Jubilee Morning

ALL MOVED IN!

2008-12-04T09:20:00.005-06:00

Well, it took 191 days but we got it done! They finished up on Tuesday, November 25th, we moved in the day before Thanksgiving and had the closing on Tuesday, December 2nd. It has been a long process with way too many decisions to make...but it was well worth it.

It's nice to be able to put up the dishes without tripping over the open dishwasher door, or take a shower without worrying about leaving enough hot water for the next person, or walk into the garage to get a tool intead of going outside to the storage shed. Not to mention that we now have DSL which wasn't available at our trailer! All the little things sure do make it nice. Michelle is also having lots of fun experimenting with her new oven and Josiah is really enjoying his new bed. He has slept on the top bunk, trundle bed, and a storage/cubby area that he calls his "Bat Cave". Anna is happy to actually have play area in her room and they are making good use of their new Play Room.

We are still in the process of hanging pictures and decorations, but other than that we are pretty well settled in. Michelle has worked very hard!

DAY 191 - GOD is good!

2008-11-25T11:34:00.003-06:00

With all the crazyness going on in our financial world, interest rates have been all over the place this year. Our construction rate was 5.75% but we couldn't lock in the permanent rate until we were about 20 days from closing. We have been watching the the past few weeks, but they have been hovering between 6.2 and 6.3%. Historically that's not a bad rate, but in the current conditions I was looking for 6% or better. This morning it dropped to 5.75% for a few hours and we locked it in!

As of this morning, we still had one bathroom to be finished (faucet, shower door, toilet), the kitchen sink drain and dishwasher needed to be hooked up and several odds and ends to be tied up. They are supposed to be finished today and we plan to start moving tonight.

I haven't posted any updated pictures because all the tools have been in the way. We plan on taking some before we move anything in and I'll try to get them posted soon. (maybe this weekend if our DSL gets installed).

DAY 186 - PUSHED BACK

2008-11-21T11:48:00.005-06:00

So we are not going to make it by friday..but we should still make it by Thanksgiving....BARELY!

The appraiser is coming on Monday morning and they should be thru with the final touches on Tuesday. Our new plan is to move in on Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving).

The tile and wood floors are in, phone is hooked up, propane is in, faucets are installed, dishwasher, kitchen sink, lights, smoke detectors are installed (did you know that Home Depot has a whole isle of different types of smoke detectors? ugh). The garage door is in and they are starting the carpet this afternoon.

After much deliberation, we decided that the kitchen just wouldn't look right with our old white refrigerator in it, so yesterday I stopped by Sears (they know me well by now) to order a new one. Well, it was on sale so we got a good price on it, but as luck would have it the one we want won't be in until December 2nd.

These pictures are from a few days ago when it was pretty messy. I'll get some new pictures this weekend.

DAY 183 - FINAL SPRINT

2008-11-18T09:31:00.002-06:00

We finally found the travertine (tile) on Friday and he got it installed yesterday! I would post a picture of it, but I left my camera at work yesterday :(

I'll try to get a picture of it tonight.

The tile guy showed up on Sunday afternoon. He should be done with the tile today and hopefully start on the wood flooring either today or tomorrow. We also got our electric pole up yesterday so we have power to the house now. We also got the cabinet doors in and he got all the wood beams up in the Dining room. There is still a lot to be done, but we are sprinting to the finish line.

The appraiser is scheduled to come out on Friday, and we are hoping to begin moving on Saturday. It doesn't seem like enough time to get it all done...we will see.

Day 179 - PRESSING ON

2008-11-13T16:02:00.009-06:00

They got our laminate installed yesterday and finished up the stone. Now we are in the middle of a fiasco with the Tavertine Michelle had picked out for the backsplash. We weren't originally sure if she was going to use it, or how much we were going to need, so we just bought a sample of it. Well, as luck would have it, now that she has settled on what she wants we can't find it again! I went into Houston this morning to pick up Josiah's new bunk bed and stopped at a Lowes and Home Depot and couldn't find it. I have one more store to try before they begin installing the Tile on Monday.

DAY 173 - Stone Started

2008-11-10T10:48:00.003-06:00

I picked up Michelle's stove and dishwasher this weekend and ordered my Christmas present.....a 50" Plasma TV.

