Before's and (Almost) After's

We're almost there guys! Holy wow....it's gettin' done. We move into our new home on June 1st. The closing on our current home is tomorrow (yikes!!!). Our appliances arrived today and I seriously cannot wait to break-in that kitchen. My. Happy. Place. My favorite features of this house are 1.) The charm. The door for the milk that was delivered by the milkman is still there. 2.) The heart and soul. We have put some serious sweat into this house and we're not done. It's an ongoing project. My heart is so full of love with the thought of the number of people that have made this happen for us. Ultimately, we didn't do this. God did. He continues to work in us and through us and through the people He puts in our lives. Today, my boys were thrilled when we went to our new home and they were able to see some of their "long lost" toys in their bedrooms. Like Christmas, man. No joke- if you want your kid to have "new" toys in June or July, then put some of their toys away in February and get em' out in the summer. God is so good, you guys. If you want to see more of the finishing touches, like the home with all of our stuff in it and the kitchen with the countertops, you'll just have to come and see us. The outside needs some love, but, that will come. Cheers! Front view of house last August

Front view of house today

Side view of house last August, before addition

Side view of house today

Mud room before

Mud room after (kids storage bench will be done soon!)

Kitchen before (Lots of pics here!)

Kitchen Today (Not totally done, but close! Two of my favorite features are: the slide-out spice cabinet and the slide out trash/recycle cabinet!)

Hallway bath before (Turquoise and pink!)

Hallway (bathroom is gone!) today. Hallway goes out to the addition

Living Room before

Living Room today

New hallway bathroom in addition

Up, Down, and all Around

I don't have a focus for this post. There are many things running through my mind. I'm going to be pretty scattered on this one. I'll start with this. I hate moving. I don't use the word "hate" often. I really discourage my children from saying it. But, really, if there is one thing in this world that I never want to have to do again, it is move. Oh, and I don't want to have to renovate a house again either. For real. Let's not do this again. It's not the actual physical act of the move that is tough. It's the process. The in-between. The waiting. It's trying to make our home in Fishers "up to code"- at least enough for the guy buying the place. 3 outlets that aren't grounded in the basement. 5 hours into the work, the handyman says, "I can't find the open ground." Super. Now what? "An electrician is coming out, but you will have to get on his schedule." Great. Did I mention that we have to close on May 29th? Yes. Next comes things that we are finding in our new house that aren't quite "right". "So, why is there no gas line coming into the kitchen? I just ordered a gas range. Where's the gas?" "Oh, well, we forgot that. It's only set up for electric. You guys will have to bring the gas line in yourselves." Hm, well, ok. Let's add that to the list. "There's a strange rattling noise in the exhaust fan in the bathroom. What's going on there?" "We'll look in to it." So, here's the thing: It's not perfect. The new house, the old house, the in-between. It's all very messy. Our countertops won't be installed until we have been in the new house for a couple of weeks. So, what will we do? Plywood. We're going to use plywood as a temporary countertop. "Here you go kids. Don't mind the small wood filings in your PB and J's . It's roughage, and it's good for you." I wake up in the night thinking about all of these things. And I know it will come together. I know. I think I had this expectation that when the house would be ready for us to move in to, that it would be DONE. But, it won't be. So, don't expect some big reveal like the ones you see on HGTV. Not with this project. And you know what? I'm ok with that. I wasn't before, but I am now. I have come to see that our new home is a home built with a vast amount of love. The Lord is giving us a huge blessing in our new home, and for that, I am eternally grateful. My husband has spent a large amount of time on much of the work himself. He does everything with such attention to detail, and such care and love. I am also so humbled by the number of people who have helped us. People from church have come to paint, lay flooring, and move furniture. I. Am. Amazed. We didn't have to pay for much paint. We had 1900 square foot home to paint, and we spent very little on the paint because some friends from church were very generous and gave us some paint that they hadn't used. And the colors are perfect. It is almost like that paint is meant for our home. I'm going to end on a high note. A picture of our cabinets in our new kitchen. The builder made them, and did a wonderful job. And here's a picture of John Z., after helping Chad rip out the old carpet. Thanks so much, John!