Gut Instinct

Well we have had our share of ups and downs. We have torn out more things than we have put together. But this demo makes me happy. See this beautiful bench in the front entry, this was the one thing we were going to keep! I was just going to paint it, and add some pillows! Great right -WRONG!

See that bottom piece of wood next to the tile- well it looked like it had been wet at one time and it kept bothering me. the bench was solid, but I just had this weird feeling. I decided we needed to remove the bench because I just couldn't get rid of that feeling! Look what we found

That is the bottom of the bench- MOLD so we kept going......

That is the exterior wall- completely covered in mold and rotted out- the wall studs are completely rotted off from the floor to about a foot up- the brick exterior around the front door had been leaking for years! We could see daylight through the walls and brick!

Then we looked up and found this gem of a beehive- it was the size of a beach ball- luckily its tenants had vacated the premises and this was all that was left. See we are the only ones who see the beauty in this house! We also found some live carpenter ants- so our entire front entry needs to be rebuilt! Bonus right!

This is above the front door- after removing the ceiling!

 

Jason removing the exterior brick so we can rebuild the foyer! When we got to the bottom the machine went right through the board and it was filled with holes.





Me- giving him a break! Hard work!

Having a little fun in the midst of the hard  work!

We decided to remove most of the plaster- the ceiling had a leak and there was mold- this is Abby's room- all ready for windows and duct work!

Here's our room!
 My husband rocks! He does it all! Keeps me from going insane and does all of the tough work!
He basically did all of the demo in most of the house- luckily we had 2 of his friends that were able to help with the dining/kitchen and den. I am great at pulling out old nails! about  1000 of them! This week the HVAC ducts are being installed and all of the windows. They are also tying all of our gutters and draining to the front pond! Things are moving along quite nicely now. I only had a minor break down this week. But really can you blame me! Before we know it, we will be putting it back together!

Merry Christmas!
 

 

 

 

 

Progress!

Wow- we have made some progress! Now if I am being honest, we went several weeks, just waiting. Waiting for the weather to change, waiting for the excavator, waiting for everything! I do not like waiting.. It was rough! But just when I had enough of the waiting- things started happening. The foundation was excavated and the foundation was poured. The walls on the addition are going up. Our chimney was  completely fixed, raised and mortared (usable in 30 days) Woot Woot! The old septic system was dug and the new one is going in. Last but not least our pond has risen to full capacity. This all happened in 2 very short weeks! I have written more checks in the last few months, than I have my entire life! While I am at it, we had the tooth fairy and the Elf on the shelf arrive within days of each other. But when I am stressed and feeling completely frustrated, I look at my family and sigh with relief that this is temporary. We made these choices, ON PURPOSE! I have to remember why we are doing this and how blessed we are to be able to! That's what gets me through. Here are the updates!

Foundation

Materials

Making room for New window

New Equipment!

Because stacked wood is a balance beam!

Youngest little lost her top tooth!

Addition

Mud fest!

Old Septic- that water is 5 1/2 feet deep! Yuck!

Digging new one

Pond- rose 1 1/2 feet overnight!



Full Addition- 2 windows, one slider and a set of transom windows in family room!

Demo- of front to add front porch!

We are moving along! More updates at the end of the week!

The Deed, The House is Ours!

Wow! That is all I have to say, a process that should take 6-8 weeks took 9 1/2. The waiting was dreadful! But we own it! Yay!Now we are in full demo mode and we are waiting for building permits! I started picking out fixtures and doors which is fun, but stressful in that you never know what it will look like when it is all put together! I am really starting to get excited about all of the work! Outside we removed 3 trees and burned lots of wood! We are on our 2nd dumpster already. The reality of our budget is quite scary! We purchased windows and that was something we didn't plan for. In the long run this will have proven to be a good decision. Right now, I could puke! Our last house remodel was nothing compared to this. Our current home is a cookie cutter that we put our own personal touches on! But this, this is a lot! It has been quite stressful for all of us! Luckily the girls love having the 5 acres and we dream of the day when we live there and watch the deer, ducks and Heron frolic around our ponds. We wish for warm days on the patio that doesn't quite exist. But we are happy and healthy and that really is all that matters! Here are some photos of the progress we have made!