After three weeks of hearing "I'll be there next week" the mason finally showed up on Wednesday afternoon.

By the end of the day Friday, they were almost finished with the garage wall. He should be completely finished by midweek.

We now have our septic installed, water line connected and countertops built. This week should prove to be very busy ans we are looking to see the electricity connected, propane installed, lights and outlets installed, attic stairs installed, faucets installed, cabinet drawers and doors installed, cedar trim installed on porch and beams installed in the Dining/Play room.

That will still leave the outside A/C unit, kitchen laminate, tile flooring, wood flooring, toilets, carpet, appliances, garage door, touch up painting and cleanup to be done before the 21st.

DAY 165 - Marble

2008-11-05T15:45:00.003-06:00

We got the marble in last Thursday. They still have to finish the guest Shower and will have to come back after the Tile and faucets are installed to finish the surroundings on the Master Bathtub but it's finally coming together.

On a seperate note...we are still waiting on the Stone to be installed!!! He was supposed to start today, but now it's tommorrow...

I spent most of this morning trying to coordinate with the bank, builder and Appraiser. Our hope is to move in the weekend before Thanksgiving. The house is supposed to be finished by that friday (November 21st) but we have to get the appraiser there before we can move in, and the house has to be very close to finished before he can do the appraisal. The trick is giving him enough notice that he gets it done before the 21st without showing up too early. I'm loosing the rest of my hair :)

DAY 159 - CABINETS

2008-10-28T09:58:00.005-05:00

The bathroom cabinet frames are all built and he's working on the kitchen cabinets. The picture to the left is of the kitchen cabinets from Friday. The picture on the right is of the cabinets in the master bathroom. They measured for the marble last week and should have it installed by the end of this week. We will have marble vanities in all 3 bathrooms, marble tub and shower in the master, and a marble shower in the Guest Bathroom.
We also settled on a countertop color of "Deepstar Bronze" .

DAY 148 - Nice View

2008-10-14T08:50:00.005-05:00

I went by the house yesterday after work, as I do most days, to check on the progress and give it my "once over". I stepped out on the back porch to look at the first coat of stain they had applied to the back doors and as I turned around to head back into the master bedroom there were 2 deer looking right at me. I had my camera with me so I just started snapping away. They stood there for several minutes until the sound of an obnoxious diesel spooked them away. I guess that will be a problem regardless of where you live, but it's one I look forward to hearing much less of once we move.

The picture on the left was taken from the back porch. The one to the right was taken from our master bedroom window. Looks like I found a perfect spot to put up a feeder!

DAY 142 - Trim & Stain

2008-10-07T14:06:00.006-05:00

It's been crazy around here lately! Our stone was delivered last week, though they haven't started installing it yet. They got about 1/2 of the doors stained yesterday and should have the window trim in very soon. I'll post some new pictures in the next few days.

Shown above: Living Room, Josiah's room, Master Bedroom.

DAY 131 - IKE

2008-09-26T17:21:00.003-05:00

This picture was taken on Saturday the 13th. The day after Ike made landfall. It's now been 2 weeks and we are finally seeing some progress again! Thankfully, we made it thru IKE with no damage whatsoever. We had several trees down in the yard, but none on the house.

Our builder got started back to work on Tuesday (Sept 23rd) and got the interior painted and the interior doors up this week. He would have started earlier, but his paint supplier was out of power and couldn't mix the paint until Monday.

The interior paint color is called "Chalkware". Here is a sample of it .

He should start on the trim work on Monday and hopefully we won't have many more delays.

DAY 110 - Walkthru

2008-09-06T13:39:00.011-05:00

Whew...I had no idea how long it took to finish sheetrock. He has been working on it every day, but it's just one man so he is still going at it. He should be finished by Tuesday of next week. Here are some "profesional" :) videos of a walk thru the house. They take a while to upload, so i'll add more next week.

DAY 104 - Learning Patience

2008-08-30T09:10:00.002-05:00

I have discovered that this is the time when God teaches Justin patience. No doubt I have more than I did before having kids 4 years ago, but I am discovering I have a LONG way to go.

