I thought for sure I would have a kitchen by Christmas. Not quite.
Now I'm hopeful for Valentine's Day... maybe even earlier.
What I'm learning is that remodeling the house you live in...
and doing most of the work yourselves... especially at our age...
is a great way to develop patience and perserverance...
and I keep hearing God say "count it all joy..."
So in the beginning... this was our kitchen when we moved in... Sept. 23rd.
It is quite small but cozy... with a nice size family room addition.
This will be a great family/tv room... someday soon!
The cabinets were original 1942... very small and didn't close well...
note the covered over chimney in the corner...
and what was the dining room through the doorway... more on this later.
November 8
After settling into the bedroom and studio as our living space...
with the camper for our kitchen...
Michael spent quite a while on the laundry room but I'll show you that later.
Here... the kitchen construction begins...
and the cabinets were the first thing to go.
I remember the day the plastic doorway went up to keep construction dust
out of the rest of the house... at least the worst of it...
I thought the zipper was oh so cool then...
now... not so cool but still so thankful for it.
November 10
We wanted to open up the space between the dining room and kitchen...
November 16
but in order to take out that wall we had to put a support beam in...
In the process of making room for the beam we discovered leaks...
which meant taking down the entire ceiling...
December 4th
and time out for replacing a large section of the roof.
We also discovered there was no insulation on one outer wall...
so the sheetrock had to come down... but thankful for the discovery!
During this time Michael was also putting in all new kitchen plumbing...
while an electrician friend was replacing all the wiring!
December 1
Lots of work went into making the ceiling level between where it sagged
and where the family room had been added on. A pony wall was built
for where a counter/eating bar will be... and electrical was wired!!
Oh yes... and the chimney disappeared...
sadly however... Michael's shoulder is still suffering from that demolition.
December 14
Trust me... some serious JOY filled the house the day
Jeff and his boys showed up with sheetrock!
December 15
After weeks of looking at the darkness of open studs, wires and insulation...
this was a beautiful site to see!!!
December 22
But back to more demolition... up came the ugly mud-colored vinyl tiles...
all the way down to the subfloor... too bad it's sub-floor because it's
really quite colorful and pretty... but do have cold air coming through!
December 28
Finished painting the ceiling and the upper part of the walls
December 29
Could hardly quit smiling as we began trimming out the windows and doors.
That's where we're at today.
What God has shown me through these past several weeks is
an incredible picture of what it means to be rescued.
He has given the privilege to take a house that had been
neglected, seriously abused and abandoned... and we are giving it new life...
an opportunity to blossom into something of beauty and great value.
I know in my heart God has a plan for this house to be used for His glory!
A wonderful analogy of what God does for us...
He rescues us... gives us new life... and uses us for His glory.
For my house and for my God...
I am thankful!
