Fear and excitement - less than 2 months left!

There are less than two months left untill we will move in with Jeff's parents. We'll stay there in August and September. I'm getting a bit nervous about it all, really... I love Jeff's parents, but what if we'll all drive each other crazy? Haha :)
Or what if the kids keep running into "our rooms"? They used to live there and still sleep there about once a week. So they'll probably see it as "their rooms". (They won't be sleeping there when we live there, obviously)
We'll need to make some good rules for them!

 part of the rooms we'll be staying in!

I'm also getting pretty scared about the move to our own home! I mean... We'll really be on our own then. No friends that live next to us or in our street. No people stopping by 'cause they were in the neighbourhood. No people standing at our door when church is over.
It's going to be so different!

Jeff and I both love peace and quiet, we don't mind living a bit out of town. But we also love people! We want to invite them over for dinner or just to watch a movie or play a game, but will they want to make the ride to us? Everyone's so used to us living in the centre of Ghent...

But at the same time, I'm so convinced that God has a plan for us there! I can't wait to see what we'll make out of this beautiful old house! I can't wait to see how we will be a light to the people of our new town! I can't wait to see our futur kids running around in our garden! I'm so excited :)

A BIG surprise!

I know I've been gone for about a week I think but we've been SO busy and I've got a very good excuse: We bought a house!!!

It's amazing that we could buy this beautiful house with a BIG garden with just one income! It surely is a blessing from our great God... Because after we agreed on the price someone else came and placed a bid almost 25.000 over our price!! The amazing owner of the house told him that he was sorry but that we were first :)
Isn't this amazing? I still can't believe it...

A house like this is fairly uncommon in Belgium. Most houses are terraced houses (I hope that is the right translation) with a small garden. I guess this was just a very big blessing!

I feel like my dreams are coming true :)
My dreams of being a SAHM in a nice house with a big garden where my kiddos can play all day. I'll make them all kinds of fun stuff (with ideas I steal from Natalie) and make my own bread, maybe even grow my own veggies.
There's a place for chickens, bunnies and even for a pig!! Not too sure if we'll ever have a pig but I think some chickens would be fun (and we'll have or own free eggs!).

The house still needs some more work but we are totally fine with that. It has everything I love (big garden, enough room to have some babies, did I say big garden??) and everything Jeff loves. He really likes this typical old flemish style of houses, with some little buildings outside and old tiled floors. It looks a bit like a mini farm! We can definately make it work :)

We can move in by September which means maybe in less than a year I'll have a dog, right?! ;)
And then a year later a baby?!
But I'll just let Jeff get used to the idea of having our own house first hehe...

I need some help!

This is a call for help to the wives that are still in college...

How do you do it?

Both the housekeeping and the studying in only 7 short days??

I've got the housekeeping (I think)... But the studying?
It's just not working! I feel like I'm drowning in all the work I still have to do for school!

What a regular day looks like for me:

7.30ish: I get up, have breakfast while checking blogs&Facebook
9am: My Quiet Time! (which I haven't been doing lately due to not enough time...)
10am: Workout, followed by a shower (same thing, not enough time this past week...)
11.30: I get ready for lunch with my husband! He works at just a 5min walk from our home!
12-1pm: Jeff and I have lunch
1.30pm: I start the house keeping: ironing, dishes (I hate it... It's a never ending story!)
2.30pm: Facebook&blog-time
3pm: I start our dinner and in the meanwhile I get some more housekeeping done such as making our bed, cleaning up etc before Jeff comes home
4.30: Jeff comes home! Party in da house!! We relax a bit together, talk about our day
5.30: Dinner
6.30: We either have a course/something else to go to (mondays: baking, tuesdays: assertivity course for 4 weeks, fridays: prayer meeting) OR we hang out together with a movie, which is important for Jeff...

What am I not seeing? Am I spending too much time with my husband??
Oh and I even forgot to mention my "projects" such as 

home made bread!!!

or this:

 This is just a sneak peak... 

It's for tonight and one of my readers is going to eat it, so I'm not showing the whole cake just yet!

So tell me, what am I doing wrong?!

