operation kids cubby

David was off work for a couple of days around Christmas so he finished the kids cubby for the kids to read in or the grand-kids to play in.  It is a great little place to just read and relax.  Originally this space was suppose to just get a brick wall to close it up.  I saw a different thing though so I ask David if we could leave it and use it for the grand kids to read or play in.  We finally finished it this week and the grand kids love it!  He also made me a ribbon rack in my sewing area.  So blessed to have a husband that can just do anything!

I made some soft pillow covers for several pillows

All organized!

No one can fall off anymore.

Game shelves on our side of the kids cubby

It is awesome to be able to see what you have!

operation HEAT!!!

Just like nothing can take the place of the warmth of a wood burning stove, nothing can take the place of the warmth coming from a furnace that fires up each time the thermostat goes below a certain level.  No getting up in the night to load logs so that you don't wake up to a cold house. Yeah, we now have a furnace hooked up and running.  This will make it so much easier to work upstairs this winter and hopefully have the walls finished before spring.   This is the part where the house really starts to "look" like it is being worked on. Paint and decorations are just a little ways away now!  It did snow this week too.

operation furnace

The furnace is set and the duct work is being put in.  This is the first step to moving upstairs.  Exciting times!

operation updates

It has been so long since we have updated.  So many things have happened in these last two months.  So much work has gone on around the house.   We are now deep into fall and the leaves have turned and fallen and made for a beautiful yard.  I love the fallen leaves of all colors.  I just love fall and everything about it.  I think my favorite thing about "this" fall though is knowing that we are well on our way to finishing our dream home.  Jonathan had a friend over and they tore out the last of the ceilings.  Everything is gutted now.  David taught me to wire and insulate so I began that job in a couple of rooms upstairs.  At that time, we did not have an indoor shower and our outdoor shower had been shut down due to cold weather so it meant a trip to friends house to shower.  Itchy, itchy is all I can say about that.  I am excited to learn something new though that I can do while he is at work in preparation for him to come home and be able to work on something else.  We have finished the siding and as much of the roof as we can finish until we build the front dormer in the spring.  Last but not least we have an indoor shower now!!!  Yes, you read that right.  We put a shower in the basement.  It is so nice just to be able to take a shower any time of the day you want.  An indoor shower!!!  Take the time to browse through the photos below and see just what we have done.

Basement kitchen

Other side of the basement kitchen

Fall decoration

Fun in the leaves

First fire of this fall

Insulating the wall

Half bath off living room

Especially for the grand-kids

Mickey bathroom

Some of the grand-kids visit for the day

Jordan getting cleaned up

Loading wood onto the rack that he built

All that steel

Helping with the last of the tear out

Indoor shower

Dressing area

operation side porch

Well, we told the kids that today was Labor Day and that meant you were suppose to "labor" harder than any other day of the year.  They didn't buy it but we did all work very hard today.  David and Jonathan got most of the side porch attached to the back and front porches and so the wrap around porch is starting to take shape.  I am just a little bit excited!  I have added a photo from when we first bought the house so you can compare.  The only thing we had done was dig the holes and mow the grass.  Such a difference!  

operation siding and porches

The race is on to get the house both sided and roofed before winter gets here.  You never know how soon that is these days so we are working every spare moment on those two projects.  The kids and I work on other things during the day when we have a chance too but for the most part, it is siding and roofing.  Jonathan put up a wall by the utility sink one day.  He did a great job on it and it is so much brighter now over there.  I uploaded both before and after photos for you to see the difference.  I love it! The day after that he put some much needed shelving under the steps.  They were made from the backs of some old church pews we had taken apart a couple of months ago and stored in the shed. They came to good use once again!  He and I also worked on the pool deck a little.  That is really not a priority right now but nice with each new board we put on.  We did a little dirt work too a couple of days ago.  Getting it ready to plant more grass.  Other than that, it is siding, siding and more siding.  We have ordered the red steel for the roof and plan on doing half the roof in a couple of weeks.  Can't wait!  Enjoy the pictures.  It will not let me upload them in order for some strange reason so enjoy anyway!

shelving under steps

new addition to the half bath

after a hard days work

hillbilly clothes line

working on the deck

porch overhang

siding getting started

sliding doors

before

after

starting on the side porch

dirt preperation