a life beyond running shoes.

we have two beautiful sets... one in the living room, one in our bedroom. this is our bedroom.... the windows sills got sanded earlier during the week and got painted on saturday. blinds got put up too. now it is not noon-day-bright at 5am when the sun wakes up AND i can change in my room and not the bathroom. our friend michael helped get all the trim in the windows painted. john worked on the baseboards, closet, and bedroom door. we are loved. we still don't have a flash so pictures are not great. we have to find the warranty first.... which who knows where that is.

paint sample #3... we have a winner. it looks browner against the other two samples. farrow & ball's "organgery" now let's see if home depot can match it. here are the boys watching cupcakes cook for daddy's birthday in our new oven. installed yesterday. first meal cooked: chicken nuggets (very glamorous, i know!) there are doorknobs on the doors to the bathroom off kitchen and the stairs to the basement. and the windowsill in our bedroom has been sanded and is ready to be painted. also, one more coat of plaster on the boys wall. .......baby steps.

we had our first dinner at the table tonight.... strange to think that we will be having dinner here when the boys are teenagers... hopefully. today was church. it was amazing to worship considering how tired i was last week that i barely heard the sermon... i think we were in ephesians. "great father of glory, pure father of light, thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight; all praise we would render: o help us to see 'tis only the splendor of light hideth thee." john and i opened the most expensive bottle of wine we have every purchased (back in september). i'm not sure the meal warranted it but the occasion did: our first dinner in our first home....modavi "oakville" cabernet sauvignon....yum!

in order to let g'pa and john finish work today, the boys & g'ma & i hit target twice... i titled this three trips since we were there yesterday too. so.... the trailer is loaded and g'pa and his tools leave tomorrow. today, he put in two new windows.... i didn't know you could see the backyard from the kitchen. :) this is the window in the living room he replaced. closed off where there were pocket doors....more paint samples. trimmed the dining room/kitchen opening. and john put in the final two cabinets with counter top... more shelves to come with g'pa's base boards being shown off. it has been quite the journey. i wasn't sure i was going to survive at times... or i might have survived but my children were not going to. g'ma helped me unpack the kitchen, clean the bathroom, and get a new shower curtain that looks pretty. the wall in the boys room is still at least a week away from being done, so we aren't settling in just ye...

g'pa spent the entire day working on the cook-top and finished plumbing the dishwasher. john got the cabinets finished and put the hardware on and wired the cook-top. then we got doors and door frames. and i picked g'ma up at the airport. i also had a moment to try paint colors.... close but not quite what i think i want. tomorrow is the final day.... then g'pa leaves us to our own devices.

we have counter tops, a sink, and the dishwasher... a few cabinets but not ready to start unloading boxes. no oven or cook-top..... so more take-out. of course, we found that we brought some roaches with us... we think from the microwaves....so we get to get a new one. what is a few more dollars at this point? we also have a beautiful new vanity to offset that pink.... if it is at all possible. of course it looks like it you just put it in but the plumbing took quite a bit. just like about everything in this house.... it never goes quite as quick or as easy as we would want. g'ps is here for two more days.... g'ma comes today for back-up. hopefully we can at least take them to dinner tomorrow night.... a very weak thank you.

are not synonymous. in case you were wondering. here are some photos to update you. here is the night before moving.... all our possessions ready to be hauled away. and here they are in the new place from the stairway.... while we were gone g'pa found that the gutter leaked; therefore, the new plaster was not drying in the boys room. that will take at least through the weekend to dry then get repaired & sanded. kitchen is coming along. the island is in place. new toilet in the pink bathroom. first load of laundry was washed but not dried.... working on the gas hook-up. but the walls were painted and the wash tub hooked up. very cool!!! here is the wall that will have a door and a pantry of sorts.... stay tuned.

for those of you checking on us... we don't have pictures of the move because we don't have internet at the house. we moved on saturday in 5 hours. we had a awesome moving team from the church. they started loading the truck at 9:20 and the second team was sent home by 2:30. that is amazing. the floors are not finished nor is the kitchen... but the boxes are in. g'pa got the hot water heater hooked up saturday afternoon, so we were all able to shower that night.  we slept in our bed and had the boys in a pack 'n play & mattress on the floor. the family is on a retreat while g'pa is still at the house working. the update is as follows: he found a leak from the gutter drain pipe.  this would account for the removed mold in the boys room. he is going the seal the brick which will hopefully help the plaster to finally dry. then he will continue with the cabinets. all while we retreat.  thanks g'pa. we should have more pics by thursday.... keep checking in with u...

well, not really. i mean we are moving our stuff on saturday but thankful we have a retreat on sunday that takes us out of town for three nights.... of course, we are leaving g'pa with the house to continue. today: more floors. new water heater. cleaning crew. laura, steve, andy.... rocked the dirt! laura got in there with that comet and scrubbed that bathroom. it was more than nasty! andy worked that police sticker off the front door. and steve was the floor scrubbing man. i tried to contain my fear and need for tears thinking that we are moving in 48 hours. i'm better now. cleaning crew #2 tomorrow night. the day never goes quite as expected.... but we move forward.

and making serious progress. and these are my beautiful washer & dryer... i feel like a grown-up. g'pa built me a beautiful window and sill. g'pa in the hole.... the finished product. can't you imagine plants over the sink that will be there one day. got the walls mudded and ready to be sanded tomorrow. paint won't come for another week or so... but we are getting there. started getting the floors in. it is hard to see where the floor ends and the black paper begins.... but they are gorgeous! everything under the pink paper has been done. progress..... looks nice.

14 days of work..... and the floors are going in. vacuuming up all the construction dust. the 1000 pound radiator they had to move..... the floors all piled up..... we picked eco-friendly flooring. yeah!!!! it is hard to see because i think the flash on my camera went out.... but here is the beautiful dark stain. the stairs that g'pa built. here are the support beams in the basement that are helping to strengthen & level the living room/dining room floor.

it is hard to believe that a week ago this whole place was a giant hole (as my three year old refers to it). and this is what 12 days of work brings you to...... 8 days with contractor g'pa. yesterday our friends rian & michael came and helped dry wall the ceiling and walls. john and his dad finished it today. they also finished dry walling the staircase to basement. this is the wall that houses the bathroom (right side), door to basement, and dining room. at some point this will be the open pantry.... have the vision? they have also been working on the basement utility room (my laundry room) and putting up supports under the dining room floor where the floor sags... not really something i am able to capture via camera.

of all the house stuff, S & i ran the brooklyn half marathon. that is correct.... 13.1 miles from coney island to prospect park. i think the mental game started weeks ago in the midst of all of our major life shifts and trying to get ourselves to the start line this morning..... there were rough moments, but we finished! i am proud of us!!!!

while it maybe hard to fully see what is progressing...... this is day 10. john finished the kitchen electrical....notice lights. the ceiling has been framed. the stairs to the basement are almost complete. there is a wall in the basement that has partial dry-wall up.

and taking down others. day 8.... not sure if you can orient yourself but that is what was the wall between the dining room and kitchen.... now cut out to open the space between the two rooms. this is a view of the wall that will house the bathroom and stairs to basement. also you can see the other side of the dining room wall that was cut out.

day 7........ the floor goes in. ... well, the plywood flooring. this is the opening that will be the wall and stairway to the basement. the ceiling comes out. this adds a foot of height in the kitchen and makes room for more lighting. mr. frank goes home to his family today..... what a huge blessing he has been!