Sorry, birds. No nests in here!

We love birds and have a zillion that frequent our backyard, but with the porch ceiling open, they were getting a little too cozy. And we really needed to get it closed up before winter hit. So that meant getting the electrical done first.  Porch lights, a fan assembly, switches inside.

Then it was time for the ceiling, which required exact cutting of the holes for lights. James, of course, got them perfect.  We love having the fan out there, too!!

Another ceiling

 At this point, James is looking for any spare hours to do the next project.  Today, it was sheet rock on the playroom ceiling that he built a few months ago.

We're (I'M) still very grateful for the smart purchase of the sheet rock lift. Saves my back and James' patience.  :-)

Twelve Years

Our anniversary fell on a Saturday this year, luckily for our girls. :-)  They had been having secret "Brownie Meetings" all week, planning a surprise for us.  So when they came in to wake us up, we were led down the hall to a special anniversary breakfast. Peanut butter toast, oranges, and water, complete with place cards and gifts.  And a special viewing of The Incredibles, Daddy's favorite. 

 Charis had created this collage for us -- one square from each girl.  I cried quite a bit that morning.

While most days around here, even our anniversary, may be spent getting little jobs done on the house, doing laundry, cooking and cleaning, nothing incredibly exciting... 

I'm reminded of the blessings we have.  Our house may not be anywhere close to finished, but God is raising a precious family in it.  And life with my handsome James just keeps getting better.

Run Lucky for Kyle

Well, after a weekend of electrical work and sheet-rocking, we spent our Sunday afternoon running. We had the privilege of running a 5K to support our friends, who are fighting leukemia.  This was my first 5K in 4 years, and while I had gotten in some time on the treadmill, I did not feel fully prepared.

But this guy is my hero...

 We ran knowing that Mom and Dad had our sweet girls waiting at the finish!

Here we come! Finally!

We made it!  

 

LIGHTS!

We haven't had lights in the playroom since we tore out the dormer/skylight, oh, since August?? So now that the insulation and ceiling were done, it's time!

 And the girls couldn't be more excited!

Of course, the next day, we decided to change-up the configuration a little, but that's just how we roll around here... 

Black Iron

Once we made it back home from Grandma's (after spending the night), James got to work on rerouting a gas line in order to accommodate the new ceiling in the playroom. 

 This meant no heat for the day, but thankfully, it was a GORGEOUS day.

 James continued to amaze by learning yet another new skill -- pipe threading.

 And JUST as it was getting a little too cold in the house that evening, he got the gas turned back on, and we put the house back together.

Time to mop... :-)

Friday at Grandma's

While the insulation guys were at work in our house, we girls spent the day at Grandma and Papa's.  It was a blustery day, but we walked down to the park for a while.  One of our main goals was to find Papa's name on the new veterans' memorial.

I'm sure grateful for my in-laws!

Happy (early) Birthday to Me!

Yes, insulation has always been at the top of my birthday list.  Well, this year, at least.
It was time to finish the spray foam for the back of the house, so my sweet in-laws offered to keep the girls overnight so we could do this:

 move (almost) EVERYTHING out to the garage,

 drape the rest,

 and prep for the guys to come in the next day.

They were done in 2 hours!  And we now have fluffy marshmallow-y awesomeness throughout the roof!

 The next day, we received this in the mail. Nicely done.

Valentine's Fun

James is celebrating his first Friday off (thanks to a new 4-10s schedule) by tackling this playroom mess. 

 After several hours of fun, James called in the big guns, otherwise known as Dane.

 With Dane's help on the other end, they hoisted 5 18-ft 2x12s into place to brace the roof.  

 And the next day, James treated himself to a new Sawzall (he worked the other one to death)

 And got to work on building the new ceiling.

And in the midst of it all, these beauties were delivered for Valentine's.  What a guy.

The Next Big Thing

Our playroom is now in the living room.Oh my.  I know our playroom is a luxury, and we are missing it terribly  We've had to empty it into the living room while the next big project gets underway.  

Lily, Meg and I moved almost everything into the living room on Wednesday afternoon.

And James started the draping process that night.

The awful current ceiling (with plywood covering hole where the dormer/skylight used to be)

After we emptied the rest of the room and finished draping, James got to work up in the attic -- stomping on the ceiling to punch out the sheet rock and insulation. Once again, hanging from the rafters.  That guy...

Wonderful and incredible messy things going on in there...

Making the mess messier

The Back Room. The Dirty Room. The Guest Room. This poor little room gets called all sorts of names. Some people don't even know it's there.  (Grandmother :-)) 

But it's time to make it more of a mess than it already is. Insulation's coming soon, so the ceiling needs to be redone. First, though, we have to tear out the old one.

What a mess.