Starting to Move

After many hours of labor, we moved our first load over to the new house tonight. There is still a lot to do; many rooms still to paint and tons of landscaping to do. But at least we are now moving forward. I believe that tonight might be our last night here. I'm pretty sure that we'll start sleeping over at the other house tomorrow. Finally!

Aside from finally moving some stuff to the new house, I'd have to say that the highlight of my day was when our family was participating in our dinner-time "high-low" game. Each night that we gather around the dinner table, we each confess our high and low point for the day. What made my day was hearing Dallas say that his "high" for the day was knowing that I was his Valentine. Talk about melting my heart.

Aside from the house and loving my children beyond comprehension...I've been gearing up for some volunteer work at my church. In the next couple of weeks, I will be coordinating Financial Peace University. It's been 5 years since I/we took this 13 week course and it has completely changed the way that Kenny and I handle our finances. I wish that I could say that we haven't made mistakes since taking the course, but that would be a lie. However, we're back on track and I'm looking forward to helping other families along their journey as well.

Well, I guess that's about it for now. I can't believe that I haven't posted anything for so long. I guess that I've been busier than I realized. Still...that is no excuse. I am hoping to post some "after" pictures of the house very soon so as to document what I've been busy/distracted with. Stay tuned.

I Don't Need No Stinking Instructions

I can barely tap the keys on my laptop without wincing in pain. But I just had to post that WE ARE DONE! We chipped away at the last section of mortar after about 8 hours of labor. Even though I'm sore and tired, the sense of accomplishment was worth it.

I have to admit though, about 7 hours into our chip-fest, Kenny noticed that the chisel blade wasn't put in the right way. I had it upside down. Oops! Needless to say, he shot me a look of dissatisfaction. And boy did flipping that chisel around make a difference. The mortar came up so much easier once the chisel was in the right way. My arms were actually being pelted by the mortar once the chisel was installed right. Geez, you'd think that Kenny would have noticed that YESTERDAY. What was he thinking, leaving such monumental decisions to a woman? Man, you'd think that he actually trusted me and believed that I knew what I was doing! Men...I tell you.

If that weren't bad enough, as we were heading back to Home Depot to return the chipping hammer, I noticed on the pages behind the rental receipt were the instructions for the chipper. Seems that there is a control lever on that piece of equipment.... Level 1-2: Plaster and drywall. Level 3: Tile Removal. Level 4: Masonry. Level 5-6: Concrete. Yeah...needless to say, I had it set to level 1. Once again, I wonder how much faster and easier this job could have been had I taken the time to actually read the instructions.

Feeling a bit guilty about this whole ordeal in hindsight, I tried to convince Kenny that it was worth it considering that we had put our own sweat into the project. I asked him if he felt the same sense of accomplishment as I did and whether or not he would do it again. I believe his reply was, "Let's see, I just gave up $500 worth of OT hours where I would have been doing something that is 10 times less strenuous...and I could have watched the playoffs while working that OT....hmmm, I'm not sharing your enthusiasm." Of course, he was teasing...I think. Well, at least he said it with a smile on his face. He is a good man, my husband. He supports my crazy endeavors time and time again. He even put about 4 loads of laundry away this morning. I don't know what I did to deserve such dedication and support, but he sends it my way time and time again. Even when I neglect to read the instructions.

I can do this...no problem.

We started working on our house this week. The drywall guys came and raised up a 2 foot ledge to be a half wall in our dining room. They also repaired the water damaged drywall on the ceiling in one of the bedrooms. Later next week, they will come back to finish one other small project that we need for a future flat screen tv.

The only thing left is the flooring, paint and a good cleaning. My theory was to at least remove the tile downstairs before painting so that we wouldn't have to clean the walls twice; once before painting and once after the tile is removed (very dusty job). So, we got a couple of quotes on the tile removal....I was floored, no pun intended. One place wanted $3/sf and the other wanted $2/sf. Considering that we have over 600 sf, that was $1,200 that I had not budgeted for in our flooring. So to keep expenses down, I figured that it wouldn't be that difficult to just do the removal ourselves....what a mistake that idea was.

My brother in law laid tile in the past, so I called him up and got a few pointers from him. We then headed down to the tool rental area at Home Depot and rented a chipping hammer, which is basically a hand-held jack hammer. Yesterday, the goal was to remove that 600 sf in one day. In fact, I originally was going to do it all myself. I'm pretty handy and never shy away from do-it-yourself types of projects. But 2 hours into it, Kenny decided to take off from work and come help me. He must have felt sorry for me and my stubborn tendencies.

For the next 5 hours, we chipped away at the tile. Most all of it is up as of this morning. We only have a few more spots around the walls to remove. What remains now is the mortar. So essentially, we are going to have to go back over all 600 sf of the floor so that it is level and smooth.

