Yesterday was my birthday...my 32nd year on this earth was certainly memorable. I spent much of this year just wanting to go home. A longing so deep and so intense, I'm not sure there are words to describe it. As I sit here today in my "home" I find an unsettling in my heart, a whisper, "this isn't really home." It is probably just another level of the grief I need to work through, but it has me thinking...

This isn't my "real" home. I don't really belong here. I am not of this world. The real me, the part of me that makes me "me," is of God and it does not belong on this earth. This longing for a physical home is just a taste of what my spirit is longing for.

As I watch the pain and destruction of the tornadoes in Jan that swept through the mid-west and claimed so many lives, the fires in Colorado that are destroying homes as I type this, the hurts and pains and grief that living life carries with it...I hum this song and hold on to hope.

The Reason for the World by Matthew West

So my prayer for my 33rd year, is to allow myself to feel the longing of my soul for what is eternal, for where I really belong, and to look with peace and joy and hope for the day I get to go home...for real!

Flooring Fun!

We loved the laminate wood we had installed in the dining room in the corn crib and had plans to replace the carpet in the living room and tile in the kitchen with matching laminate in the future. So we took this opportunity to do away with carpet and installed laminate in every room but the bathrooms and laundry room. Ben even managed to install it seamlessly, so it flows from one room right into the next! We do have a hand full of rugs and plans to add a couple more as the budget allows.

The laundry/utility room and main bathroom both have ceramic tile and the master bath is being done with porcelain tiles. I am very much an amateur, but am enjoying the overall look of each room and the massive amounts of money I've saved by not hiring a professional!

These photos do not do justice to all our hard work, but you get the idea!

Next...the cabinets finally arrived!