Pre-drywall
So today was another milestone at the house. I met up with Joe (our builder) and Ed (my uncle-in-law who is a contractor) this afternoon for the Pre-drywall Orientation.
This meeting is the second of four in the building process of our home. We got to inspect the exterior and interior of the house’s electrical, HVAC, plumbing, etc. this is really important because once drywall is up it is was it is. I’m glad we did because the electrician had not put in the lines for a light(over our tub) in our master bath, and the lights for our screened in porch.
Beyond that a lot has taken place. The brick work has been completed on the house and several other small things. They will be pouring the concrete for our driveway and patio in the rear of the house, laying the sod in our yard, as well as drywalling. Joe anticipates completion in 5-6 weeks. Hal and I are getting so excited!
Under Construction Part 3
After visiting a church this morning Hal and I decided to ride by our house and see what progress has been made.
The guys got the roofing/shingling done, put up our siding, and put up our shutters. Pretty cool, huh?!
View from the rear corner of our house. You can see that they’ve framed out our porch, added in our windows and casing amd have our chimney ready to go
Here’s a picture that is a bit more close up. We didn’t want to go on our property since I was in a white dress and heels from church.
So basically what’s left on the exterior is completing the brick portion on the front (where there is still that paper) and pouring cement for the patio and driveway. We are hoping that they will finish the rough-ins (electrical, plumbing, HVAC) this week so we can do that walk-thru. They cannot move forward onto the interior until the rough-in walk-thru has taken place. This walk-thru allows us to review all they’ve done to make sure everything is where it should be and done properly. Now of course, Hal a nd I are complete morons when it comes to this stuff so our dads will be joining us. Hal’s dad is a jack of all trades when it comes to home repair/maintenance/etc., and my dad is the president of a commercial construction company so they both know what to look for.
There you have it…our home, under construction, and well on its way!
501 to 576 to 76 to 327 to 20 to 26
What do all those numbers mean you may ask????? Directions home. After all these feelings of homesickness and a general not feeling well, I am so excited that Hal and I are going to be going home next weekend (Aug 29-31)!!!! I just can’t wait!
Aug 15 was Daddy’s birthday and Aug 30 is Hal’s birthday so we’ll be celebrating birthdays and visiting our families, visiting with our friends, and going to CrossRoads for church Sunday morning! It’s totally going to be an awesome weekend and I am literally counting the days!
Give Hal or I a call or shoot us an email if you’re going to be around so we can hang out while we’re in Greenville. Love you guys and can’t wait to see you!
Heartsick and Homesick
I think I have finally reached that point…I am beyond homesick. I feel a lot like this kid…
I feel all alone in this vast new world and I am not sure where to go or what to do. I’m not sure if I should get up and start walking or if I should simply stay rooted to one spot. All I do know is that I miss home. I miss all that is familiar to me.
It hit me really hard after Hal and I visited at a local church on Sunday morning. It made me realize the value of where I’ve come from, the values I’ve been taught, the freedom that was birthed in me. It made me wonder if I could ever get to that point here in Myrtle Beach. We literally walked out of a pretty good worship service and I busted out crying in the parking lot. I cried most of the way home. (Now before anyone says anything, I do readily recognize that my worship thru reading/meditating on scriptures, in prayer, etc. is a personal choice and I am in a place that I do not need a broker to mediate my relationship with Christ) All that said, I was simply shattered by the revelation that not all churches are like CRCC. Not all churches foster environments to engage people in all the elements of worship, not all churches are open to people dancing or raising their hands or even shouting during the service. Needless to say that I felt seriously let down. I don’t need to be fed, I am perfectly capable of finding and eating on my own, however, it’s nice to find yourself in a place of getting something out of a service.
Anyway, I also remembered what it was like to be surrounded by family and friends…with people who always let you know how much you matter, how much you’re loved. I miss that so much. It’s hard to walk around feeling completely unconnected, feeling like a stranger, or worse, feeling invisible. It’s hard to know that the only contact with you and those you love can be by phone or internet…not in person. It’s hard when that support system that was so carefully woven around you comes crashing down because you’re starting over.
I’m sorry for not having anything more enlightening or joyous to share tonight. I have said from the beginning that this blog is about honesty in my journey. As heartsick and homesick as I am I still believe that the Lord has Hal and I here in Myrtle Beach for a purpose. I am starting to feel a stirring in my heart that it is up to me (and Hal) to foster change, not only in our own hearts, but in our communities as well. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but I feel such a great burden for this city. It’s hard to function in that reality when I’m so down. But the Lord has had me meditating in 1 Peter lately and I wanted to share with you what I have been reading.
1 Peter 1:3-9, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Would you pray alongside me that I would follow thru in this goal the Lord has set before me. That I would not allow the trials & emotions I face to shift my perspective away from what the Lord desires of me. That I would be purposed in allowing my love to abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that I will be able to discern what is right and that which would keep me pure in Christ’s sight. And finally that the Lord, who has experience this life on earth, would be merciful to this sad heart and mind and transform it. I thank you in advance.
Where We Are Now
I thought I ought to show you where we will be living for the next 2.5-3 months while our home is being built. We are renting the home of Hal’s cousin, Anne. It’s a sweet home and we’re thankful for it. I am not, however, enjoying living out of boxes…but it sure beats having to unpack and then pack stuff up again in a few months. So without further adu, here is a tour of our temporary home.
This is a view of the living room from the front door. We have this huge furniture, so thankfully this is a huge room. We didn’t put the TV in here so we could use it to read, listen to the radio, or just talk.
