And you thought your house was dusty...

Jimmy got to cut into the kitchen ceiling last night in preparation for setting the 2nd steel beam today. I have a feeling that next time we will wear a mask. The dust was as beautiful as freshly fallen snow all over the inside of our house, but left quite the chalky aftertaste. cough cough
At one point Jimmy sneezed and it was like Charlie Brown's friend Pig Pen - dust went flying everywhere. It was so funny!
Here's a look at my kitchen after the section of ceiling was removed and things were most of the way cleaned back up.

All dust aside, it was well worth the effort as the beam was put in place today!

Movin' on Up

We're movin' on up with this house project...literally! This weekend Jimmy and Kevin put up the 2nd story floor joists. Things are really starting to take shape. They did such a great job!

It was pretty strange standing upstairs looking out Jonathan's bedroom window and being eye to eye with Jimmy!

Making Progress

Wow - alot has happened in the past couple of weeks on our house project!

September 4th - Our first framed walls went up


September 5th - We further demo'd the shed. James quite enjoyed busting up the sheetrock.


September 8th & 9th - We began tearing our kitchen apart. We no longer have a dishwasher or a kitchen sink. Several cupboards and quite a bit of counter space disappeared, in addition to our sliding glass door and working outlets. I am learning how to wash dishes in a small bathroom sink and make toast in the middle of our family room. It's also quite comical watching my family line up at the dining room window everyday to walk to church or school. I can't imagine there are too many families using their dining room window as their primary entry/exit point.




September 11th - Crane day! 4 large trees were craned out of our backyard, including our beloved "Fire Tree". This was almost more sad for me than losing my dishwasher and sink. Our family loved the "Fire Tree". I think it just might deserve a blog of it's own...





After the trees came out, two very large beams were craned in.



September 17th - Time to drill holes in the beam.

First Day of School

After much anticipation (partially due to a 2 week school strike)...school has finally begun!


Abby is in Mrs. Curry's 4th grade class, along with her friends Jessica and Katelyn.

James gets to loop this year, which means he is in the same classroom with Ms. Lutes and his former 1st grade classmates - only they are big 2nd graders this year!


Josiah is in Mrs. Neevel's AM Kindergarten class. He has jumped in with both feet and loves every minute.

Aliya is starting her first official year of homeschool/preschool with Mommy. She is quite excited to be learning to write her letters and get to use scissors with Mommy's approval (on paper!)