We have gradually been unpacking this week... today I (Emily) unpacked the last box of kitchen stuff and it feels good to have everything in it's place. Pictures are starting to go up on the wall and we have a list of many, many little things to do - towel racks to hang, shelves, staining on the trim yet, and unpacking boxes of books (I guess we need a few more bookshelves first!) But the rooms are starting to come together so I thought I'd post some before/after pictures of the rooms that I painted. Painting was about all my skill-set could handle, so while Mark and the men did the remodel of the kitchen, I painted and painted until my hand was frozen into a brush-holding position. Enjoy the pictures!
PS - just wanted to note that we were very lucky with our appliances. We got a new stove on sale and the new fridge wasn't planned, but a new member at church was getting rid of it for cheap! So not new, but new to us. And we love it!
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
Moved In!
We had a chaotic, crazy last few days, but we moved in yesterday with the help of 15+ volunteers from church and we slept in our new house last night! We are so happy with the way the kitchen/dining room turned out. There are still many details to finish up - staining, puttying, touching up paint, building a cabinet and shelves for where the fridge used to be - but it is liveable! Our plumbing was finished up yesterday as we were moving in and now we have a disposal! Yay! So check out the before and after shots to the right. We love our new kitchen/dining room! Now we have to unpack! Love you!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Busy Week #2
We have reached that point where every room we are working on is now a mess! It is a moment for faith. We know that within a week our house will be ready for us to move in. Right now that is really hard to believe. But with the help of great new friends who are also skilled workers we know that the place will be ready. The last week saw the installation of a kitchen window and a sliding door in the dining room. Emily worked hard to paint the guest bedroom and prime the bathroom. And now the kitchen has a first coat of paint too!
I continue to be amazed by Gary and Jim and their willingness to help us. I am learning a lot about how a house comes apart and goes back together! Can't wait to see it all done!
I continue to be amazed by Gary and Jim and their willingness to help us. I am learning a lot about how a house comes apart and goes back together! Can't wait to see it all done!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
busy week!
Hi everyone! What a busy week - every minute we can spare from church and subbing we are trying to get work done at the house! Yesterday, Tuesday, we did a second and third layer of primer in the guest bedroom to cover the VERY dark blue stripes in there as it used to be a boy's room! Mark scrubbed down the walls of the kitchen and taped so we'll be ready to prime in there soon.
We're happy that tomorrow it works out for our helpers' schedules to install the new patio door and window. There is a window in the (former as it's now one big room) dining room and a patio door in the kitchen, which we find a little odd, so we are switching the two so the door will be off the dining room side. We felt like it would be a big deal, but our contractor friend said it's not... so they'll be banging a hole in the side of our house tomorrow!
Off to church for our Wednesday night programs!
We're happy that tomorrow it works out for our helpers' schedules to install the new patio door and window. There is a window in the (former as it's now one big room) dining room and a patio door in the kitchen, which we find a little odd, so we are switching the two so the door will be off the dining room side. We felt like it would be a big deal, but our contractor friend said it's not... so they'll be banging a hole in the side of our house tomorrow!
Off to church for our Wednesday night programs!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Renovation Day #2 and #3
Yesterday we headed to the house immediately after church as our new stove and patio door were being delivered. We spent HOURS scraping off the wallpaper in the kitchen. Not a fun job, but we were thankful there is only 1 room of wallpaper to do. Mark put many screws in the floor to get some of the squeaks out of the kitchen. Funny how the room looks worse than ever - slightly a disaster right now!
Today was a slower day. It was all about prep and shopping for odds and ends that any project needed. Jim joined us again and gave great advice on wall prep and on what we need to do to move the dining room light switch to a different wall. We also found out that there is no grounded outlets in the kitchen so we will have to do some rewiring from the main fuse box before we install our garbage disposal. Lots to do and think about.
The good news was that we choose and ordered our counter tops! They will look great. Also, Emily started priming one of the bedrooms while I filled screw holes and sanded the kitchen wall. The kitchen wall just needs to be washed and it can be primed too. Over the next week Emily will be doing some painting at the house (God bless her!) when she's not subbing. Our next big work day will be to cut the hole in the exterior wall for the sliding door and build the frame for the new window in the kitchen.
We pray for God's help with every detail.
Today was a slower day. It was all about prep and shopping for odds and ends that any project needed. Jim joined us again and gave great advice on wall prep and on what we need to do to move the dining room light switch to a different wall. We also found out that there is no grounded outlets in the kitchen so we will have to do some rewiring from the main fuse box before we install our garbage disposal. Lots to do and think about.
The good news was that we choose and ordered our counter tops! They will look great. Also, Emily started priming one of the bedrooms while I filled screw holes and sanded the kitchen wall. The kitchen wall just needs to be washed and it can be primed too. Over the next week Emily will be doing some painting at the house (God bless her!) when she's not subbing. Our next big work day will be to cut the hole in the exterior wall for the sliding door and build the frame for the new window in the kitchen.
We pray for God's help with every detail.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Renovation Day One
This was an exciting week as we closed on our house on Thursday, and today made the first significant renovations. The house has been well taken care of, but there are many updates that can be done over the next few years. The first one we are tackling is the kitchen and dining room. We wanted to remove most of the wall separating the two rooms so that there could be a nice flow between the two spaces. The two other objectives are to create more counter space in the kitchen for cooking and baking and to swap the sliding door in the kitchen with the window in the dining room.
