After nine long months, we are the proud parents of...

A HOUSE

Nine months ago, we sold our cute little house in Springville and moved in with Grandma Judy; starting the long process of designing our dream home. After several months working with an architect, the first scoop of dirt was dug and our home had officially begun. Four and a half months after that first dig, and lots of lots of decisions later, we got that coveted occupancy permit and MOVED IN!

Two and a half weeks later, we are still emptying out boxes and realizing that our "honey-do" list has only gotten longer in this new house.

Here are pictures of a few of our favorite things so far... (or at least those that are in a part of the house that is put together enough to actually post a picture)


Our new t.v.
Kyle claimed that we "needed" a new t.v. to be able to watch General Conference this weekend. Apparently, you can feel the spirit more easily when you are watching the prophet on a flat screen. Who knew? The kids seem to enjoy it also.


Although we love our new t.v., I love even more that you can't see the new t.v. It is hidden behind those great barn doors.








My walk in pantry. Everything is so accessible...

Maybe a little too accessible.








The "control room". This room has already seen hours and hours of use; kids coloring, mom's projects, computer using, etc. The creativity is flowing in here.









The great room.
This is not necessarily one of my favorite things about the house, but it was a room that was actually clean enough to take a picture of :) I do love the bookshelves that provide easy access for my kids to get to their books. The books get lots of use and are are often strewn about the room. It's great.

I also love the big windows in the great room. I will love them even more when we get window coverings on them. We feel like a giant fish bowl at night.





There are many more things that we love about being in our new house, but we quickly realized that it is still just a house. We need to fill it up with love and friendship to make it a home, so please come on over and help us do that. You are welcome anytime!

CRUNCH TIME

Well, the countdown has begun. We have our fingers crossed that by Friday morning at about 9:00 a.m., we will have an occupancy permit from Mapleton city, stating that it is safe (and more importantly, legal) to move into our house.

With the final inspection in less than 48 hours, here is what the street in front of our house looked like today...

It is hard to tell, but there were about 15 cars, trucks, and trailers in front of our house. And. Down. The. Street.

In this short 4 day work week, the following workers will have been at our house, finishing up their work, trying to stay out of each other's way...
plumbers,
electricians,
countertop guys,
concrete laborer,
concrete truck and supplier,
curb cutter,
excavator,
painters,
cleaners,
gas company,
tile guy,
gutter and downspout guy,
metal roof guys,
HVAC guy,
cabinet maker,
siding guys,
carpet layers,
shower door and mirror installers,
appliance installers
weed pullers, (thanks Mom and Dad)
energy star inspector,
spider spray guy,
city inspector.

If we survive, I will take pictures of the finished product on Friday. Everyone pray the inspector is in a GREAT mood.

Lots of house pictures

Natalie and Julianne...This post is for YOU...

Stone with future paint color swatch. Trim will be white.
Henry's Room

Girls Room
Mater Bathroom:
Great room fireplace (minus cool doors covering tv opening) and bookshelves below window wall.
New front steps. No more shimming up a board to get to front door.
Front exterior. White shingles will go in three unfinished gables. Everything else across the front will be painted. Trim=white. Siding/board & batten=color in first picture.
My checker board floor in the mud room. Love it.
Hall shot. Master bedroom door on left, laundry room with checkered floor.
Window wall in entry. Windows should go in soon. Can't wait.
Beginnings of a kitchen. THIS is exciting.

One-on-One

When I was growing up, and even all through high school, I always told people I wanted 12 kids. Yup, a dozen. I have always loved kids and figured 12 would perfect. Well, things have changed a bit, and let's just say that that number has come down...considerably.

As any parent knows, there are a multitude of reasons why 12 is a bit too ambitious for me. However, I am often reminded of one of the major reasons I will not be having a dozen of my own chicks. That reason was re-iterated to me recently on my Mommy/Daughter date with Jane.

...One-on-one.... I thrive on having individual time with each of my kids.

Now, I must say that I have always been pretty good at one-on-one. In fact, in high school, I won the one-on-one tournament at a big multi-school basketball camp. Yup. I even have the plaque to prove it.

Turns out, I am pretty good at doing one-on-one with my kids too. I don't mean that I am good at making one-on-one time, but when those times do come, I feel good. Really good. In all honesty, this summer has been crazy, to say the least, and much of my time is spent thinking about or getting house stuff done. My poor kids have suffered for it. So, Kyle and I decided it was high time to take our girls out for a date. He took Ellie and I took Jane.

Jane chose to go to Jump On It- a big warehouse with trampolines lining the floor. I don't know the last time I had more fun. Just she and I. Jumping our guts out. All worries went away and for over an hour, it was the two of us in our own world. Giggling. Talking. Jumping. Falling. Laughing. Bonding.

Pure joy.

So, whatever number of kids we end up with, I guess I just want to make sure that I can still get in some of that precious one-on-one. Because, for me, that is when all the walls come down and the true bonding begins.

Lighting Update

Just in case you have been dying to know what I decided on lights, here is an update. First off, a BIG thanks to all those who responded with their opinion of what I should do. It really did help me make the decision. You will all be receiving your designer's fee check in the mail.

As I mentioned in the first post, I REALLY wanted a schoolhouse light, but as most of you agreed, one schoolhouse light would not have been big and grand enough for over the table or the entry. Instead, I found this cutie online and was ecstatic. Two for one!

Funny thing is (and by 'funny' I mean you want to bawl your eyes out but know you will look back some day and laugh), this light was damaged in transit to my house and the company I bought it from does not have any more. Even funnier, the light is discontinued so it has virtually disappeared from the face of the planet. Hah! Yes, I just about cried, but after searching long and hard, I finally found a website that has one in stock. It is a website on about the sixth page of my google search. They sell tea, furniture, and lighting. How convenient.



For the entry, I have ordered two lights. I will choose one and send the other back. They are quite different- one is a drum shade light and the other is a replica of a popular light in the 1930's. I found it on the coolest website, www.rejuvenation.com. If you ever want to see some cool, old school lights, check out their site. I wish I would have known about them before I ordered all my other lights.

So, that's that for now. I will upload new house pictures this weekend, as a lot of the exterior should be done, wood flooring laid, and finish work complete. Let the fun begin!

Lighitng...Any BRIGHT ideas???

So, I need some help deciding on some lighting for our house. We really want our house to have a farmhouse feel- not rustic farmhouse, but classic farmhouse. I think that lighting has a big impact on the feel of a room, so I have been looking and looking trying to find the perfect light for our entryway and a light for above the kitchen table.

The light I have been thinking of for the entry is a "schoolhouse light." These types of lights were used in old schoolhouses. I love that they look old, but not rustic. In fact, I think they are quite classy, myself. Here is what it would look like:




The light I would get is 16"-18" wide and can come in many lengths. Our entryway is about 8 feet wide. Do they say "entry" to you? Not big and grand enough? Or just right for a farmhouse entry???


Now, for the kitchen. I have already chosen 2 pendant lights for above the island. They look like this...

So, what do I do for above the kitchen table? I want it to be more elegant than the island lights, but it has to match with the other lights as well. I am thinking of a drum shade light like this...


or this




Decisions. Decisions. I am up to my eyeballs in decisions, so I would love your input on this one. Let me know what you think!

Does it get any better than this???

Laying out on the grass, reading with dad. And...

Hanging out at the picnic table. Nude.

Nope. It doesn't get any better.