We Have Baby News...

...About The Crosby's!!!
Randomly on Saturday night Sarah calls me and wants me to come over right then to take pictures of her niece. My first thought..."Wow, I can't believe she really wants me to drop everything to come over and take a picture right now". Fortunately, I understood the random request and was thrilled when I got there and realized someone was having a baby!!

Being the dummy I am, I didn't quite get it.
I originally assumed Brian & Amanda were expecting again but when the sign said cousin and I almost acted disappointed.

Reason being this:

1. Last week Sarah posted a teaser here and made me think she was pregnant (which she really was come to find out) when it was really Abel's brother & his wife
2. I knew they weren't planning to start trying until the Fall (Surprise!!! You get an actual BABY in the Fall Sarah!! Woo hoo!!!)
   

Anyways, once the stupid wore off and I snapped out of my photography zone, I realized it was actually Sarah & Abel who were expecting!!

Isn't Emma too cute?!?

Sarah & I have been friends for as long as I can remember and if there is one thing every knows about her is that she loves kids and has always looked forward to having her own...and lots of them! Now its her turn and I couldn't be more excited for she & Abel!
Maybe next time someone surprises me I wont be such an idiot... I doubt it though.
Just ask my husband--when he proposed I kept asking, "Are you serious? Is this a joke?"
Yep, I do stupid things at important times...

Im sorry... I know that was kind of a cruel tease at the beginning of this post.

It's not us quite yet---we have a house to finish and a trip to Australia to go on!!

Week 4: Great Ending to a Challenging Week

After my last post, you probably sensed how overwhelmed we were last week.

Fortunately, God is good and has a much better plan than we do!
More on that in a moment...for now check out the progression over the last 4 weeks.

Top Left: 4 Weeks Ago

Top Right: 1 Week Ago

Bottom Left: 4 days Ago

Bottom Right: Saturday

In addition, my wonderful husband put all the exterior trim around the windows last night but I have yet to see or take pictures of it.

What a difference a week's time can make!
Windows and siding are installed.

Now on to how God worked this week...
I am going to be pretty open about our budget and finances right now simply because I want to show how awesome God's provision is when you are in His will.
Also note that we are 22 & 23 therefore not exactly loaded...

Last week the cost of unexpected renovation expenses hit us and Nathan & I got to the place where we could choose to stress or to leave it to God and trust that he would take care of us. Typically this is difficult for me because I am a planner to a fault and tend to stress easily. For some reason I felt such a peace and really didn't worry about it.

Nathan & I were planning to go ahead with doing the roof but after all the rebracing, windows & siding, the funds weren't quite where we were hoping...especially since we still needed to pay the electrician and A/C guys(which is a hefty chunk of our budget). On Thursday, we came to the conclusion that we would have to postpone the roof until our tax return drafted into our bank account. On Friday around lunch I had gotten onto our online bank account to check and see if any money magically appeared which I frequently do...surely I am not the only one who does this?!?

I really almost started crying like a baby (but I didn't...no worries) because as I looked at one of our accounts I noticed it was significantly over what it should be. Sure enough, our tax refund had drafted into our bank account the very next day! Not only did it reaffirm the fact that God is ALWAYS faithful to take care of us, it also reminded me of how his timing is ALWAYS perfect.

On top of all that, Nathan left town for the weekend totally overwhelmed with all the work that needed to still be done. Thanks to the help of my Dad & Haley's boyfriend, Kyle, he no longer had to worry about the disaster left behind. My Dad and Kyle spent the entire day on Saturday cleaning up all the asbestos siding, ripping out shrubs, cleaning the inside of the house, and disposing of lots of scrap material.

Ok, I know I have gone on forever and I probably should have put a disclaimer at the beginning but I felt like I needed to testify about how good God has been to us through all of this!

One step forward...Two steps back

Week 4

This week has been by far one of the most challenging thus far in the renovation process.
It has been a bit stressful, overwhelming and costly enough to make my husband say he felt sick at his stomach over the unexpected surprises we encountered.

It all started on Sunday when we made the decision to replace the windows due to the pleading of our electrician & A/C guys.

So, this is how we started the week...

On Monday we loaded up our cars with windows for installation on the following day.
On Tuesday evening, we get to the house to work and see this...

