Layers Upon Layers: The Downstairs Bathroom Story

This photo is blurry and therefore doesn't super accurately portray what the bathroom originally looked like, but it certainly captures how one felt when looking at it.

The downstairs bathroom was full of layers. Layers of paint on the door and windows. Layers of ceiling. Layers of tile. Even if you tried to pretty it up and call it simply a multi-faceted space, you just walked in and had to wonder where this bathroom actually began. We could make some educated guesses about its true size, but we knew that until we could peel some of these layers back, we wouldn't really know.

The ceiling was covered by a drop ceiling, most of which was just a few pokes and prods away from crumbling. The door and window panes had at least three coats of paint on them. The large vanity style double sink was hiding layers of lazy plumbing. Finally, there was the stick-on tile.

I understand the decision to use stick-on linoleum tile. I do. I have watched Blake tile a floor, a backsplash, and now a bathtub backsplash, and the whole tiling process requires a level of patience and tenacity that I certainly don't possess. If it were left to only me to tile a floor, I would totally do stick-on tile, no question. Even if it wasn't as pretty or whatever, I would be like, "Yeah, but I have a finished floor, and now I have lots of time to do fun stuff like knit and drink coffee."

Here is what I don't understand: the decision to place stick-on linoleum tile on top of another layer of stick-on linoleum tile. What I especially don't understand is why someone would look at this second layer of tile and then decide to cover this with a THIRD LAYER of linoleum tile. I understand it from a selfish point of view, but shouldn't any decent human being consider the fact that someone is going to be in charge of scraping up not one, not two, but now three layers of stick on tile? Could they not conceive that someday, some poor woman would have to do the brainless, hand-numbing and disheartening work? People, this life is temporal. You might live in your house for sixty years, but some day you will move away or pass away, and think of the legacy you are leaving on your floors. Would you want your great-grandchild scraping up linoleum, weeping on their hands and knees all while whispering, "I just didn't think my Pappy was the kind of man to take the easy road." I'M JUST SAYING.

The good news about the scraping is that underneath the layers of carelessness we discovered beautiful, virtually flawless hexagon tile. There were a few minor damages here and there, but it was mostly perfect. The bad news about this tile is that the only way to get all of the stupid glue off is with a tiny razor blade and hours of my time. Blake got as much of the tile off as he could with a big razor attached to a drill or something that he rigged up to chip away at the linoleum (as if how much he knows how to do isn't enough, I seriously don't understand how he knows the names of all the tools he has and what they all do). 

Notice my impeccable window taping skills to prep for scraping and re-painting. 

I could go on about scraping tile, but it would probably be as excruciating as the actual task, and I think I have sufficiently conveyed my bitterness. The moral of the story is one layer of linoleum tile is plenty, and if you don't like that tile, either suck it up or fix it the right way, because sticking on layer after layer of tile because you don't want to hold yourself to a higher standard is how a twelve year old boy would do things, not an adult paying a mortgage. 

In addition to tile scraping, the entire sink nonsense was removed. The drop ceiling was removed, and we discovered that the bathroom was actually pretty tall.  Also, there was tile almost everywhere. One wrong move, and tile would just fall off of the wall. Each time we thought we were making pretty good progress on the bathroom, something else would fall apart. Eventually, though, enough fell apart that we could actually start putting things back together.

Notice by Blake's face that he is simply obliging my insistence to document our hard work with candid photographs. And this is before the bathtub backsplash fell off the wall!

We used a heat gun and a scraper for faster paint peeling, which worked pretty well. The middle panel of the door had two layers of paint over wallpaper, y'all. Just. Why?

After almost two months, or maybe three (remember, we were only working on days off, so it was just one day a week of work), we were trying to decide what in the world we were thinking by getting a fixer upper. We tried to reassure each other when the other was SO DONE with renovation (thankfully, we rarely were discouraged at the same time). We were sure this bathroom would never get done. 

Then, one day, it was finally done. Sure, we still want to retile the shower some day. Blake had to jack up the floor under the house in one spot where one of the previous owners cut through a support beam that made a section of the house sag (that's a whole different story for another time), which left a little hairline crack in the paint in the bathroom, but when it comes to functionality and how far we have come, the bathroom is done. So, here's that before and after for you:

Before

After
Also, let me explain the pipe on the ceiling. I can't remember what it's for, but Blake is going to build a box to cover it, we just haven't had time for that particular detail yet. It was previously covered by the drop ceiling.

