Let the House Projects Begin!!

Ken working on framing


Measure twice, cut once. (cement board goes down first and then we can tile)


Securing the hardibacker with lots of little screws that are just for this


Look who got our bathroom wired! :) GFCI outlet, ceiling fan, and sconce wall lighting is ready to go... (all has to be done prior to sheetrocking)

WAHOOOO!!!! :) We are thrilled, make that, THRILLED, to be new owners of our next home! :) We just closed this past week and have made more trips to Home Depot lately than the grocery store I think. (Close call, maybe?) :) Grandma Sue offered to watch the kiddos for us today while we got started & cranked out the first of many projects for this next week. Thankfully, Ken was able to take the next week off of work to hit the house projects hard & if all goes well, we'll move in next weekend. :)

Suffice it to say, we fully enjoy this kind of thing. Yes, I know there is something wonderful to be said for simplicity and not having to do anything, but we really don't have the option of not doing some things to this house. For starters, there is not a working kitchen or bathroom on the main floor... yet. But soon! Those are top priority, then we'll move in, finish projects on the main level, and our hope is to start in on finishing the basement this Fall. We can't wait til Jack & Maggie are old enough to try their hand at this too - we would love for them to have a skill set for their adult years that will maybe help them with odds n' ends around the house, or lead to who knows what type of career if they enjoy it! People have often asked me what kind of work I'd want to be doing if I wasn't a stay at home Mom. I really love being home with the kids & getting to take care of our family and home. But, if we didn't have kids or this was a different stage of life, I think Amy Matthews job on the DIY network would be pretty dang sweet. She's a licensed general contractor/designer who helps people with their home renovation projects.

This will be our 3rd house project (having lived in each) in 5 years. Do I even need to say that we hope to stay put for a while? :) It has been exponentially more difficult to move with our kids at the toddler stage they/we are in. The upside of moving is de-cluttering and a fresh start among other things. The downside, well, that list is too long for the blog. ;) But, I think Ken & I will always have a hankerin' for a house project. We also just feel so completely blown away by how good God has been to us and the incredible, detailed, amazing blessings that have come through this latest house process. We have learned much, been stretched in our faith, seen God move and answer many prayers (and not answer prayers too which has also been a blessing in retrospect!!), and just bring together so many things that we couldn't have dreamed --- and yet it is so perfectly His timing and His plan, not ours. Some day soon, I want to go into more detail with that last point, but for now will just share some snippets from today's projects. I'll do my best to upload more as we move along and maybe even do a before/after post once we're moved in.

Lots of love to you all!!!!!