Saturday after the move

Saturday was continued unpacking, building, organizing, throwing away boxes, setting things up, hanging things up, etc., etc.  I think Laurie and I both hit exhausted about 11 am.  Jim came over in the late afternoon and it was like a breath of fresh air to us having his help.  We got a couple of rooms completely clear of boxes to unpack and it started to feel like we could reach the end.  Jim and I got the TV antenna installed in the hopes that I could watch the Eagles game on Sunday and I got the stereo and DVD player set up.

The house was finally presentable enough for some photos.

Dining Room

The front door with our Christmas wreath.

Emilianne's Room

The Family room

The Granite we used for the countertops.

The Kitchen with Erik stuffing grapes into his mouth.

The "Library".

Sarah's Room.

We had hoped all along that we could be in for Christmas.  Monday night we got our tree and decorated it.

Our Second Day in the House

Friday started with the FIOS guy from Verizon installing our telephone and internet access. Sarah did a little dance of joy "High Speed access again - Oh Joy!".  Our Master Bedroom suite arrived in the late afternoon while the pile of cardboard in the garage approached epic mounds.  We continued to unpack, organize and move things from the guest house.   Reenie helped Laurie move stuff over and Ramona came over to help clean and unpack again.

Laurie and I were both extremely tired, but making progress.  I have to admit that every time I heard "Daaaaaadddddd!" yelled in the sort of whiny, I need help and NOW tone started to get on my nerves.  But we got to sleep in our new bed and it felt great.

Moving Day!!

Thursday, Moving Day, started with me at the new/old house about 6:00 finishing the assembly of the Master bedroom closet organizers.  Home depot called to confirm the delivery of the new Fridge (the first one had to be returned because the doors wouldn't open all the way because of the wall next to it).  The salvaged items that had been in storage arrived about 8:30 in 3 separate loads.  The TV arrived late afternoon. Ramona came over to help Laurie unpack and clean and also brought us lunch. What a faithful friend she has been to our family.

By mid-afternoon my body was so tired I just couldn't go up and down stairs anymore with boxes.  Gen and Aaron had come over for the day and were a huge help to us.  Their friends Mike, Lianna, Caleb and Maureen came over in the evening to make numerous trips between the houses to bring over the beds and the lions share of the stuff.  We couldn't have done it without them. We got all the beds set up for our first night at home.  And what would be a first day at the new house without an order of Chinese being brought in for supper.  Laurie and I looked at each other numerous times and asked "Who decided not to use a moving company for this?"  Next time :-).

Oh, half way through the day Home Depot called and said "We made an inventory mistake and you aren't going to get your Fridge until next Wednesday."  Just great I said. Well, about an hour later the actual delivery guys called to tell us the would be arriving in a few minutes with the fridge. Um, I thought you didn't have it?  Well, someone made a mistake someplace, but we got the fridge when we were supposed to regardless.

Day 2 of the Move

Well, it's been a week since I last posted and that was Day 1 of the move.  So let me catch you up to date (with this and subsequent posts).

Last Wednesday, Day 2, started with the Township Inspector giving us the thumbs up on the Certificate of Occupancy.  "You are authorized to move in."  I texted Laurie and a great relief for both of us as it was now ok to move back into our home after so many months.

Erik and I continued to put furniture together, but without the astounding results we had on Tuesday. Our first Ikea delivery came mid-day with 3 couches and an ottoman. Erik had great fun playing in the box from one of the couches.  He wouldn't believe me that the box was his new bed.  Laurie and Cyndi Smith, with Emilianne and Amy, cleaned the guest house. Cyndi also made us dinner which Sarah brought over to the house where we ate our first meal together in the house.

The second Ikea shipment arrived about 5:00ish with more furniture - some to assemble and some ready to just be unwrapped.  Tom Smith came over in the evening to help put dressers together.

Day 1 of the Move

Yesterday was Day 1 of the Petit Move (not to be confused with the Philadelphia Move incident). It could also be defined as Day 188 of the rebuild.

Erik and I arrived at the house, McDonald's breakfast in hand, at 7:30.  The Carpet guys arrived at 8.  Erik and I began assembling the first wave of Ikea furniture that we had brought home.  We assembled 28 different pieces of furniture.  We were a well oiled,  highly efficient assembly line.  Erik is the best furniture assembly assistant I've ever worked with (sorry Gary, but he took your title :-)). 

