Slow and Steady?

Chad has most of the main floor sealed back up after having plumbing and electrical moved around. He is trying to get the floor prepped in order to start installing our hardwood floor. We were able to pick up our flooring at Nelson's the past week. We had cut trees at both of our grandparent's homes 2 years ago and had it milled in preparation for a new house. We are excited to now have a place for it. The floor will be a mix of white and red oak, cherry, maple, and black walnut.

The crew also arrived on Wednesday of this week to begin closing in the front porch area. The area will become our new entry way and mudroom closet. Above the entryway will be a sleeping area for the girls to share until we are able to add on a master bedroom in a few years. The photo below shows Ariya standing in the new front doorway.

So, should we pass a hat and vote on when the move-in date will be?

For all of you wanting a new post...

The last few days have brought blog followers asking for more pictures.... so... let me just explain that if I have not updated pictures... there is probably bad news...or no news. In this case, there has just been no progress to share. The house looks the same as it did two weeks ago. Life with 4 kids (and in-laws on a warm vacation) has left but a few hours a week for us to work.

We have been brainstorming ways to get a bit more work done.... so by the end of the week, I hope to send you some fun new pictures. I get super excited when we have some progress to show. As soon as I get back to the computer I will be sure to pass on the new views.

I love the location so much, and can't wait to get moved in... whenever that may be.

I can't say that no progress was made. I spent 6 hours at Lowes picking out lighting on Thursday and 4 hours at JoAnne's on Saturday trying to pick out a piece of fabric to base our paint colors around. Both of those have been marked off the list... sort of... Lowes called and said the ceiling fans are backordered until the end of March, and the kitchen and dining area lighting are no longer available... the joys of renovation planning. Almost all the interior materials have now been selected so it is just a matter of getting things put back together... somewhat of a mystery right now.

Standing in the living area looking out at the trees, snow, and peacefulness... makes all the work and craziness completely worth it...a view that we hope you can enjoy in person soon.

A new Fireplace

What were the goals last week?...

We did manage to get the new hearth and fireplace insert in place. A crane and 6 burly guys loaded it into the truck. Back at the house, 4 guys (who have no business lifting heavy objects) managed to set the stone in place... all red-faced and probably needing hernia surgeries. As it was wrestled into place, all the cement that I had lovingly spread and leveled was scraped off and mangled. Once the hearth was where we wanted it, I tried smearing cement into the gaps, but I think the 700 lb stone will be difficult to move regardless if it is cemented down or not. The hearth was in place by 9pm on Thursday and Friday at 9am the gentlemen showed up with our new insert. Yay! Our first piece of the house that we have started to put back together.

Over the weekend we had one lone helper (which we much appreciated) come to help us continue deconstructing the house. We got two more rooms of carpeting removed... some of the padding had been glued to the floor. Big dreams of getting a lot accomplished, but we are taking baby steps instead. In my mind we should have a lot of time to work on the house over the weekends, but alas, 4 kids also need some watching and feeding.

I would like to say the goal of the week is to finish the tear out... but that may take another 2 weeks at the pace we are moving. Stay tuned for pictures of progress!