Lots of Updates for You! Actually 20!

I have been typing now for several hours......updating our blog so that you can see all that has been accomplished in the past three weeks! There are 20 new entries...so sit back and get ready!

I am sitting at this very moment (1:45 a.m.) in a Memphis hotel room with HIGH-SPEED INTERNET with 7 men! These wonderful men are Jonathan, his dad, and his 5 brothers. We are all here in Memphis for Andrew's wedding today at 10 a.m., and all the boys are here in my room because our hotel room is the only one in which there is no sleeping children. (Nevermind the sleepy wife who would love to sleep!!) However, I am truly enjoying being here and hearing their conversations concerning theology, politics, and sports...... Surely we will be going to bed soon! Andrew has to be at the church in less than 6 hours for pictures!!

Anyway....enjoy all the updates! (Especially you, Charlene, Mom, Jennifer, Robin, and all of you who are disappointed day after day after day when you check my blog and find nothing new! I'm still up at this hour FOR YOU!!! :)

Here is Jonny standing back to admire our house from the front yard........ Below is a picture of our new back door from the outside.

Here is another view of our columns and the porch ceiling.

Ready for Grass!!

We have just this week gotten all the extra lumber, scrap wood, shingle scraps, and brick mess out of the yard. Jonny has sprayed the weeds and unwanted grass with Round-Up, and we hope to begin seeding part of the yard next week with Zoysia seed. We are probably going to need some topsoil and lime in parts of the yard. This will hopefully all take place next week!

This little red wagon and the little red truck have been INVALUABLE!!! Thanks to the Smith and the McGlamery families for loaning us such wonderful equipment!!

Got wood???

Whew!! All Cleaned Up!

The drywall has been all cleaned up....Lots of lifting drywall, sweeping drywall, vacuuming dust.......And now the walls have been primed and the next phase is about to begin. We are hoping to have the ceilings painted this week, light fixtures hung next week, and all the electircal work finished so that we can turn on the lights and the air-conditioning by the last week of June. We need the air on so that our hardwood floors can get used to our house's humidity and temperature. This is very necessary so that the floors won't leave gaps or warp after we install them. So, electricity, tile, hardwood, etc....are the next big steps.

The truck----ready for the Holly Springs Dump!

Look Who's Exhausted!

Jonny was found asleep on the playroom floor today after we picked up all the brick and drywall this week! It has been a long, hot, and back-breaking week. Bless his little hard-working heart!

Dax Turns Three!!

We were so thankful to celebrate Dax's 3rd birthday this week. Many of you that check this blog also know the Ottinger Family and you know Dax's story. For those of you that don't know Mo and Tona and the kids, you can go to their blog---it is linked from ours. Dax has been a sick little boy all of his life, and has accomplished much more than the doctors ever believed possible. However, this sweet boy is on the waiting list for a liver, and he needs one VERY soon. Please pray for Dax and for his family as they wait on the Lord to act on their behalf.....

What a Muddy Mess!!

They have finished the mudding and sanding of the drywall. What a mess everywhere!!!!!!!!! Everything looks straight and smooth, so priming the walls will be next. We have a lot of mess to clean up soon....See the truck outside with the brick in the bed? We have all of that to clean up too! Ahhhhhh....Summer!

MMMMMM...Someone loves chocolate pie!!

Sara Kate loved CC's chocolate pie at Lizzie's party...........She wanted more and more and more. Poor Andrew had to get another piece!

Lizzie Turns 7!

Look at sweet little Lizzie and her cute little kitty-cat watch.

We celebrated big at CC's house who made a fabulous chocolate birthday pie!!

Lizzie got lots of great gifts---here is the one Jonny and I gave her. (A Titans uniform for her Build-A-Bear.)

Unfortunately, it was difficult at times for Anna and Sara Kate watching their sister get all the good stuff........ :)

VBS---Jonah Style!!

Here we are singing our hearts out during our Vacation Bible School! Our theme was Jonah!

Here is my class of 5 year olds.....in the belly of the whale!

Sweet Anna and one of her sweet friends!

Our Back Door is In!!

We are so very thrilled to finally have our back door! It took forever----Home Depot didn't know how to order it for us back in April. We eventually ordered a door from Thrifty Building Supply. It came in and didn't fit. They couldn't make it fit. So we had to crawl back to Home Depot....and they finally figured out how to order the door. Then we waited almost 4 more weeks for it to come in!

Drywalled!!

Our drywall is in, and it only took a day! They made a big mess--but it will get worse when they come back to mud and sand (three times!). It is amazing how it really changes the feel of the house! This picture is a view from inside the den.

This is the view from the master bedroom door looking into the dining room/kitchen. Jonny and James (our neighbor) are surveying the work.

This is a view from the foyer looking down the hallway toward the back door.

More Finishing Touches

Can you see the trim around the center windows here? It is not painted yet, but it will look great soon! It really helped tie the windows together.

Here are our front steps. They are nice and wide, as are the back steps too. We are very pleased with how they came out!

Here is a picture of the columns now with the trim on the top as well. Our porch ceilings have beadboard on them now as well.