The carpets were in by about 4:30.  The color upstairs looks great and now Laurie can legitimately say "I told you so!"

Today is the Township inspection for the Certificate of Occupancy.  If that goes ok we can officially begin to move in.  Plus there is more cleaning at the Guest house, starting to clean at the new/old house, area carpet shopping and the arrival of the 2nd wave of Ikea furniture.  Fortunately most of this shipment is already assembled (except for feet on the couches).

The Move

We are closing in on the house being finished.  They started the hardwood floor finishing today.  The remaining electrical work and final inspection is due the end of this week.  The counters arrive on Monday and the final plumbing will be completed on Monday afternoon.  The carpets are installed on Tuesday and the Certificate of Occupancy should be issued on Wednesday.  And most importantly, Fios internet access will be hooked up on Friday :-).

I just walked up stairs and saw the boxes of our stuff all packed up.  I had a little dance of joy as I thought about the fact that we were that close to moving back home.  I'm so grateful for the temporary housing we've had and the adventures we've enjoyed here (well most of them we did - scratch the bats), but I'm also really looking forward to being back in our own home.

Sorry I don't have any particularly interesting photos to post.

The move in schedule, as far as we can determine at this point is:

Tuesday night and all day Wednesday (12/14 and 12/15) will be spent assembling new furniture for the house, disassembling beds and furniture at the "Guest house" and cleaning at the Guest house.  We plan to move in on Thursday, 12/16. If you want to help out in either location and are available give us a call. 

Christmas Play

Last Saturday our church hosted it's annual Christmas Play with the Kindergarteners through the 6th grade.  Traditionally that also includes the 6th grade class playing all the acting roles.

Since Emilianne is in the 6th grade she had a speaking part.  About a dozen lines so not too difficult.  Here is a photo of her.

Emilianne is in the background, just left of center. I think she's gorgeous.

Erik was in the chorus and had a cute dance.



Erik is the one with the glasses trying to look like he doesn't notice I'm taking his photo.



The Latest on the House...

On Wednesday most of the kitchen cabinets arrived. Yesterday some of them got placed and hung up.  There still should be another wall cabinet to go in on the left side and the frig cabinet is sitting on the floor where the frig goes.  I really love the finish.  Jonathan does really great work!  He's also building the cabinets for our master bathroom.

Laurie and I went picked out our Frig and Dishwasher yesterday.  They should be delivered on Wednesday this week.  The general plan is to have everything wrapped up except the flooring by Monday, 12/6.  Then starting on 12/7 the hardwood floors will be finished (that takes about 3 days).   The counter tops will be delivered and installed on Monday 12/13 as well as the carpets.

Speaking of counter tops.  We picked those out on Tuesday.  Below is a photo of what we picked.  The coloring should work really well with the cabinets.  You can't tell from the photo, but the granite we picked out has a lot of "character".  What I mean by that is there are variations in the colors and pattern that make it unique and interesting.  But did you know that "character" costs more? Yep!  We also picked out a counter top for the master bathroom.

The second furnace is now in the basement and beginning to be hooked up.

Pending any delays - the plan is...  the house should be pretty close to ready by Tuesday, 12/14. We'll begin to clean on that Tuesday and set up the new furniture that is being delivered (not moved from our rental location).  This includes dressers, couches, closet organizers, etc.  Then, hopefully on Wednesday, we'll move our stuff from the rental house.  We would really like to be in and staying there before the following weekend so that we are already in and beginning to settle before that last weekend before Christmas.

Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving as a family.  Everyone was in for the day including Joel and Gen and Aaron.

As we sat down to dinner (the first time) I thanked God for how good he was too us this year.  Yes, we had a house fire, lost some stuff and have had some inconvenience because of it. But there is so much to be thankful for. 

We now have a married daughter who married a wonderful man - that gave us a new son! 

We celebrated 3 graduations this year.  Sarah graduated from high school.  Joel and Everett graduated from College with Bachelors degrees.  Gen finished her courses for her 2 year degree and is just waiting for her graduation to be announced.

