We are alive!!

Well, the blog has been quiet for about 2 months.  We have been hiding out in the woods!  This post will be an update of our current situation.  I will have to update with our normal, everyday posts after we move into our house.

Since we moved out of our home on May 21st, it has been a little bit crazy.  We moved our stuff into a storage unit since we did not have anywhere to live.  Nathan temporarily stayed with a co-worker friend and the kids and I headed down to my Mom's house.  Well, we ended up decided to build a house because we could not find one that was already built that we liked.  We also could not find a decent rental that I would feel comfortable living in for at least a year that would not break the bank.  So, building turned out to be our best option.

So, now we are staying in our builder's former home as a temporary rental.  While we are grateful to have a place to stay, this home presents some challenges:


1.  It has been unoccupied for over 2 years so it has just been neglected.
2.  It is huge (4500+ square feet).  We are using less than half of the house....especially since we only have our beds, dining room table, the futon, and a few toys.  It looks just about as empty as before we moved in!
3.  Despite having 4 1/2 bathrooms, the only one working is the master bath.  We have had some intense running up the stairs sessions since Maya is still a fairly recent potty-trained girl.  It is giving me a work-out!
4.  No dishwasher.  Enough said :(
5.  Phone reception does not work in the house, no tv, no internet.  I have enjoyed napping with the kids and I am reading roughly 4-5 books a week.
6.  I wake up every morning to several new bugs since it is out in the woods
7.  No washer/dryer.  Right now I am at the laundromat on a Friday night.  Hey, at least I am getting to use the Internet!
8.  The air smells moldy coming out the vents despite my efforts to clean the basement.  It must be in the actual air conditioning unit.  I wake up every morning remembering that I do in fact suffer from allergies :)
9.  The home only has well water.  So, we just buy our drinking water since it is sometimes very rusty and filled with sediment.


Despite the challenges of this temporary housing, it has been good for several reasons:
1.  I am a more relaxed mom.  I have learned the joy of hot dogs.  Since we are technically camping (and I don't have all my kitchen items), I have indulged in buying more quick foods.  The kids think it is fun.
2.  *Gasp* The girls are getting to hang their artwork and treasures on the wall!  Best part of the rental for them I think.
3.  No lawn to mow :)  I am sure Nathan is glad about this.
4.  Since we are not paying utilities, I can crank the air down as low as I want. 
5.  I don't really have to clean that often.  There is nothing to dust so I just have to vacuum, mop, clean the one bathroom, and wipe down the kitchen counters.  Easy, peasy!
6.  We are enjoying living right by the beach.  We can walk to the beach from our rental and it has private, deeded access to this beach.  We are also enjoying going up to Silver Beach.
7.  We are saving money.  We appreciate the blessing of having this temporary housing.















The house that we are building is starting to come together.  The framing is almost completely done.  The girls love to visit the jobsite and get excited about it.  The especially like playing in the dirt mounds in the back yard!  We are anxious to be a little more settled and return to "normal" life.  Hopefully our house will be finished by October.