Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Today's Economy.

As we all know, today's economy is in a perilous situation. People loosing their jobs left and right. Many are loosing their homes, retirements, health coverage......the list goes on and on. Today, the Nester, at the Nesting Place, did a post asking her readers how today's economy is affecting them.

Well, for us, things aren't as bad as they are for many people. We are very fortunate that my husband has a good, stable job (got Electricity anyone?), and I am a nurse, so finding work is usually pretty easy. (It's just finding a job that you LIKE that's the problem.) But things are still tight.

We just built a new home last year, trying to do as much of it as possible to save money. We love the house and the neighborhood, but things ended up costing WAAAY more than we initially planned (but I'm told that is common in the building process). That, combined with us still holding on to our old house (looooong story) has just about killed us. BUT, we are here, we are healthy, and we are happy.....we can survive everything else! In our hearts, we know God wants us to be here, where our kids can safely play (without fear of being run over or kidnapped), and we don't have to worry about being robbed blind or being killed by a random drive-by shooting.

And YES, I am being COMPLETELY SERIOUS!

This house has truly been a blessing for our entire family.

However, we've made a lot of sacrifices to be able to stay here. As much as we would love to live in a "finished" show home, there are tons of things that remain "unfinished" for who-knows-how-long.

*sigh*

I can't believe I am going to share these pictures, but hey, we're among friends, right?

Promise you won't tell anybody....OK?

OK???

First of all, we have our living room fireplace wall.


If you think there is something missing...you would be correct.....there are several things missing. First and foremost, the fireplace is supposed to have stacked rock. The stacked rock was one of our main things we wanted in this house. We planned, searched, and researched all different types, manufacturers, colors, and styles. It had to be PERFECT. Well, perfection comes at a cost....a HIGH cost. SO, it has had to wait.

We are also missing the mantel. We already have it, but just can't install it until the rock is in. We also have to finish the flooring right in front of the fireplace, but again, we can't finish until the rock is up.

We also need the rock to finish the kitchen.


The entire area above the vent hood should be covered in stacked rock, too.

As is the block foundation around the bottom of the house....


Also, as you can see in the above picture....our yard is a WRECK! When we give directions to the house, I always say...."It's the house with the dirt yard and no landscaping".





BUT, it is a HUGE improvement of what our back yard looked like this time last year....


Nothing like the Forestry Service and EPA issuing a 7 month "Burn Ban" two days before you begin clearing your land.

But "the boys" had a fantastic time cleaning it all up!


And YES....Jameson was driving the backhoe!!!

We can't wait to add our deck to the back of the house, either:


(The siding is completed....this is an older photo.)

We also need to complete the concrete driveway, steps and sidewalk. But for now, we aren't having any issues.

As much as we want this house to be "finished", we are just thrilled with having TWO bathrooms with functioning toilets, central heat and air, a security system, a garage, a level floor, and most of all, a safe, friendly neighborhood. The finishing touches can wait!

Now that I have spilled my embarrassing unfinished house pictures to you, I would like to know how is this economy affecting you and your family?

11 comments:

  1. You know, I admire the fact that you guys didn't overstretch yourself and now find yourselves so far in debt that you have to get rid of your dream home.......it can wait until you have the money for it. God will care for ALL that we NEED. Thanks for sharing, girlie.

    Suzanne

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  2. well i think it's beautiful as it is.. full of LOVE!

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  3. Your new house is beautiful. It is so much better to pay cash as you go and enjoy the financial peace of having things paid for. Two years ago we decided to get out of debt. That decision caused us to reevaluate all our spending and our lifestyle in general. It was truly God's timing! He absolutely takes care of us and I have seen His provision for us in so many unexpected ways. I don't miss the stress of worrying about paying for somethng we need because we spent the money on something we didn't need. (I hope that made sense).
    Warm regards,
    Wendy

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  4. i'm so glad i came by ,you are so sincere and sweet.
    The economy its taking a toll on all of us even here in Canada, we live in an area thats all about automotives, plants closing everyday, cuts everywhere, people losing their jobs ,homes , health insurance, you name it. to be honest with you i hate watching the news or reading the newspapper its really all so depressing..i just really hope things change and get better before they get worse....thanks for posting ...silvia...

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  5. oh and i forgot to mention, your house its beautiful just the way it is!!!...silvia...have a great night..

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  6. Yay for house pictures! Turns out the economy has affected the local tree market! Our logger doesn't have anything to do with the rest of our trees because all the woodyards have closed around here for the rest of the week because no one wants any wood! He hopes he can finish cutting the trees this week and stack them somewhere so it won't hold up the housebuilding.

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  7. Your house is pretty...I love the kitchen! The economy hasn't affected us too much, thaaaaaank God. We are cutting back and trying to save more, but that's about it. :)
    Oh, and I think you are right about the girl thing! Just a few more days!

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  8. You may see all that isnt done, but I am seeing what is and what is is beautiful! Oh my, that molding in the living room is to die for as is your kitchen. Take your time and it will eventually get there. Best of luck! Sue

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  9. Thank you for all of your kind words! We literally have blood, sweat, tears, heat stroke, and BURNS as well, trying to finish this house!

    Sue, would you believe we did all the molding ourselves? Marty, his sister, Candie and brother-in-law, AL (as well as his sisters Sandy and Debbie) did all the molding in the house! Our builder was going to charge us $1.00 per foot to hang it. Since our crown in the living room is made up of 3 different pieces, it would have been $3.00 per foot in there...so it would have cost over $500.00 to just do the crown in the living room! EEEKKKK!

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  10. Yay for relatives! Big families come in handy sometimes don't they? haha.

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