How does your handrail grow?

We had decided to have halloween party. A combination of kids and adults alike all dressed up in costumes. Prior to the party Erik and I thought about what we needed to do to really get ready for people to come stay with us and play with us. So we agreed that building a second handrail on the front porch would be one of the best ideas (considering the intoxicated people may be at our house and want to stand on the front porch without falling off the steps while going up or down). Erik got to work and I am always amazed at what this man can do.




We also needed to take out this huge post that was used to chain a dog up on a dog run that was attached to the house. Needless to say, we really didn't need that. Erik was so manly that he pulled it out of the ground with his hands! (it was cemented in!!)

"Our house is a very very very fine house"

Although I have not had much time to really be on the computer. I thought I should at least update some pictures. Our house is really coming along. We have expanded the back yard, made our chicken coop bigger, mostly finished our kitchen (we still have a little painting to do), added a fireplace insert for heat (burns wood), and so many things its hard to remember them all.

Fiesta!

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A work in progress, as it should be called!

From the day we closed on our house we had a little over one month to get the work done that needed to be in order to make the house liveable. From tearing out rotted walls, patching numerous holes and putting in new flooring, it was an intense job! The kitchen was the biggest project. We put in 2 new walls, coverd up the esbestos flooring, got new countertops and all new appliances.

We could not have done it without the help of Erik's dad, Rob. He sure is a handy man!

Our house became a work zone of wood shavings, bits and pieces of wood, and tools laying around.

We also couldn't have done it without the help of Erik's Mamms and Papps. They tore out all of Esau's bedroom walls and put all new walls in his room! What a huge help!

The upstairs was also a mess. There was a 2.5 in bow in the floor, so if we didn't fix it, then carpet couldn't be put down upstairs. SO, we leveled the floor

The woodburning stove's chimney ran through the middle of the house. It was not a pretty site. My original thought was to paint it. Brick looks nice painted. Rob's idea was to cover it. Much better of an idea. It made a huge difference. You can see a little bit of the chimney at the top of the piture.

This is our room, obviously not finished. It a main area for cutting wood or other things that needed done. It was a mess.

Erik's drywalling job in the kitchen where 2 walls had been torn out. Oh, and the new back door.

We are happy that the hard stuff is over. At least for now.

The day we closed on our house!

So we put a lot of pressure on the previous owner to remove ALL of his belongings, trash, and various debris from inside the house as well as outside in the yard. On the day of closing we were disappointed to see that this had not been done. At that point the decision had to be made, would we risk trying to stay in our apartment for one more month and really try to get him to get rid of all of it and then be disappointed once again? We decided to go with it and close on the house. This is what we came home to:
The front of the house with desks, shelves, and chairs leaning on our porch.

inside the house after walking in the front door, we came to our living room with many of the previous owners personal belongings and the heaviest metal desk I've ever seen and certainly the heaviest desk Erik has ever moved.Our dining room, with a bed, carpet, clothing, and various other items.

Our kitchen, in all its green, light and cream glory piled high with things.

Esau's bedroom with all of it painted over wall paper walls, and holes in the framing around the windows.

Esau's closet filled with trim, wood, holes in the walls, non working plugs, exposed piping from the bathroom.

What a sight it was to see all of the trash in our back yard!!!! This was only a third of what we had removed.

A old worn down shed that we eventually removed, burned and threw away. And of course, the rest of the trash not including all of the stuff from inside the house.

The other side of the shed with trash, etc.

Needless to say it was a HUGE job that we had undertaken.

Were we really ready for what was to come?