dad has just been an absolute beast! He and Red Head have done so much hard, back breaking work that I am going to have to repay them with yummy goodies for the rest of my life!

Last Sunday, April 25th, Red Head and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary and three year anniversary of being together. Wow. Talk about amazing. It feels like just yesterday Red Head asked me to be his girlfriend and now here we are, a year of marriage under our belts, with a new home and baby on the way. Everything seems like it was just yesterday: he just proposed yesterday, just yesterday I walked down the aisle to him, just yesterday we found out we were pregnant. I guess I’m finally at that age where time is just flying by. So fast. The weeks are just gone before they feel like they ever get really started. Our anniversary was a wonderful time to celebrate the Lord’s faithfulness to us and how He has guided us in our relationship for the past three years. I can honestly say that I love my husband more today than I did a year ago when we said I do. I love him more than I ever imagined I could love anyone. And I am daily blown away that he chose me to be his wife, partner and life companion. He could have had anyone but he chose me. I am truly blessed to be called by his name and to be under his shade tree of protection. He is an absolutely incredible man and I thank my God every time I remember him (Philippians 1:4).

We celebrated our anniversary with a trip downtown to visit The Spaghetti Warehouse, one of my all time favorite restaurants. Amazing. Even better- we had a buy one get one free entrée coupon. In my book, there is nothing more romantic than saving money. J I was able to get Red Head a ping pong table for our big day. Boy, was he excited! Believe me, you have never seen someone love the thrill of table tennis more than my Red Head. And if you are looking for some competition, you’re more than welcome to come to the ping pong dungeon of doom (aka- our garage). However, you will probably lose when you face my husband. He’s good. Really good.

As previously discussed, Red Head and I had long ago made a pact that we would have our school loan paid off by our one year anniversary. The week of, we were a little over $8,000 still in the hole. Well, on April 25th, we sent in a cashier’s check with the remaining balance to the government (and then closed on our house the next day!). That’s right, we are DEBT FREE!!!!!! Praise the Lord! This has been such a HUGE learning experience for me. It has really shown me that when we seek to honor the Lord with our finances, He blesses us in return. How do I know this for sure? Because we are living proof! We paid off over $16,000 in about ten months. We don’t make a lot of money. We didn’t live like paupers. We gave freely to others. And more was freely given back to us. The lesson learned? Like my husband keeps telling me every time a paycheck lands in the bank, “We gotta get rid of a bunch of this money.” Give freely. And I promise the Lord will take care of you and supply ALL your needs. Don’t believe me? I dare you to try it yourself. Give when you don’t have much to give. Give more than you feel comfortable with. Then sit back and watch what He does!

Speaking of finances and moving, I now have space to store all of my coupon shopping treats. I have accumulated a pretty big amount of toiletries and other things from couponing that I have either got for free or for pretty stinking cheap. Well, now my hall bathroom has a large, spacious closet so I’ve set up shop! Need toiletries? Come to my house and I will let you browse my store. J And for the record, my husband will never again need razors. I have him stocked up for life. But how awesome is that feeling when you can buy expensive razors and razor heads for 99 cents?!? I love the thrill of saving. Up next for my couponing? Dollar General. I stopped in a new one last night before meeting my family for dinner, and wow, I’m in love. It’s like I’ve just found this whole new money saving resource and I can’t wait to jump in and start saving. Hi, my name is Jessica, and I am addicted to coupons and saving money.

Tomorrow we start childbirth classes which I am sooo excited about. It is a two hour class every Thursday night for seven weeks. I also completed my birth plan (which I will post later). It is HARD to believe that our sweet baby will be here in just eleven and half more weeks. It seems like these last six months have just FLOWN by! Pretty soon, we’ll be holding our precious baby!

I hope you all have a wonderful day. Enjoy this beautiful, sun-shiny Memphis weather!