I realize I have LOTS of time compared to mommies/ people that are working... But you see, my school isn't shouting for attention like kids do. And I don't have anyone that's mad at me if I don't show up for some studying time, like a boss does... I have to do it all by myself and y'all, that's just so hard!! And I LOVE homekeeping... Just the same as I would LOVE to stay home to care for my babies. But I still have 1,5 year to go before we even can think about that! So for now I need some help :)

Love,
Evelien

Thankfulness

I just saw a wonderful decoration idea over at Simply Vintage Girl (well, actually at Honey we're home, linking to Simply Vintage Girl!)

via

Isn't this pretty?!
I'm going to look into it to try and make something similar myself :)

Wouldn't this be a perfect idea for Thanksgiving? We don't celebrate it over here, but still, it's never a bad time to be thankful :)

master lists

I love to read Brittany's blog "The High-Heeled Housewife"! Today she wrote a post about making a "master list" of all the things you have to do every day. I always make lists and it does really help me to get everything done. It also gives me a sense of accomplishment when I can cross something off the list :)

She said that she added something special: writing the things your husband asks on top of your list as a priority! I love the idea and will make sure to do this!

But my sweetheart is one easy man. He doesn't need me to do things, most of the time... Maybe that'll change when we get married and I see him every day? only 88 days to go! - but who's counting?
So I try to think of what he would like me to do. Does he want me to do something for the wedding? Or just do the dishes he left it piling up all week? Yep, he's living like a real man! no laundry, no dishes, no cleaning at all! I don't mind doing it for him so I don't think he'll ever learn it :)

I don't think he even notices everything I do because I think he would like it, hah! But it doesn't matter, it's the thought that counts, right?

Christmas War?

This week it's CHRISTMAS!! Jeeej :)
According to Courteney it means war... Satan wanting to keep us away from the real meaning of Christmas, not wanting us to read our Bible...

Here's this week's challenge: Christmas is just 5 days away and so much of our time is often spent helping the children to remember the "Reason for the Season". Now it's our turn. Once the kids are in bed get yourself a HOT drink (again we are warming the body as we warm the soul.) Get ALONE and turn out the lights by your Christmas tree, a lit fire, or a candle and just be alone with God. Pray, talk to him, I encourage you to sing Christmas carols or songs praising him, and just rest with Jesus.

I don't have any children so that's not the problem :) I DO have got me some pretty nasty exams, EVERY..DAY..OF..THE..WEEK!
It's killing me... Especially since I shouldn't be having any exams! Our exam period is in januari, after the hollidays!

Anyway, I'll find an evening where I can just sit, be still and just be alone with God. Maybe I'll do that tonight so I can calm down!

Love,
Evelien

My favourite part of the house

It's week 5 of Brittany's challenge of favourites!! (I know I'm a bit late but that's OK ;))

This week's challenge is to celebrate your favorite part of your home!  Spend extra time there this week, cleaning it, enjoying it and filling it with holiday cheer.
I have to say that my favourite part of the home is the kitchen!! I'm in love with the kitchen of my mother haha! They just re-did it and it's just gorgeous... It invites to cook :)
But I'm not going to live at my parents anymore... So I'll have to be happy with J's kitchen!

It's a very small kitchen, and  we don't have an oven (I hate that!!!!).
For now, J. has put a curtain between the kitchen and the living room... Because it's an old house and it's very hard to get and keep it warm... And now the kitchen is freezingly cold and it's such a sad little place... Sigh...
No, I don't like what he did with it, but I'm just hoping it'll get better when the weather gets a bit warmer! And if J. really wants to have a curtain, I'll have to find a curtain that's a little bit cuter and more my style!

Aah, only 6 and a half months and we'll be married and I'll have something to say about the kitchen!! Haha :)

Favorite part of the Holidays

This week, enjoy your favorite part of the holiday season!  Plan for your family to join you in celebrating this wonderful part of the season.

I'm not sure what my favourite part of the holiday season is... We don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, but I love to see all these Thanksgiving posts!! It looks so cozy and nice :)

Christmas is of course celebrated here (du-uh) and I love it!
When I was younger, I remember unwrapping presents from my grandparents. They celebrated Christmas at our house every year, but sadly my grandfather died a couple of years ago...

This is what my Christmas tree looks like at my dorm! 

It's a picture from two years ago but the tree doesn't change as long as I'm a student :)

This year might be a special Christmas because we're having my parents' best friend over! It's a couple that I've known for all of my life and I'm giving Petra a very special gift: I'm going to ask for her to witness at y wedding! Very exciting because she will not see this coming hah! She's so humble... I love her!

