Now We Need To . . . -Part 1-

After the initial thrill of finding out we were going to have another baby, I had about a week of anxiety. I was still very excited and sooo grateful, but also had some fear over another little one joining our home.

Many questions began to fill my mind, like where's this new little one going to sleep? What about our car? Am I really going to go grocery shopping with four children in tow? How will I keep on top of the laundry? Will I ever have a clean house again? Do I have what it takes to mother and homeschool four children?

You might find the timing of all of my questioning a little odd, and perhaps it is. Perhaps most people answer all of these questions before they get pregnant. I just always knew that God was calling us to have another baby and that it would all work out. Of course I thought about these questions, but that was about it. Now that we actually are going to have another baby, it was time to come up with some solid answers. Here's some of what we've come up with so far . . .

While we have no intention of moving, we are now beginning to look at the space in our home with a more creative eye. So within a couple of weeks of that positive pregnancy test, we began planning on adding another bedroom to our home. We have begun this project this week!

We are very lucky to have family members who have a lot of experience with this type of work, because we don't! My brother Brendan has helped us to plan the project and has offered to help. And my brother Jeremy has generously moved in with us for the week to help. Jason has taken the week off of work. Together, they will be redoing the ceiling in our downstairs playroom and adding a wall to divide it in half, creating a fourth bedroom for Joshua and Noah to move into. Also, they will be resurfacing our deck. It is a lot to do, but we are hoping that with an entire week to devote to it and with the help of a couple of others, it will all get done. Below are some before pictures and some photos showing the process. I will be sharing more later as well as some after pics, of course!

Wood chips go flying as Jason demolishes the old deck

Our old deck. I think a few trips to the dump might be needed.

There's my big strong man

A couple of before pics of the downstairs room

Jeremy's load of tools that will be coming in very handy all week.

Framing for the wall goes up

Second fireplace comes out, and will be used much more as a second closet for the bedroom.

The boys love to help in any way they can. Now there's some homeschooling!

In the next few months, we will most likely be purchasing a van. And not a mini-van. But like a real, serious van. We are looking into the 12 passenger Ford Econoline. "Twelve passengers???" I'm sure you are asking. How many kids are those Burdullis' going to have? Well, I don't know the answer to that. But we aren't necessarily going to fill up the van with our offspring. There are lots of reasons to get such a large van.

First of all, once you pass up on the mini-van option, the selection of affordable vans diminishes to just a few. Adrienne comes to visit us several times a year and we want to be able to comfortably have her in our vehicle. We like to go camping and go to Lake Chelan for a week each summer. Between all of us, there's quite a bit of cargo needed for these types of trips. We need to have room for bodies and the necessary stuff. We would like to be able to have room for our children's friends. In a few years, when we have tall, gangly, teenage boys in the house, we want them to be comfortable in our vehicle. And then of course, don't forget the room I need when I go grocery shopping every two weeks to feed our crew. That by itself practically requires a bus!

We will most likely be trading in our Honda Pilot. We went back and forth about that decision. The convenience of having two vehicles was very tempting. However, we really have mastered being a one-vehicle family. Also, we started thinking about what we might not be able to do if we had the cost of the higher car payment of the van without the trade-in of the Honda, the cost of insuring another car, maintenance on another car and gas for another car. That all adds up to a few hundred dollars a month, simply for the convenience of another car that would sit there most of the time. With that few hundred dollars, Jason and I could afford a much needed monthly date, a few extra dollars for groceries and taking our children out to fun activities more often. When we looked at it that way, when we considered what we would be sacrificing in order to have the convenience of another car, we decided that trading in the Pilot is for the best.

Well, that's enough for now. I will be sharing more about the changes we are making (or not making) in my next couple of posts . . .