Staying in a Mansion and Building a Little House of Our Own

Sorry I am a few days late, but I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day!

This year was especially good for us. Friday night we decided to try to beat the crowds and go out for our V-day celebration a day early. Apparently, everyone else in the city had the same idea but we managed to have a nice dinner and exchanged presents. I got Ben some of his favorite candies, a surprise trip to Bud's Best Cookie Factory (he has actually been wanting this for almost a year now), a pre-ordered copy of the new U2 CD and a paper shredder. He was very happy with his gifts...he is a pretty simple guy. He gave me red tulips (tulips are one of my faves) and a copy of the John Mayer: Where the Light Is DVD and then he surprised me with a trip to the Biltmore! We are going in March and I can't wait! Maybe I will actually take some photos of this trip so I can blog about it.

The best part of our celebration came on Saturday when we wrote a contract on a house we have been looking at for a couple of weeks now. That's right, I got a house for Valentine's Day! (Let's see if he can beat that gift next year!) Actually, we are building the house and it won't be ready until mid-July so it might end up being an Anniversary gift as well. We are super excited about getting to be a part of the building process and can't wait to move into our new home! God has truly blessed us through this whole process and we are very aware of the fact that He is our Provider.

Here is a photo of a house in our neighborhood that has the same floor plan as ours. This should give you an idea of what our home will look like. Imagine black shutters...rocking chairs on the front porch (maybe a swing too)...a little ivy growing up the columns...and most definitely an American flag in the front yard!