We are also closing in on our rebuilt home and being able to move back in.  Right now we are hoping the move in day will be December 15th.  When we move back in we'll be able to enjoy some small upgrades that we were able to include in the rebuild.  In the meantime we've been able to enjoy a very unique memory of living on the estate for these last 6 months.

But most of all - Thank you Father for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem us from the pit while we were yet His enemies!

What a week!

This last week was the most tiring I've had in a long time. Even worse than a week at Youth Camp.  I had a Process Excellence training at work M-F, 8-5 every day. Then a person still has to keep up with their regular work. Late Friday afternoon I was chatting with a couple of the folks from the class after we finished up. I attempted to explain how exhausted I was, but couldn't get my brain to engage my mouth to form the words.  Their comment? "Enough said!" Then we all laughed.  Thank God for Thanksgiving and a couple of days off.

The latest on the house is, well, not too much.  The second furnace has arrived on site, but is not yet installed.  We picked out carpet late last week and they came over to measure on Wednesday.  We actually ordered the carpet today so now have to wait for it to be shipped since it wasn't a stock color.  It's funny how the kids, as they grow older, begin to think they have a vote in decisions like carpet color.  Phrases like "I brought you into this world and I can take you out!" have been heard. But that doesn't really work for a couple of the kids :-).

Every time I visit the house, Erik is fansinated by the way the lights work.  "What does this switch do Dad?" Well, that switch turns on the upper outlet in all the outlets in this room so that you can turn on the lamps from the switch.  "That is so cool Dad!". He particularly likes the lights in the closets. "Lights in the closet. Happy thought indeed."

It looks like the kitchen cabinets will be started right after Thanskgiving.  We plan to visit the tile and marble place this week to pick out the countertops for the kitchen and master bathroom.  There aren't many more decisions to be made after that. Except for furnitue :-).

Color My World

For Gen's wedding we had two dances.  The obvious Bride and Groom dance and the Bride and Father of the Bride dance.  Gen was kind not to pick out an emotional song for us to dance to.  Following the two dances I had our "DJ" play Chicago's "Color My World".  As it started to play I rejoined my wife who just realized what was playing.  This was the song we danced to at our wedding almost 29 years ago.  Laurie teared up and said something to the effect "This makeup cost me a lot of money - don't make me cry!".  I just wanted her to know that given the choice, any day, any time day, I'd marry her again in a heart beat!

In keeping with the color theme - our house is now painted inside.  It's really starting to look different.  I must also add a disclaimer at this time.  I'm sure most of you have had this experience.  Choosing a color for an entire room based on a 1 inch square sample paper makes it hard to envision what they'll look like when painted on four walls.  So don't adjust your monitor screen - these are really the true colors!  Actually, we still like them a lot, but they're just a tad "brighter" than we anticipated.

Erik's Room

Hall Bathroom

 

Kitchen

.

Master Bedroom

Master Bathroom

Sarah's Room

Emilianne's Room

The front of the house now with the shutters included.

11th PA

Many of you may know that Laurie and I belong to a Rev-War re-enacting group (www.11thpa.org).   We've been members of the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation in Ridley Creek for over 15 years.  Laurie does hearth cooking there - usually about once a month.  I can always find more important things to do around our own house rather than go play "farmer" at the plantation.  I grew up on a farm and I've spent enough time playing that part. 

But being part of the 11th allows me to play war.  Not quite as exciting as, say paintball, but it smells a lot more realistic with all the burnt blackpowder in the air and the task of powder in my mouth from tearing the tops off of cartridges.  And when you can feel the impact deep in your chest of a cannon being shot (better than any sub-woofer could ever produce) you heart starts to really pound with adrenaline.

Since the fire we have not been able to join the unit for any of the scheduled events.  We'll typically try to get out to 4 or 5 each year. Some even include camping overnight in a 1751 "bell" tent complete with wool blankets (no historical evidence has been found of them using mummy sleeping bags with Thinsulate).   We haven't been to any events since June because our clothes have been at the cleaners along with all our other clothes that got smoke damaged in the fire.  The ironic thing is that our colonial clothes ALWAYS smell of smoke because of the camp fires we cook over.

This weekend we had our first trip back into the 1700's with the 11th at Hope Lodge in Ambler, PA.  I don't believe there was actually a battle at this location, but it's a popular event.  The last two years have been frigid and clear.   We had two battles on Saturday and there were about 100 men at arms involved.  We lost the first to the British and they won the second (by design).

