Sigh of Relief

I've put it off until the last possible second. I'm about to unplug myself from my dear blog world for a couple days! This is it- the last post I'll create at this desk.

When I walked into our house after day one of carpet installation, I expected to meet the soft fibers, the soft tan color... what I didn't expect to be met with was the surge of relief. I felt it in my heart first, and then I felt myself relax ever so slowly from my neck to my shoulders and down to the feet that were padding around on the floors.

(Little Miss' ballerina room)

I hadn't realized just HOW stressed I'd let myself become over the past 6 months until I physically experienced relief. There were times, more than a few, when I honestly believed that we would be paying for two homes forever! Now, it was finally complete enough to move in. Hallelujah!

(Little Mister's bug room)

The kids were SO excited. Big Sister ran in circles through the rooms singing, "It's a miracle!" over and over. I agreed completely and joined in the victory dance with my own whoops and yahoos and dancing in circles! The kids spent the next half hour wrestling and tumbling on the new carpet. I'd been waiting for four years to have carpet back under my feet for JUST that reason!

(Big Sister's horse room)

Then, I took some quiet time, laid on the floor, and offered thanks and praise to God who made all this possible. I reflected on the wonderful memories of my grandparents that I made under this roof and asked to be given many, many opportunities to share my grandparents with my own kids.

SO CLOSE

It may not look like it, but we're SO CLOSE to moving in! In fact, I packed the first box last night! I said from the beginning that as soon as we had a functional bathroom, a stove, and carpet, we'd finish the rest while living there, and guess what? Carpet goes in TOMORROW, we have a functional bathroom and then some!


Bathroom- just have to add the fixtures! The shower curtain rod is even up.



Little Miss' chandelier- I found a great deal online and can't wait to see it on! The electricity for her room is waiting to be hooked into the breaker box.



The kitchen- a work in progress still, but there's a functioning microwave, stove and refrigerator. The sink and dishwasher will be installed soon! The island counter still needs to be assembled, a few drawer fronts and cabinet doors are waiting for me to purchase screws to replace the ones that went missing since I took the hardware off months ago.


Our living room cleaned and waiting for carpet!

Busy Busy

What a whirlwind weekend! BUT- I'm SO happy about the progress that we made on the renovation! This weekend, we installed the rest of the kitchen cabinets (doors need to be added), the over-the-range micro-hood, the utility tub, washer, and dryer. The house is coming right along! (We'll ignore that our original move-in date was... April??)

A laundry room of my very own! I've been waiting for over four years for this! Tonight I did four loads, and it might have been my most enjoyable housekeeping experience to date!

On the Floor Kicking and Screaming

"Let's just live on plywood." I was joking when I suggested this to my husband an hour ago, but I'm secretly wondering if we'll EVER get our flooring ordered and installed. I've been to six different businesses in the last three weeks, met three installers at the house to measure for themselves the house (even though I had handed them blueprints that were measured down to the sixteenth inch), picked out carpet after carpet, vinyl after vinyl, and laminate after laminate until I could hardly remember what the samples from each store looked like. I kept thinking that each new place I visited would be a breath of fresh air, that I'd feel good about ordering from them. The whole process has been miserable, infuriating, disheartening. Last Friday, I called Hubby on the verge of tears and told him I couldn't handle any more!

Now, my husband is amazing, personable, caring, and brilliant in his career. When it comes to helping me out with my responsibilities, he tends to pretty much leave me to figure things out and get my jobs done. Friday, however, he became my knight in shining armor, telling me that we'd figure this out and that he'd take over the phone calls and deciphering of flooring quotes for a while. He must have done a great job of consoling me, because I was convinced that we'd have flooring ordered by Monday morning. It's now a week later, and we're no closer to sorting the mess out than we were. I'm getting closer and closer to forgetting that numbers aren't adding up correctly, ignoring that I'm being told one thing and getting something different, and just ordering the flooring from whichever place I pull from a hat. BUT... the last time I settled in order to done with the headache, my punishment was loosing my daughter for 6 straight weeks every summer. I don't want to pay for another exasperated decision for years to come.

A Bittersweetness Called House Renovation

I haven't talked much about this part of my life via blog lately.  Mostly because the renovation has been a SLOW process.  Most of you know that about 9 months after my grandfather passed away, we were blessed to purchase the home where he and my grandma grew old together, the house that I've always known them to live in.  I've taken the care, ownership, and remodeling of the house very seriously, trying to find a way to make it work long term for my family and still keep the memories alive.  Lately, the house has really started to take off, and in the next couple weeks the dry wall will be mud and taped and we'll be ready to lay flooring, finish painting, install countertops and settle in.  

Tonight I visited the house to see what progress the carpenters had made, and for the first time in a long time, I was sad looking at the house.  I'm not sure if it is because there are such HUGE differences in the cosmetics between then and now or because there was such a MESS left by the carpentry work, but I was really missing my grandparents' home-- the one where all 6 kids would bring their crews in for Christmas, where heated political debates would be held around the table after dinner, where bubbles could always be found under the kitchen sink...  

My goal was to create a home that would welcome my relatives and allow them to remember the times they spent with Grandma and Grandpa.  Tonight, the fireplace and the soon-to-be sheetrocked  paneled walls were the only recognizable elements.  I truly believe that my grandmother would love that we're creating a warm home in which to raise her great-grandchildren.  My grandpa would probably say we shouldn't have bothered, but that it's looking good.  I think they would feel just as I do- bittersweet.

I'm anxious to put the house together again- so that the wide, old door trim and old dark wooden doors will bring back memories.  I'm anxious to revive the flower bed that was my grandma's pride.  I'm anxious to add the Irish Blessing that hung in their house around the top of my foyer walls

"May the road rise up to meet you,

may the wind be ever at your back. 

May the sun shine warm upon your face 

and the rain fall softly on your fields. 

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand."