Welcome to our home!

We are excited to welcome you to Florida and to our new home, through the opportunity we have on blogspot.  Over the last few months, multiple people have asked when are they going to see the inside of our new home.  They had seen the outside on Facebook and knew we have been busy trying to make it a home.  Finally, I think the Lord has given me permission to share.  Hopefully, that means I'll do so without any pride in anything but Him and how he has provided for us over and over.  I'll take a few entries over the next little while and show you sections of the house at a time.  That way I can talk about the amazing "unexpected treasures" we've had along the way.  Starting your life over is a journey no matter where you are or what you are doing, and we're still on the journey .... for now, the journey has brought us to 5301 Somerville Drive, Viera (Or Rockledge) FL 32955.

When we discovered we were coming back to the states, we had what seemed like an impossible task before us.  Where would we go?  Where would we live until we found our own place?  What would we do?  Who would get a job and which one of us would start a business?  So many things to decide.  When we decided we were coming to Florida, we knew a place to live would be one of the first things we had to find.  We stayed with my sister and her husband for 4 months.  They were very gracious, but we wanted a place of our own.  Tim and I had made lists before returning to the states.  We made a list of the bare minimum we needed in a house.  A list of the maximum we would want in a house.  And of course, we made a list of the necessary space we needed.  After spending part of the last few years in an apartment of 550 square feet, we knew we could live in a small place, but we really wanted what God wanted for us.  We knew we had a limited amount of money as well.  To our surprise, no bank or lender was interested in offering a loan to two people without jobs.  Imagine that!  With the housing market in the tank, we found buying a house was going to be a better option for us than renting.  But, how could we afford a house?  Over the first 4 months of looking, we found this house.  It was in short sale.  At times, we felt we were taking advantage of the seller.  But, God had picked our real estate agent "for such a time as this".  She was trying to help the family that owned the house to get it into short sale.  Without her, we would have never found this house.  Without God lining things up for the other family to let this house go when they did, they would have been in foreclosure.   The agent listed the house and submitted our offer at the same time.  Only God can line things up like that.  He gave us several clear signs that it was from Him.  Just trust me, He moved in such a mighty way, we'll never doubt who the real owner of this house is!

Well ya'll come on in!

It wouldn't be my home if you weren't greeted by a quilt.  So, when you open the front door this is your first welcome.  

This piece is familiar to anyone who visited our Wakefield house in Greensboro.  I got a great deal on it years ago because it was damaged on the side.  I left it with the kids, but they were generous and gave it back to us.  On top of it, I've place my Portuguese Bible, my Russian Bible and my first Bible after I became a believer.  The rug on the floor by the front door was a gift to us from a dear friend in India to remind us of the "treasures" in that amazing country.  That was the place that God broke my heart for lost.  I wrote out a prayer to Him as I was landing in America in January of 2001 and asked Him to never let me forget it or them.  That rug is a constant reminder.  There is a great big world out there and millions of people who need to know Christ. 

The next room you enter is the dining room. (Tim's office is in the background.  I'll write about it later.) The dining room is a big room and we knew we needed a big table to fill it up.  We thought this space would be empty for a long time.  One Saturday morning, we were headed out to yard sales and we spotted an Estate sale sign.  It was the 3rd day of the sale and we really thought most of the good stuff would be gone.  We found a drop leaf table folded down to about 3 feet square full of glasses and dishes for sale.  I saw it had 3 legs so I knew it had to expand to a large size.  When I asked about it, the lady almost apologized.  She said her parents had that table from the time of their marriage and it was "old" when they got it.  Her parents had given it to her and she used it in her bonus room and eventually in her garage where her kids played games and had parties.  But, my interest was peaked.  I asked if we could open it up.  She agreed as long as we didn't have to put the FOUR leaves in it.  And, quickly I saw why she was a little apologetic.  It was a sad table - but I saw real potential.

I offered her $40 and she gladly let us take that out of the house.  We opened it up and put all four leaves in when we got back to my sister's house.  You can see it needed some work.  But, Tim saw it as an opportunity to try out his N-Hance product and he went to work on it.  As you saw in the first picture it is a beautiful table.  Here's a closer look at the top.

I chose the dark stain and we added chairs that have dark leather and a sesame wood from BIG LOTS. Can you believe it - Big Lots!  The flower arrangement was $1.99 at Goodwill (before my 10% Senior discount).  I picked up a sunflower bush at Michael's that was reduced to $1.99 and used those flowers to fill it in a little.  Add the wooden placemats and sunflower napkin rings my sister gave me and I think it's beautiful!  And, it brings a little of my Ukraine to Florida!

The candle holders - oh, I love them.  I bought them about 10 years ago at T.J. Maxx for $7.99 each.  I know that because I never took the price tags off until I prepared to pack them to bring back to the states from Ukraine.  I learned you have to have a few things you love that you hold onto.  They don't have to be expensive things.  But, moving around, I found if there were a few familiar things I loved that went with me, those things helped make any new place feel like home very quickly.

On the wall between the dining room and the kitchen, I have this beautiful picture.  It looks so much like tile you have to touch it to know it isn't.  It was $9.99 at Goodwill (before the Senior discount).  

I found the plate racks at Goodwill and had them a while before I knew what I would do with them.  They were about $2.50 a piece (I think).  I stuck them in a closet and waited to see how "unexpected" a "treasure" they would become.  One day a coworker of mine brought me a box of plates from our Swap Shop at work.  In it were a few, only a few, of these red plates and I immediately thought of the plate racks and my dining room.  For now, they are doing a great job on the wall - and since the plates were free, it was all for less than $15.00.  Oh, how I love an unexpected treasure like this!

We have been blown away, time and time again, by the provision of God.  Please don't take any of my comments to be about the possessions.  I love the things God has provided for us.  And, I will take good care of them until I have to pass them on or find someone who need them more than us.

I realize that I am a person who loves the "process".  I'm a "journey" person.  You may be someone who likes the task to be finished.  You may be the "whole picture" or "no picture" person.  God made us all different.  And, He made me the way I am because of the life He planned for me.  

I'm loving this journey!

It hasn't always been easy.  And, I've parted with some things that I did treasure, maybe too much.  I'll share about some of those things later.

But, right now.  I'm enjoying this part of the journey.  I love this house and I pray everyone who comes to visit feels welcome and loved. 

I pray I'll get to open my Bible with countless number of people at that big table.

I hope to share many meals with people around that table.

I'll enjoy all the decorations - big and small - and I'll try to remember, I'm just here to enjoy them and take care of them for a while.

And I'll treat everything I have as a treasure - regardless of the price it might have cost - because everything we have is a gift from God.