Before

After

So, here's the list of things we did to this bathroom:

• Removed so much tile/watched a lot of tile fall off
• Replaced bathtub tile with gorgeous subway tile
• Scraped and repainted window trim
• Watched the tile backsplash of the bathtub fall off, cracking the bottom of the left window frame in half, repairing then repainting the window frame again
• Patched and somewhat rebuilt walls
• Painted walls this gorgeous navy color
• Replaced shower head
• Replaced light fixtures
• Installed vanity and sink
• Scraped and painted bathroom door
• Installed medicine cabinet above the sink
• Scraped and cleaned the tile floor
• Painted and installed base boards
• Removed drop ceiling, repaired and painted original ceiling
• Cleaned and cleaned and bleached and cleaned and bleached the toilet, then replaced the toilet lid
• Repaired plumbing issues

There are a few little things left to be done to make the bathroom more functional. Blake has plans written out for a large industrial-style shelf he is going to build for storage in the bathroom; however, I still have trouble believing that this room has come as far as it has. 

Also, for a little bonus, I am going to show you a semi-room I renovated almost entirely by myself! 

The hallway, before. 

The hallway, after! I can't wait to hang up pictures on these gorgeous walls! As you can see, it matches the dining room, which you saw in last week's post. Also, can you even believe these beautiful doors?!

To give you an update, there has been plenty of material for a future post this week. Long story short, Blake has been working tirelessly to get the water and gas fixed so that we can move all the way into our fixer upper. The water is working (yay!), and we are hoping to have the gas working within the next day or two. If you think of us, please keep praying for our tenacity! Blake is starting his full time job as Camp Director of Jacob's Ladder this week, he is in nursing school, and he works part time as the worship leader for New Life Bible Church, on top of all the work needed for the house. I do as much as I can to help, but there are some things I am just so not qualified to touch, which makes his to-do list ever growing. So much of this house has come together beautifully, and we are proud of the work we have accomplished, but all things considered, the house is about halfway done. Sometimes the unfinished projects looming over us feel never ending, but going back and remembering what the bathroom used to look like has given me a little more wind in my DIY-sails. :)

Thank you all for all of your support and encouragement, and all of your kind words online and in person regarding this blog. I have loved getting to go back and recount this fixer upper journey, and it has made it even more rewarding to get to share it with you!

The Dining Room Transformation

I have no idea how many times Blake has had to endure the question, "So, can I paint today?" Bless him, if I were anyone else he would have pulled all of his hair out. This is how little I understand of actual house renovation, because in my mind if the room is empty, it's paint ready. So, as Blake slaved away doing all kinds of projects that I have zero knowledge of or ability to do (ex.: completely gutting a kitchen, and a bathroom, and figuring out wiring and plumbing issues), I begged him to give me something that would actually let us see more transformation. It was like, after watching how quickly and beautifully the living room changed, I was sure I could single-handedly do at least one room. At least.

Blake, immovably focused and driven as he is, slowly wore away under the steady current of my blind optimism and finally relented. "Okay, fine," he said, "you can start working on the dining room. But, I have two conditions: you have to do it right, or else we will end up having to redo it; and you can't expect me to stop and help you very much because I have lots of other work to do that is way higher up on the priority list."

I was elated and totally over-confident. "The dining room? Awesome. I can do that in like, a few days."

Totally ignoring my ignorance, Blake instructed me very clearly: "You will have to take off the chair rails, scrape off the wallpaper and any of the glue that you can, then clean the baseboards and tape off the windows and all of the trim. The moldy spot will definitely need kilz, plus any of the places that need to be patched. After that, we can paint. But, we can't paint until I get more stuff hauled out, because I don't want any of the paint job to get ruined because of the traffic through this room."

Hearing some of those things, I gleefully set off to conquer this room. I didn't hear that whole, "remove the chair rails" part and ripped off all of the wallpaper by hand then returned to Blake triumphantly proclaiming that my work was done and I could start kilzing now. He came in to inspect and said, "No, you have to scrape it. Which you can't do with the chair rails still on the wall." Slightly perturbed that he hadn't marveled at my work, I set out to remove the chair rails. I came back in a few minutes and said "I know you said you couldn't help me, but..." and Blake removed the chair rails (which I kept calling "middle boards," which he endured for a couple of days before he finally said "THEYARECALLEDCHAIRRAILS").

