Party! Party!

We had our first official gathering of people with food at our place last pm. We had a progressive dinner with appetizers, salad, and the main meal at multiple homes and then ending the night at our house with dessert. Our class has been expanded into the young couples and young families and so there were two tracts of meals with everyone ending up at our place. It was a good time and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Ice cream, brownies and tons of toppings. What more could anyone want.

Progress! :)

We’re slacking at keeping everybody up to date on the comings along at the house, so here goes…

The upstairs guest bathroom is all but done. Two weekends ago we got the walls framed and drywalled and then set the tub, toilet, and vanity. Last week was spent mainly trying run the water and drainage. And we put some finishing touches on this past weekend.

Despite some bumps and bruises (and realizing we’re not as young as we think we are), things are going along pretty much as planned. The refinancing got squared away last week which was a huge blessing and one less thing for us to worry about (thanks for all your help, Tom!!!). While we’re both getting a bit worn out from quite a bit of going, we are encouraged at the progress. Other than a piece of trim, some caulk, and a few towel hooks, the bathroom is in good shape.

Pray for us to get things in order as we’re having our first little get together this weekend. Our Sunday school class recently expanded into two classes. Both classes are having progressive dinners then coming together at our place for dessert, and over 80 people are expected to be there. It should be a great time of fellowship, but we’re going to be scrambling to clean up the construction area make it a little more homey.

Oh yeah, my wife likes to brag on me, but I must say…she’s the best. She’s right there beside me being my perfect and fitting helper all the time. Without her, I could not possibly get through each task. Ask her about the toilet-water-shower she got while moving the old toilet upstairs…and we were even able to laugh about it!!!

Family and Extended Familiy

I have been blessed with an amazing family! and then I did really well and married into an amazing one as well.
Lately, I have been able to spend some time with my Nana from England....she came to see us last wednesday through saturday and we had a wonderful time. A very special person that holds a very special place in my heart. This past weekend we were able to spend some extra time with my inlaws and brother and sister in law and it was just so nice. And then I just got a call yesterday from my mom and my parents and sister holly are coming next monday through friday. I am SO EXCITED!!!! and then we leave on saturday am to go to Tennessee to see Becca and Ben Sinclair and Beth and Eric Baxter and all that TN clan. Blessings beyond measure. Even last pm as we fed the Bolton babies and I watch (with great admiration) my incredible husband who is so amazing sometimes it boggles my brain. How can one man be so great? and how in the world did I snatch him. I sigh! with thankfulness for so much good in my life - a Husband I only dreamed of having - a family that is so wonderful and friends that I miss when I am not with them and love being with.

CHIP!

Chip is getting so big! We were at the house all day on saturday working and Chip was our right hand dog. EVERYWHERE we went he went! He would just lay down and get comfy and Troy would need a tool so I would go get it and Chip would be up and going. There is no way he would want to miss out on anything - such a social butterfly. He obviously takes after me! :) However, he takes after Troy in that his favorite treat on a hot day is a popsicle.

Troy is back :)

Ok, ok, ok…I get it…people do actually read this thing.

Since the last time I wrote, the heat wave finally broke allowing us move back upstairs. We were able to pull the old cabinets out of the basement kitchen and give them a facelift last weekend. It wasn’t a necessity right then, but it turned out to be a very convenient opportunity to get them done. And we’re thankful we did. They are now positioned upstairs giving us a better idea of what our “new” kitchen will be like.

Then our attention turned to the upstairs guest bathroom. We spent a couple of nights early this week running a new outlet, light switch, and light fixture. Last night we started the framing. By the time we crawl into bed tonight, we will hopefully have the rest of the framing done (we’re making a cubby hole for our fridge, and framing in the alcove for the tub/shower). We’ll spend the rest of the weekend hanging drywall, plumbing in the fixtures, and doing whatever else we have time for.

One of things I’ve always said is that having the right tool for the job will make all the difference in the world. That continues to be reinforced by this project time and time again. At first it seems kind of silly to spend $200 on a tile cutting wet-saw that we’re only going to use once (at least for the time being). However, that saw enabled us to custom cut ceramic tile to fit our foyer. It kept us from having to hire it done, and saved us an enormous amount of time and frustration. I’ve also been fortunate to have a boss that allows me to borrow work tools as necessary. Last weekend, for example, we brought the cabinets to work to sand and professionally spray paint them. We probably could have rolled and brushed the paint on, but the finish would not have been near as nice. And, while we don’t have new cabinets, who knows how much we saved in not having to purchase cabinets? Last night as we were framing, we realized how important the pneumatic nail gun could be. Our walls are essentially concrete and having to drill into them to fasten the new framing would have been a nightmare. But, the nail gun made it a breeze and again saved us an enormous amount of time and frustration.

