Some fun before and after pics of our house.

Last June or July when we were living in DC, right before we moved out here, an embassy worker thoughtfully took some pictures of the house we had been assigned to and emailed them to us.

I think I looked at those pictures a dozen times a day. Dreaming. Planning in my head. My heart was so happy to just be able to see and visualize where we would be calling home. We looked at the pictures with the girls all the time, which helped them have an idea of what their home would be like when we arrived. 

The house, in picture, all those months ago was beyond what we ever could have hoped for when moving here. And now, after living here for seven months it is even beyond the beyond our expectations. And we thank Jesus everyday for placing us here.

So, for fun, here are the before and after pics of our house before we moved in and seven months into calling it home. 

Before

As you enter our house you first have to walk through this massive screened in patio. I was all kinds of stoked when I saw this. I knew we would be spending a lot of time in here, and turns out, we are.

after
(not much different, but a little homier)

Everyday me and Marvi come outside and sit at the little coffee table with the patio furniture and spend time coloring. And then we usually play Rapunzel and Tinkerbell or Pocahontas until Sydaleigh comes home. The girls spend a lot of time out here, playing house and baby, and rearranging the furniture. This has been the perfect spot for us to be outside without getting bit up by mosquitos, of which there are a massive amount. During the rainy season we sit out here and watch the rain fall. And this is the best place to host a bunch of people, of which we've had the honor of doing many times.

Straight through the back of the patio there are a set of doors that lead out to the back yard.....

before

after

When I saw the pool and size of the yard I couldn't believe my eyes. Most of the homes here do not have anything close to this size of yard, let alone grassy yard. I was hesitant about having a pool at first, but when I saw that it was fenced in I felt a lot better, and then when we moved in, and I saw that not only is it fenced, but has a lock high up on the top of the fence that the girls can't reach....I felt even better! 

We spend a lot of time in that pool. We are out swimming in it daily, and the girls life vests and floaties and pool toys are scattered about the enclosure. Isaak hung a swing from the tree and off in the far top left corner of the yard by the green generator there is a big cemented circle that they push strollers and ride scooters on. The side walk leads all the way down the side of the house and then up to the cemented circle in the back so there is plenty of space for riding bikes. We make good use out of our back yard.

There are 20 trees in the back yard, twen-ty, three of which are mango trees, ( so we have a steady supply of mangos that we have been eating), some palm trees, and some other trees that create a canopy above us making for wonderful shade from the sun. Back in October I noticed a rather large winged bird flying around our backyard collecting sticks. When it finally stopped flying and perched itself onto somewhere I could see it clearly, I noticed it was a pretty small bird, but has a very large wing span and was building a nest in a tree next to our pool. We did some research and discovered that the bird is a hammerkop bird. Slowly, over the course of the past four months two hammerkop birds have been steadily building a nest that is so big it nearly blocks out the sun! Okay, maybe not that big. :)

Holy cow that is one big nest...the biggest birds nest I've ever seen! I am not a bird person by any means...but these birds are flippin' cool. They are native to Africa and build one of the largest nests of any bird in the world, despite the fact that they are relatively small. These birds don't sit on top of the nest, but rather have a little hole on the left side of the pic if you look hard and live inside the nest! It's like an apartment! They say that their nest consists of over 10,000 sticks and is strong enough to hold a grown man. And...I can say that that statement is true! A month or so ago some maintenance workers came over to "trim" back some branches of the trees around our pool, one of which would be the hammerkops tree. The worker positioned his incredibly long ladder in the crook of the tree right next to the nest, climbed up, and sat inside the nest while he cut down surrounding branches. I. was. stunned! Those birds are also attracted to bright objects and have stolen more than a few of our toys and pool accessories to decorate their nest. From the picture, which was taken from my kitchen window, you can see a pair of goggles dangling and tucked in a little deeper to the right is a sling shot. They have stolen a pair of Marvi's arm floaties, but the worker threw those back down to us. Only God knows what else of ours is stuck up inside that thing.   

Our front door is located on the left side of the screen patio and as you walk through it you enter the living room.... 

before

after

Just a little rearranging and some personal touches have made this space feel like home. 