Here is how the mental progression of scraping wallpaper glue went for me:

This is totally easy.

Well, okay, some of this isn't super easy.

I know there is probably a logical explanation for why anyone would put wallpaper anywhere, but I will just sit here and hold a grudge against the person who knowingly chose to put up wallpaper when they knew someday it would dry and wrinkle and peel up and someone, as in me, would be stuck doing this.

For crying out loud, people have walked on the moon, there has to be a more productive way of removing wallpaper glue than with a scraper and a spray bottle.

I'm going to go ask Blake if there is an easier way to do this.

Blake says there's not. Well, well, we will see about that. I'm just going to spray ALL OF THE WATER ON THIS GLUE.

Ew, okay, now it feels like snot.

Okay, feeling like I've gotten a lot done, let's see...I have done one wall out of four. *internally screams*

I may be getting a little ahead of the story, but you have probably already figured out that I did not get this done in just a few days and I did ask Blake for a lot of help. Other than the floor, which we just finished this week, I think the dining room took about a week total, but, working one day a week at a time, the work spread out over a month and a half, along with other simultaneous projects going on that were way less fun than scraping wallpaper glue (it involved scraping teeny tiny tile, more on this nightmare later). 

However, with chair rails and crown molding cleaned and walls painted and floors beautified and a chandelier clean and spray painted, here is the fruit of our labor:

Everything we had to do to this room includes:

• Removing the wallpaper and glue
• Removing the crown molding and chair rails
• Taking down and spray painting the chandelier
• Removing, cleaning, and spray painting the grate against the wall and on the floor (to the right of the frame in the bottom photo, slightly obscured by our table)
• Painting the ceiling and the bottom half of the walls that same perfect shade of white as the living room ceiling
• Painting the top half of the walls my favorite warm hue of gray ever
• Cleaning the old crusty paint off the crown molding and chair rails where someone painted much more carelessly than Blake Compton ever would using this stuff:

This stuff is awesome. Just look at how great it works:

Top is before refinishing, bottom is after refinishing. But....it does make you feel kinda like this:

Okay, so, just so you can see that transformation right by each other:

 

Guys, I am so proud of this dining room. I can't tell you how much I have dreamed of family dinners, friend gatherings, and coffee and breakfast with my little girl since we finally finished this room. Now we just need a kitchen to make that dream a reality. Also, I can't wait to decorate a little and make it even more dreamy. 

I hope this reveal has been a little more impressive for you all! Blake is at the house right now working on installing a water heater and other things, and we are hoping that water will be worked out soon so that we can move in and really get to work. In the midst of working yesterday, we did discover that the heating in the house works, and that the upstairs heat is completely electric and requires no gas to run it! This was a welcome and pleasant surprise for us! I have one more post planned for later this week or early next week of another completely finished room, undecorated, but still AMAZING. There are two more rooms in the house that are almost completely done, but--like the living room--need just a little more TLC that we want to wait until we have water working to complete (for example, the bathroom) and reveal. 

Thank you all so much for reading. This journey of flipping our house has felt fruitless at times as we were doing it, but now that I am getting to go back and reveal our hard work and hear all of your reactions, it is amazing to feel like you are all starting to feel as invested in this as we do. I am grateful for you, readers! 

The (Allegedly) Poisonous Roof

One big problem with fixer uppers can be the roof. If there's a problem with the roof, it can be expensive to fix (and especially expensive to replace). Also, depending on how long there has been a problem with the roof, there could be a lot of other problems as a result. Upon inspecting the house and deciding how much we could sink into it and would need to sink into it, it became pretty clear that the roof was going to be the most immediate necessary expense. The good news was that the damage in the house from the moderately decrepit roof was minimal; however, the bad news was that it was an unseasonably rainy summer for Oklahoma thus far, and we knew if we didn't take care of it soon, there would be a greater potential for even more damage.

