Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Windows, windows, windows and doors....

Our second set of worker bees cleaned up and cleared out today...but not before installing our new windows and doors. Tonight we finially got the chance to wander through the maze of studs and really picture what our home will look like!

These pictures are not in much of any order, but enjoy!












Looking towards the kitchen...

...and towards the living room...



Anna admiring the upstairs view...











Anna has her bedroom picked out, can you tell?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

We have a Roof!

This week brought its own excitement.

Friday we had been assured our house closing would happen at 5pm Monday, with the needed document making it to the needed party by noon. Well, noon came and went with no word on the paperwork, but we were told to meet at 5 anyway. After juggling childcare (thank you, thank you, THANK YOU Courtney - you are awesome and I owe you big time!) we headed back down to Lexington. It does not inspire confidence when the secretary not only does not know anything of our planned meeting, but also has never heard of the realtor who was representing her office at our closing. Hrm. We ran into the buyers in the lobby and made some small talk with them while we waited. They seem like a great couple...I really hope they love the house. (They did mention they had seen "our" albino robin that made it's nest in a tree behind the house.) Finally we were ushered to a room and papers started to fly. It seemed crazy and unorganized but the job got done. Kind of. Sort of. Almost. We found out several signatures into the process that there would be no handing over of the check. It was to be a dry closing. Man, those realtors whipped out their phones to call people once they learned they weren't getting paid. But seriously, our realtor was great - if you are in need of a realtor I'd totally recommend her! We expect our check to come tomorrow......IT BETTER!

On the home building front - We have a roof!






Our fireplace was removed from the side of the house and placed on the back where it belonged. Today they installed the chimney!



This is inside the garage, looking toward the kitchen....kind of...

The skeleton of the great room!

Libby and I are checking out the dining room.



Anna, meanwhile, was hanging out with the cul-de-sac kids...

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Coming Along!

Today they framed the second story. Wow, it's coming along quickly!

Notice our staircase going in.....they had been using it to get into our house.

The cul-de-sac kids...

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Swimming and party and framing, OH MY!

First off, let me say, "Happy Birthday, Anna!"

We began the day with Anna choosing what she wanted for her birthday breakfast. (Ahem, actually we started the day with Anna waking up at the buttcrack of dawn and me threatening to not allow her to turn six...but anyway...) Her choice? Out of anything? Raisin Bran. I was sorta thinking Frank's Donuts, but okay....it's her birthday, after all!

Today being Saturday and all, Anna had her swim lessons at the Pavilion. Her instructor was impressed with her doggie-paddling ability! After that it was a mad rush to get lunch (her choice - McDonald's. That's more like Anna!), eat, gather all party goods, pick up the cake, and make it to the Mad Potter in Lexington. I think all the kids had a good time! Anna recieved many very nice gifts that she's been sorting through all afternoon. =) I'll post pictures of party time later.

For now......MAN! Those worker bees rock! They are set to work all weekend framing the house. At the rate they're going, I wouldn't be surprised if they finish by the end of the week. We haven't had a chance to walk through the first floor yet since they are always there when we are - it's a good problem! As of this afternoon they were nailing in the second story's subfloor and setting up the wall frames. I bet by now they probably have the frames up!






Back of the house....



Inside!

Can you spot our "green" house?

Friday, April 16, 2010

You take the good, you take the bad.....

WoW! What a week. Seriously. This week has, at times, tested my sanity and patience. We've had highs and lows and had to resign ourselves to having faith that God is in charge, even when things seem very unorganized here on our blue marble.

On Sunday we drove to Columbus and picked up the girls. Libby had a hard time the last hour or so of the trip...two-year-olds are not programmed to sit quietly and travel, that's for sure! Anna wanted to see the new house, so we swung by on the way back to our rental. She was excited to have a big hole in the ground to play in.


The neighborhood kids liked our gigantic play pen as well! For the record, I refer to this as our "walk space" - a cross between a basement and a crawl space. =)


Monday we were pleasantly surprised to find our framing lumber delivered and ready to set up!







Got studs? We do!!


And sheathing...




By Wednesday a different hive of worker bees arrived to frame the house. These guys work from sun up 'til sun down! In one day they transformed our hole into something that closer resembles an honest-to-goodness house!









Today when we stopped in they had the entire first floor framed, including the inside rooms! It's getting really exciting! Unfortunately, we did not have the camera so we will have to make another trip to photograph the progress.

On the down side of things, after being put off since the end of March, we finally got word from our Realtor that everything was in place to close on our old house today. So we took off work, trekked down to Lexington. And sat. And waited. And talked. And listened. And then learned that someone, somewhere, did not do their part and an important document didn't make it to those in charge of the closing. So....no closing. It was disappointing and frustrating and aggravating. However, as bad as I felt, I couldn't help but feel worse for the buyers. They were expecting to be moved in last month and here they were living out of boxes on relatives' couches for the past few weeks. With small kids. My heart went out to them. After a long discussion we decided to allow them to move in today, and for a daily fee, stay there until we close (which we have been assured by the money holders that we WILL close, it's just a matter of when - which, for now, is scheduled for 5pm Monday. PRAY!!!!). At least now Earl doesn't have to drag the mower back there to whack down the jungle that was our yard. We really did not want to get into a rental situation, but this seemed to work out and make all parties happy.

To top off this crazy week, I have been delving into the grad school scene and planning out the next few semesters. It's going to be...wow...I'm not even sure words can describe it! But other people have survived grad school, so I have faith I will, too!