After waiting on him for more than a week, the sheetrock finisher finally showed up on Wednesday. He worked thru Friday and is actually making fairly quick work of it. However, I was hopeing we would be ready to paint and get started on the trim & cabinets by the first of September. It looks like it will be the 2nd or 3rd week instead, meaning that we are unlikely to meet my goal of moving in by the end of October. We should be on track to be moved in by Thanksgiving however.

Josiah checking things out

2008-08-19T10:02:00.008-05:00

Josiah & I went by on our way home from work yesterday and took some pictures.

Looking @ Living room from front door (left). Looking @ breakfast room from Living Room (right)

Sitting in his Bathroom (left). Standing in the Master Bedroom (right)

Looking @ Dining/Play Room from the Living Room.

DAY 89 - PICTURES COMING SOON!

2008-08-18T12:55:00.002-05:00

I promise I'll post some new pictures tommorrow.

The sheetrock is all up and the finisher should get the tapeing and floating done this week. It feels like we are on the down hill side now, but I hear this stage can feel like forever. I started counting up all the "little" things that still need to be done and they add up to A LOT! Painting, trimwork, cabinets, outlets, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures, appliances, tile, carpet, counter tops, closet rods & shelfs, septic...and i'm sure thre is plenty I left out. It's exciting to see it all come together piece by piece.

DAY 88 - SHEETROCK

2008-08-14T09:12:00.004-05:00

I know...i've been a little slow on the updates lately. They have been working steadily every day, and I can see it evolving little by little. The past few weeks are a little hard to document by pictures (wires here, plumbing there, dryer vent, caulking, touch up paint, etc, etc, etc).

They finished up the insulation on Tuesday, and started the sheetrock yesterday. One guy was there until about 8pm last night and making pretty quick work of it. In just one day he had almost 1/2 the house done! I went by and added insulation to some inside walls last night and he left about the same time I did.

My truck is in the shop with my camera in it, but I've got some pictures of the insulation all installed. I'll post a couple soon.

DAY 79 - WIRING & PLUMBING

2008-08-05T09:07:00.002-05:00

They got started on the wireing friday and should finish it up today. I went by after work yesterday and it looks like a spider web. I dont' know how any of it makes sense to him. I guess that's why he is the electrician!

Lamar also got started on the plumbing yesterday. He already had all the vent pipes in but hadn't started on the pressure lines. That part makes a little more sense to me. They are scheduled to insulate Wednesday and sheetrock Friday or Monday.

DAY 69 - ON TO STAGE 3

2008-07-28T13:44:00.005-05:00

We are now all dried in and have shingles on the roof. They finished up about 10am on Saturday morning.

He also got started on the plumbing Friday afternoon. Hopefully we will see the plumbing finish and the wiring begin this week. I got my network cable in today.

(if you look closely..you will see Josiah writing on the front porch with chalk)

DAY 66 - Dolly

2008-07-24T14:14:00.004-05:00

We made our first interest payment last week and paid the contractor his second payment on Monday. I think the red is looking much better, now that the trim work is taking shape. I was a little worried, but once the stone is added, it should look really good from the front. Plus, Michelle still loves it.

They delivered the shingles on Tuesday, but with the rain we are getting from Hurricane Dolly they won't be able to start installing them until Friday or Monday.

We should also see the plumbing & wireing go in sometime next week. I ordered my network cable today. I'm going to wire it with Cat6 cable to each bedroom & the living room.

DAY 64 - PHASE 3

2008-07-21T10:13:00.009-05:00

I know...we haven't posted an update in 2 weeks! They got the doors in last Tuesday (July 8th) and then we didn't see anyone for over a week! I called the builder on Thursday and they showed up again Saturday and Sunday. They got all the mess cleaned up so that I could mow & got started on painting.
I keep saying "it's really red!" to which Michelle says "I like it!". I think it will blend a little more when all the trim work is done. But even if it doesn't, you know what they say about Momma being happy.

DAY 46 - Changing Slowly

2008-07-07T10:48:00.008-05:00

I stopped by several times this weekend and ran into the painter twice. He spent most of the weekend caulking the eaves and hardie seams. Tedious work, but you dont see a lot of changes from day to day.