Here we are at Hope Lodge on 11/6.

We are members of the 11th for a couple of reasons.  First is Laurie's love for history - especially the colonial period - which has drawn the family into it as well.  We love being with the folks who share our interest in history and they're some of the dearest folks we know.  Secondly,  it provides us a great context to relate to folks outside of our church family where we can, hopefully, share the love of Christ.

Floored Part Deux

Ok, I know. You've been begging for photos and I've neglected you.  Well I won't win any contests with these, but here are a couple more.

The Hardwood floors are now completely installed in the family room, living room and dinning room.  They'll be finished in place.  Finally, Laurie has the hardwood floors she's talked about since we bought the house.

The finish will be "Golden Oak"

And here is our Master Bath almost complete.    You may think that the photo is taken with a wide-angle lens because the tub is curved.  But that's actually the shape of the tub we chose.

You be floored with all the progress!

We've had a lot done on the house since I posted last.  The stone on the front of the house is completed including the mortar.  Laurie and I are really pleased with the way it looks.  The front stoop has now been laid with slate and columns for the portico are up.



What we started with.



What we have now!



We still have the shutters, outside lights and trim to paint.

The floor tile for the kitchen, foyer, laundry room and powder room is all in as well as the grout.  Both upstairs showers have been tiled.  Light fixtures, switches and outlets have been installed upstairs (how nice to be able to turn on a light again) and most of the first floor.



The new kitchen floor.



The gas has been turned back on and the upstairs furnace installation is complete and the furnace is running to help the drying process.  The attic has also had all the insulation blown in.

The oak flooring is on site and waiting to be put in.

So the question that everyone is asking - When will you be able to move in?  It looks good to be in with  time to spare before Christmas. But we'll keep you posted.

Milestone

This is a post I've been thinking about a lot.  I hope I can communicate what's been on my heart.

You're probably thinking - where do you install a milestone when you are building a new house or what kind of mortar would you use with milestone?  Well, the milestone I am talking about is my 50th birthday.  We passed it last week.  I've teased Laurie that I can officially claim "mid life" now and with that comes my new red sports car.  Right?

The common phrase used at this point is "over the hill".  That usually is translated as "OH MY, you're really THAT old!"  But it can also mean that you're over the hard part and now you can kick into coast on the downhill side.  Pursue that bucket list. You've paid your dues, you've earned your money, go do what you want now. Kick back and enjoy!

But that's not how I want to face this point in my life.  This life is a race (1 Cor. 9:24). I find myself looking back over the first 50 years as a race and praying "Lord, I hope what I've built and achieved so far has been pleasing to you."  As I look forward I see the track lanes in front of me and a finish line still to be achieved and my prayer is "Lord, help me run the remainder of the race with more passion and with You and the Cross more in my focus than I did the former part."

Before you write me off as self righteous please know that I do intend to enjoy these later years and some of the things we couldn't when we were younger.  We waited 25 years to take our long planned trip to England and now we've been twice (what a blessing from God).  And Laurie just got me a sweet acoustic guitar for my birthday (I've wanted to learn for many years).  But I don't want to forget, as a beloved pastor has stated, that we signed on for a battleship, not a cruise ship.

Stone Mortar

It's amazing.  We've spent more time talking about mortar for the stone on the front of the house than probably any other single item on the house.  But each color we looked at creates such a different look that we wanted to get it right.  We ended up choosing a very light mortar that fits "historical" Chester County.  I mean, really. Just mention "historical" and you've got Laurie's attention :-).  Actually, we did make the decision before that factor was brought into the discussion.

So the latest...  All the ceilings have been painted with their final coat.  Lighting fixtures, switches and outlets (Thanks Aaron) are now being installed. All the trim and doors are installed and the first finish coat has been applied.  Today all the hardibacker for the kitchen, powder room and laundry room was installed.  Once the mortar is applied to the stone I'll get a picture of the final stone front (sans the shutters).  The slate has also been installed on the front stoop and awaits the mortar joints to be filled and the columns to support the portico.

We plan to use the "PAX" closet system from Ikea for our master closet.  They have a really nice tool available on-line for you to plan out your closet. Once you have it completely designed you get a complete shopping list printed out along with the price. Very helpful.