Two great friends from Living Waters who have lots of construction and renovation experience helped me during this first day. Thanks Jim and Gary! Now that the wall has been cut out and parts of the kitchen moved around, we are seeing what the kitchen will look like when all is said and done. Tomorrow Emily and I will remove the old wall paper from the kitchen (groan) and re-secure the floor to the floor joists to remove squeeks. Woo hoo.
Two great friends from Living Waters who have lots of construction and renovation experience helped me during this first day. Thanks Jim and Gary! Now that the wall has been cut out and parts of the kitchen moved around, we are seeing what the kitchen will look like when all is said and done. Tomorrow Emily and I will remove the old wall paper from the kitchen (groan) and re-secure the floor to the floor joists to remove squeeks. Woo hoo.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
A Fall Breather, Dec 10
I can't believe it is already the middle of December! We have plowed through the fall, starting up programs, coordinating new elders, prayerfully searching for deacons, discussing the drawbacks and benefits of church budgeting. This new mission church continues to surprise me with how "different" they want to be. The time has flown by. We are in the midst of planning Christmas worship! my first one as a solo pastor.
Having just come through Thanksgiving I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. Here is a list, stream-of-consciousness style:
1. My loving and supportive wife
2. Leaders who are passionate about their relationship with Christ and the power of God's Word
3. A beautiful church building that we are not even close to filling
4. A fun new town to explore
5. A warmer climate
6. A cute little house
7. New friends
8. More time for prayer
9. Restful Saturdays
10. Only one time to preach on a Sunday
11. Fires in my very own fire place
I always wondered what life as a solo pastor would be like. It is different than I imagined actually. Maybe because I always pictured a solo pastor as serving a two or three-point parish in the countryside. But instead, I am serving an energized mission church, made up of the leaders of three or four other Lutheran churches in town.
Personally, this fall has been one of big growth for me. I have had to lean on the Lord in new ways, and trust him that he will provide the gifts necessary to follow his call. Particularly I have prayed for gifts in administration. Being thrown into leading a group of elders, even helping to give shape to what their jobs will be, giving direction to the formation of a constitution and bylaws, and making many important decision on the fly has been stretching and exciting. So far I have heard back from folks in the church that the congregation feels more settled, happier, and more unified than before I came. One member commented, we are no longer four churches but one. Now the next step is to unify the church around a vision. That vision must be tangible, but also far reaching enough to keep us moving together for years ahead. One project, a partnership with His Helping Hands, may provide that opportunity. We shall see.
At this point my one concern is that with so many of our energies going into church life and development, how will Emily and I make friends who are more peers than church members. Maybe that is not the most important thing, but to have friendships that are not in some way connected to our congregation would be nice. Not that we don't love the people at Living Waters, we do, and many are becoming very close friends. But we do not have many folks who are really at our life stage. But, God will provide. We know we are weird: to be a couple in their 30s without kids is not normal. So finding people at the same life stage is a challenge anyways.
Regardless, it is wonderful to have this restful Saturday ahead of us. We are headed to the mall for some Christmas shopping before the ice storm comes this afternoon. I wonder if we will have many in church tomorrow if we get all the weather that is predicted!
The words of Paul come to mind: "He who promised is faithful!" This is most certainly true.
Having just come through Thanksgiving I have been thinking about what I am thankful for. Here is a list, stream-of-consciousness style:
1. My loving and supportive wife
2. Leaders who are passionate about their relationship with Christ and the power of God's Word
3. A beautiful church building that we are not even close to filling
4. A fun new town to explore
5. A warmer climate
6. A cute little house
7. New friends
8. More time for prayer
9. Restful Saturdays
10. Only one time to preach on a Sunday
11. Fires in my very own fire place
I always wondered what life as a solo pastor would be like. It is different than I imagined actually. Maybe because I always pictured a solo pastor as serving a two or three-point parish in the countryside. But instead, I am serving an energized mission church, made up of the leaders of three or four other Lutheran churches in town.
Personally, this fall has been one of big growth for me. I have had to lean on the Lord in new ways, and trust him that he will provide the gifts necessary to follow his call. Particularly I have prayed for gifts in administration. Being thrown into leading a group of elders, even helping to give shape to what their jobs will be, giving direction to the formation of a constitution and bylaws, and making many important decision on the fly has been stretching and exciting. So far I have heard back from folks in the church that the congregation feels more settled, happier, and more unified than before I came. One member commented, we are no longer four churches but one. Now the next step is to unify the church around a vision. That vision must be tangible, but also far reaching enough to keep us moving together for years ahead. One project, a partnership with His Helping Hands, may provide that opportunity. We shall see.
At this point my one concern is that with so many of our energies going into church life and development, how will Emily and I make friends who are more peers than church members. Maybe that is not the most important thing, but to have friendships that are not in some way connected to our congregation would be nice. Not that we don't love the people at Living Waters, we do, and many are becoming very close friends. But we do not have many folks who are really at our life stage. But, God will provide. We know we are weird: to be a couple in their 30s without kids is not normal. So finding people at the same life stage is a challenge anyways.
Regardless, it is wonderful to have this restful Saturday ahead of us. We are headed to the mall for some Christmas shopping before the ice storm comes this afternoon. I wonder if we will have many in church tomorrow if we get all the weather that is predicted!
The words of Paul come to mind: "He who promised is faithful!" This is most certainly true.
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