Blake crunched the numbers and proceeded to weed through various leads for someone to do the roof for an affordable price. One roofer we contacted didn't have the means to get his crew up onto the roof considering the steep angle, oh and also, he was pretty certain our roof had asbestos. So certain, he didn't get it tested, but simply handed us a number of another roofer he knew who might do an asbestos roof for a decent price.

We contacted this roofer, who volunteered to come take a look, kindly reassuring that maybe all hope wasn't lost and our roof wasn't a potentially cancerous death trap. As we waited, storms kept rolling in, and we nervously watched this one moldy spot creep along the wall where the roof was certainly leaking. Without having it tested, the roofer came to the house and confirmed the same suspicion that the roof was asbestos. They offered to do it for almost double what we could afford.

Finally, Blake contacted a third roofer. Once again, though the roof hadn't been tested, he was fairly certain the roof was asbestos. Blake then asked a thousands-of-dollars worth question: what if the old roof was already removed? The roofer said that he would charge the normal rate for putting on the new roof if his crew was not responsible for removing the old one.

Blake did his research, got some help, wore masks, worked fast, and we all prayed. He, his dad, and his brothers removed all of the old roof in one day, and the roofers came by to put the new roof on soon afterwards.

As I was writing this, I was asking Blake a few questions to make sure I was getting the story right (he obviously kept me a million miles away from this project).
"So, no one actually ever tested the roof, right?"
"No, we never got it tested."
"So...it may not have even been asbestos, right?" I asked hopefully.
Blake smirks knowing that I am trying to cling to any kind of remnant of possibility that he never willingly put himself in a potentially dangerous situation, but ever honest, says "We never got it tested, but...it was asbestos."

After the new roof was complete and I forced myself not to think about whether or not Blake's mask was secure enough during the roof removal process, we were finally ready to start some inside renovation. Blake decided we should start with the room that would require very little work so that we could be encouraged by getting a room done.

The living room was actually the least in need of repair of all the rooms. This was before anything had been done to it, other than hauling out some junk to make room for renovating. Also the carpet doesn't look so bad in this picture, but it was a spongy, moist, slightly sour mess.

This is after Blake had mudded and repaired a few cracks in the walls, and you can also see here the hole in the ceiling (which Blake had cut to a nice neat rectangle to allow for easier drywall patching) that was caused by the roof leak. What you can't see in this photo is the really nasty crumbly, moldy patch also caused by a roof leak, which would be just to the left of this frame. 

Good-bye ridiculous salmon color, even blah kilz looks better than you. Also, the spot I'm painting is exactly where the moldy yucky spot was. If you're like me and have no idea what kilz is, it's a primer that kills and prevents further mold growth.

I finally was able to start some work I felt pretty qualified to do. However, let me tell you a little something about being married to a guy who knows how to do everything, and do it well: you probably don't know how to do anything. Blake lovingly but clearly asserted his expectations when it came to renovating, and it has given me an eye for detail that I could have gone my whole life not having and been perfectly content. Despite the fact that Blake's insistence on a job well done has often caused me to groan and say "literally no one is going to inspect that little place on the top of the door frame where some of the paint peeled with the tape," it has given me a deeper look into who Blake is. I have also found a deeper meaning and reasoning behind Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward." So, no, whoever might potentially own this house after us may not notice every tiny detail we have slaved over to make this house beautiful, but God will notice when we are good stewards of what He has given us. More on this later, because it's going to need a blog post all its own.

After working so hard on kilzing the living room and having it completely prepped for painting, we went to pick out the paint color for the room. We discovered that Lowe's was having a huge paint sale, so Blake knew exactly what to do to make my creativity-driven and beauty-craving heart leap for joy: we picked and purchased paint colors for the entire house.

*sigh* He just gets me.

I do have one little bit of bad news that I know is going to upset you, readers: I thought I had an after picture of the living room, but sadly I do not. However, as we are moving in today, we recently pulled up the carpet and will be cleaning the hardwood floors today, so as soon as that is done I will have Blake take a beautiful panoramic view of the now transformed living room. I could be partial, but I think it's pretty amazing.