Stone and Stucco

As promised, the stone and stucco guys are back this week.  It's really starting to look good.  When I stopped by today the front stone was about half done.  The stucco is also about half done as well.

Here are a couple same photos.

The entire house has now also been primed on the inside.  I love the smell of that fresh paint (thought I am glad it will have time to air out before I have to sleep there).

Erik and I went on a long overdue date tonight (and it didn't involve stopping at the hardware store).  We were talking about all the things we've missed about our old house and the things we look forward to enjoying once we get back there.  We were also talking about all the things we enjoy about our "summer house" and what we'll miss.  I'm going to really miss the view from my chair in the sun room.  We have a wonderful sun room at the old house, but it can't match the view I have from the one here.  On the other hand, I won't have to chase a flock of geese of the lawn either.

House Finish

We should start to see some changes on the outside of the house this week.  The guys doing the stucco will be back at the house this week.  They should be able to do the finish coat on the 3 sides of the house and the stone on the front.  Once it's on then we can match the exterior trim colors.

Car for Sarah

Gen and Aaron are going to keep the car Gen has been driving for the last couple of years. So that left us a car down now that Sarah has her license. Oh, I never said anything about Sarah getting her license.  We had an appointment scheduled for the Saturday after the wedding.  When we got there I realized that I didn't have the most recent insurance card in the van.  The guy doing the exam obviously wouldn't let Sarah take the test without it.  But he graciously gave us 30 minutes to get one.  Well I don't know about you, but I don't typically carry a computer printer with me.  I could get on-line via my iPhone, but he wouldn't accept that.

Well, we headed to the church office.   I was able to get on-line and print out a current card and got back to the testing center in 32 minutes. Praise God. I don't know how I would have dealt with Sarah's disappointment if she hadn't been able to take the test that day. It usually takes 6 weeks to schedule the test.  As you can deduce - she passed the test.  She's been driving herself to work since then which greatly serves Laurie.

So here's what we got. 

We just happened to be talking with the Burke's and mentioned we were going to be looking for a car.  They told us that the Lucas's had one for sale.  We contacted them and their car was perfect for what we wanted. Only issue, Sarah has to learn to drive a stick.  We had already made it clear to her that this was a skill she would be required to learn.

Now the trouble is - Laurie really likes this car over the van....

Painting to start next week

The drywall is all mudded up and ready for the final sanding.  That will be done tomorrow.  Then it's a clean up before the painting starts.  Basically the entire house gets primed (possibly twice) and then all the ceilings get their final white coats.  Then all the trim goes up and then gets caulked and painted.  That will probably take all next week.  Then the following week they start on the tile.  We've picked out all the colors for all the paint (I may have said this in an earlier posting, but I can't remember - sorry for being redundant if I did).  We are probably going to change the master bathroom color now  that we have the tile picked out though.

Speaking of tile -I've purchased most of what we need.  Not particularly exciting choices because we wanted fairly neutral colors that could work with a variety of decorating accents.  I did a Dave Ramsey at Lowes.  They carry a special order floor tile that we wanted for the kitchen.  Typically it's about 45 cents more than what they stock for the same tile in a different color.  I had done research on-line to prove I could special order it elsewhere for the lesser price.  Though it's not their normal policy to match on-line prices they did match it when I appealed to the Manager. Way to go Lowes and score one for Dave.

I also have all the light fixtures ordered or in hand.

Next will be the range hood, exterior trim colors, carpet choices,  closet organizers (we're going with these for the master bedroom instead of multiple dressers) and then counters.  I'm sure I'm missing something there, but I'll remember eventually.

Drywall Up

I stopped over to the house today.  I knew we were going to have drywall up, but I hadn't expected so much to be done. All the drywall was installed and the entire house had been taped and mudded for the first layer.  It feels so different to walk through now.  It's starting to feel like the old house again.

We spent  some time at the hardware store picking out paint colors.  I think we're pretty close to being done with that.  Now we need to pick out floor tiles, shower tiles, kitchen tiles, carpets, etc. It makes me tired just typing the list.  But it's also lots of fun to be able to do everything fresh and new.

