Faith & FamilyThe White Buffalo Story – Part II March 20, 2017Happy Monday, y’all! I’m so excited to be diving into Part II of our family’s story today. I can’t tell you how much y’all’s love and support on last week’s post meant to me. Getting comments that some of our story is already resonating with y’all or that it’s bringing you hope amidst similar circumstances literally makes me tear up! I’m a firm believer that God writes our stories. We have to be willing participants for Him to work, but He so clearly has written a story of adventure in freedom in our lives that we could never have created on our own. And hearing examples of Him doing similar works with you guys is just awesome! If you missed last week’s Our Story Part I, make sure you check it out first! It’s the foundation for everything to come. You can watch that video by clicking below: Re-living this through telling you guys our story has been so powerful for me. Last week, it was crazy to remember those wonderful early days of discovery where we developed our love for renovation and our family started to take shape. But it was also a time of darkness and despair where we were drowning in debt and literally saw no way out for our family. As God so often does, He stepped into that impossible situation and provided a way out that still blows my mind. Not only did it address our issue, but it built on the passion and gifts He was cultivating in us to renovate homes, taking something broken and hopeless as we felt during those days and out of it, making something new and beautiful. Okay, y’all, let’s do this! Watch this week’s video, Our Story Part II, to hear more about how God started changing our impossible situation. In the last two videos, I’ve talked a lot about that first house we got that was so defining for us! It was a rancher a bit out of downtown that had been a former frat house. While it didn’t take the large-scale reno that our last two houses have, it was a big project for us at the time. We painted, started exploring our style, renovated two bathrooms, and really created a home. And more than anything, it was the birthplace for the adventure and vision that has changed everything about our life: our renovation and paying down debt journey, me starting the blog…so much of our life today kick-started there. Does anyone want to see some old photos of that first house?? There are still some posts up from that time if you go allllllll the way back in my archives. Man, that was a life ago, y’all! I’ve come a long way when it comes to my style, what I love, photography, etc. But it was so much fun to look back and see where it all started. You can click below to see some of the rooms this super young newlywed did in that very first house when she was just learning to create. MASTER BATH: LIVING ROOM: MASTER BEDROOM: SUNROOM: GUEST BATH: It’s so amazing to look at these and see how much my style has changed and evolved as I’ve experimented and learned more about what I love. But it’s also so cool to see the beginnings of things I love today in those spaces. Anyone spot some items that are STILL in our house? There are several things in those pictures that have made an appearance in all three houses so far! There was so much gray and tan in this house! I’ve mentioned it, but now y’all see proof…I loved me some neutrals back then! I definitely have embraced and added more color as the renos have progressed. My love affair with white walls was taking shape here though! And our love of rustic design was in full force here. Now, we still love it, but it’s more of our foundation and other things are layered on top. I’ll share more about each house as they come up in the videos! Thanks for joining in on our story, friends. It’s been a fun journey and it’s an honor to share it with y’all!
Silvia Loya says March 20, 2017 at 4:10 pm I remember some of these pictures. I fell in love with your dry sink and commented on it. Do you still have it? Reply
Lindsay says March 21, 2017 at 10:15 am OH wow, Silvia! So cool to see that someone was around back then before The White Buffalo even really started haha! We loved that! I wish we still had it! We plumbed it in as a vanity, so it sold with the house and was a big selling point for that bathroom ๐ Reply
AmandaKB says March 20, 2017 at 6:23 pm * I know I said this last week, but again, thanks so much for sharing with all of us. * As I looked through those house pictures from so long ago, what was impressive to me is it doesn’t look dated now; so much of it is still classic, practical and pretty. I think that says a lot about your collected style and your design choices. I love how your style has evolved over the years, too. I started following after your YHL feature and decided to stick around. ๐ * The story you’re sharing is so important. I love to hear how God works in the lives of others when they’re willing to listen to Him and trust Him, even when those decisions don’t seem to make sense at first. I love how God rewards that obedience and level of faith. I know for me, personally, it’s always so humbling when those details work out in all the best of ways, ways we couldn’t even imagine. It doesn’t mean the journey was easy. I’ve often found it full of challenges, but those challenges enable such important growth. Thanks again for sharing! Reply
