My Cozy Cottage Kitchen {New Curtain}

When we moved into our house there was a curtain already hanging in the window.  It appeared to be handmade by the previous owners.  It was cute but very dusty and dirty.  I found an old bed skirt while unpacking and decided to make a new kitchen curtain with it.  Here are the "Before and After" pictures.

It took me about 45 minutes to get it cut, sewn and hung up.  I love it!  It really did change the entire feeling of my kitchen.  I can't even describe just how excited I still am about our new house - the kitchen is my favorite room of the house - we just so happen to spend most of our day in it too!

Before

After

Love my New Curtain

Our Country Life {More Photos By Yours Truly}

Our Country Life {Photos Taken By Yours Truly}

Fruitful Cleaning

 

Today we spent most of our day cleaning our new house. We were so blessed to have our church family meet us at the house to volunteer their time helping us clean.

Both of our Elders helped Malachi install insulation in the back half of our attic. The seller purchased more than enough - which is a blessing should we ever need more in the future.

I was so blessed to have help cleaning the house, and can't believe how much we accomplished today. There are only a few things left and Malachi's aunt will come and help us next Saturday.

I'm sharing a picture of my kitchen and living room. I spent most of the day scrubbing the kitchen while my Aria diffused Thieves and then Peppermint throughout the house.

We will be moving in on the 16th and we simply cannot wait to start the next chapter of our lives in our new home!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and Family,
Crystal <><

Our New Home {Video}

Official Homeowners!

It is official - we closed on our house today!  God is so awesome!  We did not expect to be able  to close today, but He worked it all out in our favor and we are so thankful!

We are not officially homeowners!  Moving day is March 17th and we've got a little bit of work up at the house to do before we move in.  We are so excited and can't wait to get moved into our new home!

Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for us throughout this entire process!  Through this process when things looked like they may not work out - the Lord has proved Himself mighty and ever capable of providing for His children.

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <><

Small Setback {Waiting to Close on our house}

Today has been very eventful and it is only 2pm!  Malachi came to pick me and the girls up to attend the grand opening of the new office building for the company he works for.  The office building is stunningly gorgeous!  I was very impressed.  He now has his very own office and they really made it nice for him.

However, before we left the lending agent called and the underwriter needed a bit more information about a deposit that was made earlier this month.  I had to find the canceled check and draft a letter explaining what the deposit was for.  Once Malachi walked in the door to get me and the girls I had him sign the letter, scan it and email it to our lending agent.  So far I have not heard back from her, and "no news is good news".

We enjoyed the grand opening at Malachi's work and then came home to enjoy lunch before he headed back out to work.  I then received a text message from our realtor informing me that the appraiser needs to go back out to the property and get pictures of a bedroom.

Let me explain:

The house is listed as having 4 bedrooms, however, in reality it only has 3 bedrooms.  One of the bedrooms - the room we plan to put the girls in - is separated with a wall and a pocket door.  Essentially the seller just put a divider to split up one big room into two smaller rooms. The problem is the room that has no connection to the hallway is not technically a "bedroom".  The appraiser was able to classify it as a "sitting room" for the purposes of the appraisal and now is being required to go back out to the house and get pictures of it.  The appraisal is done but apparently these pictures are important, but he will be unable to get the pictures until tomorrow.

The next thing is that the seller's wife is scheduled for back surgery on Wednesday.  We had the pleasure of meeting the seller and his wife yesterday after we did our final walk through - and she (the seller's wife) told me that they really needed to close on Tuesday (tomorrow) because of her pending surgery.  Well, it looks like they will need to get a power of attorney in order to complete the sale since they won't be present at closing, due to the surgery.  

What does this all mean?  Well, we won't be closing tomorrow for sure.  Our realtor just let me know that it looks like we'll be closing late on Wednesday or on Thursday.

So, we continue to wait patiently.  I do ask that you please keep the seller's wife in your prayers, that her surgery will go well and that she has a speedy recovery.  Please pray that none of what is going on now causes them any stress or concern and that their agent will be on the ready to go above and beyond to make this a smooth process for them.  I am sure this is the last thing they want to be worrying about during her surgery.

Again, many thanks to everyone who has been praying for us and cheering us on.  God is good and He will see this to through the end - for His glory!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <><

Final Walk Through

Front of the House

Kitchen

Other side of the kitchen

Living room from the front door

Living room facing the front door

We did our final walk through today and we should be closing on Tuesday!  Everything looked great and we can't wait to get the keys and get started making this our home!  Thanks to everyone who has continued to faithfully pray for us.  We're so thankful that the Lord has blessed us with such a perfect home for us to raise our children in! 

*I've included just a few pictures.  I will share more later*

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <><

Underwriting

We have been in the underwriting phase of buying our house since Tuesday.  We are so excited and ready to have the keys to our new house! 

