The new (not our) house and welcoming our newest baby!

Following Christmas and New Years we were getting settled into the new home. It was really nice to have a little more space, our kids back in the house and being on the property we purchased and planned to build our actual home. I was so relieved that this time I knew where I would be bringing my new baby home. My parents house is a 3 bedroom 2 bath with just under 1700 square feet. But it felt huge. The season of having our kids in a camper brought space that I didn’t really love. It felt like we were not together as much and that there was “distance” between us and our big kids. I welcomed having them back under our roof and gathering together in the open concept kitchen/dining/living room.

So what does rooming arrangements look like for a family of soon to be 8 in a 3/2? The girls share a room with a daybed. Griffin and Caleb share a room with bunk beds. Elijah has a really sweet space in the very large master closet and the baby will be in our bed or next to it upon his arrival.

One of the many reasons my parents felt so strongly about us living in their brand new custom built home (I just need to emphasize how big a deal it is that they are letting us live here!!) is because of the outdoor space. They have a paved driveway and sidewalk, two covered porches, and a mostly flat lot. All things our Aragon house does not have. You could say Aragon is a treacherous place for small children. It is rough, rocky, un-level, and then there is that whole incident with Honey. My mom said that it would bring her so much joy knowing the kids could have a safe place to play outside, which they love. Not only can the little ones play safely outside, the big kids have ample room to ride their dirt bikes. Jason rented a friends skid steer and made them a nice little track right off the back of what will be our basement. 

My due date for baby was February 5th. But as many know I consistently carry past my due date. I was 40+5 days when I had what was my last OB appointment and upon examining me she said “Do you want to have this baby in the car? Or do you want to go ahead and be induced?” To which I replied with a big smile, “Let’s just see how it goes.” She instructed me to come in as soon as contractions started for fear I might have this baby at home. I really wasn’t worried about that. I’ve been fortunate to have pretty smooth delivery’s but babies don’t just fall out of me! I did feel on the edge of my seat though, knowing that labor indeed was VERY near and could begin at any moment. I came home and thoroughly stressed my husband out with the update, because he does not enjoy spontaneous labor. Thursday night passes and so does Friday. On Saturday morning February 11th I woke up around 4am and contractions were coming on slow and steady. I had two bowls of Honey Nut Cheerios; the perfect pre labor and delivery meal right?! At 5am I determined this was the real deal. Being 45 minutes away from the hospital and knowing I was 4cm dilated two days prior I didn’t want to end up in transition in the car so I woke Jason and we headed out. Maybe one day I’ll share the whole birth story, that praise the Lord was incredibly joyful, but let’s keep this concise shall we? Isaac Christopher was born at 11:00am exactly; weighing  8 pounds 5 ounces. He had a full head of hair like many of our children and is such a gift to our crazy tribe. 

Christmas 2022

(Part 5 of the story of our move series)

The month of December was a mad dash to the finish line on my parents house. As the last few items on the list were getting done, my mom and dad were led to do something extravagant. The original plan was to finish their house and all of us move over there and continue our house/camper duplex situation. This would allow us to sell our investment property in a good market and have plenty of cash for our build. But we began to realize that it might be good for us to have some of our own space. It had been a long year for us all. We all had shared homes in different ways with different people and we just longed for our own dwellings. So we decided we would stay in Aragon and my parents move to the Buchanan property. 

And then my mom and dad had what some would consider a crazy idea. They wanted us to move into their beautiful new home and they would remain at the Aragon house until our home build was completed. Obviously we have wanted to move to Buchanan all along. We had formed a wonderful new community in this area with an abundance of Christian fellowship for Jason, me and our kids. My parents saw the commuting (45 minutes from Aragon) and recognized not only could we be near these great relationships but also be next door to our home as it is built. Anyone that has ever built knows it’s incredibly helpful to live nearby while under construction. We felt the offer was too much. But my dad insisted it was led by the Holy Spirit and well, who can argue with that? Again we found ourselves accepting a very generous gift of hospitality. One week before Christmas we got the certificate of occupancy and moved in. It’s almost like dejavu; I was very pregnant and moving. This time at Christmas. We un-decorated and re-decorated the Christmas tree. And then quickly got ready to celebrate with my side of the family that would be in town from North Carolina and Florida. If I had to sum up this whole move in two words it would be gracious chaos. I have felt at many points there has been nothing but chaos but God has also met us with his grace every step of the way. We have run into quite a few hurdles with moving and building. We thought surely our house would be built by this time but it wasn’t. Turns out making a baby is less complicated than building houses 😜 What I can say is God has always met our needs even though it has looked WAY different than we imagined. He is so much more creative than we are! 

