So, How is the House Coming?

That has got to be the most frequently asked question. I guess it's better than talking about the weather, but, it does get a little old. I say this not because I don't like talking about the house, but because I/we thought we would be done by now. When you think about it, June will be three years since the flood. That is a looooong time to be living the way we have, without a house. Granted, lots has happened in these past three years, some good, some great and some not so great. Regardless, we're not in our house yet and I really have no idea when we will be. I am hoping before the kids get out of school, but even that might be a stretch.
As you all know, Brad is doing this pretty much by himself, nights and weekends while working full time. It hasn't been easy, I know that's an understatement. Which brings me to the second most frequently asked question, "It will all be worth it." Well, yes and no. While trying to stay positive, I'll just comment on the "yes" part. Yes, we will have a nicer house than we had ever imagined. Yes, we will have a ton of equity in our home. Yes, it is completely custom to our needs. Yes, we can say we built it ourselves. The part that's hard is trying to remember that on a day to day basis when we're still living out of totes, don't have our home done yet and still have so much left to do.
One thing that keeps Brad going, besides the obvious, is the continual moral support we have received from our friends and family. He thrives on the compliments and encouragement. He needs to know that he's being validated by the decisions he has made. I can tell him and I do, but hearing it from others helps him to know he's not totally crazy for doing this the way we have. For that reason, and in response to "frequently asked questions" I continue to post updates, pictures, etc. And because a blog post can be a little boring without pictures, here are a few of what we've been working on lately.

We are trying to get the island mapped out for size and placement. The fine piece of equipment on the end is my wine fridge. I'm currently accepting donations~

Brad marked the rest of the kitchen out to make sure we have the placement correct for the cabinets we have. All this has to be done before he starts the electric, which hopefully will be in the next week or two.

My cooktop - nuf said!

Lighting for above the island. I think we may darken the metal just a little to match the color of the other lights, but the style on all the lights is the same.

The back side of the island, if you were looking from the garage door.This will be a two-tiered island and I'm hoping we can fit six chairs around it. The facing on the bottom and other side will all be stone to match the surround of the stove.

Brad bought this machine from one of his customers probably two years ago. It has sat in the garage and I figured, why not put it at the house? I don't have much candy in it yet, but it's enough to keep the kids asking for quarters.

So, that's my update. If I knew how to add this to the Block House tab at the top, I would. Until then, you'll have to look for the updates on the main page. And please do keep asking about the house. I might not have much for an update, but Brad is still there every night and on the weekends. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by, he'd love to tell you all about the house and I'm sure it would be a welcome distraction.

~ Misty

Happy Birthday Piper!

 My littlest child has now turned ONE! I can't believe how much time has passed. She is a true joy for all of us. I'm particularly glad that I did the photo blog last year. I have so many more pictures of her first year than any of the other kids. I love every little thing about her. I have found that I'm so much more patient with her than I was before. I'm not sure if it's my age or just the fact that I've done all this before. Either way, it's definitely a good thing. Much love to my little girl!

Of course, I have to put in a few pictures of her first birthday cake. For the record, she didn't like it at all! Everyone else did though, so I know it wasn't my cooking. I don't think it will be long before she figures out about all the yummy goodness that comes with cake!

~ Misty

Hailey's Party

We celebrated Hailey's 10th birthday with her friends on Tuesday night. Although it was a week early, having it during Spring Break was the easiest way to get all of her friends there. I rented a room at Comfort Suites and Hailey invited five of her friends to spend the night. The girls all had a great time swimming and doing typical 4th grade girl things. I love listening to them talk. They even played truth or dare - I so remember doing that!


Annaliese was able to come swim too!



All the girls enjoying their Scratch cupcakes - Yum!



To Blog or not to Blog?

I have been trying to figure out how to do my blog now that I'm done with my 365 project. I had a lot of fun doing it, but it was very challenging and time consuming. There's no doubt I have plenty of subject material, what with the house, the kids, life in general that never stops moving. Although, as blog design goes, I'm pretty clueless. Everytime I start trying to do my own research, I get sidetracked by someone's blog and I lose another hour of "research". So, I'm waiting for some ideas to just magically appear or someone to say, "Hey! You should do it this way!" Unless this happens, I have a feeling it's going to be a painful process trying to figure out how to do this and it not look so elementary. I guess at least I am finally posting again, it's only been four months since my last one.

Now that I got that whole discussion out there, here's what else is going on. Piper is one on Friday! I know, I can hardly believe it. The kids are all on spring break this week, Hailey's friend birthday party is tomorrow and she turns 10 on the 22nd. Michelle and Dustin will be here for the weekend to celebrate both of their birthdays.

I haven't taken any pictures lately, funny how I have needed these past couple months to recoup from the last year. This picture was taken in February, I have it posted on the fireplace at our house to remind us of how quickly we need to get things done. It's great motivation for Brad.