Friday, May 22, 2015

Time to Move

Why NOT sell your house and move to Bloomington for a house with a pool?

  • We love living in Minneapolis! 
    • So close to beautiful Lake Nokomis, biking, Minnehaha Falls and Parkway, diverse people and food options, light rail and public transportation, museums, concerts, plays, Fort Snelling, Downtown, three parks for our kids within walking distance, library, bank, post office all in our neighborhood, quick drive to the airport to pick up friends, doesn't take long to drive anywhere outside the city.
  • We love our house. We've made a lot of changes here like updating kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms, building a sweet pergola and patio, finishing the basement etc...  Even when we first moved in I often told Bert I wanted to live here forever because it's such a special house.
  • The kids are young, (four and one) and we are BUSY.
  • I've been battling the emotional roller coaster of depression these past few years. I transitioned off of medicine, thinking I was better, but have still had many days of heaviness and difficulty.  I was feeling exhausted with daily life and wasn't sure this was a good time for a major life change.


Why sell your house and move to Bloomington for a house with a pool?

  • We've always talked about the dream of having a pool one day.  We often talk about our dreams for the future on date nights, and it almost always comes up.  Oh the allure of the after-dinner swim on those hot July nights!
  • The kids are young.  They aren't rooted in schools here yet.  And it's possible we will be sending them to school in Bloomington because they have such great schools there.
  • The kids are young.  They could get major, major hours of fun swimming in the pool at these young and rambunctious ages.  Let's make as many memories as we can before time flies away.
  • The kids are young.  In the new neighborhood they will be able to ride their bikes on the street and play around nearby Nine Mile Creek in the prime of their childhood.
  • We love new projects, and the new house is FULL of potential cosmetic changes.  Nothing has been updated inside the house (avocado green kitchen sink, six rooms of outdated wallpaper), but the backyard is pristine and perfect.
  • The exterior and backyard are awesome.  Huge pool. Hot tub, Eating area outside which is only steps away from the kitchen counter. Basketball half-court. New retaining walls with perennials. Front porch to sit and watch sunsets from. Nice roof and siding and windows etc.
  • All bedrooms are on the same level with two bathrooms.
  • Great for hospitality and entertaining.  We can't wait to have our discipleship group and all our friends and family over to swim!
  • It would be awesome to have the house where our kids and their friends want to gather, because then we can know their friends and know they are hanging out in a good environment.
  • There is a beautiful and secluded nature trail that starts down the street and winds around a calm pond area.  There is another trail that goes to Nine Mile Creek and a fantastic elementary school.
  • Well-established neighborhood that doesn't have through traffic, so the streets are calm and safe and all the neighbors know each other.
  • We agreed on our core values when we got married, and while we might need to update those since becoming parents, two of our core values are being ADVENTUROUS and HOSPITALITY. 
So.  All this to say.  We're doing it.  Putting our beloved Minneapolis house on the market and moving to Bloomington.  We haven't been planning this all along, but just have felt stirred lately to look at the possibility of moving.  We didn't even plan on looking that far south, but just looked at this house on a whim.  Then we walked out and said, "now what?" because we realized that was the dream house and we needed to decide what we were doing.  After much talking through the above points, we decided to make an offer and it was accepted.

I've been amazed to see how God has used this life change in a healing way for my mind and heart.  Since making the offer on the house, I have experienced such a healing distraction and peace on my mind.  You'd think I'd be more overwhelmed with the tasks before me, but I've felt much more myself and up for tackling the work ahead.  I'm so excited about the future instead of dreading the upcoming days.  What amazing grace.  God has been answering our prayers for my healing and helping me each day to lift my heart out from under the dark cloud.

I am overwhelmed by the unspeakable grace that this move is to our future life as a family.  We have a lot to learn about pool care, but we are up for it.  Hope you can come over and swim!

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

2014 in Books and Misc Details

For the first time in my life, I tracked my reading all year long.  2014 was the year of throwing out my rule about reading nonfiction in between every fiction book.  Life is too short.  And winters are too long.  I'm still reading some non-fiction, but not MAKING myself do it as frequently.  I read mostly for enjoyment in 2014 and branched out with some new genres.  It was really fun!  I also let myself endeavor in multiple books at one time. Watch out world!  My love for reading is totally revived.

Most impactful:
*Bread and Wine, by Shauna Niequist - Inspired me to try making risotto and ultimately enjoy cooking for my people so much more!
*Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell - Even though it was mostly just a fun read (SO FUN), it changed how I think about what it must feel like to grow up without supportive parents.  Like how she has to wash her jeans in the bathtub and exists without privacy.  Eye opening about real-life poverty.
*The Nesting Place, by Myquillyn Smith - Inspired me to create beauty in my home and be safe to make mistakes.  It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful!

Most enjoyable:
*Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier - Spooky!  Loved it!
*The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion - Out of the box for me.  I love the bar-tending scene so much!  Hilarious.
*Parnassus on Wheels, by Christopher Morley - Short and oh so sweet.

ALL BOOKS READ in 2014:
Empire of Bones: Ashtown Burials #3 by N.D. Wilson
Divergent, by Veronica Roth
The Secret Keeper, by Kate Morton
*Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier
*Bread and Wine, by Shauna Niequist
*The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
Don't Make Me Count to Three, by Ginger Plowman
*Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, by Donald Miller
Lifter of My Head, by Susan McRoberts
Maisie Dobbs, by Jaqueline Winspear
Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs #2), by Jaqueline Winspear
*Parnassus on Wheels, by Christopher Morley
Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card
Till We Have Faces, by C.S. Lewis
Europe Through the Back Door, by Rick Steves
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling
The Paper Magician, by Charlie N. Homberg
The Giver, by Lois Lowry
*The Nesting Place, by Myquillyn Smith

Unfinished:
Notes from a Blue Bike, by Tsh Oxenrider
The Homemade Life, by Molly Wizenberg
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, by J.K. Rowling
Made for More, by Hannah Anderson


FAVORITE BLOGS of 2014:
Rachel Schultz - Not only did she teach me how to make killer pad thai, I love how she talks about faith.
Modern Mrs Darcy - She inspires my reading life and I love her stuff on personality
Nesting Place - I was reading her blog for a year before I read her book.  Let go of perfection!

FAVORITE Netflix SHOWS of 2014:
Foyle's War
Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Longmire

FAVORITE MEALS of 2014:
Pad Thai
Risotto
Slow Cooker Chicken Tostadas