I woke up this morning to Riley’s little “I’m awake!” noise. Initially, I was not thrilled about getting out of bed. With all that has been going on with our house lately (which I’ll explain momentarily) I just wanted to stay snuggled under the covers in my flannel pajamas. So, I slowly pushed away the warm blankets, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and looked out the window to see what the morning light would bring for the day. I had to blink a couple of times because there was a white, fluffy substance weighing down the leaves on the tree outside the window.
It can’t be…
Is it?
It is!
SNOW!!!
I immediately perked up, rushed to Riley’s room and exclaimed, “It snowed!” He was excited too, although I’m sure he didn’t know exactly why. I carried him to the window and showed him the snowy leaves, our cars blanketed in white, and the flakes that were floating around in the gentle morning breeze. It was amazing.
As I mentioned, things have been a little stressful with our house. Moving is hard. Moving from one country to another is harder. Moving from one country to another while renovating a house is the hardest. Add a baby into the mix and it becomes a whole new kind of difficult. Riley has been wonderful, though. He just goes with it. What a blessing.
We attempted to spend our first night in our home last Saturday night. Nothing was going very smoothly, but we were trudging through. We were willing to deal with the lights that wouldn’t turn on in our bedroom, the fact that we would be sleeping on a mattress on the floor, and the mess that was lingering from random projects around the house. But when I walked in front of the washer and dryer and felt like my feet were stepping on pillows rather than hardwood…well, that was just not going to work.
It turns out that our washing machine had been leaking for about a week straight. The leak originated from the connection in the wall, dripping slowly under the floor boards until it had soaked the wood causing them to buckle and curl. In a way, it’s lucky we were there to see it that night rather than letting it go another day or even two before realizing what had happened. We ended up pulling the floor boards up to allow everything to dry out. Then, at 11:30pm, we moved back to my in-laws house.
No, that was not at all what we had planned.
Now, a week later, we have replaced the floor, put tile under the washer and dryer instead of wood, and things seem to be looking up. I’m banging my head against wood right now just to make sure I don’t jinx anything.
If all goes as planned, tonight will be the night that we move in.
In the midst of all that has happened, the snow this morning really lifted my spirits. Others may not feel the same, but my heart always leaps out of my chest with joy when I see that beautiful white stuff. What can I say? I’m a true Minnesota girl. And maybe also a Colorado girl…?
I was able to find some time to take a few photos at our house this week. There is a perfect spot near the back doors where the light is beautifully diffused. The jars of jam that I took photos of here may seem out of place on a snowy October morning, but maybe some of you still have fresh peaches available to you. If so, I hope these photos inspire you to trap some of that summer sun in a jar to open and share in the cold winter months ahead.
Hopefully I’ll be back with more positive updates about our move soon! It’s been a long wait but it will all be worth it in the end. Right?