I know, it looks like no big deal from the pictures but when you feel like you are making progress and you see a semi-put together house go downhill it's overwhelming.
I thought demolition was over a few weeks ago!!

As I walked into the house I saw holes everywhere and for some reason I got slightly overwhelmed for the first time. I walked around for a while and then looked at Nathan and begged him to let us go home...dramatic, I know but it was too much!
So we left & drove around looking at houses and dreamed about the next house we are going to BUILD...not renovate!
While they framed out the windows Nathan had them pull off all the broken asbestos siding so we could replace it.

The siding from the garage is what we planned to piece together to replace it with. Unfortunately, we overlooked the fact that the stuff on the garage had a slightly different shape/pattern than the house...

If you have never worked with this kind of siding you don't realize how tedious it is to take off and put back on. It shatters when you drop it, nail it, etc. The only way I can think to describe it is to compare it to trying to hammer a nail into a terracotta pot... Sounds fun huh?!?

So after a lot of thought, we decided it would be easier and better aesthetically in the long-run if we just replaced it all. This is where Nathan & I began to wonder why the heck we didn't just burn it to the ground and start over!

We have now replaced/fixed literally everything you can possibly replace: plumbing, rebraced the entire house, electrical, re-leveled, siding, windows, and the list will go on.
So basically we bought a lot...awesome! haha

That would be the sun shining on through...as if it was a newly constructed home.

So, this pretty much depicts our week...a mess.

Fortunately, my husband still has a sense of humor even after he ripped half of his shirt off on a handle that was sticking out!

Despite all the difficulties this week has brought we do still like each and other don't regret doing this at all! Many have encouraged us not to quit but no worries, this isn't phasing us.
We are already planning the next project :)

Check back later this weekend to find out how the week ended up. We actually had some really encouraging things that God ended up doing that I can't wait to share!
Oh and hopefully I will have some finds to share from Round Top as well...

Week 3 Progress Report

I feel like a dork with how excited I get with each stage of progress.
But it is really exciting to see actual progress after so much demolition!

I'm pretty sure this is an indication of how ridiculous and excited I will be as a Mom about every little thing.
Heck, I already am that way with my nieces and nephews... hence the gazillion pictures.
Nathan always tells me the constant flashes from my camera are going to give Luke epilepsy.

Anyways, back to the progression of the house.
As you can see, Triangle Air ran all the duct work and installed the unit for our A/C.

Plumbing is finished for the most part.
I think there are a few little things left to do.
Abel tried to tell me things to relay to Nathan but all the plumbing talk made my brain go to mush and I found myself just nodding in agreement to seem like I knew what the heck he was talking about.
P.s...I didn't, not even a little bit!

This would be the disaster in the yard...

For some strange reason my husband kept saying this was "Beautiful, just beautiful!"
Probably because he did it...
I have started singing him the song from Beauty & the Beast about Gustan and how no one can do anything like him. :)
Hopefully you are picking up on the sarcasm...

Plumbing is ready for the washer & dryer!

The monkey decal finally saw its last day...
Someone took it off---I don't understand why they would think I would have wanted to get rid of it!

We installed the ladder for the attic.

Pretty sure he is tired of me taking his picture.

At the completetion of week 3, we have made quite a bit of progress. Honestly, it seems like it has been going on forever. Someone needs to remind us not to do a renovation during peak season at work next time around. It can be pretty exhausting working all day and then spending every night at the house until about 9 or 10.

I have been able to tell Nathan is worn out because every morning when he wakes up he says how exhausted he is and that he is going to sleep in this weekend. If you know Nathan, you know he is NEVER tired and we definitely don't ever get to sleep in!! Needless to say, we are taking the weekend off. We went to a surprise 30th Birthday for our friend Jeremy last night in Houston, slept in this morning and are going to a hockey game tonight with Haley & Kyle.

Plans for week 4:

• Finish up small plumbing details (whatever that means...)
• Prep for insulation
• Possibly Install Insulation
• Make a trip out to Round Top for Anitque Week :)
• Prep for window replacement

Renovation Update: Plumbing & Electrical

This week we made quite a bit of progress...most of which will probably be difficult to see but I will still post a few pictures.

Below you will see that we finished raising the ceilings in the kitchen.

