Kitchen Cabinets Are In!

It's a bit of a mess but you get the idea! I'm so excited to finally have our cabinets. Our contractor will be installing our kitchen floor within the next few days!

"Open" House

If you were to visit us today, this is what you'd see.

Come inside but watch your step.

Our living room is currently the wood working/tile cutting shop. You can barely see the floors due to all the sawdust. Looks like progress to me though.

Our master bedroom is fully furnished with a kerosene heater, a few bricks, some trim scraps, random plastic containers and boxes.

Needless to say, this is our storage unit right now.

Course grit sandpaper Mike used on the belt sander to reveal our beautiful wood floors.

Below is the playroom floor. Of course they've only been sanded not cleaned or anything else just yet.

Lili's floor has alot of character. There's a spot in the middle that's going to take some extra attention. If all else fails and we aren't able to sand this out, we'll just conceal it with an area rug :)

Close-up of the spot on Lili's floor.

Emma's floor (below) was in really great shape.

Character

2 nights ago, Mike and I got one coat painted in the kitchen. He cut in and I rolled. Love the color, it's Clarksville Gray by Benjamin Moore. Although, it doesn't look gray at all. It's more of a green which is what I wanted.

I am excited about our deep window sills and the trim!

Mike sent me this via text today. That is why it's grainy. Our plumber installed the toilet and vanity in the upstairs bathroom yesterday.

Our shower/bath.

Our plumber also installed the shower hardware!

Just an FYI

You know that big ol' black spot on our hardwood floor in the playroom I mentioned in the previous post? Well, after a little more sanding, Mike was able to get it out! Looks like we'll be able to refinish them as well! Good job hubby!

What We've Been Up To

Mike began sanding our hardwood floors upstairs today! We were a little nervous about what we might find underneath the layers of paint and varnish. Besides a few dark spots, the floors looked great. They have alot of character which I am thrilled about. I love all the dents, strong graining, and nails! They all add to the character of the aged wood.

Below is a picture of what looks to be some water damage. I applied some clear polyeurethane so that I could see if their was going to be alot of contrast and there is. So, we thought about just staining the floors a darker color to allow the "black/darker" area to blend in better but I think we will probably just put carpet in this room. It's quite a large spot and in an area where we couldn't really cover it up with an area rug. This is going to be the girls' playroom, so the added insulation will be appreciated I'm sure.

Below is a picture of a sample of floor after I applied a little polyeurethane to it. I'm so pleased with the color of the natural wood. This is only clear coat, no stain. Love the look of it. I definitely do not want to go any darker. It has such a warm undertone.

Mike has also been working on tiling our masterbath shower/garden tub. We decided to keep it very straight-line and simple. We still have to finish off with crown molding and the wall is not finished out yet. But you get the idea. It is about 5 ft wide and will be eventually glassed in.

We went with a smaller mosaic tile on the floor. When this pic was taken Mike still needed to grout the tile on the step. That has since been done.

Still a work in progress.

June is still our goal. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we finish things up.

Asking

Would you pray with us? We are seeing the light at the end of tunnel, the one we've been in for about 2 years now. We are trying to move in to the house by June. We are asking that you specifically pray for us to meet this goal and that the rest of our renovation would go as smooth as God would have it. We are trusting that it is all in His hands, we know His timing is perfect. He has provided for us in countless ways on this journey. We are thankful for loving and gracious parents that have supported and helped us along the way.

We still have quite a few projects to complete before moving in:
1. finishing up the tile work in our bathrooms/laundry area
2. widening the laundry area doorway so that our washer/dryer can fit ;)
3. refinishing the hardwood floors upstairs
4.stairwell/banister
5. trim work
6. kitchen cabinets
7. install remainder of flooring downstairs
8. Painting

There are more I'm sure, but I think I hit the main ones. This is so we can at least move into the house. Once we get in, there will be lots of little projects inside and out that we will tackle.
If you feel led, would you take one of these projects and pray for it specifically? We appreciate you coming alongside us and carrying this burden. We know that through Him, all things are working toward the good.

Tile and Trim

Mike has been working on the tile in our laundry room and 1/2 bath the past two days. This is his first tiling project and he's really done a great job. This is a pic of the laundry room. The window in this room still has the old trim under it, that will be replaced with the new.

This is the upstairs hallway. Our contractor has put up more molding. It still has to be caulked and painted (it is only primed). We chose to keep the molding the same as the original with 4" trim around doors and windows and 6" baseboard. I'm loving the simplicity of it!

I wanted to give you another look at our doors with the finished trim around them.
These are Emma's closet doors.

Lili ~ 3 yrs old

Tomorrow my baby will be 3 yrs old.