The First State

After lots of unpacking, hanging pictures, and cleaning, we are finished moving into our very first house!

The kitchen (which is open into the dining room) is the project room; we'll call these the "before" pictures.

The dining room opens right up into the living room, which is by our front door.

And this is the TV stand that Joel MADE!

There's also a laundry room that leads into the garage, and a little powder room on the first floor.

At the top of the stairs is the guest bathroom... in which we have not yet figured out how to turn on the shower. Good luck to our first houseguests (haha, Tim and Nicole!).

Here's our hallway. There's a linen closet and our bedroom door on the right, and the office and guest bedroom on the left. Plus, Calvin loves his new home!

We love the high ceiling in our master bedroom, the his and hers closets, and the attached bathroom... even if we do miss our double sinks!

That's it! We love it and are so blessed to be able to live in such a nice house in an awesome location! Hopefully, I'll have some "after" pictures of the kitchen in about a month.

One last thing - I am thrilled to announce that I am an auntie! Joel's brother and sister-in-law welcomed their first baby into the world yesterday. We cannot wait to meet our niece! What a blessing!

The Loftus Dictionary

Since I have exactly ten minutes of free time, it seems a little update is necessary. Two weeks ago today, Joel and I found out that our "report no later than date" to Dover was changed from October 12 to August 12. Crunch time: defined.

We truly would not have been able to move on any less notice than those very short ten days. I put in one week notice at work and started packing. Never before did I realize that being an efficient packer is a gift. Thank you, Lord, for this talent! (And thanks to my dad, because I am pretty sure I got that gene from him.) I handled absolutely all of the packing, and Joel took care of absolutely everything else. Teamwork: defined.

Crazy, right? Our very different, very strong personalities usually clash, but over the past two weeks, they have complimented each other perfectly. I packed, planned, coordinated, and organized, while Joel made phone calls, out-processed, and dealt with people and paperwork that I lack the patience for. Maybe God knew what he was doing when he brought us together afterall. Together we accomplished what needed to get done. And all too soon it was time to say goodbye to Mississippi. Bittersweet: defined.

We loved living in the South! The culture, the weather, and the people were all amazing. I left behind a job that was a great blessing to us, with the most understanding, flexible boss anyone could ask for. We said goodbye to friends, neighbors, and mentors who made us feel so loved and so at home in Columbus. Now, as I sit in a Temporary Living Facility on Dover Air Force base (1,000 miles closer to our loved ones), thinking about how my plans for the next two months did not work out at all, I praise the Lord for his timing and his sovereignty. No, we were not able to move straight into our house upon arriving in Delaware. No, we didn't get to say all of the "goodbyes" that we would have liked to in Mississippi. But as of today, Joel is in C-5 training. And we live in Delaware. God has brought us here; God is with us. Blessed: defined.