Stairs/Carpet

We have been working on painting, boarding up, and carpeting stairs this week.

I made Mike take a pic of me "working". I needed proof that he wasn't the only one working on our house ;) Although, he's done most of the work!

Emma loved the carpet! We stopped by after school to check on the progress and the guys were finished!

Our contractor is working on the balusters next, so no more butterflies in my stomach when me and the girls are walking upstairs ;)

Read this today..

" There is One who gave and who gives more than any mother. And how mothers need that which He has to give - for those times of weariness there is the gentleness of the Lord and the knowledge of His loving-kindness. For the sense of inadequacy there is His sufficiency, and for the joy of being a mother there is the delight of sharing it all with Him." ~ Doris Coffin Aldrich

Mother's Day

Just thinking about all that God has given me.

Pensacola Beach ~ took a short visit to let the girls see the beach and play in the sand.

Lili made a sand angel.


Emma, my oldest has been such a blessing. God has taught me so much through her. She is a gift.


A few days ago, they were pretending to be Indians.

Went to the Botanical Gardens today, just me and the girls. It was an afternoon I will treasure. We just took time to enjoy the beautiful weather, we didn't rush b/c there wasn't anywhere else we needed to be. It was so nice to just watch them play, laugh, and run. I love the little moments.

They each had a map for the garden, they were directing me where to take them next...

My beautiful girl.

Digging for earth worms...

It was opening day for the butterfly house. The butterflies were everywhere. This one stayed with Emma the entire time we were in it.

She loved the little guy :)

I'm so thankful for my family and for the gift of being a mom.

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.