Progress on the house

I haven't posted any updates on the house here lately. I update Facebook pretty regularly, but it takes more time to do it here, so I just haven't.

We were hoping to move today ~ things aren't quite done, but I want to be at least mostly moved in for Jethro's birthday party which is Sunday. AAACCCKKK!!!!! Yesterday they were supposed to lay carpet. We didn't have everything we needed at the house (which they didn't tell us we needed), so the carpet layer threw a fit and left. :-P Can I just say I have been totally un-impressed by our carpet buying experience and would STRONGLY DISCOURAGE anyone from buying flooring from GREAT FLOORS. They sold us product they did not have, they piddled around for a week and a half before reluctantly telling us they could get ahold of the manufacturer to see if they could get more of it, they didn't make sure that we knew what all we needed to have done at the house so that the carpet could be laid. Yesterday, when I called and laid into the salesman about how this whole transaction has gone, I was basically told it was our fault it hadn't been laid yet ~ excuse me??? I am not the one who didn't tell me you could order more of my carpet! So, now we are about a month behind on getting the carpet laid. Not happy. And they wait until you are about ready to pay to tell you how much you are "saving" when they charge you more. :-P Anyway, unless you like it when you pay for product and then the store you are dealing with gives you nothing but a run-around, I suggest you stay away from Great Floors. It has been nothing but an exercise in frustration.

Today the carpet is finally getting laid, and I am hoping to at least get a start on moving furniture.

Here are some pictures of the progress we have made.

Kitchen, breakfast bar, and in the left background the school room lights.

Light in the living room.

Light in the master bedroom...bought for $20 on clearance!

West wall of the kitchen. Hickory cabinets, tile countertop, glass mosaic backsplash.

South end of the kitchen. The 'L' that the counters make is open to the rest of the house.

Chandelier in the greatroom. Cedar on the ceiling.

Laying the laminate. The girls were lots of help...at least *they* thought they were!

Will sweeping up after the laminate was laid. He claims he can out-sweep any woman. ;-)

Once we're down at the farm, we may be without internet for a few days. I forgot to call to let them know we would be moving. As soon as we have it back up and running, I will post pictures from Jethro's birthday bash!

Some pictures of the house



The front of the house with windows and a front door! Eventually, there will be a porch.




The stairs leading up from the basement. That's Garth's room in the corner with the window.




This is the master bath. The vanity/sink will go where you can see the black pipes on the right of the picture. Our lovely claw foot tub, and there will be a double headed shower on the left in the foreground.



This is the northeast corner of the house. This will be the "formal" living room. To the right of the tall narrow window will be a gas fireplace.



This is the "great room". It is the southern end of the house and has a vaulted ceiling. The partial wall in the foreground is the south end of my kitchen. The sink will be on this wall and there will be a breakfast bar. I'll have a lovely view looking out those windows while doing dishes!



Pictures from September

September has been a full and busy month! We have had 2 birthdays, multiple therapy and doctor appts., football games, company and mud football...oh, and we're building a house! :-P Here are some pictures to share what's been going on this month.



Logan, #33 playing football in Mullan. Our team 45'd Mullan! First win of the season.




Kathleen's 10th birthday. We had some friends over for a tea. :-) It was an enjoyable afternoon.



Progress on the house. Trusses are up, sheeting is on...now for the dormers and interior.

Andie (from Iowa), Josiah and Ezra. Andie was the *BIG* excitement for our month. :-D

Garth running an amazing touchdown! His first of the night against rival Wallace. He also got an inception which he ran for a touchdown.

Jethro (now 7 months!) enjoying a day outside...while his siblings played mud football.

Will (on his 20th birthday) and Andie. In case you can't tell, they have been playing mud football. :-)

Levi and Jade. Yep, they were playing in the mud too. :-)

This is Ruth. She's a sweetie (and muddy!). She's Garth's girl.

Jethro is doing well. He had a cardiologist appt last week, and we don't have to go back until November! That was very exciting news...although I don't know what I'm going to do with all my extra time now! ;-) We are going in every week anyway for physical therapy and feeding and growth clinic. He also has a therapist that comes to the house, but he is far enough behind that we are taking advantage of both. He is growing like a bad weed, weighing in at over 16lbs. Not overly big for a Dole baby, but for a heart baby, he's growing great! I can't tell you how encouraging it is to me to go to the therapists, or doctor, or to talk with his nutritionist and have them be so happy about his progress. God has been and continues to be so very gracious to Jethro and to us.