And now that the drywall is complete the masonry guys can finish the stucco.  Now you're probably wondering why they had to wait on the stucco until the drywall was done.  Apparently the walls can flex significantly when they "load" the house with all the drywall.  I was over there just after that was done.  Here's the sign I found on one of the stacks.  

After seeing the stacks of drywall, most of it 12 foot in length, I can see why they would wait on the stucco.  One of those stacks probably ways a couple tons.

Post Wedding Visitors

We've had a great visit with Lisa (Laurie's twin sister) and 3 of her girls (April, Abigail and Alivia) this week.  They live in the Memphis area and we don't get to see them that often.  Both our kids spent the entire time saying "you sound just like my mom" to Laurie and Lisa.  

It's funny to see how much they (Lisa and Laurie) are alike and how much they are different.  Alike - they sound the same, have many of the same expressions and have a love for reading and crafts.  Different - Lisa is a nurse and nursing is the last occupation Laurie would choose, Laurie loves black licorice and Lisa hates it, Lisa loves the City and Laurie can give it a pass.

Anyway, they have to head home in the morning and we will miss them.

Wedding Photos

Here is my favorite photo, so far, from the wedding.  I love the look Gen is giving Aaron as she anticipates them feeding each other cake (cheesecake in this case).

Here's another favorite. My Mom and Dad giving Gen some sage-like advice.

Rough-In Inspections are Complete!

Yes! And approved!  Except for a very minor adjustment (which won't hold up anything) the inspection went great.  David said the inspector was "impressed" with the mechanicals.  That means we can proceed with closing up the walls without further delay.

Tomorrow all the wall insulation will be installed.

Thursday morning will be an insulation inspection. All the drywall will be delivered and loaded into the house.

Friday drywall will be installed.

After the drywall is loaded on Thursday then the stucco can be finished as well.  The stone order is delayed a little, but that won't really hold anything else up.

I guess we better decide on some paint colors.

Wedding Recouping

It's now the day after the wedding. Is it normal to feel sad every time we walk by Gen's bedroom?  We just miss her a lot and it was just yesterday she was here getting dressed for the wedding.   We are so happy for her and Aaron.

The day was wonderful.  A bit on the hot side, but clear blue skies.  We had great representation from our families.  Both sets of Gen's grandparents were able to make it down from Vermont and a total of 20 out of state family members coming from as far away as Memphis.  It was also cool to have both the church families represented (Covenant and Souderton). 

Ok, so I know everyone is curious to know the answers to the "How well do you know Aaron and Gen" quiz. Here they are.

Where did Aaron and Gen first meet?
- Valley Forge

What act of service did Aaron do for Gen at that first meeting?
- Changed her tire

What is Aaron's and Gen's favorite candy?

- Reese's

Where did Aaron ask Gen out?
- Parking lot

Who takes credit for setting Gen and Aaron up?
- Matthew Witter, Benjamin Witter and Emily Witter

What is the only thing that Gen can beat Aaron in?

- Shuffling

Where was their first official date

- An Italian Restaurant

Where did Aaron first buy Gen dinner?

- Texas Roadhouse

When did Aaron first meet Gen's family?

- Second time they met

What food do both Gen and Aaron dislike?

- Tuna

When did Aaron first see Gen?

- NEXT/ NA

What did Aaron buy Gen for her birthday?

- Watch necklace

What did Gen do with the old sweat-shirt of Aaron's that he gave her?

- Burnt it

What was their first fight about?
- Hugh Jackman

What did Gen do the first time Aaron took her shooting?

- Shoot the target board off

Where did Aaron propose to Gen?

- In a park at NEXT

What phrase of Aaron's does the Petit family now say?

- Yeah!

What is Gen's favorite color?

- Purple

What is Aaron's favorite color?

- Green 

What is the name of Aaron's dog? (bonus point if you know who it was named after)

- Baxter from "The Anchorman" 

What was Gen's bunny's name? (bonus point if you know who it was named after)

- Percy (Sir Percival Blakeney) from the Scarlett Pimpernel

Approximately how many hours have Gen and Aaron spent driving back and forth to see each other since they've known each other?

- 630 

How old is Aaron?

- 27 

How long have Gen and Aaron known each other including emails?
-14 months

Wedding Day!

