adventures when ruckels renovate: His glory in our story

if you haven't heard the news, we are renovating a foreclosure. you can see how crazy we truly are by checking out the before pics here.

i know i keep joking about how crazy you all must think we are for this undertaking, but can i just say, what is one man's crazy is another man's call. here's the deal, i want to share how awesome God has been in this process & also want to encourage you today. this is by no means an outlet to brag about what The Lord has chosen us responsible for, but what i want is to show you how His faithfulness spans time...His time,

when it comes to where our family will live, it's always been in God's hands. what i mean by that is, that's the nice way of saying that we've trusted & waited...and waited & trusted. every house we've lived in has had a story of God's crazy miraculous timing & plan. we've had houses pulled off the market for us, we've had offers rejected, we've had shortened timelines, extended timelines & favor.  if you want details on those adventures, check out these stories.

the purchasing of this house seemed quick to some, but honestly it is a dream that has been brewing in our hearts since we got to Florida 3 years ago. there were so many small details that had to line up for us to even find this house, let alone buy it. like the fact that my parents came to live with us just last year & before then we would never have needed a house this large. or the fact that it is a fixer-upper. now i love HGTV as much as the next girl, but i know those houses don't find that kind of beauty during a commercial break. over time, the desire to have a home to make my own has grown {and so have my children}. still, when reality started to set in about the amount of work on this house, my doubts began to grow bigger.

then The Lord reminded me that He had set this house apart FOR US by opening my eyes to some things in the natural...

like how it resembled our sweet little house in VA...the single dormer & the right side extends

 

the molding in the living room being the same as the built-ins in  house VA...the one on the top.

and this green color that showed up under all the wallpaper & trim, that was the same color that was in our first home  & then we painted our old living room the same.

and here's the kicker...the roof got replaced {thats the new roof in the top pic} & the septic tank is getting fixed...and we aren't paying for either.!! those were 2 high cost items that The Lord took off of our plate and eased my anxious heart of the amount of work. now if you asked my dear husband who is caring the burden of doing the majority of labor {after he is done with his workday}, he may answer you differently.

as a woman it's hard to not know where to make your "nest". trust me, the nesting instinct is real! in the time you may be feeling in limbo & yearning for the next step or place, refocus that yearning towards the One who is ALWAYS faithful. seek Him & what He has for you where you are, not a pinterest perfect house. i have learned to not only live with what i've got, but to enjoy & be thankful for it.

nothing that i have is mine.

it's all been a gift given to me & i will steward what i have, for as long as i have it. you give honor where honor is due, and that is how we honor The Lord. that is how you find favor in His eyes.

the adventure when ruckels renovate: before pics

so i'm back...
life has changed...a lot, but let's just start with whats happening now...

we've moved here, there & everywhere. it's been since 2011 that we've owned a home but that's all changing. we are putting down some roots! we have a house folks!

we bought a foreclosure via the site hubzu. it was...a process to say the least. we didn't have the smoothest experience, but it also wasn't the worst according to horror stories we read. {i'll share more on that experience later.}

here's the deal: we've got matt & i, the 4 boys, my parents + 2 dogs to fit in a house. we have been searching for a property to buy since we moved to florida almost 3 years ago. but the timing, finances, and perfect house just weren't lining up, including getting beaten to an offer on the house we thought was gonna be the dream house. we expanded the search to include a small portion of the next town and there it was in all it's abandoned, run-down glory.

she fit the budget, so we went to take a gander & thats when we all went into varying forms of shock. there was excitement, awe, amazement...and mold. yep, you read it right, MOLD! in fact, almost an entire ceiling of a room was on the floor. the carpet and some of the rafters were growing mold. despite the mold, the house could be an amazingly perfect fit. literally it had all the things on our must-have list & a lot on the dream list as well. even the boys got their wishlist items which included: stairs & a pool.

we sat on it. we prayed about it. we did our research & read reviews. we stalked the auction site like y2k was about to happen. and then we did this weekly for a month before we finally won the auction & set the ball in motion to close. and close we did! we closed on the house december 29, 2014 & set straight to work!

don't worry! before all the work began, we snapped plenty of before pics. the ones below are just a general overview of each room of the house {from the appraisal}. i've got other pics to post as we go room by room.

now for your viewing pleasure, i present our house on Forest Rd...

the front view. i think the middle shot is her best side.

 the rear view. and for reference, yard on 1 side of MIL suite & pool on the other.

 top 2 pics are of the master/office combo. it's all one big room connected with wooden accordion doors. i know you're jealous, but stop. i'll send them your way when i take them out. 

middle right: that's side A of the beast of a fireplace

bottom row: side B of the beast. it's 2 fireplaces, not the see-through kind.

 and bathrooms. there are 6 of them. all have wallpaper.

 not one has a double sink...and only 2 currently have a sink at all. 

 here is where there was once a kitchen. 

top right: former garage turned utility room.

middle: mother-in-law living room...aka MOLD & bedroom

bottom: boys bedrooms upstairs

 top: these look like 2 rooms but really, is just one giant one split by a weird wall

middle right: florida room

here's a generalized floor plan to help get your bearings.

see! told ya she's perfect! never in my life did i think i would live in, let alone own, a house this large. but i will share all the God ways that made it happen in another post soon. 

for now, just be relieved that we know we now classify as "your-crazy-friends". 

but you know what i say...life is always adventure! come join in on the fun! 

{yes i will slowly be resurrecting this old blog...hopefully updating/beautifying it too}