So, what’s the moral of the story? Well, that will give you something to leave a comment about…

WARNING!!!! - not a super exciting entry :)

Ok first of all it is Sherry writing so it won't be as funny or clever as my husband's writing. Sorry to disappoint. Oh Yah and it won't be grammatically correct. :) That would be boring. If you are reading our blog if you could make a small comment - some people (who will remain nameless) think that no one reads our blog. So a small comment would help I think. Well this is what the cabinets looked like that we pulled out of the basement kitchen to reuse upstairs in our soon to be renovated kitchen. We pulled them out on friday pm and I cleaned them up and sanded them all down to rough up the surface so the paint would adhere and to also remove the rust. FUN FUN! So thenTroy painted them.....the color was a huge debate and we just made a spur of the moment decision that we are both happy with. We wanted something light but not a drastic color. With the countertop - theme - other appliances we thought PEWTER was the perfect fit. So we had a very successful weekend of sandin - cleanin and paintin. Don't they look SO much better - it is amazing what a coat of paint will do.


So then we heard good news yesterday - WE HAVE A CLOSING DATE !!!!! Next monday we will close on our refinancing for our house - we are super excited and are very thankful that God has worked out all those details.

Making Progress!!

So, you’re thinking that I don’t normally write two days in row. Ok, maybe you’re not thinking that, but I am.

Anyway, I think we’re finally back into “GO” mode and getting some stuff done again at the house/church/big open space thingy. The washing machine is running and the dryer is all but ready to fluff its first load. But, do not think for a minute that we’re simply hooking up a couple of hoses and plugging in. No, no, no…there was no existing washer/dryer hook-ups, so we had to create (which required a little creativity I might add).

One thing Sherry has had to realize that I’m not real fond of having multiple projects going at once; I’ve got a list, I start at the top, and I like to cross the top off before I move to the next thing. And at the top of my list was the washing machine. I mean, really, who’s going to hook up a dryer first. You don’t throw your load of laundry into the dryer first, unless you’re a bachelor and simply have a sweaty T-shirt that you want to wear again (Seriously, who hasn’t taken a dirty shirt, sprayed some cologne on it, and thrown in the dryer with a Bounce sheet to avoid having to wash a load? And girls, don’t say anything about us guys being gross…we’re all aware of that whole body spray thing you girls do).

Anyway, back to the washing machine episode. We went to Lowe’s and picked up everything we needed Monday night to hook up the washer and dryer…well thought out, planned, and everything on the list picked up and/or packed from our garage. So, we’re in the basement out in the metropolis of Pyrmont when we realize that in order to run the new copper water lines for the washing machine, we need matches or a lighter to fire up the torch. Actually, the striker (a fancy little tool for just this purpose) was on said list and on site. However, somewhere in between the tool box and the new utility room, my curious wife decided to try out this enigmatic tool and used up the last of its spark.. No biggie except that we both gave up smoking recently and don’t carry our lighters anymore.

So, no lighter, no matches ANYWHERE…how to create spark??? Well, you use your creative imagination and let me know if you come up with anything better. Option 1: cigarette lighter from the car (the hole is there, but no actual lighter is to be found). Option 2: start a fire using a piece of paper on the stovetop (we stole the cord from the stove for the dryer because electric dryers don’t come with cords, go figure that). Option 3: have Sherry touch two bare wire plugged into opposite outlets (she refused, something about a pacemaker). Option 4: somehow use the pilot light from the natural gas furnace (hard to believe, but my better sense said no)

I’m not even sure which of us came up with our creative little solution. But, let’s just say we got the torch lit and OSHA probably would not have approved. Fortunately, we had no need for the fire extinguisher that hasn’t been inspected since 1997.

Very Warm Days!

Where is the summer going? It’s August 1st already, and it seems like we’ve not been real active since the painting. With all the extreme heat, we’ve avoided spending much time working out there on any major projects. However, while there are no obvious major transformations since the paint, we’ve got some important things taken care of:
-Most of the pews that we’re selling are gone (Only 4 left!!! Get yours soon!!!)
-We were able to sell and move the organ last weekend
-A good chunk of appliances and building materials have been purchased, picked up, and unloaded (that was fun in the scorching heat on Saturday!)

Getting rid of the pews and organ is a huge blessing as it provides some $ to offset some of purchases and it clears more room in the sanctuary. As for the organ, we were able to sell it to a man who was a member at the church we bought and is now donating it to his new church. The story is that the organ was originally purchased (at least partially) with a memorial fund for his brother that was killed in a farming accident 10 or so years ago. So, while we didn’t get the amount that we probably could have, the organ is at least going to be used in a ministry and is in the hands of people of who have sentimental attachment to it as well. Plus, I got the vibe that Sherry wasn’t real hip on that organ being part of our living room décor…

So, Sunday we did get a water softener hooked up, and we’re planning to get the washer/dryer done over the next couple of nights. It’s so hot, the only place I care to work is in the basement. Plus, the water at our current house is terrible, so we can take our laundry out there to wash. Most anything white that we’ve thrown into the washer has been ruined at home, and we’ve resigned ourselves to wearing only orange and brown as of recent.

We continue to pray for the refinancing and now to start successfully completing some bigger type projects (which the financing will help with). The bank asked for a layout yesterday and seemed happy with what we’ve planned. We should have a closing date soon. We’ve also committed ourselves to hosting a church get-together (60+ people expected) at our new place later this month, so we need to get some things done to make that happen (Toilets come to mind…).