I just received a called from our realtor that we may not be able to close until next Wednesday because the seller still has to replace the septic system.  It was supposed to be done earlier this week - but for whatever reason it has not been accomplished. 

I am more than willing to wait one more day. Our apartment is trying to give us some trouble by way of ridiculous fees, but we're confident it will all get worked out. Throughout this entire process the Lord has shown us great favor and I have nothing to complain about. 

Again, we are so very thankful for those who have been praying with us and for us during this month.  It is amazing to see how the Lord works things out.  We went under contract on this house on the 6th and now we will close before the month's end!  AMAZING!

God is good y'all - and Supremely Sovereign!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <><

The Appraisal Dilemma

When we first began this journey of buying a house, we were warned that there could be some bumps in the road.  So far, everything for us has been relatively straight forward and simple.  We did have the little bump that could have kept us from closing until mid-April, but the Lord showed us much favor and that is no longer an obstacle.  

We are looking to close by next Friday; however there is one more hurdle that needs to be overcome – the appraisal.  In any other case, I assume the appraisal would be fairly simple, however when moving to the country finding comparable properties that have sold within the last 6 months is VERY difficult – in fact for us it is non-existent!  

Yep, that’s right.  There are absolutely NO local properties that have sold in the last 6 months that are comparable to the property we are trying to purchase.  This makes for a very frustrated appraiser.  The seller’s agent has been working very hard to find properties in near-by towns that might be comparable, but even that is proving to be a headache.  

The good news is that the seller has agreed to make all of the repairs we request other than the dishwasher.  I am perfectly fine with that because I have two hands.  For those who are huge into “getting back to the basics” and “keeping it simple” – I can’t think of a better basic thing than hand washing my own dishes!  I highly doubt we will waste money on replacing the dishwasher.  Eventually I will have at least three dishwashers in the house – their names are Sofia, Charlotte and Eleanor. :)

The seller has also decided to completely replace the mechanical sewer system under the house.  Apparently it is old and outdated.  This will save us a lot of money in the end, and we are very grateful!

Back to the appraisal dilemma…..

The VA has 10 days to submit the appraisal and that 10 day mark is tomorrow!  He will have to figure out a way to appraise the house with or without COMPS.  This could be good and bad.  

Let me explain.

If the house appraises at less than what we’ve already agreed to pay then the seller can either lower his price to the appraisal price or we have to come up with the difference in cash.  At this point, I think it is safe to say we don’t have “cash” to make up any difference and thus we would have to walk away from the house if the seller refuses to bring his price down.

What makes this situation even more peculiar is that the seller has never occupied the house.  He purchased it years ago for one of his employees to live in while doing a job for him.  Once that job was done the employee vacated the house and the seller put it on the market.  He has yet to sell the property since 2009.  From what we understand he did have the house appraised when he purchased it, so we are waiting for him to find those documents so that the VA appraiser can get an idea of how it was conducted then. 

Obviously, the old appraisal means nothing and cannot be used to appraise the house now, but it would give the VA appraiser an idea of “how” it was conducted in regards to COMPS used.  Where they within the 5 mile radius of the house? Or were they expanded to other near-by cities?  

Here we are.  Another hurdle before us and we are continuing to trust the Lord it will all work out in our favor and for His glory.  Either way we pray His will be done and we are still thankful for those who have been praying for us through this process.  Hopefully all will just work out and we will close on the house next week sometime.  

Of course, no matter what I will keep everyone updated!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,

Crystal <><

God is Good

Today is my wonderful husband’s 36^th birthday!  I cannot even begin to put into words exactly how much I love that man.  Each day when I rise I thank the Lord for blessing me with such a tender-hearted, humble, gracious, loving and devoted husband.  Not only is he a wonderful husband, he is an amazing father to our three daughters.  He is a hard and dedicated worker, and would go to the ends of the earth to provide all that we need.  I just love him so much!

As we’ve embarked on the journey of buying a home, he as always is the calm and objective one.  When we learned that our closing day would be pushed back to mid-April, Malachi didn’t sweat it one bit.  I cannot say enough about how much this helps to guide and change my perspective on difficult situations.  Watching my husband put his full confidence and trust in the Lord is one of the greatest blessings of our marriage.  If my husband ever worries, I certainly never know about it.  

For the past two days, we’ve accepted that we will not close on our house until after April 3^rd.  This is because the Parish we are moving to has re-zoned the area and the new flood maps are not available yet.  No lender will allow anyone to close on any loans until those new maps are official, because it is what ensures them we are not in a flood zone.  While the news of this was a bit frustrating, Malachi and I were determined to keep trusting the Lord. 