Aragon continued

Sharing the news of my pregnancy had its ups and downs. In June on our summer vacation I started bleeding very similar to when I miscarried before. We later with relief learned that we did not lose our baby but I had a subchorionic hematoma that hemmoraged. That was yet another stressful time with lots of “bed rest” and limited lifting ect. We pushed through and by the 20 week ultrasound it had healed and we learned we were having another BOY. So that makes 4 in a row. I continued to have a healthy, wonderfully uneventful pregnancy.

Living with my parents had a lot of benefits and some challenges. The extra help was such a mercy from the Lord. And learning how to navigate sharing a home with another homemaker was a refining mercy as well. (This was true for me with both Susan and my mom.) My dad had to play mediator on a few occasions, which he is great at, and there were several evenings that Jason and I or my parents just needed to go for a drive. But my mom and I both recognize that this whole endeavor is less about building our homes and more about God building our character. You don’t realize how much character building you need until you live with other people! It was hard at times and I did think “what in the actual heck are we doing?!?” I wanted to throw in the towel at many points but it was too late; we were in too deep! So I had to press on and lean in to the sovereignty of God. Trusting that it all really was for my good, my families good, my parents good and His glory. 

It’s so much easier said than done. It’s also easier to say in hindsight. 

November 17, 2022 Jason and I were working on some of the tile at my parents house. We had Caleb and Ryann with us while my parents were in Aragon with Micaila, Griffin and Elijah. 

My dad calls me. He asks for Jason. I knew something was wrong. I could hear Micaila crying in the background. He tells us that Honey, Micaila’s golden retriever was hit by a school bus while her and Micaila were on a walk. My parents were not far behind her walking the two little guys. They heard everything; Micaila saw everything. We dropped what we were doing and rushed home. The whole drive I was praying for Micaila. Honey was gone. We had never suffered a loss like this with a pet and Honey was very special. She was beautiful and smart and had so much life in her at almost 4 years old. I couldn’t stop crying. Crying for my daughter. Crying for our family. I still cry thinking about it. It was such a jolt, a reminder that life is precious and can be gone in an instant. We all prayed that Micaila would heal from the loss and it’s traumatic nature. God has been so gracious in answering that prayer. I can’t say that school buses aren’t a trigger for her but she has found much comfort in friends, family, and her new golden doodle, Hunter.

March 2022 Aragon

After living with Papa T and Tsunami for 5 months it was time for us to move to our little investment home in Aragon, GA. Jason had bought some property in February 2020, tore the house down to the block work and rebuilt the whole thing. We intended to sell it for profit but how cool that God reserved it for such a time as this. It was smaller, 3 bedroom and 2 baths, just under 1400 sq ft; but it was new and it was ours. We parked the camper there for extra living quarters because soon my parents would be moving in with us. Turns out buying the camper wasn’t a totally idiotic move 🤣 I guess I should mention that my mom and dad sold their home in Florida, to my brother Chris, and we started building them a home on our future property?? Minor detail. 

Back to Aragon. We decided to let my parents have the master bedroom while Jason, me, and the little guys had the other two rooms and the big kids got the camper. Here we are again, a new exciting part of our adventure. We were getting settled into our multi-generational, tiny house situation; enjoying Spring and Easter and new baby chicks (not my idea by the way!) 

And then I was pregnant. 

That wasn’t part of “the plan”. 

Y’all are probably really starting to wonder about us. Do we think about anything first??!! 

It’s May. We haven’t even started building our home. My parent’s home is at the framing stage and we’re waiting on windows which won’t come till June. 

To be clear, I love and welcome LIFE. And having another baby is always indeed a GIFT and delight. He or she will be a blessing. However, Elijah wasn’t 8 months old and we were living with my parents in 1400 square feet. You could say I was a little nervous to announce the news. But you gotta love Jason. Upon sharing with him that we would be welcoming another child, his response with sheer excitement was “This is PERFECT!” I love how his love for family has grown more and more with each child that we’ve had and his response eased me so much. He seemed to think the timing was perfect because when baby comes our new home will be ready. Tongue and cheek I said, “Uh, yeah, if I can create a human being in 9 months surely you’ll have our house built by then!” 

Now…. To tell the rest of the family.

The Move

Backing up a bit-

A few weeks before giving birth to Elijah and selling our home, my friend Katie’s in-laws, (Tommy and Susan) offered to let us live with them. But I didn’t know them that well so we continued exploring other options. Like living in a camper with a family of seven while we built our new home. You know, the stuff 1 Million subscribers on Youtube are made of! Thankfully complications arose with THAT plan. I’m “overdue” and hoping I’ll have some time with baby in our home before we have to completely pack up and go who knows where…..I was stressing out just a little. That verse in Matthew kept getting put before me. “Don’t worry about tomorrow….” Our closing date was October 28th. Elijah came on October 18th, ten days past his due date. Cutting it a little close there! So when Elijah is a week old and a few days before we close on our home our only plan was to basically be gypsies minus the fortune telling. That sounds even BETTER than our camper idea. Tommy and Susan reached out again and offered their three extra bedrooms to us. Of course moving in with virtual strangers was a big step for me, but the alternatives were pretty bleak and so I accepted. Oh and did I mention that their hospitality extended to our two big dogs, one bunny rabbit and my mom for however long she wanted to stay, come and go? (My mom will get her own post here) There were not many options that would accommodate our whole tribe. It was clear that God was providing this for us. Yet I still did not have a clue that he was providing so much more than a place for us to live.