We're less than 3 hours away for the start of Gen and Aaron's wedding. Wow, what a roller coaster ride it's been.  I collapsed in bed about midnight last night after the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.  I had just finished up putting the music together for the ceremony and reception.

As many of you know I tend to be pretty mushy when it comes to my girls getting married.  They tease me a lot - like... "Dad, are you crying?" at the end of a Hallmark commercial involving a dad and his daughter.  But I've found that I wasn't getting very emotional or mushy as we approached the wedding.  I think it's partly due to having so much to think about (with the wedding, rebuilding the house, etc.) as well as just not ready to have it be here (her wedding day).  Up until last night it was sort of surreal and felt like I was helping with someone else's wedding.  So as I lay in bed last night (having the typical experience of waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back to sleep) I prayed, "Lord, help me to enter into this joy filled occasion, let go of the details and watch my little girl marry her sweetheart."  Stupid!!

As I walked down the stairs this morning to make the first pot of coffee I was thinking that she'll never come to this house again just as my little girl, but as the wife of this Godly man whom she loves with all her heart.  Well, I had my first real cry of the day.  Yes, I had a little tear here and there yesterday, but not a real cry.  It continues now even as I type this entry.

But I am so happy for my little girl.  And I love this man Aaron. He's a Godly man to be sure, but he loves my little girl so very much because she's his dream girl.  I love him so much for that too! He sees the beauty that she is.

So the day is here and off we go to the church!

Rough-in Inspections

We made some fantastic progress this week.  The Electrical Rough-in is complete and I believe it will be inspected by the end of today.  The HVAC is roughed in as well.  The Plumbing will require one more day - probably Friday.  So we have the township inspection scheduled for this coming Tuesday. 

 

Here are the next steps:

Insulation Installation - Scheduled for next week

Insulation Inspection - Should be at the end of next week

Drywall Installation (no taping yet)

Drywall Inspection (this may not be necessary)

Drywall Taping and paint prep

Painting

 

This could all be done in the next 2-3 weeks. WOW. That is so cool.  I guess we need to start picking out tile, lighting fixtures, colors, etc.

Sorry - It's been busy.

Well it's been a really busy week (thus no postings).  It's only 4 days until the wedding.  Most of the details are falling into place pretty well.  We just have to decide, based on the expected weather, how the wedding will be set up.  The choices are: Indoor Ceremony with Indoor Reception, Indoor Ceremony with Outdoor Reception and Outdoor Ceremony and Outdoor Reception.  We'll be deciding tomorrow night on which we'll use. Contingencies have been discussed ad infinitum. But I think we're ready.  God's grace has been abundant.  We don't want all the last minute details to steal away the joy of what this week represents in Gen and Aaron's life.

Please pray that everything will go smoothly, that we'll all be able to let the details go and enjoy the day.  But most importantly, that God would be glorified in everything we do and say.

We're Back

We're now back from vacation and into the routine :-).  Right! Routine? With the wedding and the house we don't seem to have a routine these days.

So only 12 days til the wedding. Wow. My little girl is getting married. Sniff, Sniff as Sarah would say.

Speaking of Sarah, she got a new job today working at Target. She starts the week after the wedding. That is also the week she goes for her drivers test. She has gotten quite proficient behind the wheel.

The house is moving along well.  We had a follow up meeting with Jonathan Bard regarding the cabinets.  That seems to be all set now.  The HVAC, plumbing rough-in and electrical rough-in are all moving forward.  It looks like we may be able to have all the rough-ins completed and inspected by the end of next week.  My goal all along has been to hit that milestone by the 1st of October. So we are right on track.

Sweet Girl

Here is a message that Sarah left her mom in the sand.

Past the Mid Point

It's Wednesday night and we are now past the mid point for our vacation. The weather has been fantastic so far.  Today the biting flies were out, but besides that there's nothing to complain about.  There was a emergency on the beach about a mile south of us.  The emergency vehicles included a Coast Guard helicopter hovering over the area for about an hour.  I believe the search was for a boogie boarder that had fallen off his board.

While I'm at the beach there are two things that I like to do that I normally don't get to.  One is to read a book from cover to cover so that I can still remember what happened at the beginning of the book. Usually it takes be a couple months to get through a book because my reading time is limited to about 5 minutes each night before I fall asleep.  I've read one book already and have started on my second.