***EDIT***

Okay, so I know you all were disappointed that there was no living room after picture, so let me explain. Because we had so much patchwork and painting to do to all of the places with hardwood flooring, we left the carpet so we didn't have to worry about getting paint on the floor. So, after we finished patching and painting the living room, we didn't take an after picture because the carpet was still there. Now, the carpet is up, but the floor in the living room isn't finished because all of our stuff is being temporarily stored there. However, I do have a little bit of transformation I can show you. I have some good pictures that give you an idea of how good the living room looks now, but the carpet is still there. Once we finish the floor, we will take some really great panoramic photos of the living room (and with that gorgeous fireplace all nice and clean *insert heart eyes emoji here*). Plus, I promise that in the next day or two I am going to have a blog post up that will show the ENTIRE transformation of our dining room. :)

Here is Blake after he had cleaned up and repaired the hole in the ceiling that resulted from the leaky roof.

Then he perfectly fit a piece of drywall up there to replace it. 

One of my absolute favorite things about this house is that all of the original windows are still in, and they all work. They are absolutely stunning, so I made sure to get some pictures showing them look even more stunning as the walls around them changed. Here is one window in the living room: this is with patches and the original weird orangy-pink-salmonesque wall color.

During, with the kilz drying.

After, with the tape removed and all that beautiful wood cleaned. You can also see a bit of the white ceiling with the most perfect shade of white I have ever seen. 

Look at that ceiling, y'all! Also, the corner showed in this picture is the one that was a big moldy mess. Now it is perfectly pristine :)

Sorry again for leaving you hanging, and to kind of leave you hanging again. We are hoping to have the living room floor cleaned this week, but we are focusing on getting our water turned on so that we can actually stay in the house and get LOTS of work done! 

Eradicating Our Home-Grown Jungle

Especially in the last couple of years, I have often daydreamed about having a bountiful garden full of all kinds of fruits, veggies, and herbs. One problem keeping me from turning this dream into a reality is the fact that I have no idea what I’m doing. The other problem is that while growing your own produce sounds like a real money saver, the prep work for this is not cheap. There is one other problem: I have about zero tolerance for outside work. I am super pale, so I get sunburned even if I put on several bottles of sunscreen a day. When I’m outside, every mosquito in a 500 mile radius finds me and feasts. Also, I have basically no upper arm strength. Having a toddler has increased my strength, but as most of you with an elementary education know, anything times zero equals zero.

After we bought our house, I was eager to get started turning it into everything my Pinterest-filled mind imagined. I began daydreaming about crisp white everything and photos all over every wall and an herb garden on the window sill and sipping coffee at the breakfast nook while our potential renters would marvel at my excellent interior design taste. “I thought white everything would give me a headache, but instead it feels like a breath of fresh air in every single room!” they would exclaim, while I would nod knowingly, dropping organic, paleo, homemade, heart-shaped marshmallows into their coffee and say, “Yes, that’s what all of the Pinterest articles said.”

So, once everything was finalized and we could begin our work, I gladly volunteered to help Blake while the guys were at Falls Creek. “So, are we going to go pick out paint colors?” I naively inquired.

I could tell that Blake was trying really hard not to laugh out loud at how precious I was. “Well, I think we are a little far out to be thinking about that. The first thing we need to worry about is the roof, and we really need to get all of that greenery cleared off of and around the house in case we are having to do any of the roof work ourselves.”

“Oh, okay. That should only take an afternoon, right?” I again mistakenly hoped.

“It will probably take a little longer than that.”

Before

For two days, working from morning until evening in the hot June Oklahoma sun, we cleared off ivy from every nook and cranny we could reach, uprooted dead trees, sprayed poison ivy, and even discovered there was actually a sidewalk that went around the house that was completely covered by all of the underbrush that had grown as it sat vacant for two years.

However, pretty soon, we found out that under all that greenery that had gotten way out of hand, was a pretty good lookin’ house.

After

That one little bit we couldn’t reach drove us nuts. However, it died and fell off about a week later.

During, where I begged Blake to take a picture representing my hard work, and he lovingly obliged. Behind every goofy picture of a wife is a husband rolling his eyes and sighing.

After two days of hard work and sunburned forearms like I have never experienced in my life, I had a little epiphany that I happily shared with Blake. "You know," I said, "I'm starting to see why part of Adam and Eve's perfect life in the garden included the hard work of reaping from the harvest of the garden. There's something about working hard and getting your hands dirty that is therapeutic."

"I think you're right," Blake said, "But we will see how long you feel that way, because we are going to be doing a lot of hard work on this house for a long time."

