Moving In!

You have probably heard it said, “what is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” Life gets so busy, we have to force ourselves sometimes to slow down long enough to take time for things that are important. Bible time, family time, date nights, church and visiting with relatives are very important and yet they can quickly and easily get pushed aside. Another thing that is important is capturing the fun memories. That is one of the purposes of our blog and a post has been long overdue! Here is a recap of a few of the events over the last few weeks.

Marriage Retreat

We have found it so beneficial set aside one evening a week and spend time alone together by going out to eat, shopping or just spending time together. By and large, this has been our practice since we got married and we are so grateful for how this has helped our relationship. Just recently we went on our first marriage retreat at Fort Rock Family Camp and had a wonderful time!

The Caleb Nelson Run

Nathan and David Keller joined David and Samuel Waller as we ran a special race in honor of a navy seal who died in the line of duty as a part of a special Warfare unit in Afghanistan.

We ran 3.5 miles, swam 1/2 of a mile, ran 6.4 miles with a pack that started at 45lbs and finished at 35lbs. We then had a short swim while floating our packs across a narrow part of the lake, then another 1.2 mile run. 

We all finished the Caleb Nelson Memorial Race in less than 3 hours!

David’s Dad’s 70th Birthday

We were so blessed to have David’s parents here for some important birthdays. First, on April 11th, David’s oldest brother Adam had his birthday. Second, on April 15th, David’s dad celebrated his 70th birthday. What a milestone for one who has been such an encouragement and example!

Progress on House Renovations:

A number of work parties, such as the one pictured above have allowed us to do all of the work as a family with our friends, with the exception of the charging of the Air Condition system. God has so graciously blessed us at key times with just the right people to help us accomplish projects that we knew little or nothing about.

Priscilla’s Brothers, Nathan and David, have stayed with us for over two months and have worked so hard. 

Whether hanging siding or a multitude of other projects, Nathan and David worked hard and got a lot done. There is no way we would be at the progress we are without them.

David laid linoleum for the first time by himself. The whole laundry room and family closet area is in linoleum, so it was quite a project. The floor turned out really well and we are so happy to have it more of a finished space. It is so different from where the house was just six months ago when we closed on the property.

One of the things the Lord blessed us with was some ways to buy “normal items” at reduced price. Here is one example of a way we got a few of our appliances as well as much of our building materials. For example, we just purchased our refrigerator at Lowes on the Memorial Day sale. It’s normal list price is $1298. However, they run a sale during Memorial Day weekend and Black Friday that drop the price at least 30%, so the price was listed at $998. We happened to see the same fridge at Home Depot for $997.20 and Lowes promises to match the price or beat it by 10%. So that brought the price down to around $900. We then purchased using gift cards we had purchased online that were discounted by 12%. That brought the price down to around $800. We saved the last $80 of the amount due so we could use our the Lowe’s Credit card which gives 5% off the whole purchase price bringing the total down to around $750. Memorial Day weekend happens to allow you to purchase refrigerators under $2000 that are Energy Star rated tax free, so we walked away with a brand new fridge just over half of original price! We thought at least some of you might be bargain hunters like us and would enjoy some of what we have learned. 🙂

The Lord really blessed us when it came to air conditioning. We had no idea how much that can cost to have it installed! Since we had no existing heat or air, we had to start from scratch. We began the research by getting five quotes from different companies on two types of air-conditioning–conventional and a mini-split concept. In the end, we paid a little more for multi-zone high efficiency mini-split units, but were able to do the install ourselves. The AC guy we found was extremely kind, and simply started the units for us. He also ended up giving us a large amount of the duct work and registers that were left-overs from his previous jobs over the last thirty years.  The stories could go on and on of how God blessed us with really fun things at incredible prices, or free! The slate was left-over from a job and someone just gave it to us. The trim was the same. The sink and cabinet was on clearance.

The shower and surround were given to us by a man who Priscilla’s dad led to the Lord in Florida.

We, at last, turned our remodeling project into a living space just in time to celebrate Mother’s Day in our new home.

Moving Day:

If you follow us on social media, you would already know that we moved into our home. Though all of our renovations are not completed, a good number have been finished allowing us to move in.

The move happened on a Saturday. We were completely packed and out of the apartment by noon. We then took three hours to go through the our new house and remove our tools and do a deep cleaning. Then, within an hour, all of our things were out of the truck and in the house. Then the process, that takes so long, began–Unpacking and settling in.

God blessed with safety and efficiency in the whole move and we have happily moved into our new home. We still have much to do, but we have made one major step forward.

Priscilla’ Grandmother’s Passing:

One of the seasons that is a sobering time for reflection is the time of one entering into eternity. Thank you to all who have prayed for our family. Priscilla’s grandma (90) passed away on Sunday evening, May 15, 2016. We are so grateful that she placed her faith and trust in Jesus for her salvation and is now with her Heavenly Father. Though her death was sudden and relatively unexpected, she is now free from pain. 

We are also grateful that all of her children and many of her grandchildren were able to attend the funeral in Fort Lauderdale. So many special memories!

All of Priscilla’s Dad’s siblings were able to come to the funeral and several spoke.

We even got to drive back to the Keller’s home with Priscilla’s younger sister, Susanna.

Taking Time for Fun

With all of the busyness of life, we still have taken time to have some fun!

We were blessed to go to a beautiful waterfall with David’s younger sister Sarah. 

Wherever Paul and Davia find themselves, they enjoy time with each other.

Tennis is a favorite way to get outside and get some exercise with family. David’s sister Rebecca is so much fun!

Paul never ceases to amaze us at his abilities with bats, rackets, and balls. He is so much fun!