The Nesting Phase

Almost daily I get asked by someone (when they see my 30 week pregnant belly), are yall staying in your apartment in Fremont? Good question. Yes we still live and plan on living in the 2 bedroom, 1 bath, 795 sq ft (I used to think it I was 900 sq ft till Wes corrected me recently) apartment in the heart of the Fremont neighborhood. Next question, well have you been looking to move? Buy or rent a bigger space? Another good question. Yes we have never not looked for what is available to rent, especially in the last year or so. To get more space, aka 3 bedrooms we are looking at paying at least $500-1000 more in rent than we do now. And if we move to this option, yes we gain an extra bedroom but we will probably lose walkability to stores, restaurants, parks, can’t save the money, and the commute to work/walking to church/Wes’ office and the closeness of our community would be likely affected. So there is more to consider than just let’s move for 200 more sq ft. Next question, well are you looking to buy? Another reasonable question. Yes we have never not looked at the market and what is available to buy. Again the cheapest houses, that have more than 800 sq ft in the area of town that wouldn’t cause me to have an hour commute to work and wouldn’t remove us from our community and the entire reason we moved to Seattle, have asking prices that our at the top of our budget. We know the inventory in Seattle is limited so most houses get offers $100,000 over asking or the buyer pays cash. In Seattle Wes and I always joke that “We are the 99%”. Not sure who can afford half a million- million dollar fixer upper homes but its happening. That is the reality. So usually conversations like this can make me discouraged, just depends on the day.  Obviously with my belly growing and the rain outside making the walls of the apartment close in, there are frustrating or sad days with space. So you are more than welcomed to pray for God to lay a miraculous gracious seller in our lap. We know He can do it. But you can also pray for contentment as well. In perspective, yes you can “get so much more” in KY or an hour outside the city limits even in WA but right now He has us where we think we are suppose to be and taken care of. (Matthew 6:25-34) We are thankful for our little place and the conveniences it provides.  



we get out when we can to read in the sun

and enjoying walking to dentist appt

when we cant leave Wes does his workout using the girls as dumbells

Whelp that puts us still in our apartment and less than 10 weeks from bringing home a new baby. I have kicked into nesting mode. Everything non-essential must go. That probably wont happen because we don’t know gender of baby so everything I definitely don’t need, kids don’t play with, or is cluttering the house must go. Though the baby wont go into the girls room anyway to sleep, we needed to get Sadie off the crib mattress on the floor. We ordered them bunkbeds after a deal popped up on Restoration Hardware’s website. I like the wooden bunk beds or even the ones that could potentially make 2 twin beds but for space and not feeling so heavy with wood we went for the iron look that seemed more open.  I nested their room and ridded old toys or put away some that were too young for Sadie in storage. Next on the list is tackling their closest.

right before we movd out Leighton's old bed they slept like this one night. So sweet...

 

Sadie climbing up to Sissy's top bunk when she was at school. And thankful for the little graces of new sheets from Mom... they make me happy

 

So if #3 is not going to be bunking with the girls, where does he/she go? Well we have a small bassinet we got when Sadie was born that can fit in our room, but I needed some piece of furniture in my room to go. Wes’ motto is “if something new comes in, something old must go”. I have a little brown table I used to get ready on in our room so we moved that to the living room under the TV to hold the cable/appleTV/hide cords. And the table that was under the TV (Wes’ childhood desk I painted and re-knobbed 6 years ago) got moved slightly over in the living room. There is where I gave baby at least 2x4 feet of space to call its own. On the to-do list is repaint desk but for now it is semi-ready with changing table, 4 drawers for baby’s diapers/essentials, baby books above, and an ultrasound picture. Nesting by definition is “used to refer to an expectant mother’s instinct which gives her a surge of energy which prompts her to clean and do various chores around her home.” I think that it stems from the fact that you cant control this human inside of you, when labor will happen, how labor will go, what it will be like to be a parent of another child, etc… so we think we can control other things like clutter and organization so we prep in anticipation for what is to come.

On a deep note, this got me thinking why am I not “nesting” for Christ’s return. We don’t know the hour but I do pray for His Kingdom to come in its full glory when He returns. I’m tired of the suffering and abuse to so many. I hate feeling like I cant do anything for that 5 year old (about same age as my own daughter) who is sold in Cambodia and will be abused and misused physically, sexually and mentally. Please join me in praying Luke 11:2-4  “Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come…” and in the meantime we should nest with anticipation and hope in the cross to fight the discouragement of the broken world. We should nest in what we can control…. Loving him and others by sharing the good news. #preachingtomyself

sadie sporting my #1 pregnancy purchase.... the support belly band!

 

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