Year End

Today is a beautiful Wednesday. The sun is out and while it is warm, there is a pleasant breeze that makes it very pleasant. Birds are chirping and the kids are laughing. There is no evidence that a corn crib was ever on this property and very little evidence of the storm from last year. In fact if you didn't know us and our story, you would not understand the impact July 11, 2011, has had on our family.

In the past year we:
lost our home
cleaned up the debris and damage
sorted through what could be saved and threw out what could not be saved
battled insurance, but eventually got what we felt we were owed
paid off the now non-existent house
created a floor plan and designed a house around said floor plan
found a builder, an excavator and a bank for the construction loan
completed excavation and clean up for rebuilding
chose colors for siding, the roof and Novabrik
prepped the new house site and put in a foundation, walls and a roof
chose windows, doors, flooring, toilets, tubs and a shower
decided on insulation, venting, heating and cooling
found an electrician, decided on lighting and outlets and chose said items
chose fixtures, appliances, laid out the kitchen, found a cabinet builder and finalized the color
hung, mudded, textured and pained 7500 square feet of dry wall
tiled the bathrooms and laid more than 2000 square feet of flooring
found a plumber licensed to install a new septic and installed said septic
installed lighting, outlets, smoke detectors, fans and switches
installed cabinets, counter tops, vanity tops, one of the two toilets and faucets
moved in furniture, set up closets, unpacked the kitchen and stuffed all unresolved items in the garage
started to find a new normal in our new home
celebrated birthdays, holidays, Little Miss's first steps, nephew's birth and moments with family and friends.

But what I will remember most about this year, is the overwhelming knowledge that our lives were spared. No where on that list was a funeral or even time spent at a hospital! Every day that I (or Ben or the kids or you) wake up is evidence that God still has a plan for me to accomplish. He is not done with me (him, them, you, us) yet! But there is something about this experience that makes this knowledge so very clear!

I am not here by mistake and neither are you! My existence is not a mystery and neither is yours! What you and I are doing matters! Whatever God's plan for you, me, my family, even our home (not house, but home)...it is not completed yet. Wow!

There is a song that has really touched my heart this year and I would love to share this realization with you. The Story of Your Life by Matthew West

Is this the end? Or only the beginning?
The second chance you never thought you'd get

The question is will you do something with it
Or spend your days lost in your regret

This is the story of your life
You decide how the rest is gonna read
This is your chance between the lines
To redefine what kind of legacy you leave
This is the story of your life
And it's a story worth telling

Breathe in deep feel your heart still breathing
Let's go see the reason you're alive
Oh, you are here and love is up to something
So take your fear and leave it all behind

This is the joy
And it's the pain
And all the pages in between
Your finest hour
Your weakest moment
It's where you've been
It's where you are
It's where you're going

This is the story of your life
You decide how the rest is gonna read
This is your chance between the lines
To redefine the kind of legacy you leave
This is the story of your life
Go tell the story of your life
Cause it's a story worth telling
It's worth telling

Is this the end?
Or only the beginning?

The story of my life has just completed a very challenging chapter, one worth telling and I thank you all for listening! 

 

Curtains and Design

As design came together, I began to look at colors and patterns and fabrics! A little overwhelming doing a whole house at once and I would make some minor changes if I could have seen the rooms finished first! But overall, I am SO pleased with how all the rooms have come together. There are still some pieces to finish...like trim and the master bath, but so far so good.

Here are some of the curtains I've been working on, along with help from my Granny and my friend Sarah. I am lining them all with blackout fabric to help with light control (we all know how I love control!)

Our youngest son's room has a Mario Kart Wii theme. I looked for Mario Kart curtains, fabric and such, but was unable to find anything he really liked. After more brainstorming I came up with the idea of doing a checkered flag quilted curtain! He love the idea and I think they turned out really well! If I had it to do over again, I would have done larger blocks to save a LOT of time!

The girls' room is Rapunzel, but we didn't like any of the fabrics we found, so we picked a pretty shade of purple and trimmed it in a purple floral. I also found some cute little flower clips. This picture doesn't show it well, but they are soft and sparkly and accented with feathers! The girls would like another trim of the purple floral gathered and sewn along the top...but we'll see if mommy gets to that any time soon!

