We sold our home but weren’t sure where we should move to. We decided on building a new home for our family. This is how we survived Christmas while we wait for our new home to be finished building. Check out our first episode here!
We have been living in my in-laws’ basement suite for 6 months now! It was somewhat easy to be patient throughout this experience. But now with Christmas coming, I am feeling the pressure to move into our new home and create the perfect Christmas experience. You know, right??? To be in our new home, all setup and pretty in time for Christmas? But being Christmas is only a few weeks away, it’s looking like we may not move in on time.
We are nearing the end of building our home
As our new home is nearing completion, this is always my favorite part of building our new homes. Watching all of our colors and ideas finally come together is so exciting. The process of building a new home can be daunting with so many decisions to make. So it’s always exciting to finally see the design vision come together.
Learning Patience
This home has taken the longest it’s ever taken us to build a new home, and it’s been very hard for me to stay patient in the process. This busy housing market is causing new construction to take longer due to busy trades and new building codes. We have also had a few other adventures that delayed the project slightly.
We have been praying about the timing of it all so we must trust the process. The flooring install ended up getting delayed over the installers not being available on time. Then the following week they found out the wrong color flooring had been shipped! This week we are supposed to get a snow storm right when my flooring needs to get delivered from out of town! Really?!?! I have already bumped up my cabinets and countertop install twice!!! Will my trades forgive me if I bump them again?
It can’t get any closer to Christmas now without the Christmas break causing an even further delay on everything else to be installed on time. Ok, I get it! God is teaching me to be patient, to let go, and to trust His great amazing timing. And not to hold onto too tightly to the things that don’t really matter at the end of the day.
Adventures in building
Working and living with family can have its ups and downs. We have had a few power struggles with each other lately. One issue has been over getting the house completed by Christmas. I really like to jump ahead and just get the job done. Ryan is more steady taking his time to get the job done properly. Ryan and his dad have been building for a long time and know the process to finishing well. One argument we just had was over me forgetting to bring rags they needed to work… oops! Ryan and Dad have been feeling the pressure from me trying so hard to get my new kitchen installed so we would not be delayed over Christmas.
The building process sure can get interesting, but we all learn a lot of grace in the process… cause you gotta love each other at the end of the day;)). To add to the drama, We just had a couple of break-ins at our new home. Our lovely front door glass got smashed the week it was installed! Thankfully we didn’t have too much in the house for them to steal as we were only at drywall stage. They took some drywall mud:0. And we have a few windows to replace. Needless to say, we have security in our new house now. It’s hard not to get discouraged as you definitely feel invaded when you get broken into. The first break-in resulted in a warped basement door. The blinds inside the glass of the door were having trouble going up and down, and then after the second break in they worked again! I prayed God would fix it and He did! It’s the little things, right?
It’s hard not to get discouraged as you definitely feel invaded when you get broken into. The first break-in resulted in a warped basement door. The blinds inside the glass of the door were having trouble going up and down, and then after the second break in they worked again! I prayed God would fix it and He did! It’s the little things, right?
Building tip
You are a couple months away from finishing! Start planning your landscaping, moving and mortgage details so everything is ready for completion. Be flexible to make adjustments as the final colors all come together if things don’t go perfectly as planned. It can be scary seeing your paint on the walls and you may question what you chose. Wait for the whole vision to come together as it usually comes together better than expected. Don’t hesitate to call in a design professional if you need confirmation.
It is time to simplify our lives
I believe the Lord is teaching me to grow in my patience and what is important in life. To let go of the busy expectations, and come back to what is really important.
Living in our smaller home has taught me to rest in the joys of everyday while letting go of the need for perfection.Click To Tweet
We are so blessed to have a roof over our heads, comfy beds, and each other. I feel like it’s time to go back to the simplicity of life. To stop and enjoy the ones we love. That is a huge motivation for me as I meet you here on this blog; for us all to learn to clear away the clutter and simplify our lives again, so we can enjoy the ones we love. It’s been amazing as a few of my friends are also living in small spaces while waiting for their new homes to be finished building. We all must be learning this same lesson:).
A simple Christmas
So now that is looking like Christmas is going to be here in the basement suite, I am simplifying our Christmas experience this year. I don’t want extra stuff to move later. I also just want to enjoy our time together rather than worrying about the silly little things that don’t really matter. How can you simplify your Christmas experience this year? Check out this post on how to make your Christmas simple and fun.
I pray that you can stop to breathe in the season with your loved ones this year. As I say this, snow is coming down for the first time this season at this moment! So I too will try to relax and enjoy my simple Christmas this year… even if it’s not so perfect in our not so perfect basement suite. Now the question remains, when will we actually move in? Sign up below for more updates!
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