Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Casablanca! I hope 2018 is your best yet. We are hoping 2018 is also the year Casablanca becomes our forever home. It’s been a couple of weeks since I posted, so I have a few updates for you.

The Christmas break turned out completely different than I expected. And, per the usual, God’s plan for us was much better than our plans were! I truly thought we would spend the entire break working at the house – mostly painting kitchen cabinets. As it turns out, the house had no power and/or no heat for the duration of the break. Guess how effective it is to paint in a house where the temp is 40 degrees? Yeah, not. But I don’t go down easy! On the first day, I got in the front bedroom and plugged up two space heaters in an attempt to get one room warm enough to paint. I managed to get the room to 49 degrees before I made peace with our reality – God was offering us a break. We took it.

Since then, I’ve just let the professionals do what they do! And they are doing a great job. Here are a few updates:

On the outside, our chimney is inching up. It’s been so cold that the mason has had a hard time getting the mortar to dry. We need just one little heat wave, please!

On the inside we are getting walls, trim, and paint. My little reading nook is tempting me to move in a comfy chair right now! And the ceilings – we are loving them!

In the 1800s, this was a fireplace. Then it was a bookcase. And now it’s going to be a fireplace again. We are thankful the hearth bricks are still in the floor. Getting closer!

Some scenes from around the house:

It’s so much fun to have family come to visit! Alyssa made fast friends with Buckskin by offering and receiving hugs! And Aunt Janice, even having grown up on a farm in the country, had never had a horse take a treat from her hand! Magic was more than willing!

Meanwhile, Lucy the-prettiest-cat-ever is enjoying being warm inside and making plans for her new home. Obviously, she’s so excited!

We certainly hope over the coming weeks we will have more updates to share. Call me if you’ve always wanted to load a U-Haul with someone else’s belongings and carry them in someone else’s house. That will be a thing soon. 🙂

I know 2018 will be another year of work, surprises, learning more construction moves, God’s provision, and celebrating those blessings. We hope you are celebrating with us!

From the Casablanca In Coaling Crew: Happy New Year!

Mavinee (17), Lori (old), Eric (almost as old), & Michael (21).