Football is going well. The middle school team (Mike's coaching again this year) is undefeated so far, and the high school team is 2-2. Both of their losses have been less than 1 touchdown, so, while disappointing, we are encouraged that they are playing well, and continuing to push through the end of the game. The loss this last Friday came after both Garth and their lead running back were injured. The team continued to rally and play hard, but they couldn't keep the lead. I should also share that both of their wins have been 45s (mercy rule ~ for those that don't know, in 8 man football, when one team is ahead by 45 points, the game ends).

The girls are keeping busy with school work and being the water girls for the middle school football team. The little boys...well, they are just busy! :-D

Blessings upon blessings (Edited!)

This week was the beginning of work on our house. We have decided to rebuild. My dear friend, Julianne , and I sat down and worked up a floor plan that would work better for our family than the old house, but still fits on our existing basement. We ended up with a story and a half design, utilizing the basement as living space too. I have been spending a good part of this week reworking the kitchen floor plan (so far, I have 5 different plans! Decisions, decisions, decisions...)

Our original plan was that we would buy used cabinets from someone who was remodeling. But, Monday we stopped in at Lowe's and they have some lovely stock cabinets...which now I am hoping to get for the kitchen. However, we do still need to go to Ziggy's and see what they have.

God has been providing things for the house that are over and above anything I could have hoped for! So far, He has provided:

• A full size fridge and freezer unit. It consists of a full size fridge and a full size freezer. They sit side by side and look like one unit. I am so excited to have a full size freezer *in* my kitchen!
• A commercial stove. This is something that Mike and I had talked about, but I needed to find a screamin' deal on one for it to be doable. The stove that God provided, has a 24" griddle, 4 burners, a 30" oven and pan storage! It was a *great* deal, and the guy even lowered the price a bit when we went to look at it!
• Three tall windows (don't know where they are going quite yet!), that are gridded, and perfect for someplace in my house. :-)
• A vanity for the kids bathroom. The original plan was to have 2 vanities, one on either side of the bathroom, but now it will be one long vanity on one side and a closet on the other. It's a 5' vanity. It's oak (it does need to be refinished, but good quality!), and it was well under $100! If you have recently looked at bathroom vanities, you know what a blessing that is!
• I found 2 matching light bars for the kids bathroom for the exorbitant price of $1.17 ea!! 
• God provided me with a lovely new Kohler kitchen sink. We found it at the Habitat for Humanity store for $25. It's about a $200 sink. I don't believe it's ever been installed ~ there were no tell-tale signs of it. 
• I shamefully forgot my two new lights this morning! We had decided that we would get nice, but inexpensive lighting for now...changing them out for nicer lights as we could afford to. The exceptions were: I wanted a nice ceiling fan/light fixture in my living room ~ because it will be the room you enter the house in, the pendants over the breakfast bar, and the dining room chandelier. I *love* Craftsman styling, and although we couldn't afford to build a "Craftsman" house, I am trying to incorporate Craftsman details where I can. I also love stained glass. Last night on Craig's List, I found a Craftsman style stained glass chandelier AND a ceiling fan with a stained glass Craftsman light! Both much cheaper than the "splurges" I was looking at at Lowes. Thank you, Lord! Mike picked them up this morning.

I really did not want to rebuild, everyone we know who has built a house, has ended up with lots of stress. And I really don't need 'house' stress right now! However, we do believe that is the direction God is leading us. So, I trust that He will be in the midst of the process, and I won't get *too* stressed about it. :-) He also provided a friend, who is a contractor/builder who is going to be our general contractor on the job...so that will relieve some of the stress.

As I was reflecting on the blessings He has given us so far, I decided that I needed to share them and give praise and thanks to my Heavenly Father. He provides above and beyond our needs. Thank you, Lord!

It's looking like Jethro's surgery won't be until the week of the 16th of August. I don't have a set date yet, but most likely Wed, Thurs, or Friday of that week. Please pray that he will be healthy, and that everything moves forward as planned. Thanks!