Walls to Windows!

“Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.”

- Martin Luther King Jr.

I'm so very proud of how fast our construction workers have went.  They are working so hard and it's apparent with how much progress I see every time I drive by the house (2 or 3 times a day).  I think today I'm going to go by a bakery and buy them some treats.  They deserve it.

Friday before Maia's softball practice, we went by the house beforehand.  We hadn't walked through in a week and wow, it's amazing how different it is starting to look.  Spaces are looking more like rooms and so the house, well, it's beginning to look like a house!  

The first thing the kids wanted to do when we got to the house was run upstairs and see "their" rooms.  But they ran right past to mommy and daddy's area of the house to see the big room with the window . . . our closet!  Well, okay, maybe I should say "my" closet.  He he.  :)

This is Maia in her room.  She'll have the bedroom in the front of the house 

with the high peaked ceiling.

This is Noah's room.  He's thrilled to be getting the biggest room.

Noah looking out the window in his room.

Maia helping daddy do some measuring in the closet.

Maia with daddy in her bedroom.

Hi mom!

I love the little details of the building process.  It's strange to think they'll all soon be 

covered up for forever more.

Oh how I already love my porch.

And all of us with our house :)  Maia, below, is so very excited, he he.

And yesterday, look at the progress!  We have WINDOWS!!!!  They also did the curves above the garage and the porch.  Looks so pretty, I think!  I'm loving how it's progressing.  Wonder what today will hold?  I'll check back in soon!

Foundation to Floors!

I'm a bit behind.  Sorry.  Your husband going out of town for 7 days to Brazil will do that to you, though.  But, not a lot has happened on the house to even report about.  Well, nothing super exciting.  Ok, to me, it's VERY exciting, but to you all, probably not so much.  But still, it's a part of our little house-building journey.

We have had a tremendous amount of rain in the last 2 weeks.  Actually, I am hearing "clink clink clink clink. . ." out on the gutter outside the apartment right now.  Doesn't surprise me at all.  It is spring and the flowers do need to grow.  But it certainly doesn't help someone who is building a house do it in the most ideal frame of time. But that's ok :)

About a week and a half ago we had this . . .

While Neil was in Brazil, the foundation was formed and dried.

Starting looking more real at this point

The kids' favorite thing is running in circles around the "house"

 And now today we have this . . .

The floors are laid, the floors are laid!  (And the kids are running yet again. . .)

They stop running to stop for a picture.  They get more and more excited every time something new happens, just like it does for their mommy.

 

And there they go running again!

A hole to the basement

Looks a bit scary right now.  Hard to believe that one day our family will be making memories there!

Finn with his fire hat ready to work (just hopefully not putting out any fires!) :)

Things are really progressing!!

The rest of the week is supposed to get better rain-wise.  Hoping for a productive week.  No more cement to wait on to dry, so hopefully things will begin to go faster now . . .and I can't WAIT!!

Busy busy week here regardless, as Noah's baseball games begin, I'm going to a Love & Logic conference with my friend, Keleigh, and the kids start more swimming lessons (Finny, too!).  At first I was worried about finding things to do to stay busy this summer, but I'm beginning to see there's really absolutely nothing to worry about ;) I don't think I'll be underwhelmed but overwhelmed.  Secretly kind of excited about it, though, because it's all a good kind of overwhelming.  Ahh. . . life is good and we are blessed.

Continuing Day 2

After school yesterday I took Noah, Maia and Finn back to the house to see what they had done that morning.  They were super excited to get out and get close to the "hole".

Checking out the hole!  Much bigger up close than it appears from afar!

After we left the site, we went back "home".  It was a perfect beautiful day yesterday (72 in my mind has always been "perfect") so when we got back to the apartment, we put our flip-flops on, grabbed the stroller and headed out for a walk to Sonic which is directly across the way.  Just our luck, it was 3:30 and still happy hour! So we walked up to the window and ordered our favorite happy hour slushies.  (The total came to $2 and something.  Gotta love 1/2 price!)

Because of a little almost 19-month old who wanted out of his stroller (and whom I realize now I didn't take any pictures of! Whoops!), we scurried on our way back across the street to our complex.  We love our apartment complex.  It's small, quaint, and very much like a big family (nothing like the first one we lived in for 2 months!).  Everyone is so nice, the management are like friends, and the landscaping is immaculate.  It's definitely a plus.  And we have this fun little trail that goes along the perimeter of the complex which borders a preserve and a lake.  So we are surrounded by gorgeousness.  We took a stroll on that path with our slushies.

This is the sign at our entrance.   I think it's just so pretty.  It's definitely welcoming every day.

This is also at the entrance.  I think these trees are some sort of cherry tree and they make me think of Japan (and Alexis) which is really kind of neat in so many ways.  Perhaps I'll see these in real life in Japan a year from now?

As for today, I have drove by our lot/hole/soon-to-be house twice now and they aren't doing anything.  (I guess they are letting the cement and rods harden and become stable.)  And tomorrow it's suppose to rain (70% chance) so I am expecting there not to be much more happening there the rest of the week.  At least it's started and each day I can keep driving by with the hope that maybe they'll be working.  Actually seeing trucks sitting there is NEATEST thing to see and completely makes my day.  So much to look forward to!

A peak into my house . . .

I know . . . I have been HORRIBLE about posting pictures of our new house. It's just that in just about every room, we still have boxes waiting to be unpacked. I'm having troubles unpacking them because I have work that needs to be done first. And then I have new routines I'm trying to get into (like Noah's preschool and running errands during those 3 hours & staying outside, for hours at a time, while Noah & Maia play with their neighbors -- two things we didn't do on a daily basis at the old house). And then it's strange, but while this house is bigger in square footage, we have less storage in some areas, like my dining room. In our old house, I had tons of built-in storage, for instance, our butler's pantry. Now we have no built-in storage other than closets. So it's different. I have more room in some areas but way less in others. So that is why I haven't shared many photos of the house. There are so many boxes and piles of "stuff" everywhere.

So, my big goal is to be mostly organized by the Halloween party which is in less than 2 weeks. (I'm laughing at myself because "organized" is not usually a word in my vocabulary.) My 2nd goal is to then take full-view pictures of my house and the rooms. But until then, you get tiny glimpses. I'm so mean, aren't I?

This is my favorite new rug that sits under the dining room table. This was my best (and favorite) purchase in a long time.


Just a mirror and the dining room light in the reflection.


My kitty, Chloe, in the guacamole room. I love my curtains that I have in there. (I think Chloe does, too!)


And Frankie, our doggie, hanging out by the sliding glass doors in the foyer.


That wasn't much, was it? I really am mean. More soon, I absolutely promise! ;c)