So that's my favourite thing about the holidays: Christmas evening (we don't wait untill the morning to unwrap presents in Belgium, so the evening is where all of the celebrating happens!).
But to enjoy that, I'll have to wait a couple more days! 

Love,
Evelien

Ikea stuff

 Last weekend we went to IKEA for breakfast, it's only 1 euro and it's really good :)
After that we went 'windowshopping', my favourite thing to do in Ikea!

I'm  in love with this bedroom! The bed, the closets, the colors! (I'm sorry for the bad quality...)

I also love this part of the bedroom! Mmmm...

When we get married, I'll get the bed!! And maybe the white dresser... We'll see how J. thinks about that :)

Speaking of him... He was for sale too!! For only 6,99 euro!!
Bargain :)

Love,
Evelien

Make your Home a Haven - Week 4

Yes, I know, I didn't participate in week 3 of the fall challenge... Why, you ask me? I just found that I couldn't be organizing my mom's closets or J's closets :) In my dorm I don't really have a clutter drawer so I figured I'd just skip it...

This week's challenge is: Keep your candle going, the music playing, and add some tender moments with your family. 
Candle is ok, music too (I've found some nice music I love!!! Mmm, I wish I could play the piano!)
But again I'm finding some difficulties haha!

As I'm living in a dorm, I don't have a family around me! But Courtney suggested to have just some tender moments with yourself...
So that's what I'm going to do!
 Tomorrow after my classes I'll have a movie night with some yummy tea that I've purchased today. I've also got some delicious Belgian chocolate! Mmmm... 

Last weekend J and I took a workshop in hand- and face massage. That was really relaxing! I felt completely de-stressed and I learned to focus on my fiancé's breathing/feeling/...


What are you doing to participate in Courtney's challenge?


Love,
Evelien

Make your Home a Haven - Week 2

I guess I'm just a little late to link up this week but hey, I've been sick! I've been feeling really awful, but now I'm all better :)

Courteney has challenged us to play soft music everyday, to bring peace in our house.

First: I don't like to hear music all.the.time...
I just like silence when I'm reading or thinking or studying. So I'm not too sure what to do with this challenge!

Second: Soft music? Do I have soft music?
Luckily my boyfriend uses Grooveshark, a website that allows you to play any music you want :) I've checked out George Winston, the piano guy Courteney recommended, and I think I like him. Maybe some of his songs are not soft enough for me (I LOVE reeeally soft piano music without any other instrument.. Just a piano playing a slow/soft melody)
I've also tried out Debussy because Eduard played a melody of him... I was a little bit disappointed because there's almost always an orchestra or something in the songs...

Maybe I'm going to ask which CD my neighbours play because I like that music when I'm over at their place! And I'll try to play some music while I get dressed and doing nothing special like reading blogs.


Another thing Courteney asked was to not get angry because of somebody else's anger. It's so easy to get angry just because some one is angry for a minute or two! But if you just get in control of your emotions, everything can change! So I'm going to watch when and why I get angry...

And last but not least: I'll continue to pray for the peace in my (future) house!


Love,
Evelien

Make your Home a Haven - Week 1

I'm linking up with Courtney at Women Living Well. She has a series about Making Your Home a Haven, something that's important for me!

I don't really have a "home", as I said before, or maybe I have 3 homes... I'm a college student who goes to my parental house/my future house with my fiancé every weekend... During the week I live in a dorm.
To which "home" am I going to apply this series?

I'm not sure, but I'm thinking my dorm room.
At my parental home my mother is the chief of the house, so she maybe will not like me lighting candles. At J's place I could place a candle, but men don't always like candles... And what is he supposed to say when his friends come? "Uh... Well... It's Evelien's, not mine..." Hah, I can see him saying that! I don't live there so I'll leave his little house just the way it is... When we'll be married I'll make it a bit less manly :)

I bought a candle and I'm lighting it as of today! It's a red one with a scent of cranberry, mmm... Smells sooo jummy :)


What cought my attention in Courtneys post was that a woman shouldn't stay up late watching TV or reading other blogs... And that a woman has to pray for her house. So I'm going to pray for my (future) home when I see my candle and I'm going to make sure my candle doesn't go out too late when I'm reading in bed!
Thank you Courtney for this fall series!

What are you doing to participate in this contest?

Love,
Evelien