It's done!!

I am super excited to say that our basement finishing is all done!  We have now been in Phase 3 of moving our stuff and downsizing the stuff that doesn't fit or we've realized we can live without.  I'm sure we will continue to unpack some things throughout the rest of the year, as I have started focusing a little more on getting things ready for the baby now that mostly everyone is settled in their spaces.  The decorations might have to wait, but that's not something that's quite uncommon for me when we move.  The reason might be also that I seem to be dealing with pregnancy or a new baby whenever we move.  Here are some pictures of the spaces that we have all grown to love & appreciate in just a few short days.

 

 The living room/office space (we have yet to get the office desk down here, but that is next on my list.)  We are so grateful to Jason's uncle & aunt, Pat & Lori, for generously donating their "old" furniture to us.  The enormous L-couch and entertainment center have been reunited after a time apart.  We acquired the entertainment center a while back, and they just happened to decide to downsize to new furniture and this beautiful couch needed a home & we just happened to be in the right place at the right time.  (I believe we will also be purchasing a trampoline this weekend from them now that their youngest is off to college.)

 

 You can see Noah on the left side crawling out of the storage space under the stairs.  I decided to put the toys in there & the kids claimed the space further back as a play area.  We happened to have leftover carpet from our other house & this one, so we lined the floors with it and let the kids have their "secret hiding space" to play in.  It was nice when it was rainy.  They brought in the kitchen set to put in front of the door, so that's why it looks so small in there.  Otherwise, it's a great space where they have played, colored and imagined up stories and scenarios.

 The bedrooms were a little smaller than our other house, and even though we had bunk beds, the 2 older kids had been used to a full-sized bed & were a little reluctant to go back to a twin, so we looked for "twin over full" lofted beds and we found these.  They have steps to the top bunk & dresser drawers on each side, which is really nice since the boys' room is not really big enough for a separate dresser.  The closets are bigger though, so that helps also with clothes storage.  (As you can see, I didn't care to have their beds made before I took the pictures...at least their rooms are kept clean...at least for now!)

 

 The girls' room is a little bigger & they have room for a small desk, which I am in the process of painting.

 We are so excited to have another bathroom!  The kids love having their "own" shower.

We are so humbled and grateful to God for all that we have & how things have worked out in our new home.  We definitely see His hand in everything and although everything was not always easy, it has definitely been worth the wait.  Finding the blessings in each step of moving, from the past year up until now, has put my heart and soul in a state of peace.  Trusting in God's will is a big step, especially for someone like me who tends to like to control and know what's always going on, but the inner peace and joy that has come from it is amazing!  I admit that most days my inner emotions get the best of me, but when I seek the quiet and solace of God's loving embrace, I find Him nudging my heart to love better because I feel Him loving me, even in my weaknesses and inequities.

We have found His calling to us here and know that by following His voice to our new home that He will continue to do things in our lives and in those around us.

Toot your horn

Laney hates it when I call her clarinet a "horn", but for me, if you blow air into it and it makes a noise, calling it a horn works for me.  Yesterday, we found a saxophone for Faith to start band with this year.  Too excited to wait for lessons on Monday, we had to get it out and see how it sounded.  She actually does really well at it & not to feel left out, Laney decided to get her clarinet out (for the first time this summer!) and play along as well.  It's so fun to see them excited about instruments, but I'm also glad that the basement is nearly done and they can play downstairs in their rooms where the walls and ceiling are soundproofed!  A great investment indeed!

What does one do...?

What does one do in a space when new carpet is installed 

and no furniture is around?

Noah looked at the fresh vacuum marks and said, 

"Look Mom!  Shark teeth!"

It's not all work, no play!

After all the work this week, we were able to treat the kids with a trip to a Twins game.  We actually had it planned a while ago, when the Minneota KC's sponsored a trip for the Mass servers.  We knew we were going to be in our new place when they went, but also knew that the trip would be much easier for us now that we are only an hour from the Twin Cities.  AJ & Laney's tickets were covered and so we decided to bring the whole family & also met up with Jason's brother, John, at the game.  It was set to be a hot and humid day, but we were happy that our seats were in the shade & close to the top so we could feel the breeze.  I didn't get a picture of AJ, because he was sitting further down with his friends, but I did get a good one of Fr. Craig & the giant hot dog he got.  Noah was amazed...he loves hot dogs and had never seen a footlong hot dog before & thought it was neat that Father "found" a hot dog that big.

Jason was also in his first local parade for Lonsdale's Community Days.  He got to ride in the back of the truck with the also-new Assistant Principal.  They didn't have their "royalty waves" down, but they were both at least facing the right direction when I wanted to take a picture.

Just when I think I won't get any new opportunities to catch Noah sleeping in strange places or positions, he goes and surprises me.  Faith actually tucked him into this little spot after she wore him out playing together.

Week 4 - We've been busy!

Our renovation is really starting to get close to completion!  This week, we painted and the trim & doors were put up, along with most of the remaining electrical getting done.  It sure looks amazing as it comes together & we are so excited that we are close to being ready to move the rest of our stuff in!

 Let there be light!  It's not really easy to paint without light, especially when trying to carefully paint the top or at corners where 2 different colors meet.  I really hate that job, but really like how it looks when it's done.  Thankfully we had a lot of daylight from the windows.

 This view is from in the boys' room looking out.  The set on the left are closet doors.

 Not as easy to see, but the window frames are in & the recessed lighting.

 The kids are excited for their new bathroom.  They said they get the "nice" bathroom.  I think it's because they like the shower.  It reminds them of our last home.

 Laundry, closet, bathroom & storage area doors.  Our contractor saved us a bunch of money since he was able to give us a bunch of trim & doors he salvaged from another renovation.  We are more than happy with the results and even more excited with the cost!  (I must say though, doorknobs are not cheap when you need to buy 10 of them, and I can't say I've ever had to buy that many!)  For the most part, we are right on our budget, even after a few additions, but we saved money in other places.

(Much needed) Vacation

Last week, we spent time at a lake cabin with Jason's parents, his siblings and their families.  There were about 30 of us there for about 5 days of sun, fun, family & food.  It was a much needed break from the construction for us and time for the kids to spend with their cousins, swimming, fishing & tubing.  The weather couldn't have been better and even with all of the sun, we managed to prevent nasty sunburns.  The week went by way too fast, but we have memories to treasure as these kiddos grow & now the oldest cousin, Brooke, heads off to college in a couple weeks.  We had to pull a few of them out of the lake to get a picture.

Here is a much overdue updated family picture.  I am 7 months pregnant, mind you, and yes, 2 of our kids are now officially as tall or taller than me as this picture points out!

 

 We surprised Jason on his 42nd birthday with an ice cream cake.  It was also our last day, so we were busy packing up and then had yummy cake just before leaving.

Ready to paint!

It is the end of Week 3 and we are ready to start painting!

Weeks 2-3

We are over halfway to having our basement project finished!  We went on a little vacation last week, and while we were gone, this happened...

WALLS!!