They got the ceiling stripping in last week and finished all the siding except right around the back doors. As soon as they come in we should be "dried in"

Looking into Living Room from Entryway

Kitchen & Breakfast Room from Living Room

Guest Room & bath Behind Kitchen

DAY 43 - DECISIONS...DECISIONS...DECISIONS

2008-07-01T11:56:00.013-05:00

OK, so I finally got around to posting an update.

Our Exterior base color will be "Brick Dust" and the trim will be "Camel" .

Our stone is called "Chippewa Falls" from Lonestar Stone .

We also picked out a "Timberline" shingle called "Shakewood". If we picked it all out right our color scheme should look something like this when we are done.

Believe it or not, the hardest part of the whole day was deciding on the faucets. It wasn't hard to find a style and color we both liked within our budget. But it took forever to find one where they actually stocked a matching tub, shower, & sink faucet. I'll post a picture as soon as I can find or take one.

Oh...and the almost have all the hardie on the house. The Back doors should be in today or tommorrow, but we are still a few weeks out on getting the front door.

COMING SOON

2008-06-30T20:43:00.002-05:00

We spent all day today picking out our Stone, Exterior Paint, Shingles, Marble Tub & faucets. I'll get some new pictures and samples posted soon. Michelle was out of town for 4 days last week so I didn't get anything done other than to make sure the kids were still in one piece when she returned yesterday!

DAY 30 - PICTURES

2008-06-20T12:01:00.011-05:00

Looking into the kitchen from Living Room.

Josiah by the windows in his room.

Front of house on Day 30

Rear of house on Day 29

DAY 28 - Windows & Walls

2008-06-17T08:50:00.007-05:00

Evidently I'm not as smart as I think I am. I can't seem to get my facebook album to share correctly so I'll try and post all the pictures I can on here.

They started on the windows and wall sheathing yesterday and had two stacks of Tech Sheild roof decking on site. Michelle is getting scriptures ready that she wants to write inside the walls in the kids rooms.
The photo to the right is of the Living Room, taken from the front entryway.

DAY 25 - Just Pictures

2008-06-14T08:55:00.004-05:00

DAY 24 - Rafters

2008-06-13T09:34:00.003-05:00

It's looking more like a house every day. We had most of the rafters up yesterday afternoon. They should finish that stage today in the next few days. It's still hard to believe it's actually our house. Michelle is becoming anxious about picking out all of her colors and decorations. I'm becoming anxious about paying for all of the decorations she wants to pick out! ;)

Day 22 - Taking Shape

2008-06-11T13:30:00.004-05:00

All of the walls are up! Working on the ceiling joists. I'm anxious to see the roof start taking shape.

Front Door

2008-06-09T09:50:00.003-05:00

Picked out our doors on Saturday. Here is a picture of the Front Door.

DAY 18 - WALLS UP

2008-06-06T12:43:00.002-05:00

Moving right along. All the outside walls are up, except for one. We should see some of the rafters go up today. It's neat to see it taking shape.

Day 17 - We're being framed

2008-06-05T16:05:00.004-05:00

They started our frameing on Tuesday and had a few walls up yesterday as you can see in this picture. We should have most of the walls up by today or tommorrow. We have to go pick out our Front Door on Saturday.

2008-06-03T14:27:00.002-05:00

Day 15 - Something Concrete

2008-06-03T14:22:00.002-05:00

As Michelle said "I've never been so happy to see concrete in my life!". It took 6-1/2 ten yard trucks, but we got the slab laid yesterday. They finished it up about 1pm. It amazes me how easy those guys made it look. I'm just glad that all I had to do is watch.

Day 11 - Rain, Rain Go Away

2008-05-29T11:10:00.003-05:00

Well, we were scheduled to pour the slab this morning, but after a good rain last night it looks like we will have to wait until Monday or Tuesday. the good news is that it is forcasted to be sunny between now and then.

Day 9 - In the Trenches

2008-05-28T13:01:00.011-05:00

Got the plumbing laid on Thursday (Day 4), took a break for Memorial Day weekend and they got the trenches dug out yesterday. They are working on the rebar today and we should see some cocrete in the morning! Here is a picture of Josiah having fun in the trenches. I've posted all the pictures on my facebook page and as soon as I figure out how to make them public I'll post a link to them here.

