Moved In!

The last few weeks have been a flurry of packing, moving, cleaning, prepping, coordinating, and finding new rhythms and routines to press into in a new environment. Waking up in the morning to the sun dancing along a new floor feels like a dream that someone will inevitably shake me from soon. When we first stepped into Hubbard Home, the vision for it was alive and tangible. Then the bathrooms were stripped to the studs and filled with a dirt hole, the walls became dust stored in the garage, and the floor turned to cement… and suddenly the finish line felt like an impossible future. Slowly, step-by-step, putting each piece back together built this home into what it is today… and now the past is something we have to recall from the recesses of our memory (*Do you remember the fourth shade of moldy shag carpet that used to fill this room?! Or the mauve tub and vanity? Or the acoustic ceiling? Or the nicotine-stained walls….?!)

Remembering builds gratitude for the journey and rest in the arrival. As humans, we are prone to forget. Even after freedom from the Egyptians, the Israelites looked back at their life in slavery with hopes and prayers to return. We idealize the past, fear the future, and forget the process. I forget the work of God in my life and lose sight of His faithfulness in search of the next best thing.

It is my commitment not to take this home for granted and to facilitate a home rooted in thankfulness. It is so easy to continue to focus on all that needs to get done, instead of resting in remembrance of how far we have come. In home ownership, a home is always and forever a work-in-progress. We need to carve out time to admire where it is now instead of focusing on the road ahead. For this reason, I hope that the images of orange shag, a plywood pantry, and leaky bathrooms are not forever replaced with the renovations I see now… that they remain alive in my mind so that I always remember the value of the Process.

As baby boy approaches his due date, I want to bring him into a home that overflows with deep gratitude. His room might not be completely finished, his drawers might not be organized, but that doesn’t matter. He has parents and community that love him and want the best for him. He has a roof over his head, and food to eat, and he will be the receiver of the cuddliest cuddles. These are the things that matter and where our energy will be directed in only a matter of weeks. Another crazy transition is upon us, but I think we are slowly getting ready to welcome it in… or as ready as we can be as people who have never done this before!

Floors are in! And making those windows pop!

Love this hallway vision. Fruit Lamp still goin strong.

The result of all my indecision led to more demo after the painter and drywaller and purchased shelves.
Very excited for the open shelf concept to be put in motion!

What is Ikea without soft-serve?!

The best human in the world!!! He stays up late every night working away at Ikea furniture and hardware installation and painting and moving boxes for me and providing for our growing family!