I am so glad we decided to do this. It makes it feel so much bigger!

The bathroom & a few walls are now reframed in the garage due to some rotting/termite damage.

We framed everything for the pull-down ladder to the attic & put down the attic floor.

Our electrician started pulling wire for all the electrical as you can see from all the yellow wire.

And, thanks to my sister's boyfriend Kyle, all the outlets are now installed as well.

(Hay & I were appreciative because Nathan was going to make us do it...)

Plumbing started on Saturday thanks to Abel, Kyle & Nathan.

It was comical to watch them all crawl under the house!

And my favorite addition to the house this week!!

As you can see Haley and I weren't much help...

With Luke in town, it was hard to want to work & honestly, I wasn't overly helpful...

All the Glasco girls did enjoy taking him on a walk at the park right next to the house though!

Plans for this week:
Finish Plumbing

Install Central Heat/Air

Finish Electrical

Start installing Insulation

A lot Can Happen in One Week...

As you will see, a lot has happened since we started demolition last Friday night.
With the help of our wonderful family and lots of hard work,

we are already seeing so much progress!

Here we go:

We worked a lot on structure this week. The house was lacking severely...

We added a lot of support beams and had to do some work to get the roof level because it was bowing in several places.

One exciting aspect of this was that it gave us the ability to change the roof line which already makes the living room feel HUGE...OK, maybe not huge, but definitely bigger!

Tomorrow they will work on raising the ceilings in the kitchen as well!

(You will also notice above that the awkward island is gone)

We were really excited to find salvageable wood floors throughout the entire house.

(We originally thought we would need to choose an alternative flooring in the kitchen and bathroom)

The bathroom is now completely gutted.

Tub and ugly floor tiles are gone.

The garage demolition went down on Saturday.

Oh and all those vines on the floor and that we originally showed you here...

Yeah...unbeknownst to all of us, it was poison ivy.

Awesome, huh?!

I just hope my poor Dad isn't going to be covered in it considering he went to town trying to rip it out.

Surprisingly this demolition felt cleaner than the house because there was none of that nasty insulation.

(Still didn't make the cat urine smell & rat poop any more pleasant though...)

We will also need to redo some of the support in the garage.

We found quite a bit of rotted wood.

This would be the 1-2" thick concrete floor in the future laundry that was cracked and poorly done from the get-go...

...So my wonderful husband & Dad broke it all apart.

I'm pretty it whipped them both!

Plans for Week 2:

• Electrical installation starts Monday (We set all the outlets last week)
• Bracing continues in kitchen & garage
• Gable on front porch should start at some point
• Plumbing starts Friday when our wonderful friends, The Crosby's come to help!
• I think this sweet little man is coming to see me too!! And his Mommy of course who I think I am driving crazy with all my begging to see him! It's hard not to see them when they grow so fast.

Demolition: Part 2

Demolition is over for the most part.
(except for in the Garage, which I am dreading...pretty sure it will require lots of gagging and head to toe hazmat suits)

We are still in the process of cleaning.
I say still, because this parts seems to keep dragging on and as soon as I think I am done, someone swings a hammer and knocks down more disgusting insulation and foul smelling sheetrock.

Is it strange to feel sicked out in your own house?
Because I do...every time I leave I can't wait to shower off the nasty animal urine smell.

I know I sound a bit dramatic but go stand in the garage for more than 5 seconds.
You will understand...

We had this filled up in less than 24 hours...
Luckily our wonderful friends at Budget Rolloffs got us taken care & have another one headed our way!

I felt like I should have been shoveling horse poop or something...this has to be some form of cruel and unusual punishment!
It was at least a foot thick throughout the entire house.
I was slightly overwhelmed and maybe even a bit unpleasant on Saturday morning while cleaning this all up---just ask my husband, he will tell you ;)

The counter top & cabinets Nathan is standing on are now gone too.

I haven't gotten new pictures because the last 2 nights we have worked with only 1 light since we ripped all the old electrical out already.

Progress Report:

• House is now level.
• Roof has been delayed. (my Dad's isn't sharing the carpenter very well... ;)
• Interior bracing/support beam work should start tomorrow. (if my Dad decides he is ready to share...)
  
• Electrical Work should begin next week.
• Plumbing is scheduled for next weekend.