Recent Developments...

"Many hands make light work!" --or so my beloved mother-in-law often says-- and our new, fixer-upper house has certainly proven this to be true. After two solid months of renovations and many, MANY helping hands, we are now moved in & (mostly) settled!

Here are a few before & afters...

Living Room

Tore down wood paneling - replaced with drywall. 

Ripped up linoleum - refinished original hardwoods.

Busted down top half of fireplace - built bookshelves and mantle.

A close up of the gorgeous fireplace bookshelves, whipped up in one weekend by the most talented wood-working/engineering duo I know-- my husband and my father!

Special thanks to my parents who exchanged their "Gatlinburg vacation" for 12-hour work days with us. Dad was especially helpful with those gorgeous bookshelves, while Mom painted trim and washed sawdust off every square inch of the house.

Dining Room/Kitchen

 Busted down walls. 

Ripped up linoleum - refinished original hardwoods.

Gutted old cabinets - installed new kitchen.

This is by far our favorite transformation of the house! We love the open space for hosting, and the brand new kitchen feels like a dream. HUGE thanks to the team at Counter Dimensions for their amazing work on our kitchen remodel! We couldn't be happier with how it all turned out.

A close up of the original butler's pantry, laboriously stripped and restored (layer, by layer, by layer, by layer...) by my determined mother-in-law, Martha.

Kitchen

One more look at the kitchen from the other direction...

Hallway

Guest Room

Mainly, I just want to show off the bed that MY HUSBAND BUILT in a week and a half's time... since we had guests coming, you know. :)

A big thanks to the many other hands that helped along the way... especially my father-in-law, who single-handedly primed every wall and ceiling, and our small group & friends, who had the whole house painted, taped, and cleaned in just one day!

We certainly couldn't have done it without you all!

We feel so blessed to live here and have enjoyed watching "one man's trash" turn into a home that we are truly proud to call our own. To me, these renovations reflect the creativity & imagination of our God, who made us from dust and daily turns ashes into things of beauty. I'm so glad He's not intimidated to take on such "fixer-uppers" like us.

Meanwhile, the house is not the only thing that's been changing these days...

We are now less than 3 weeks from due date (Jan. 23rd). Daily growing in anticipation to meet this little one! Nursery pictures to come. :)