All Embassy housing comes fully furnished so we brought very little with us. And, really, because we are here with the Embassy we were authorized to only bring a very small amount of stuff with us here. So all of our furniture, and basically everything stayed in storage and I just brought a few things to make the house feel a bit more homey, and us. I brought a couple accent pillows for the couch, some throw blankets and a few pictures and mirrors to hang on the walls.

I did bring two small bookshelves with us to store our books on, one right there and the other in the girls room. But other than that all the furniture is theirs.

 before

after

The main living area is set up in an 'L' shape so off to the left of our living room is the dining room. Not much different but enough to feel like 'us'.

As you walk through the dining room through that door you enter the kitchen. 
before (standing from the entry door)

after

before (standing in the back looking out)

after

As you look off to the right side of the kitchen there is door positioned there. We hadn't seen that door in the pictures we were sent, so when we saw this next picture we had no idea where it was in the house....
before                                                                               after

Our laundry screen room off of the kitchen.

Walking back out of the kitchen in the dining room, a view of the living room.

before

after

Turning right at the living room is this view of the hallway with all the bedrooms. 

before

after

I didn't bring hardly any picture frames with me because our weight didn't allow it, so I brought some canvases, pictures, and modge podge which is much lighter than a wood and glass frame and made us some canvas pics to hang. There's still a lot of bare spots but I figure I gotta leave room to grow.

In the first room on the left is this room. 

before

after

It's become our computer room for right now...and storage room. But in time it will be occupied by our third child.

Across the hall is this room.

 before

after

I took this picture when the two teenage boys from Nigeria were staying with us....hence the disarrayed beds and suitcases. But, we took the little bed from the first room and brought it in here for the guest room. When I saw the first picture in D.C. it didn't appear that this room could fit more than one bed, but it holds two quite nicely. And it has turned into the best guest room, having been occupied by a number of people already.

On the right side of this bedroom, next to where I am standing, there is a door that opens into a connected bathroom, seen here. So guests are able to have their own little quarters and privacy which is really nice.

And then also to the right of the above picture, I am actually standing behind another door, that leads into another bathroom, seen here.

Continuing down the bedroom hallway on the back right is the master bedroom. 

before

after

Seriously, area rugs make a big difference in a home. Thankfully the Embassy gave us three rugs before we moved in, which have helped to create a "warmer" home with all that hard cold tile.

My yellow striped bag on the left of the bedroom pic is hanging on a bathroom door.  When we saw the pic to the bottom left we had no clue where in the house it was. Now we know.

before                                                                                 after

As you walk through the bathroom it leads to the last bedroom, which is the girls. There room has two doors right next to eachother, the main door, and the bathroom door. EVERY room in this house has two doors to enter or exit from. Every. room. That's a lot of doors. I'm not sure the original purpose in building this house with two doors for every room but I've been told it's probably for security reasons. Who knows.

 before

after

This last pic was at the back of the hallway right outside our bedroom. 

before                                                                                    after

So, little changes. Nothing huge. But still a big difference when I look back over those first pics we received before we came, and I see what the house is like now and all the ways we have been able to utilize it since moving here. We truly love this house. It is old and the roof leaks in the rainy season. There are massive cracks in every wall. We have had to have maintenance come out and repair the bathroom sink after it got ripped off the way. The walls are made of concrete so hanging pictures is impossible without a special drill bit. We get electrocuted frequently due to improper grounding. It is the oldest home in the Embassy's housing pool and many people are uninterested in living here. But, all those little quirks do not exceed its blessings. It also has the largest yard and patio of any Embassy house, and perhaps one of the largest in the city. It is spacious and open and able to accommodate large numbers of people with plenty of room for the girls to run and play and spread out. It has AC units in each room, which, we are grateful for. It is the biggest home we have ever lived in, and it's  only 1800 sq. ft. But, after living in teeny tiny base housing for almost 12 years...this house is huge for us. And we are grateful beyond words to live in it.

To us, it is perfect. It is home. We love it. We couldn't have asked for a better home to do life in here. It is our safe haven. It is where we are making memories. It is here that we do life more than any other place. It is our retreat and oasis. This is where the girls are learning to swim. Where we run back and forth down the long halls. Where we chase the cats. Have movie nights. Practice gymnastics. Do homework. Welcome friends. Welcome strangers. Feed the thirsty. Have dance parties. Play "Guard Queen". Bake bread. Figure out life. Love Jesus.

This is our home. 

This is where we do life.