House Update

Just thought some of you would love to see an update on our massive project. We have been puttering in the house and the more we putter, the more we actually tear down. Don't worry, it's all good. We just have to get to a good place to start. But I"ll add some pictures here so you have a visual of what's been going on. We've been focusing on the bedrooms and the two upstairs bathrooms and they are coming along well. The Andersons are here and it is exciting to see more done every time I go up there.

The above room is Jeff and Joseph's. It's pretty much done with the exception of a few touch up spots of paint and some baseboards. It's a great BOY room. We have repainted all the walls (green), ceiling (blue) and trim (almost white), replaced the light fixture with a new fan, and we have new oak floor. So, this one is pretty much checked off the list except for the little stuff for someone with a lot of patience. Maybe I'll pretend for that role sometime soon.

Next we have Rachel's room. It's PINK. She knows it and LOVES it! This room is at about the same place. Mostly done except for some picky paint spots. New paint, fan, and floor. The chair rail is also new, but I love how it really adds some fun to the room to be able to put both colors on the wall. For those of you who may doubt your eyes, the ceiling is actually pink also. It gives a really smooth flow to the paint from wall to ceiling and avoids the stripe look that white would give it. This is a very happy room and I never walk in here without smiling a little. Rachel already talks about "her" room and looks forward to being in it.This is a room in progress. We have put the initial round of color on the walls. A dark purple accent wall and a lighter lavender on the other walls. This is the master bedroom. Since I took this picture, the flooring has been completely finished, the doors moved (not pictured) and a closet added (using up some vacant hall space). There is still a tub in the middle of the floor as we are working on the plumbing in the floor in the master bath. Hopefully we can show some pictures of the bathroom soon.

This is our new bathtub in the hall bath. We are thrilled. Of course none of you can see all the pipe work that went on before this went in- it looks so simple in a picture. One of the highlights is that the shower head was raised from 72 inches to 80. So for all you tall people that come to visit, no hitting your head on the shower head now! And, you must come and visit- but wait a few months if you don't mind. Since this picture was taken we have all the sheet rock back on in the bathroom and a new bathroom fan. There are outlets, and light boxes in the walls at the right places for the vanity and there are pipes sticking out for the sinks to go in. Some of this may seem minor to some of you, but for us all those little details are really great to see happen. I think one of the reasons is that most of these things are things that Brandon and I are not familiar with, so others have pitched in and helped with. Then we come back and just like magic it appears.

Other things you can't see that are going on:

We got our new appliances- a stove, washer, and dryer!

A lot of demolition has gone on in the kitchen area. Walls are removed and railings as well as flooring. We have vanities and sinks, light fixture and tile for the bathrooms just waiting to go in. We've been sanding baseboards and will be priming them soon for going in the bedrooms. And there is a little of the flooring started in the last bedroom upstairs. I'm looking for some sticky tile for the laundry floor that matches a FREE counter top that one awesome friend picked up for us. The garage, basement, and workshop areas have been cleaned out, swept, and are ready for someone elses stuff to be stored in.

One of the fun things about going up there to work right now is coming home. When I remember, it's marvelous fun to take a sled with me and then when I get ready to walk back home, I can sled almost the whole way. A bit of a chance to be a kid at a time of my life when many things are entirely too serious!

So, hope you've enjoyed the update and we'll keep plugging away and try to give you another one soon.