I'm getting a little ahead of the story, but here's a bit of a spoiler: there have been days where I have definitely not seen the hard work as therapy. However, I have found a lot of value in it: obviously, the immediate value of watching an ugly house transform into something so much more beautiful right in front of your eyes, but also the value of watching yourself get a little tougher, too. While the world is fallen and there is evidence of that all around us, by the grace of God there is also evidence of the stuff He has made us of, too. His grace and redemption give us strength we didn't know we have, strength He created us to have all along.

Whether or not in the middle of moving I will be able to get it written this week remains to be seen, but my next post will be about the first room we finished in the house. See you back here soon! Mi fixer-upper es su fixer-upper.

World's Okayest Fixer Upper

Well, folks, here we are. You are about to embark on the second craziest decision Blake and I have ever made (applying for a house parent position with a three-week-old in our arms was the first).

Blake and I began to talk about our "next five years" and "next ten years" type plans about a year ago. While we revisit these discussions often, we try not to do it so much that things get confusing and we don't have a clear plan. At that time, we weren't imagining we would be leaving Willow Springs this early, but we felt that, while we had the means necessary to do so, investing in our own house to rent out for a time--and possibly live in at some point in time, should we be back in Shawnee for Blake to earn a nursing degree--seemed like a wise idea. We began to keep our eyes open for a property in Shawnee.

Some of the things we were considering as we looked was a property that was well within our budget, not something near the top of it. And, should that property be something closer to the outer spectrum of what we could afford, it needed to require little to no work to be move in ready. We found only one property in this category, and we gave an offer sort of as a "let's just see what happens" move. As we predicted, the owner wasn't interested in this offer.

Another house we found was in easy walking distance to the OBU campus, in a decent neighborhood, and was ridiculously small. However, we thought it would be a quaint little house perfect for a small family or two or three OBU students. It was near the very bottom of what we could afford, leaving plenty of room to basically tear out the entire inside and start from scratch. We also made an (extremely affordable) offer on this house, but lost to a better offer. However, we were hardly disappointed--we still felt like the right house was out there somewhere, and God was intervening to make sure we would find it.

One day, we were browsing Zillow to see if anything looked interesting. We happened upon a foreclosed house that, based on the pictures online, seemed like a crazy good deal. We decided on our next day off we would go check it out, but figured there would be some sort of catch, most likely that it would be close to destroyed in person. We drove up and couldn't believe how much better it looked than we had anticipated. Soon, we set up an appointment to see the inside, and once again were pleasantly surprised.

Not to say it was immaculate by ANY MEANS. To give you an idea of what we were working with, this was the reaction of the realtor who initially showed us our house:

However, in spite of this understandable reaction, we figured a few things: 1. That, considering our budget and the reality of the state of the house, this would be both an affordable investment as well as one that would keep us on top in the end. To give you an idea, a renovated house in this area of Shawnee sells for almost triple what we paid for it. 2. We could afford it because we had plenty of time to renovate in increments, which would make it much more reasonable. 3. We could afford it because Blake knows how to do EVERYTHING. 

So, we made an offer. We got the house. Blake has done basically everything thus far. 

The house is in a great neighborhood, on a corner lot. It's two stories. This photo and all of the following photos were taken when we had done literally nothing to it yet. As you can see, it came with its own complex ecosystem!

Here is one shot of the backyard, where you can see the garage (the brick building), and an add-on that had been on the house for I'm not even sure how long. It had a bathroom complete with shower and a hot tub inside. There was no saving the add on. It was a moldy, ridiculous, dangerous mess.


Here is another view of the backyard where you can see why there is no way in the whole entire world that we are keeping that pool.


Okay, the liner from the pool makes it look scarier than it actually is, but I am really excited about this gazebo in the back yard. Once the pool becomes a fire pit (or whatever in the world we do with it), I think it will be awesome for backyard bbq's and all sorts of fun stuff. 

So, it's a little blurry, but there is even more backyard that wraps around the back of the house. This is in the back, where you can walk out to the backyard from the master bedroom. It has a deck and a huge pecan tree coming out of the middle of it. It was a poison ivy jungle back there. 

