a home for us

(family photo from cory & emily's sauvie island apple orchard wedding this weekend)

this blog has been pretty silent lately.  but not for lack of family activity.  we are buying a house!  our process, from what i've seen/heard, has been pretty painless & fast.  but still, it is an energy-draining ordeal, & even now it's probably a little too early to say, "we bought a house!" for there are so many more steps to this process than i ever new existed.  if all goes well with the appraisal, which we are assuming it will, we will close on august 26 and move in on september 15.  we'll be moving a whole THREE BLOCKS AWAY!  it is such an answer to prayer that we were able to find the perfect home for our family in this neighborhood we love.

buying a home has been nothing short of a miracle for us.  the Lord's hand has so clearly been on it, as He has been such an amazing provider for us this past year when we honestly expected to live in relative poverty.  giving away not only josh's album, but also all the proceeds from the album, was a scary commitment for us.  but God has been teaching us faith, obedience, generosity, & a new pattern for running our business (each new album will be free for a full year) through the experience, & that is a gift immeasurable within itself.  that He saw fit to bring us out of debt (except for a loan from josh's parents, which we will be able to re-pay by the end of josh's september tour) & end the year with the ability to put a downpayment on a house is really just a bonus.

anyway.  that's where we've been.  now we're spending the evenings watching the olympics (since it's too early for us procrastinators to start packing!) while i clip out inspiration & paint color ideas from country living magazines.  also, little by little, i'm revamping this blog, deleting my ellegarrels.com photography site, migrating some posts, upon the realization that this blog here is really where my heart is.  (also, it is exhausting trying to curate too many sites!)  my family, my homemaking, is my art--so inseparable right now, & i am not really looking for jobs elsewhere ;)  well, unless kinfolk gives me a call...