Let me tell you a little bit about Tommy and Susan who are lovingly referred to as Papa T and Tsunami. Tommy and Susan practice what I would call radical hospitality. The moment we decided to come stay with them they brought an enclosed trailer to our home to pick up ANYTHING we wanted to bring to make our stay more comfortable. Griffins crib, my glider rocker, bassinet, changing table, the kids dirt bikes, Micaila’s keyboard, and many other items. They were not concerned about us cluttering their home; they were concerned with welcoming us and making us feel a sense of home. Upon arriving, peace, warmth, and welcome washed over us. They immediately arranged to have another fridge delivered and placed in their play room for us. Susan also brought over another changing table to keep downstairs for the many diaper changes we would be doing. At every point their eyes and ears have been open to needs; both expressed and perceived. Their home is a hub of ministry. They constantly were affirming me that we were not a burden or an intrusion. How is that possible? We have 5 kids, 2 annoying dogs, A LOT of stuff taking over every corner of their home. I wasn’t able to cook or clean or do anything in the first several weeks due to being newly postpartum and nursing, having a toddler and trying to continue doing something that resembled home schooling. The only explanation for how their gracious hospitality is possible is Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit in them. Tommy and Susan live with open hands, recognizing that everything they have and everything they are belongs to Christ; their home, time, money, days, every single resource belongs to Jesus. Everything that we are tempted to cling to and claim as our own, they have laid down to Jesus and asked “How do YOU want me to use this?” Some people may hear of this lifestyle and think “I could never do that.” Honestly I have sat in the kitchen and asked them, “how do you do this?!?” And not only do they do it, but they are some of the happiest, most joyful people I know. Jason and I have marveled at how they rarely do anything for themselves and yet they LOVE life, they LOVE the people around them, they are so satisfied and full of real and lasting joy. While the world is worshipping self-care and finding such emptiness in it, Tommy and Susan are living their best life in Christ, keeping nothing for themselves and joyfully serving Him through the ministry of others.

Living with them is so much more than a roof over our heads, it’s been discipleship for our hearts in some of the best ways.

Where have we been?

Gone are the days when I had consistent opportunities to sit, write, edit, and construct a good blog. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; I have always loved writing and I really love reading old blogs and recounting memories. I didn’t consider my blog as being a way to encapsulate our life but some parts it has. I wish I could write more but I’m in a pretty unique season of life now with 6 children ages 16, 14, 10, 3, 18 months and 3 months. Yep, you read that right. That answers a lot of the “where have we been?” question. I know I shared here about our surprise baby Griffin, but I don’t know that I ever shared about Elijah, and definitely not baby Isaac. A lot has happened in the last 2 years. I’ve been keeping notes here and there and I thought it would be great to put them all together on the blog; mainly for our families enjoyment. So here we go with a little story time series.

In the summer of 2021 I was VERY pregnant, due October and God began orchestrating our family moving to a new location; new property and building a new home. The timing was definitely not ideal. For one we had no where to live once our house sold. Trying to find housing for a soon to be family of 7 plus all the critters that come with us is a complicated order. We thought our best option was to jump on the live in a camper bandwagon. There we were signing papers at Campers Inn; Jason and my 40 week pregnant self, plus our 4 children, and a 38ft toy hauler travel trailer. Our crazy, faith fueled, amazing journey was beginning. As we waited for baby Elijah to come (he was 10 days late btw) the whole camper plan started to deteriorate rather quickly. We didn’t have power, water or septic for the camper at our property yet. I know, I know. Could we BE any more ignorant??? So I’m freaking out about where I’m going to live with my newborn baby and 4 other children postpartum and honestly was ready to back out of the whole thing. Jason was talking about a portapotty situation and laundry mats and I’m like “Are you heckin crazy??” I tried to request an extension on our closing date, begging for mercy, but the Lord had a different mercy in mind. My friend Katie said her in-laws wanted to invite us to live with them. At first I felt really uncomfortable with the idea. I had only met them a few times and while I believed them to be perfectly nice people, living with them seemed a little crazy. But we were out of options. So we accepted. One week after giving birth to Elijah we moved in to Papa T and Tsunami’s home. They welcomed our family, our pets, our belongings and everything that comes with alllllll that.

And that is just the beginning…..