* Try this link & let me know if it doesn't work:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1667&id=1268096891&ref=share

Day 2 - Seven Loads of Dirt

2008-05-21T12:17:00.004-05:00

Moving along at a steady pace. They got the slab all formed up yesterday and should begin putting the plumbing in the next couple of days. The bank ordered the 2nd survey (you have to do a total of 3!) this morning so that should be done by the end of the week and we should see some cement the first of next week. (if it doesn't rain).

Day 1 - Breaking Ground

2008-05-20T10:46:00.006-05:00

Michelle and I were discussing last night that we've talked about it for so long that it's hard to believe this is actually for our house! We set the stakes and elevation yesterday morning and they got started. We had a decent pad already built so we won't have to haul much dirt in. If all goes well, we should see some cement sometime next week. We will be 13" above the road.

Michelle said some of you have asked about he floor plan so here it is.

Sign Here

2008-05-15T17:37:00.002-05:00

No backing out now. We closed on the construction loan this morning. I spent yesterday transfering money, getting a cashiers check, and getting permits. It took 3 trips accross town and almost 2 hours before I got all my paperwork filled out, notorized and recorded for the septic and building permits. I didn't leave without them though. If the weather holds up, we should begin the ground work on Monday!

Closing the Deal

2008-05-13T08:42:00.003-05:00

We finally heard back from the Title Company yesterday and we are all set to close on Thursday! It should be a busy week. Thanks to Buddy, we got all our stumps ground this weekend so we can bring in some more rock for the driveway.

We should get our water tap and building permits this week and the power should go in soon. I finally found a use for the "panaramic" setting on my camera and figured out how to stitch the photos together so I attached a little better picture of the land above.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-06T22:06:00.002-05:00

Justin has ordered me the stove of my dreams. We found it a few hundred dollars off and snatched it up while it was on sale. Duel fuel: gas on top and convection below, with two ovens, one for casseroles and the other for the bigger stuff. I am looking forward to being able to use the higher oven so Anna's little fingers are in less danger of getting burnt. With God's help everyone can come over for a Thanksgiving dinner to remember: turkey and homemade yeast rolls cooked in my new oven and (if Justin gets his way) a 52" flatscreen for enjoying the football game : )

Only in America!

2008-05-06T08:46:00.007-05:00

Only in America do we have a system setup where we get to pay "professionals" to tell us what we already know.

Last week, the Appraiser called me and asked what we paid for the land last year, and what the contract price is on the new house. His appraised value.....the same amount I had told the loan officer when she asked for my guestimate! For this privelege I was honored to pay him $350.

Yesterday, I spoke to the guy I get to pay $300 to decide where our septic system would best be located and how to best lay it out. His question....where would I like the septic to be, and how would I like to lay it out.

Not that I didn't know this in advance. I have been forewarned by more than one friend who recently went thru this process. I'm just thankfull that God has blessed us with the ability to pay for these annoyances. After all it is His money anyway...and the septic will be where I want it.

Two steps closer.

2008-05-01T10:59:00.003-05:00

The survey and appraisal are done! We just have to wait on the Title comapany and we should be able to begng construciton around the first of June.

Here's a poll. Take a look at both front elevations shown and give us your opinion on 1 or 2 gables in the front center. Either way, we are using stone and hardie where shown in the b&w architectural drawing above.

My two cents : )

2008-04-19T12:35:00.004-05:00

Just as Justin posted above, we feel we are living in a season of Jubilee Morning. The past few years have had some dark and stormy spots, but as we have been faithful to the Lord, He has been faithful to us. We have two beautiful children, no debt, and now a new house : ) The Bible says though the sorrow may last for the night His JOY comes in the morning : ) We know for a fact that no matter how dark your storm, God is dreaming dreams for you, even in the midst of pain, that you don't have the ability to dream for yourself. His promises are always true, so look to Him because everyday has Jubilee Morning potential : )

Finally!

2008-04-19T09:04:00.008-05:00

After 6 years and dozens of plans, we have finally settled on the house we want to build. We had out plans drawn up at the first of the year and have been receiving bids. This last week we signed a contract with a builder, settled on a bank, and applied for our loan.

We signed the loan paperwork yesterday and if all goes well, we should begin construction sometime in June and be moved in by Thanksgiving!

We will be posting pictures and updates each step along the way.

For now here are a few pictures of the land.