I am sticking with the "World's Okayest" theme in transition from the house mom blog to the fixer upper blog for a couple of reasons, one being that it will easily transition in reader's memories, and the other being that there is probably no okay-er fixer upper out there than me. Brace yourselves for a few embarrassing stories on my part. The name is not because our actual house is only "okay" or that Blake is only an "okay" fixer upper (if he were writing this blog, it would be called "Yes, Blake Knows How To Do That"), but because, while Blake has taught me a lot, there would probably be a lot more done on the house if I wasn't his usual fixer upper coworker. 

I can't wait to take you room by room of the house and show you what we have done, and everything we are going to do. While I think almost anything is more difficult in practice than in thought, the renovating of this house has been more difficult in some ways than we anticipated. However, I am happy to say that after just over seven months of hard work, we are still hopeful about the house. Moving into it this weekend will be a little bit like camping in some ways, but we feel good about how far it has come. 

Oh, and if you are even slightly more learned in handiwork than I am, if you felt like volunteering to help with projects, Blake would probably kiss you right on the face. 

Chapter Next

You may have noticed that I never wrote a blog about our Christmastime activities. As you will soon find out, Blake and I have had so much going on not just in regards to busyness, but in regards to things weighing on our hearts and minds so heavily that each time I thought about sitting down to write, everything I wrote felt trivial or half-hearted. Not because Christmas wasn't awesome - it was. We had a great time with our guys, our families, and all of you who go above and beyond to bless all of us at Willow Springs during the holiday season.

Blake and I have been houseparents now for just over two years. When Blake and I applied for our position, we knew this job would be hard, not just because of the job itself, but because of all of the things that make any ministry hard - the faith muscles you have to exercise daily, the guarantee of experiencing disappointment and heartbreak, the laying down of certain comforts that you would selfishly like to keep, and so much more. We also knew what we could expect God to achieve - the faithfulness of His presence and power, the guarantee of miraculous victories, and the laying down of our ideas for something infinitely better. In two years, our little family has become a part of a bigger family. We have seen a community of believers in a way that many people never experience, and we are better and stronger for it. We have wept as boys have walked away from a chance for unhindered support and opportunities to succeed. We have seen boys who, in spite of their past and the circumstances they were born into, rise above and not only meet our expectations, but exceed them greatly. Blake and I have gone from wide-eyed and uncertain to certain in our God and our commitment to Him and to our marriage, as well as His commitment to us and to our marriage. God has transformed all of my preconceived notions of what our relationship "should" look like and has become real to me in a way I honestly never truly knew He could. I think if the two-years-ago me could look into the eyes of present me, it would freak her out completely. And I would wrap my arms around her and tell her not to freak out, but to trust God, because He is beyond beyond faithful.

Now, it is with a heavy heart and with a sentence I have typed and retyped at least 500 times that I am telling you that Blake and I will no longer be house parents. On Valentine's weekend, Blake, Adeline and I will be moving back to Shawnee for Blake to transition into the role of Camp Director of Jacob's Ladder, as well as beginning full time nursing school at OBU in August. In addition to these things, those of you going to First Baptist Chandler have probably noticed that Blake isn't ever with us when we attend; this is because he is currently serving as the interim worship leader at New Life Bible Church in Norman.

Before I completely lose myself in all of my feelings, let me tell you some of the logistics of these changes. Our relief parents, Jamey and Stephanie, are becoming the interim house parents as we continue to trust God for the right set of house parents for both houses at Willow Springs. Blake and I will be moving into the relief position until the end of the school year. The house we are moving into in Shawnee is, well, a work in progress. That's a whole other thing that I will tell you all about soon, but for now I want to focus on thank you's and prayer requests.

I can't even begin to express how thankful we have been to have two amazing church families. We have heard many a tale of the woes of trying to find one "good" church family, and we can't even believe how good God has been to us in the people he has brought into our lives through FBC Chandler and NLBC. If any of you are reading this and wondering why you're first hearing about these changes through a blog, there are two reasons: the first being that we couldn't risk our guys finding out from anyone but us; the second being that there are so many of you that we love so much that the idea of trying to tell everyone individually was an overwhelming task, especially considering how little time we have before the actual move. We are also so thankful for the support of our families and friends, as they have also relented many of their own wants and needs for the sake of Willow Springs.

