The kitchen is starting to look like a real kitchen :)

Just thought I would post some more pictures. My mom asked how we arranged the furniture in the family room, so I thought it was time to post some more pictures. There will eventually be a small tv cabinet in the corner of the family room -- when Mike is done with all the other projects and has time to do some woodworking....ha ha ha! If you notice that the island in the kitchen is a different color from the cabinets.....that wasn't a mistake :) Our cabinet guy told us that is the "in" thing now and it makes the island pop out. He has done such an awesome job on the cabinets -- what a huge blessing! He has given us all the doors, but we are waiting for the hinges to get in -- possibly Wednesday or Thursday. We are hoping to order the countertops tomorrow and they will take about 7-10 days. Two brothers from church came over on Saturday and spent almost the entire day on electrical stuff in the kitchen. Now, I actually have lights so I can see :) AND....most exciting of all, my oven is plugged in and working. I started cooking right away last night. But, it isn't too fun to have to go outside to hose off the dishes :) But, soon, I will have a sink!

Finally updating :)

Sorry it has been so long! We have been a little busy painting and I haven't had time to blog -- imagine that!!! :) We have had so many people come and help us with our house. AND, we have actually enjoyed all the work! We owe a LOT of friends some big favors after this. Mom and Dad came this past Thursday and worked non-stop their entire visit. We had all of the walls painted before they got here, but Dad came in and did the finishing touches like trim, doors, Bryant's wall, etc. Mike and Dad got so much accomplished in one week. They tiled the entryway, tiled the fireplace, installed the laminate wood floor in the dining room and dinette and lots of other little details. I can't leave out the fact that mom helped paint trim also and she helped me pack and clean the prophet's chambers so I never have to go in there again :) It is all coming together so nicely! The carpet is getting installed as I type this. Mom and Dad had to leave this morning and it was SO hard having them go....we sure had fun together even though it was all work and very little play. We tried to convince them to stay one more day so they could see the carpet, but that wouldn't have been fair to the Ices who were eagerly waiting to see them :) I am starting to see the light (or rather, the great big beam) at the end of the tunnel. I will HOPEFULLY post more pictures tonight of the carpet and more of the "finished" rooms. Maybe, just maybe we will actually get some of our furniture in the next few days :) A couch will be SO wonderful!

Catch up!

For those of you who have been checking up on us....sorry, our internet has been down again :) But, here are some pictures to catch you up -- the post below is of Saturday's work and these are of Sunday through Wednesday. It is coming along nicely and Michael even said tonight that he thinks we could get carpeting in 2 to 3 weeks....I just can't believe it! For those of you who don't know, we are all living in the house now even though it isn't really liveable :) We were just too excited to feel normal again. We are sleeping on the floors with no carpet, just mattresses and blankets. And, we spend the day in the playroom, laundry room, and half bath downstairs. Hey, it works! And, it is more room than the prophet's chamber :)

It looks so much bigger with all the walls taken down



Bryant thought he was big stuff using that saw to cut down the nasty spindles -- yes, I know, it was very dangerous!

I get so excited every time I get to do laundry in my new, full-size washing machine and dryer

Even Makayla is excited about the new dryer....yes, I have another climber on my hands!

This is my kitchen for the time being....a little inconvenient, but it works :)

Having the sheetrock up made a huge difference







Michael replaced all the main level doors with the 6 panel doors and they look SO much better

Big Day -- Saturday Construction

Mike had several men and teens come and help throughout the day. They got a lot accomplished! They built the new outside wall and installed the French Doors, tore down the inside kitchen walls and put up the support beam, cleaned up some of the yard, knocked down the brick wall surrounding the patio, tore down the ugly dog house, etc.

Demolition Day 2

Thought I would post some more pictures of the mess that Mike is making :)





Bryant has been such a good helper. He is a worker like his daddy. AND, getting some money is another motivator :)



There was sheetrock behind the panelling, so that is good news :)


Mike changed all the locks on the doors, so our "friends" won't come for a little visit :)


This is the trash that the sellers left for us....they are "supposed to" come and get it on Friday


Priority number one for today was the trampoline. The kids are totally loving it :)