Kitchen without cabinets

Kitchen taken from dining during demo

Closet demo to make room for mechanicals that do not exist!

Junk furnace to keep pipes from freezing this winter! 

Girls bathroom during demo- not as much mold as we thought! Yay!

Girls bathroom after demo

Kitchen and dining after demo- the tinfoil wall will be where the addition goes!

Used to be a slider at one point?

Laundry room looking into master bath

Say a prayer for us! We need positive thoughts!

God Made Dirt and Dirt don't Hurt!

We had such a great weekend at the property! I started mowing with our push mower and then the amazing neighbor rode over on this beauty and made my life so much easier!

We also had 20 yards of dirt delivered and the girls had a ball digging and crushing rocks with a hammer. They found a few fossils and other treasures! Hours of fun for all!

After church daddy had to work so we headed to target to spend some birthday money and get some hot chocolates and my 1st Pumpkin Spiced Latte- where have you been all of my life! Yum!

We then headed to the library to finish off this beautiful weekend!

Feeling blessed! 

House Tour

Here is our Reno project! It is not our yet, but hopefully soon. I keep calling the Sheriff's office and they keep telling me I have to wait! Geesh, we are just too excited!

 You can say it, we are NUTS!

But it is on 5 acres and it has a pretty big floor plan of 2500sf. which we are hoping to add another 750sf to. Every single inch needs to be touched and then maybe re-touched again! The smell, is awful, but nothing a few hundred gallons of Kilz will cure!

Couldn't be happier to be on this adventure with my family! Stay tuned, I will be documenting all of the updates here! http://youtu.be/sGKsQg6otW0

 

Clean Up While We Wait!

Waiting is so frustrating! We have had several contractors, HVAC, septic, electric and plumbing people out to the house to give us quotes. Of course it takes some time, and with the holiday weekend, that takes a bit longer..... So we are waiting, waiting to see what changes, we can afford, how much the mandatory fixes will cost, HVAC, water, plumbing , and Septic and if this uninhabitable house can be our forever home!

So today, we enlisted the help of some dear friends to mow or Brush hog, weed eat and just plain rip out a few years of overgrown madness! I can't tell you how much anxiety the overgrown madness gives me every time we pull up the driveway. Plus our house had some squatters living in it, so when we bought the house, we inherited all of their garbage, a lot of garbage! I pray for people every night who are facing hard times, but when they leave garbage in my house, that is frustrating and gross! I know it doesn't look like a pristine yard text, but it is getting closer! Baby steps!

They mowed a lot of grass!

 

 

Tractors are the best tools!

Squatter garbage clean up!

This little girl wanted to help us instead of going to the pool with her sisters!

I ordered this print a while ago and it's 2 friends came in the mail today! They will be amazing in our new home, but it looks pretty great here for now! www.dearlillie.blogspot.com

Love this site and blog! 

What a week!

In a matter of 4 days:
#1: Our youngest daughter went to kindergarten
#2: I started back to work after 9 years of being a stay at home mom, as a Realtor
#3: We decided to go to a Sheriff's Sale and buy our "Forever Home"

To say I felt every emotion you could possibly feel in a short amount of time is an understatement! Our Forever Home is just shy of a dump with 5 beautiful acres. Every inch needs to be remodeled and we are jumping into this in full force! Well as soon as the title transfers. Technically, we don't own it quite yet!

In this blog I hope to give you a little insight into our life as Realtors, parents and the owners of a huge fixer upper project!

When my husband Jason and I went on our first date 12 years ago, we went to a restaurant that had this quote written on the wall. It touched us then and we wrote it on a $1 bill. We have lived by this motto for 12 years! This means more now than ever! Thanks Teddy Roosevelt

Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.