The Half Bath

The half bath is the first bathroom up and running. :) It is nice to be able to have a "normal" potty. We quickly got rid of the porta potty. :)

This was a vanity we found on sale at Lowes. Really pleased. Since this picture we have finished the baseboard trim. We have also purchased a mirror to put above the sink.

The toilet...Nothing like having a "real" potty to use. :) Thankful for the porta potty but glad it is gone. :)

Cabinets

Another hard decision was cabinets. Oh my...there are so many choices on wood and stain or paint. :( A man that lives close to us was who we chose to build them for us. Below is a picture of the cabinets we chose for the kitchen.

We are very pleased with these cabinets. We chose hickory wood and redwood stain. The cabinets in the kitchen also have a distressed look. 

Here is the master bathroom cabinet. It is maple wood, painted a white with brown glaze.

For the boys bathroom we chose maple painted brown with a darker brown galze.

The girls bathroom is the same cabinet as the master bathroom. 

Along with cabinets being put in the toilets were also installed. 

Washer and Dryer

The first appliances to arrive and be put to use was our washer and dryer.

Here they are waiting to be used! ;)

We chose to purchase Speed Queen brand. They are simple and functionable. No bells and whistles just wash and dry. :) It is a blessing to have a place to do laundry when we need to. Aww...the things we take for granted.

It's Been One Year!

It's has been exactly one year since the fire, it was Sunday December 8th. It has been a long and tough year, but more than that it has been a growing and faith building year. We have seen God give us...Beauty for Ashes, Strength for Fear, Gladness for Mourning, and Peace for Despair. 

We sifted through the ashes that were here after the fire, then cleared those ashes out and now see a beautiful home. Then as we realized there was only ashes left I saw more clearly the beauty of my husband and my children.

For nights we struggled to sleep, the events of that night would replay in our heads and fear was very present but we found our strength in God and HIs word. We are much stronger now than we were a year ago...stronger relationally and spiritually.

Every time we would reacall another item we had lost it was like being kicked in the stomach, we were mourning our loss of the material things in our life. As a family we also mourned the loss of our cat of 8 years that we lost due to the fire. God has brought gladness to our family as He has used others to give us clothes, toys, books, games, pictures, etc. He has also given us gladness through a new kitten (will post about that soon). 

The dictionary defines despair as the complete loss or absence of hope. I will not lie there were times that I felt an absense of hope, despair. God was always faithful to remind me that He was my hope. I am very thankful for the peace of God that He has given me and I can say it is the "peace that surpasses all understanding, (that) will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7.

I want to say Thank You to all those who have prayed for us and ministered to us. God has used you in our lives as a source of blessing to our family in our time of need.  

Laying the Tile

For some of our flooring we chose tile. We were very blessed by Bryan's youngest brother and his dad coming to help. Rusty laid the backer board for us with Isaac's help. Bryan's dad put in our outlets and hung ceiling fans. They were a big help! Isaac has learned so much during this building process.

Here is a picture of Elijah and I grouting the boys closet. One Friday night all 7 of us were working on grouting the kitchen. If only I had had my camera and could have captured the moment...it will be one we will never forget. It was late that night when we finished and we all enjoyed a bowl of icecream for our hard work. :)

Rolling On the Paint

One of the things we are not crazy about is painting. To save money we did some ourselves and then paid for a little help

The dining area and kitchen are a yellow and the half bath you see on the left is an orange color. We also tiled this area and the bathrooms, kids closets, utility room, and our closet.

Here is the color for the living room. The color sample on the can was the exact color we wanted but when we got it on the walls it was much more blue than we wanted. 

This is the utility room. The door on the left leads to the master bathroom.

We painted our room green and will pry accent it with black.

Sarah wanted a light blue for the girls room and then we painted their closet with the same color as the living room. Sarah has lots of ideas on design in their room...not sure what we will do.

The boys room has a different color on each wall. We are trying to do a camo look. :)

Both the kids bathrooms are this color...I say it is khaki color. This picture happens to be of the girls bathroom.

I would say that choosing paint colors was one of the hardest choices to make and I am so glad to have that decision behind us.

What is Your Favorite Blizzard?