Our elder son loves football and cats, so he chose the Carolina Panther's for his room's theme. I had to do some searching, but eventually found this Panther fabric! It was quite pricy, though, so I added a strip of coordinating teal to help with cost, but I like how it turned out!

The living room, entry way, dining room and kitchen are all one big room. They all share wall color so I wanted them to all have the same curtains. I may change my mind in the future, but for now, the uniform look is what I was going for. I only have four of these completed and hung. I put them in the living room, since that is where the majority of the afternoon sun hits the house. I have a fifth one sewn and hung in Ben's office. I do not have them all lined yet, but the linings are cut and ready for me when I have a chance to finish them!

I am most excited about the curtains for the master bedroom! I hunted for just the right fabric and when I finally found it, was quite a bit disappointed in the price. Over budget was an understatement! Of course, finding my second favorite was pretty impossible. But then, this house is full of impossibles that became possible, so it should be no surprise that on a shopping trip through a local fabric store I should happen to find a bolt of my favorite fabric, on sale AND they accepted my coupon! I got the one I wanted at a price I could make work!!! It is a beautiful chocolate brown with swirls of cream and a dark periwinkle blue.

The down side, they only had half the yardage I needed, so I found a lovely blue coordinating fabric (also on clearance) that just looks so elegant with it. I have the fabrics all cut and ready to sew, but have not found a moment to complete them. This is a photo of the two fabrics! I will post photos when I get them sewn and hung.

Countertop Debate is Over!

I only thought the cabinets were a hard decision! Counter tops are so much more complicated...at least for me. I really wanted granite. Absolutely beautiful, natural stone. Antibacterial and about at permanent as counter tops come. However, I had difficulty finding the perfect stone to give the look I wanted with the cabinets, flooring, fixtures and such. And I had an even harder time finding the additional money to pay for it.

So back to laminate we went, but that proved challenging too. Many places don't deliver and install or they charge horrendous prices to do so! One estimate we received was within $1000 of the lowest granite bid! I finally found someone able to measure, deliver and install for a reasonable price, through a referral from Tim. OK Tops in Brooklyn, IA did a wonderful job!

I also had a hard time finding the right color and those little samples are just too small to really get a feel for what a whole room is going to look like. As the order date was staring me down, I made another run through a home improvement store, and just happened upon a section of laminate sheets and a color that made me giddy! It was perfect and OK Tops was able to order it for me!

Above: The truck with our new counter tops!

Below: They made adjustments and finished edges on sight to be sure they fit well!

Above: They also had to notch the counter for outlets by the sink and below the window.

Below: The finished product! Doesn't it look loverly! :)

Below: A close up of the color - Antique Mascarello. It is very neutral, with lots of browns, creams and some blacks. The cabinets pull out some warm tones in it and with the beige wall, just looks gorgeous!

In the words of my father: "I done good!"

Cabinets make the room!

After hours of planning, research, design and redesign...I had a kitchen layout that seemed to fit the available space, meet our needs and show off our style. Now to figure out how to get it! I looked at ordering from a local store and installing them ourselves. I talked to a kitchen designer that could order better quality cabinets and install them for about 20% more. I got a referral for custom built cabinets, the best quality possible and installed for about another 20% still.

The budget for the house was in almost constant flex as some things came in over original estimates and other things were found on sale or purchased with discounts. Ben says I made pennies cry I was pinching them so hard! But there was no debate that the kitchen cabinets was where the money should go. The flooring, countertops, furniture, etc... can be replaced pretty easy compared to the cabinets.

So it was decided to have them custom built by Tim Vogel in Washington, IA. These should be the last cabinets I ever purchase for this house! If you are ever in the market for cabinets, I highly recommend him. Plus, we would get a referral bonus!

Tim took my layout, design style and colors and brought me samples until we found exactly what I wanted. He bought Canadian white oak, which has a beautiful grain to it. He worked with Sherwin-Williams to find just the right shade to get the red without too much. Then he built, stained and applied four coats of finish to all the kitchen cabinets and both bathroom vanities.

After weeks of anticipation, they were delivered and installed. They came back the week we moved in to put on all the doors so they didn't get scratched or beat up while we were working. I was so ecstatic with how nice they look and the way the color pulled out the reds in the laminate wood floors. I had managed to pull a kitchen together with absolutely gorgeous results! Just wait until you see the finished results!