Once again, dear friends and supporters of WSBR, I am asking for your prayers. Whether it is one prayer or many prayers, however God leads you, we need it. Please pray for our guys, who are the reason we're here. Pray for them especially as they navigate the changes; all of them have probably experienced more change and uncertainty in their lifetimes than most adults have muddled through, yet they persevere. Pray for this to be a time where they learn how to grow closer in their relationship with Christ, and for Him to become a source of constancy and certainty that they would always cling to when the world around them is shifting. Pray for the boys who need a place to go, who are having to wait, because of the other need I so desperately ask you to consider: house parents. If you think you and your spouse may be feeling the Holy Spirit drawing you toward the idea of being house parents, please do not hesitate to contact Blake and me if you just want to know more about it. I also ask for your prayers for Jamey and Stephanie, who have graciously volunteered to fulfill this need as long as it is necessary. Those of you who have so faithfully prayed for and supported our family, I implore and encourage you to continue in this faithfulness for Jamey and Stephanie's sake.

The reality of this chapter in our family's life coming to a close is a little unbelievable to me. Never will I forget this Promised Land God gave us. I never dreamed of how much God would do in two years. I never dreamed of what He would show me, of how faithful He really is, or of the power of the Holy Spirit in spite of, well, me. Everything I thought I was giving up has become something God has returned to me a thousand times over. The things I pouted about became the things I rejoiced over; worries became miracles; loss became intimacy with Jesus. I can't wait to tell you all about some of the incredible things God has done and is doing in more detail, but for now, I just want to say thank you. Thank you, all of you, for any and every part you have been in our time at Willow Springs. Thank you for the incredible amount of support you have given us. Thank you for sharing life with us for no other reason than just wanting to do so. Thank you for sharing in the laughter, the tears, the waiting, the rejoicing. We Comptons can't wait to see what else God is going to show us. And we can't wait to tell you all about it.

To God be the glory; all the glory for all of it.

Room at the Table

A room clean and ready for "A" to move in!

A little over a week ago, we welcomed a fourth boy into the Liddell house. "A" is thirteen and in seventh grade. At this point, he has no immediate physical need (towels, room stuff, etc); however, if that changes, I will let you friends of the ranch know. He is adjusting to a new place with new rules and expectations, so please be praying for him as he is transitioning to life at Willow Springs.

I might have the best backyard view in Oklahoma.

Thanksgiving is in just a few weeks (didn't school start back just three seconds ago?), so I've started planning our family Thanksgiving before all the boys leave for home visits. I've also started planning the Advent calendar, because if Thanksgiving is already almost here, Christmas will be here before I blink. All of this holiday planning means a lot of thinking back to last year, and all that has changed since then, and a lot of staring at our dining room table.

Since Blake and I started as house parents almost two years ago, "A" makes a total of ten boys that have come through our doors (and that's just in our house). Sometimes, I try to imagine what life would be like if all ten of those boys were sitting down for dinner at our long table with us each night, and all kinds of emotions fill me. Obviously it is the most ideal situation in my daydreams, but thinking of all ten of our boys sitting around us, safe and successful, sends this bleeding heart into a weepy tailspin. I've had people ask me if it is impossibly difficult to emotionally handle when a boy leaves. The answer is yes. But you handle it anyway, because there are still the boys who haven't left who need us, and need Willow Springs. And there are boys yet to come who will need it, whether it be for a few months or until they graduate.

All of this to say, there is still room at our table. There is physical room for more boys at our table, and the identical table in the Mac house next door, waiting to welcome boys to a safe space and a warm, home-cooked meal. And, despite all of the heartache that can often come with it, by the grace of God there is still emotional room at the table, too. Some days I am absolutely sure that there is no more room in my heart for potential heartache should a boy turn his back on the Willow Springs opportunity, but then I remember that I can't operate out of my own heart, but the heart of Christ. When I ask him to show me His heart for each boy that moves in, He makes the room in mine. I empty my heart of worry and heartache to Him, and as we prepare a room for each boy, the Holy Spirit prepares the room in my heart for him.

Friends of Willow Springs, please consider praying for us all at WSBR, and helping us as we make room at the table. Pray for others to rise up who have room at their table for the guys God knows that we don't yet. Pray for the boys who are searching for a place at the table. Thank you for the constant support and sense of community that you give us.

The picture is not great quality, but this is one of our guys holding Addie during youth group campfire worship.