Day 19 -- CARPET!!!

Well, today is finally the day. When I left the house at 10pm tonight, Jeff had all the carpet laid out and cut. He was already starting to stretch and put it down in the living room. Amazing! And it's not half as bad as I was expecting. Instead of the gold sparkling carpet I worried we would find, it is a nice warm cream and looks great! I even walked barefoot on it to try it out, and it's heavenly. Thank you, Jeff!!

James has been busy today. While looking for a sink at Habitat, he found a desk instead. So, for a great deal, he got the desk he has been looking for since we got married! I'm so thrilled for him -- patience has paid off! He also got to deposit his first paycheck -- he said he got a pic of it for me, but I probably won't post that on the internet. :-) He also removed the monstrous "microwave" that was built in above the stove. It's on the curb, ready for a flea market fanatic to grab. This evening he's working on the master bathroom sheet rock. What a mess that is.

I made it to Home Depot after I put the girls to bed and bought some light switch/outlet covers. I'm finding that every time I go to Home Depot (which is becoming several times!), I feel like more of a GIRL. Who knew there were so many choices for plain switch plates?! These choices blindside me and make me feel downright ignorant. But according to James, I made the right choice tonight. YAY! I got most of them installed in the bedrooms and living room and kitchen. Mark that off my list...

James also tried to hook up the fridge/icemaker today to the water line, only to find that the copper tubing coming out of the wall is attached to nothing -- that's right, it travels through the wall and ends up on the garage floor in the hot water heater closet. Hilarious. Ice trays, here we come. :-)

Dad picked up all the empty boxes and paper today and took them to Curt and Kenna's. Thank you! Happy packing, kids!

I also purchased our first coffee beans for the house. Feels good to know that fresh-brewed coffee is now available -- definitely feels like a home...

I am reminded a zillion times a day that James and I are not doing this on our own. I guess when WE bought a fixer-upper, THE WHOLE FAMILY bought a fixer-upper. :-) Thank you for joining us in this task. We pray that we'll be able to bless your socks off with lunches and dinners and get-togethers and parties and holidays and hanging out in this house.

Day 18

Jeff spent the afternoon and evening laying down carpet pad, while James cleaned the fridge and did who knows what else. I had a fun morning at CPR and then work tonight.  The girls enjoyed the morning at Auntie Hay's and are now having a slumber party at Poppy and Granbee's. A busy day for all...

Day 17 -- A Major Day!

What a day!   Today, we got HEAT, ALARM, CARPET PAD, and a FRIDGE!!! YAY!!! 

The heat guys got everything going before noon, and it's nice and toasty in the house now.  The alarm guy came in and got us secure.  And what are the odds?? -- he installed our system on 34th six years ago!  Really nice guy.  Jeff spent the morning finishing some cleaning/prep work and got the carpet pad laid out.  And James and Dad went and picked up our fridge -- thank you, Craiglist.  A great deal, clean, big, white...  It is really a blessing. 

Mom and I spent time this morning unpacking more kitchen and cleaning windows and scrubbing down the bathroom.  It's ready to go -- shower curtain, trash can, toothbrush holder, extra TP, etc.  Awesome!  We headed back to the Browns' for a yummy lunch of tomato soup and grilled cheese.  perfect.

We all went over to the house tonight after dinner, mainly for the purpose of taking Charis on an update tour. She was giddy with excitement, although I think she was worried about the carpet color (the pad is bright blue). :-)  She got in some rocking-horse time and found her silverware in its new drawer.  Took her a while to settle down tonight.  She spent some fun time in the kitchen today with Grandma, including washing dishes, one of her favorite things.  Hope that never changes...

Gwyn is doing much better -- no fever today. We'll be up early to head to Auntie Hay's in the AM.  No housework tomorrow. CPR in the morning and back to work tomorrow night for me.

Day 16

Well, the new furnace is just about in. Well, it's in, but they're coming back in the morning to finish the piping and wiring. I'm so ready! It was REALLY cold painting in there this morning.

I stopped for donuts this morning and Jeff made coffee, so we had an extra-healthy breakfast to get started. The KMP guys showed up right on time, and after they shook their heads a few times at some unusual wiring, they got to work.

I put another coat of paint on the baseboards and then got started on the kitchen! YAY! I unpacked several boxes and found our first moving casualty -- my gadget urn that sat on my counter, now in several million pieces. Also, I spilled an entire can of instant grits into the baking pantry box, but fortunately, there was no moisture present -- so, no, no butter needed.

I had to run back to Home Depot to get the keys remade -- have you ever had a key made and it didn't work? How hard can it be??

Anyway, Jeff worked on some tile cutting and cleaned the fireplace and hearth for us. What a guy. He ended up babysitting the heat and air guys while I took Gwyn to the doctor. Poor thing has the flu, so we've been home all evening.

Planning on heading to the house at 8am tomorrow to meet the KMP guys. Better get to sleep...

Day 15

Well, the girls went to Mom's early this morning. Charis was really excited to watch "Dalmatians" and Gwyneth was just hoping someone would finally feed her her morning bottle. Poor kid...

I headed to the house to tape and paint trim. The glossy paint is not quite as forgiving as the flat, so I may have to do some touch-up tomorrow morning. Jan brought me some Sonic for lunch, and then stayed to paint.

Mike, "our" KMP guy, came over to take a look at the furnace. After determining that it was far beyond repair, the boss man came over for an estimate. Again, I heard several terms that made me just nod my head and take notes. I'm sure learning a lot! Anyway, we're getting our furnace replaced starting tomorrow. YAY for heat! It's pretty chilly in the house unless you're working hard. (I only do that every once in a while.) :-)

Tonight, I'm blogging. Several have asked for a blog, so here it is. I need to do some tweaking and add some more pictures, but I've got a good start! Poor G has been really sleepy and running a mild fever for almost a week now. Tonight it's higher than ever, and that means a trip to Dr. Stephens tomorrow. So, Uncle Jeff's gonna babysit the heat and air guys for the afternoon. :-)

We are daily grateful for the Lord's provision of this house and for family and friends who are helping (tremendously) to make it happen. I had hoped to move in last weekend, but we are still here at the Browns'. And that in itself has been quite a blessing.

We're still having fun...

Day 14 -- Dropping By

The girls and I spent the morning running errands, including buying trim paint. After my Dr. Wayman appt this afternoon, I stopped by the house to count outlets and light switches (for buying new covers). There are a ton! I also did some measuring of furniture and spaces. James and Dad measured all the rooms, and James is drawing up some sketches so we can start doing some remodel sketches. Fun!

Planning on spending the evening at home...

Day 13 -- Lazy Sunday

Well, we didn't make it to the house today -- spent the afternoon eating and sleeping. But Jeff headed over this evening to finish the tack strip. I think he turned on the afterburner. It's just about completely done!