Our realtor informed me that she had contacted the Core of Engineers to see if they would make an exception and give us the certificate we need to go forth with buying our house so that we could close this month.   She called me this morning to tell me that she and our lending agent have been tirelessly working to find ways around our current situation.  

Well…

Our realtor and lending agent have not gotten much sleep in the past two days because they were determined to get us into our house this month.  Today, I learned that our lending agent found a way around the problem by purchasing flood insurance on the property.  SHE purchased the flood insurance!  Now, the area we are moving to has never been in a flood zone and never will be, so the idea of purchasing flood insurance is pretty ridiculous.  However, this was the only way around the problem and it will allow us to close on the house sometime next week!  

I am completely unable to express my appreciation for our realtor and lending agent.  God has proved Himself Sovereign yet again!  Just when it seems the odds are stacked against us – He just plows right through those odds and proves that He controls everything! 

When our realtor spoke those words – that our lending agent was personally purchasing the flood insurance on our house so that we could close this month, I began to cry.  Our realtor then made a comment that she believed that the Lord wants us in this house.  Can you imagine my surprise when even the realtor recognized that this truly was a “God thing”?!  

A few moments after speaking with the realtor our lending agent called me to remind me that we have nothing to worry about.  She has been such an encouragement along the way.  Just when I start feeling anxiety she reminds me that all will be fine – well, the Lord surely has used her to confirm this!

God is good y’all!  I do not have the luxury of claiming anything contrary to that!  I am in awe and amazement at the goodness of the Lord.  Malachi and I have done absolutely nothing to deserve any good thing that comes our way.  We are incredibly humbled and grateful for all of the efforts of our realtor and lending agent, as well as the many people who have been praying with us and for us through this process.  

We should be closing on our house sometime next week!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,

Crystal <><

God Knows Why

We have been confronted with our first setback in buying our house.  The setback doesn’t in any way keep us from buying, just sets back the date of closing later than we had anticipated.  We were informed today that because the Parish we are moving to recently redid the plotting map for flood zoning, we will be unable to present the VA with the flood zone certificate (meaning we are NOT in a flood zone) until after April 3^rd.  

What does this mean?  

Well, it means that while everything else can move forward, when it comes to “closing” on the house we’re at a stand-still.  While this certainly is not a bad setback, it is an annoying one.  However, even in the midst of our annoyance we are still extremely excited and thankful for all the Lord is doing.  He knows the reason this is all unfolding this way, and we truly do trust His judgment.  

There is a silver lining – as in every story – we do not have to rush to get packed and moved.  This affords us a generous amount of time to get organized and packed.  It also gives the families who are helping us move more time to arrange their schedules.  

Our realtor did just call and inform me that she is trying to get an exception through the Core of Engineers so that we can go forward with closing on our house.  She cannot guarantee that we’ll get it, but her efforts are such a blessing to us.  

Either way, the day we get the keys to our new house and start making it a home will be a glorious day!  We thank everyone who has continued to pray for us through this process.  We are eternally grateful for all of the love and encouragement that has been poured out on our family these past several weeks.

Until next time…Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,

Crystal <><

Inspection Day

It is a cold and rainy day here in South Louisiana.  We had our home inspection this morning, promptly at 9am and everything went very well!  There are a few minor things that need to be repaired and the inspector found that the range oven and dishwasher do not work.  Our realtor is getting the report ready to send over to the seller with our request that they make the necessary repairs as well as replace the range oven and dishwasher.  So far the seller has been more than accommodating; we are praying this time will be no different.

The VA has 10 days from this past Monday to have the appraisal done on the house and then after that everything is sent over to the underwriter.  The underwriter will take one to two days to sign off on everything and then we schedule a day to walk through the house before closing.  Our realtor thinks that we might actually close on the house the week of the 20^th!  

I have been completely amazed at how smooth this process has gone for us so far.  I know that anything can still happen between today and the day we close – but for now we are counting our blessings.  Each night we continue to pray the Lord’s will be done – and every day when we wake up, He reassures us that all is well.  

We’ve got a list of home improvement projects that we cannot wait to get started on!  We will be purchasing a new chicken coop, as the one on the property isn’t as safe as we initially thought it would be.  This is great because I have enjoyed searching all of the different styles of chicken coops!  Some are just so stinking adorable I can hardly stand it!   

In my basic internet search for chicken coops I came across the loveliest blog – Homestead Revival.  Here is one of the posts about chicken coops – (aren’t they ADORABLE!)   

In the end, I think we may do something similar to what this “chicken raiser” did.

Picture Credit

All in all we are so excited and blessed by all the Lord is doing in our lives.  The vision my husband and I have for our family is being realized and we just thank the Lord for everything! 

We thank everyone who is continuing to pray for us through this process – and we can’t wait to get moved in and show you all pictures of our new home!

Soli Deo Gloria!

Serving God and My Family,

Crystal <><