New Year

2010 is over. While it started off with a bang of bad news, it ended with some very promising news (to be disclosed in a later post...and NO I'm not pregnant)! A year ago, we found out that our landlord had gotten foreclosed on and never even bothered to let us know. Yes, the house we were living in, and had been paying monthly rent for the past 10 months was now owned by the bank, and we would have to move within 6 weeks. Finding a notice of a Sherrif's Auction on the door of your rental house is pretty shocking in and of itself, not to mention that that was the first place we had lived since moving to NC that finally felt "permanent".

We would have loved to rent that house for 5 years (our home in FL that never sold due to the housing market crash was limiting us from buying a home at the time). We had incredible neighbors, it was a great neighborhood, had a great fenced-in yard that backed up to woods, the boys had their own room (which was HUGE for sleeping habits of toddlers), I was finally making friends and enjoying living in NC (which was also HUGE b/c the move to NC and the subsequent 18 months was a little hard for me to say the least). Oh, and to add to the shock of how we found out about this, and to the disappointment of leaving that specific house/neighborhood...add to that, the "hassle" (not sure what word to use here) of moving...AGAIN...that was our 4th move in 2 1/2 yrs.
BUT as I think back on the past year, there are so many blessing for which to be thankful! At times I questioned why the Lord even allowed us to even rent that house if we were just going to have to move out after 10 months. I almost wished we had never gotten to live there b/c now I was going to compare any future housing options to that and be disappointed...BUT living in that house/neighborhood ended up bringing many blessings from the Lord.
While I would have never wished or desired to pack and unpack as many times as I have since Aug 2007, each place we have lived since coming to NC has "made me who I am today" (isn't that a phrase that you hear alot??...best way I could think to describe it although cliche). I've gotten to know many different areas, the pros and cons of different neighborhoods and parts of the town, and learned where lots of different stores and businesses are located. And most importantly, I have made all types of different friends (mom friends, friends for my children, dog-sitter friends, home-schooling friends, etc, etc) from all the neighbors that we have had. And most specially of the most importantly, I made one of the closest friends that I have ever had. A Christ-loving girl that is my age and has the same age kids. God is good!

And now the house that we moved to...another rental. We didn't have much choice b/c of the short amt. of time due to the lack of notice from the landlord (I need to let that go, I know!! But I still can't get over that!)
Thankfully, we were able to stay in Waxhaw and at the same monthly rent. But, the house was much smaller, the boys had to share a room once again ;-(, it was surrounded by trees (horrible for allergies--this is the girl who had to get allergy shots as a kid, and stay home from school b/c I couldn't see out of my eyes...so 50 oak trees covering my house is kind of a big deal for me), and other little things that just weren't my first choice. At least we were just renting it.

But there are lots of things that I must list that I am so thankful for and will be sad to leave:
the nice wood floors throughout, all of the extra custom cabinets in the kitchen, everything being so 'close' in the house b/c it's all on one level, the window over the kitchen sink letting me watch the kids while they play on the nice deck, the storm doors so I can let some sunlight in (I'm def. a "solar-powered" gal), closenss to Harris Teeter, less house to clean, and another neighbor who has become a great friend even though they moved to another neighborhood.
And I must list a few more things I love b/c I went into so much detail about the negative earlier...I just really like the town of Waxhaw in general...found the best re-sale kids clothing shop ever...Sweet Repeats, and discovered MOPS (Moms of Preschoolers) at Waxhaw Bible Church and made lots of sweet Christian moms there!

This is getting very long, so I will end with the following that I cut and paste from one of my favorite websites: Life as Mom She said what is my heart and what I desire.

What’s does the future hold?
I have no idea what will happen in the new year. I imagine that some things will change, some will stay the same. But, I know that I want to approach the twists and turns that are sure to characterize the road ahead with the right attitude.

I want to trust that God is ultimately in control. I want to remember to hold things loosely — what do I have that He hasn’t given me?
I want to laugh often and love much.
I want to say yes, be all there, and enjoy today.
Will these things guarantee that my year is a happy one? No, there’s no guarantee to anything in life.

But, I think if we expect the unexpected and prepare our hearts and minds to tackle stumbling blocks with determination and a good attitude, well, I think it can be a happy year.