A look from the living room into the formal dining room which has become a resting spot for my “office” AKA a messy desk and printer atop boxes of books, as well as our dining furniture
My “office”
The cute bathroom
Remember the junk room from a few posts ago…look what my sweet husband did while I was at work. 
This is the guest room now.
This is our Master, this is one huge room. It fits all our big furniture with a lot of space left over. There are his and hers closets in the corners of the room
The sitting room, we have our old school TV in the corner which is not pictured. We use this as more like a living room.
This is the dining nook attached to the kitchen, yes, that is our patio furniture. We’re making do with what we’ve got.
This apparently used to be a screened porch that was converted into a laundry room/mud room of sorts. Presently it houses our washer/dryer, all Hal’s tools, and the boxes we didn’t want to unpack.
So there you have it, a brief tour of our temporary home. We’re so glad to have a space we can call ours for awhile. A space where Hal and I can get used to being in each other’s hair again. I love having him here and am so glad that we don’t have to spend any more time apart. But we are definitely both having to transition back into being partners since we’ve been living in two separate households these last 6 weeks.
Please be praying for Hal this week and next. As you know he accepted a teaching position at North Myrtle Beach High School, and he is undergoing “training” this week. He will also be finding out which class he will be teaching and will get a look at his new classroom. I think he is a bit nervous to embark on this new journey. I know he is going to be amazing, but please shoot some encouragement his way. I know he would appreciate it.
Under Construction, Part Two
As you may recall this weekend was our BIG move from Greenville to Myrtle Beach. I drove down late Thursday and spent all day on Friday packing the last of the apartment and helping to load the rental truck on Friday afternoon. All-in-all in took us 7.5 hours to get out of that apartment. We spent the night in Easley at my in-law’s house, and drove from Easley to Conway on Saturday morning. Huge thanks to Chuck & Glenda and John & Anne for helping us load and unload that rental truck. What took 7.5 hours to load took less than an hour to unload.
Anyway, since Glenda (my mother-in-law) had not seen the house or the model home we decided to take her to The Farm to check it out. When we drove by our house my jaw literally dropped to the floor. So much had been done since last week! Now I realize that the slow part always occurs once the sheet rock is up and all that, but I am truly excited to see our house beginning to look like a house. Here’s the updated pics.
View from the front of the house, that’s my father-in-law
View from the left front corner of the house
View from the rear of our house, we will have a screened in porch and a patio off the side of the porch
Entry way into our home
View to what will be our awesome kitchen and dining nook
View of what will be the fireplace, the master, and the doors leading to our screen porch
Proud homeowners (well, in 3 months).
So today we are attempting to get settled into our new temporary home. So far we have our bedroom, sitting room, kitchen, and living room all unpacked and completely livable. However, this is where everything else has ended up….
At this point, I can only just sigh and laugh and say that I am not dealing with it until later. The good news is that all this stuff is stuff that gets to stay packed away in boxes until our final move. It just needs some serious organization!
That’s it for now. By-the-way, I haven’t mentioned this yet but it is by far the most important part of this post….Hal and I are under the same roof, in the same city, and it’s going to stay that way! WOOHOO!
Long Week
This is going to be a long week, so blogging will be few and far between until next week. Here’s the bulletin points just to keep you updated:
- Hal and his dad came up to Myrtle Beach on Sunday to drop a load of stuff off at the house we’re renting till our home is completed.
- For the next two nights Hal and I slept on air mattresses…needless to say it wasn’t conducive to getting good rest.
- We’re so grateful for this house for the next 3 months, however, I know we are going to really enjoy the modern conveniences of our new home. Hal and I are having to get used to hand washing our dishes, doorknobs that may or may not fall off into your hands, floorboards that creak with your every move, and showerheads that come up to my husband’s nose. Haha!
- Drove by our lot so that Hal’s dad could see our home, and in less than a week they had all the framing up and were working on the roof!! These guys move fast! Last time we were there they had just poured the slab.
- Have had back-to-back meetings all day Monday and Tuesday which are leaving me mentally drained.
- Have a meeting this afternoon and have to be at the Pelican’s game tonight.
- Will be kicking off work late Thursday night to drive back to Greenville to pack the last of our apartment, load everything into the moving truck, and bring the last of our furniture and stuff here. I’m afraid that might take all weekend.
So there you have it, my week in review. I’m sure I will have something more interesting to talk about next week. Love you all.
One Step Away From Home
Well, Hal and I have one more move before we FINALLY move into our new home once it’s completed. His cousin, Anne has graciously allowed us to rent her home from her for the next 3 weeks. She was married in April and has not yet sold her home, so she offered it to us until our home is complete.
I went by the house today and it’s perfect for our needs. We’ll be able to leave the majority of our stuff completely packed in one of the several extra rooms. Anne kindly left her washer/dryer, dishes, pots/pans, cleaning stuff in the house so that we will not have to worry about unpacking any of that. How sweet was that!! And we’ll also have some room for guests once we are somewhat settled. I have definitely missed all my family and friends.
Would you pray for us this week? Hal and his dad will be packing up some of our stuff and bringing it here tomorrow afternoon. Then they’ll leave Tuesday morning to head back to Greenville to finish up the packing. I’ll be driving to Gville on Friday to help load the U-Haul, pack the final stuff, and completely move over the weekend. Please pray for our safety as we travel back and forth this week. Please pray that we would not have any injuries in the moving processes. And pray that Hal and I will become used to permanentely being around each other again. I have completely missed him like crazy, but I’ve just gotten used to sleeping by myself and not sharing my space…so I will have to get used to him again. It’s going to be a really busy week for us, so pray we survive it! Thanks, my friends.