The last time we were in Alabama it worked out to just being me and Sarah on the drive home. (Long story that I am not sure I will get around to telling. :)) Anyway...my time with her is always fun and includes something good to eat. Dairy Queen is one of our "special" treats so we stopped there for lunch and got a blizzard to go. She got Mint Oreo and I got Butterfinger. Of coarse we did get to taste  each others and ended up swapping. :) We played the "What is your favorite Blizzard?" game and now its your turn...What is your favorite Blizzard flavor?

The Completed Carport

A few post back I showed the makings of the carport...here is the completed project!

We LOVE it!! Can't wait to use it!!

Tubs and Drywall

This is the boys bathroom/tub.

The girls room. 

The dining area.

The master bathroom/tub. The doorway to the left will lead into our laundry room.

The big window upstairs.

A view from the big window back toward the bedrooms. The door straight ahead will be the boys bathroom, then to the right will be the boys room, and to the left will be the girls room. I think a BIG bookcase right here in this area would be great! :)

Insulation

After much research Bryan decided to go with sprayed in insulation. This is the only picture I have of the insulation. It is amazing at the difference in tempature inside the house once the insulation was in. The upstairs was hot as ever but once the insulation was in you could actually work up there without pouring sweat. I am sure this will help with our power bill and save us money in the years to come.

Life in the Camper

No dishwasher...but glad to have a sink to hand wash the dishes. We have made a joke with the kids that we all do such a great job at teaming up to wash, dry, and put away dishes we don't need a dishwasher in our new home. ;)

Here is the table in the camper that we enjoy our meals together at. It also converts into...

A bed at night. This is where Timothy and Joanna sleep. We take the extra cushion and Elijah sleeps on it in the floor.

This is where Bryan and I sleep. 

The Siding Goes On!

We chose board and baton and shaker shingles to be the vinyl on the house. This picture you can see the board and baton in the back at the top. Those two windows are the kids' bathrooms.

Here is a picture of the shaker shingles on the front dormer of the house. 

We added the shaker shingle also to the back porch roof.

It is all coming together!

Working on the Carport

In our plans to rebuild we decided against a garage and went with a carport.

Here are the steps that lead from the carport into the house (on the side the kitchen and LR will be on).

We put rock colomns on the carport to blend in with the front porch of the house.

Here is the back side of the carport without the siding on yet.

The front side of the carport without the siding on yet.

This is the underneath side of the carport and will have siding on it too.

Here it is with siding...This will be a nice area for us to have get togethers and parties!

Here is a picture of the house and the carport. My parents have a carport and they use it for all kinds of things so that was actually how we got the idea of the carport instead of the garage. The house before had a garage in the basement but we never used it. Our van wouldn't fit in it but now the van will be able to drive right on up into the carport!! Great place to unload those groceries and take right on into the kitchen. ;)

Cooking in the Camper

We have had to be very creative with our meals in the camper. The oven and stove are not hooked up, so we have learned to use other methods of cooking. The Fry Daddy has been used for more things than I ever imagined! :) Bryan purchased an electric skillet and we use it for baking a few things. In the picture above I made Chessy Beef and Rice and the picture below I made Hearty Green Bean Casserole.

The Inside

Wanted to post a few pis of the inside during the building process. Above is a picture of where the kitchen will be. The door on the right will lead out to a carport.

Here is a picture of the dining area. In the back where the ladder stands is the entrance to the laundry room. On the right side of Timothy is the half bath and the steps going down to the basement is to the left of Timothy.

Finally here is a view from the living area toward the front door. 

The door area to the right of the front door will be going into our bedroom. Then when you go up the stairs the girls room will be on the left and the boys room on the right. 

Front Steps and the Retaining Walls

In August the brick layers came and laid the front steps.

While the front steps were going up the concrete man came and poured the front porch. Now we can actually walk into the house without having to walk across boards.

Then the brick layers laid the bricks for the retaining walls and the concrete was poured for the slab outside the basement.

The other house had two garage doors down in the basement. We never parked in the basement and decided to put up a window and french doors. We would love for my parents to move up here one day and we can fix up the basement for them to have an apartment. In the mean time it will be a great play area for the kids and extra space when we have out of town friends and family.