Lindsay says March 21, 2017 at 10:14 am Amanda, I’m so glad you stuck around! And thank you for what you said about our first house ๐ So sweet! I hadn’t really thought of it that way and while our house does look different now in some ways, there’s still so much I love about that and I love what a special, defining place it was for us! I love what you said and it’s exactly what we’re learning! God weaves a beautiful story to those who are willing to be obedient…and while we have been obedient in some key ways, we’ve wavered and been so unfaithful in others and He redeems even our unfaithfulness! And the challenges and obstacles we’ve faced from our own doing or others have done exactly what you said: created such growth and defining of our vision and hearts! Reply
AmandaKB says March 21, 2017 at 8:01 pm Oh the wavering! I hear you. We’ve done our fair share of that, too. We all screw up from time to time (and sometimes over and over again LOL). I think in those times we learn to appreciate God’s grace. I guess we just have to look at it as an opportunity to learn and do better in the future. Just keep moving in a forward direction ๐ Reply
Lindsay says March 22, 2017 at 7:01 pm Haha, yes, we screw up over and over! Why does it take us so long to learn lessons and then we have to re-learn them! Haha! I’m always blown away by how God takes mistakes, unfaithfulness on our part and works them for his good in his own way! Reply
Denise says March 20, 2017 at 9:26 pm We serve such an awesome God! I love to hear how He weaves things together in a way that we know without a doubt that it’s Him! Such a fun journey! Reply
Lindsay says March 21, 2017 at 10:12 am Yes we do, Denise! It’s so powerful to reflect and see He’s writing a story for your life and family that you never could! Reply
Austin says March 21, 2017 at 3:18 pm I’m LOVING this series of videos, Lindsay! I started following the blog when y’all were in the downtown cottage (which I adored), so I’m finally feeling a little caught up! Hoping you share more details about what y’all sacrificed in terms of budgeting etc. in order to get to your place of financial freedom! My (soon-to-be) husband and I are planning to take the first year of our marriage and do some serious debt knock-out, but I know it’s going to take a lot of discipline and vision to make it worth it. Owning our own home (hopefully a cute little fixer upper) is definitely part of that vision! Reply
Lindsay says March 22, 2017 at 7:03 pm HI Austin! Thanks so much for your encouraging words! So while we did live on a strict budget (and I’ll share more about that in another video – that’s a great question!), the main sacrifices I feel like we’ve made have been willing to move and seeing a mission in living somewhere others might turn their nose up at ๐ But we love it! Moving so often is really what has made significant progress for us! Though being strict about a food budget and what we spend day to day definitely plays a part, the big chunks have come from selling houses ๐ Reply
Sandie says March 21, 2017 at 11:29 pm Part 2 video was just as interesting and amazing as video1. I’m so hooked and can hardly wait for the next one. This is just so inspiring and a creative way to not only tell of your house journeys, but also the plan God has for each of us. I waited till all were asleep at my home, tiptoed into our dark living room, and listened to your story. . I didn’t want any interruptions or distractions. Thank you for sharing. God bless. Reply
Lindsay says March 22, 2017 at 7:00 pm Oh Sandie, thank you so much! I can’t tell you how your words touched me today! Sharing pieces of our story like this make us so vulnerable and just today, received some attacks about how I share our life. And then I read your comment! Thank you for taking the time to spread love and say that! Reply
Val says March 23, 2017 at 9:33 pm The story just keeps getting better and better! It’s so inspiring to watch the video every week! I definitely see how you have to step out of your comfort zone at times to see what God has in store for you. I’m going to start praying for boldness to seek and follow God’s plans even when I don’t understand. Thanks for sharing and being a bright light in my day. Reply
Lindsay says March 30, 2017 at 10:28 am Thanks so much, Val! So happy that it is meaning something to you! Reply
Bethany says April 4, 2017 at 4:10 pm Your story is SO incredibly inspiring to me. I cannot wait to see where the Lord leads you all! Reply
Brianna says May 30, 2017 at 8:50 pm Hi there! I’m getting a message that this video is unavailable. Any ideas on how I may be able to view it? Reply
Lindsay says May 31, 2017 at 9:15 am OH thank you for letting me know, Brianna! I know that it was working before…I have no clue what happened! I just got the same message. I re-inserted the link and it seems to be working now. Please let me know if you have anymore trouble! Reply