I don't think this would be such an issue if I were 10 years younger. In fact, I know that we probably could have knocked out the entire project in one day if we were both 10 years younger. But as I sit here this morning looking over all the wounds on my legs and arms from the flying tile....as I feel the pain in my aching hands, arms, knees, back and chest, I'm dreading the task at hand. Ironically, I'm glad that we're doing it. Putting my own blood & sweat into the house has given me a sense of ownership more so than just having the keys. Even Jason busted out a handful of tiles yesterday and is ready to go again this morning. I'm sure that he'll remember this project for the rest of his life. I know I certainly will. In fact, I'll remember this as the one and ONLY time that I ever busted up tile. Any future tile work we decide to take on will only include the labor of my hand signing the check to pay whomever we hire. Believe me when I tell you that these people earn every single penny of what they charge.

Justin, I have a new found respect for you.

Home Sweet Home

Kenny and I signed papers at the title company yesterday. It's official: we're homeowners here in Texas. I wonder if this officially makes us Texans....nah. But it does allow us someplace more permanent to hang our hats. A place to customize to our liking. I'm already picking out paint colors and flooring. It's exciting, but not as exciting as when we bought our first home in Reno. There was something magical about our first home purchase....almost like a dream realized. Anyway, the next chapter is about to begin for us here in the Lone Star State.

I believe that I mentioned before (at least in our Christmas newsletter) that I would be posting before and after pictures of the house. I've already got a slide show set up with before pictures. Once we get started, I'll start posting more. In fact, I may even post on the go with my newest electronic gadget: the Treo 755. Most everyone knows that I'm a gadget/electronics junkie. So when my cell phone finally pooped out, Kenny surprised me with a Blackberry. I wasn't too thrilled with the cost associated with having a Blackberry, but could accept those associated with the Treo. Plus, I'm able to run an updated version of my beloved HandyShopper software on it. Yeah, I know....I'm a nerd.

On another note, it looks as though 2008 is off to a running start as far as church ministries. If everything goes as I expect it to, I'll be facilitating Financial Peace University at the Keller campus of our church. In addition to that, it looks as though the Women's Adventure Retreat is in need of a coordinator.....so I'll step into that roll as well. To be quite honest, I'm scared to death. Already, the self doubt and fear is setting in. But that's the beauty of my faith....when I step out to do something knowing full well that it can't be done of my own strength, but can be done only through submission to my Lord. I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. Phil 4:13.

As for today, we've got a basketball game to watch this morning as Jason and his buddy Boston play their first game in this new sport. They already rock as baseball players....let's see if they can dominate another sport. (I'm not a proud mother or anything.) Then, we're off to the house to allow the boys to pick their bedrooms. After that, who knows. Maybe Lowes to pick more paint swatches, maybe back home to start boxing up stuff, maybe we'll just take the day off and enjoy a movie. Regardless of what it is, I guess it's time to actually get it started.

Insomnia Gone

Finally...FINALLY....my insomnia seems to have subsided. I'm sure that fact is in direct relation to the amount of stress that has been reduced over the last week. The two major things, that I believe have put me back into slumber mode, are our housing future and Christmas.

I'd say that 90% of our Christmas shopping is done. I knocked out most of it on Thursday via Amazon.com. On Friday, Kenny and I handled the rest by spending the majority of the day at the Grapevine Mills Mall.

Like I said, I've still got a few things to pick up. But most of our shopping is done. We've gone a little over budget, but I'm ok with that considering that a handful of gifts are well worth the money spent. They have the power to change peoples lives and you just can't tie a dollar amount to a gift like that.

As mentioned in my previous post, we put an offer in on a house last Sunday night. By Monday evening, we got the call from our realtor letting us know that our offer was accepted. As a family, we immediately dropped to our knees and thanked God for this blessing. The offer we submitted was only 75% of the property's value. It is a near perfect fit for our family. The only thing that I would change would be the backyard's size....or lack thereof. It's a bit small. But the deal we got makes the size tolerable....at least temporarily.

So now, we are waiting for the final purchase agreement so that we can get the inspection done and the loan processed. Once we have possession, we'll go in and do a little bit of drywall work/alterations. We'll also be putting in new floors and counter tops in the kitchen. Once all those things are done, I'll probably paint and then we'll move in. We should be in by the end of January. I think once everything is said and done, I'll post the before and after pictures of the house.

On today's agenda: I need to put the Christmas tree up, do a little more shopping, and then get behind my camera to take the boys' portrait. I imagine after this full day, I won't have a problem falling asleep tonight. Ohhhh, how wonderful it feels to easily fall asleep again.