Sanity in the Midst of Chaos

I admit it, I'm not a glass-is-half-full type of gal. I tend to dwell on the negative much of the time. My favorite band in high school and college was The Cure. And I still like to wear black sometimes.

So what is keeping me sane in the midst of the chaos we're experiencing at the farmhouse? As we uncover more of the hidden structure (or lack thereof) at the house, God has convicted me to list the little time bombs He's revealed just in time, as well as the blessings we've experienced and will experience by living there. Following are some that come to mind at the moment:

1. I recently found that a piece of baseboard was nailed into a drainpipe that runs from the upstairs bathroom (yup, that includes the toilet, folks). I'm thankful I found that before we used the bathroom again, and that there's a bathroom downstairs.
2. Since I've been away from the field for seven years, we hired the architect I used to work for a couple weeks ago to help troubleshoot the problems with the house. If he hadn't been there that day, I would not have been in the crawlspace in time to discover a leak in a water pipe.
3. The footings look good!
4. While I was ripping up drywall in the parlor (AKA motorcycle room), I thought, "Well, we wanted to paint this room anyway, right?"
5. We have two pear trees on the property that produce every other year, and this year, they're loaded with fruit.
6. The soil seems great for planting - not too sandy, and no huge chunks of clay.
7. Byron started pulling up the original hardwood floor. Except for the boards the termites ate, he hasn't splintered one yet. I'll be sure to post on the process.
8. We enjoyed blackberry syrup with pancakes this morning from the plethora of blackberry bushes around us. (Recipe to come!)