The other thing I like to do is to build sand castles.  I usually get at least one person, who is observing me building a sand castle, that asks "Do you really like doing that?".  The reason they ask this is that it does take some work if you really want to build something big enough and solid enough to carve.

Here are some photos of what I built today.  Laurie and the kids got me a book for Father's Day this year (http://www.amazon.com/Sandcastles-Made-Simple-Step-Step/dp/1584797673).  I looked for this book for years as a used book because it was out of print, but it was recently reprinted. Anyway, I got some great ideas for details that I incorporated into this one.

Systems Update

The last I provided an update on the plumbing progress I think we had visited the showroom and made up a preliminary fixtures list.  Well, we got the quote back.  It was somewhere between "Ouch" and "Boing".  Ok, maybe I'm naive, cheap, sheltered or all three, but really - $1,200 for a kitchen faucet?

Needless to say (though I'm going to say it anyway), we had to rework the selections.  We finalized that yesterday morning, the order has been placed and the major items will arrive on Thursday.  That's when the plumbing rough-in will begin.

As for timelines (inquiring minds want to know) we still don't have a date for when it will be finished.  The inspections of all the systems (HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical) will determine a lot.  If they go quickly and well then we are on a pace to finish up sometime this year.  If they don't then we'll have to see how much delay they add.

The electrical rough-in is going really well (what else can I say with much of it being completed by my future son-in-law :-)). 

Vacation

We are currently enjoying the sun and surf of the Outer Banks.  Earl got out of here just in time.  The waves were a little intense the first day, but it's been wonderful ever since.  Earl created a great sand bar right where we normally hit the beach so that makes a really nice "lake" behind it with very warm water.  Below is a picture of most of the gang.  The rest of the week looks good for weather.

Here's a Mushroom house Sarah built. I girl after my own heart!

Progress Notes

I don't have any new photos to show today.  Unless you get real close you can't really tell the difference anyway.  It looks like the first layer of stucco is now covering the entire house. There might even be two coats, but I haven't been over there enough to know for sure.  The electrical is also moving along nicely.  Looks like most of the 2nd floor is roughed in along with part of the first floor.

We spent about 90 minutes at the plumbing show room tonight.  Wow, who would have thought that you could go see all this stuff on display.  We picked out all the sinks, faucets and fixtures.  The only thing still outstanding is whether to have a double bowl kitchen sink or a large single bowl. Any opinions out there?

Plumbing Showroom

The highlight of the week ;-) - we are going to a plumbing showroom tomorrow night to choose all the plumbing fixtures for the house.  I know the kids are going to say "Oh, is this date night?".  As delighted as Laurie will be to wonder through all the showroom with all the chrome and brass shining and glittering, I don't think it quite qualifies as a date night.  We had done a lot of research on what we wanted, but apparently some of the choices won't work together well (ie that faucet set requires a different set of holes than the sink we selected allows for). Plus, as always, David had some good suggestions that we want to incorporate.

And I can't sign off without a pun riddled statement. So don't let your heart sink or your emotions plumb the depths as I end this missive - its too draining and will leave you flush. I will shower you with more entertaining words tubmorrow which is all vanity anyway. Reading too many blogs can be a trap, but I'm always at your disposal.

Jack & Jill Shower

We hosted the Jack & Jill Shower for Aaron and Gen yesterday.  We had about 60 folks come out (some of the guys were reluctant to attend a "shower" even though there were lots of guys and families there).  Gen and Aaron were really blessed by everyone coming out and all the generous gifts.  I had the opportunity to use my new grill (sorry Mick, no charcoal) and my new camera (lots of blurry photos).  I can't help but be grateful to God for all the years of friendships represented by those in attendance.  What a privilege it is to walk out our Christian lives among such a wonderful group of believers.

Gen and Aaron chill'n in the sun room before the guests started to arrive.

The lawn at the summer house!

Stucco and Furnaces

We had some great progress on the house this week.  They finished all the prep work for the stucco and actually put a coating of stucco on the two ends of the house.  The photos don't do it justice, but it's so nice to see the progress.

Another point of progress is the heating/cooling unit in the attic. This will service the second floor.  No need to have fans blowing in the bedrooms to circulate the air :-).

What a thing of beauty!