Moving Forward...

The progress on the house is moving along so quickly now that the tear down phase is done.  After all of the electric work was done, we had to wait on the Electrical Inspection.  All of it passed with flying colors!  Next was the Building Inspection to make sure the frames were good.  Passed that part too!  

Now we are onto the rebuilding.

When we stopped by today, we were so excited to see the progress.  First of all, we have almost all new windows.  They've taken the yucky wood coverings off that have been up since the fire.  It now looks like a house again instead of a crime scene.  The windows let in so much wonderful light.  They still have to do the casing around the windows, but what a great site when we pulled up!

Then when we went inside we were shocked to see all of the insulation was complete!  And they were starting on the drywall.  The next steps will go so quickly!

Kitchen

Living Room

Ansley's Nursery

Guest Bedroom

  We also had decided on a few cosmetic changes to the house that we are starting to see take place.  The biggest change that we made was to take out the wall between our bedroom and the office (source room of the fire) and to make them one large room with one large closet.  Before hand, I used the closet in our bedroom and Mark used the closet in the office.  Part of that decision was a fear issue- I didn't want to make that room into another office or put the baby's nursery there.  We decided that if it wasn't a room by itself it wouldn't seem like the source room.  We are not trying to ignore the fact that the fire started there, but trying to move forward.  So the contractor had to add a large beam that runs along the main support of the house since the original wall would not be there anymore!

New beam in the master bedroom.  The opening will lead into a reading corner and new big closet!

Lastly, since we no longer needed a door to get into the office, we decided to extend the bathroom out a foot or two.  This bathroom is the original to the house and the main one for us and guests.  It is hard to tell in this picture, but a few feet makes ALL the difference!

Bathroom- the non-white wood is the extension part!  We are thrilled with this!

Brand new floor and pipes because the bathroom was SO destroyed!

So as we move forward with decisions, we are remembering that God is good ALL the time!  We are trusting Him for guidance with each step- big and small.  Tomorrow we are off to pick out tile, a bathtub, and vanity!  God and I are having and will continue to have lots of conversations in the Lowe's aisles!

The Hardest Part is Done!

Since the fire, everyone involved from the insurance people, cleaners, contractors and more have told us that the hardest part is tearing down the house and getting the smoke smell out.  As of today, Friday, June 10th, we are done with the tear down and cleaning process.  It only took 76 days!!

Here is what the inside of the house looks like now...

For the past three weeks, they have been cleaning and sealing our wood.

The dark wood is what everything looked like. They then sprayed a cleaner onto the wood and let it soak in.
After it soaked in, they scrubbed each piece of wood by hand. They ended up doing this twice!

After all the wood was cleaned, they sealed the wood with a white (paint) primer.
Anything white has now been sealed.

The contractor told us that if you ever go to "redo" your house or remodel and see white wood....
you know there had been a fire there at some point!

So this is what the entire house now looks like!  Cleaned...sealed...and white!  It is amazing how much difference the white wood makes.  When the wood was so dark and dingy, it still felt like a fire.  Now it feels like we've moved onto the rebuilding stage.  I stopped by the house last Thursday and then men who had been doing the sealing were finishing up.  He was very eager to tell me what a great job he had done and that he felt like our house was one of his top three.  He said it took a lot of work, but they were amazed at the turnout!  The smell is completely gone.  It really is amazing!

We also have a new roof now!  It was the first decision we had to make and we like the outcome!

The shingles still on the garage are the old ones.  The new color is already on the rest of the house!

Our completed new roof (and our new friend, the dumpster)!

New shingles, new gutters... looking good!

On Wednesday, Mark and I spent 2 hours at the house with the contractor and electrician.  Since our house was 50+ years old, we are having to redo ALL of the wiring and electric stuff because it was not to code.  This is the main expense that insurance will not cover.  It is going to cost us around $5000-$6000 to do this.  We have some extra money in our budget from insurance and some will come out of pocket, but it will be nice to know it is up to code and new.  Part of this new code is to have an outlet every 6 feet of wall space, so we'll end up with A LOT more outlets!  We also got to choose where we wanted light switches, lights fixtures, and fans.  We really liked the electrician and felt like he had really thought through a lot of this!  He had great ideas and was willing to share them with us.

Next we have big decisions to make about the bathroom and kitchen!  Should be fun!!

As You Go Through This...

So I lied- this post is not about the house!  Yesterday's post was hard for me to write because it was admitting that I am weak.  However, it was good for me to put into writing how God amazingly takes care of our needs.  This year in my bible study, it seems that every book of the Bible we studied had the theme that God uses trials to make us stronger.  He teaches us things that we didn't even know we needed to know.  That is how I feel.  One of the ladies in my bible study wrote on Facebook, "Girl, you really took that study on faith in hardship to heart didn't you!!!! SO glad to hear the three of you are ok. Top of the prayer list again!!"


A week after the car accident (which was 6 weeks after the fire), a lady that I had met through Chick-fil-A brought me a card.  The words on this card are still impacting me and helping me to move forward each day and teaching me to trust that God loves me and knows what is happening.  After I wrote the blog last night, I felt good for finally getting it all out, but I also felt sad.  I went up to my bedroom and reread this card.  I decided that I should share it with all of you too!

As You Go Through This...

Difficult things can cause us to ask, "Why did this happen?"

But if we are trusting in Christ we never need to ask

"How could He let this happen?"

God may never reveal all His reason to us,

but He has revealed His character to us.

His character assures us that He never makes mistakes,

is never uncaring and that He never separates

Himself from our need.

The need you face is great, but the grace that is yours

in Christ is even greater.

May your heart and your faith stayed fixed upon Him

as you go through this difficulty.

Be assured that He is holding your hand and will not let go!

One month later...

First of all, I apologize for not writing for a month.  A LOT has happened in this month, but I didn't have the motivation or desire to write.  This past month has, by far, been the hardest for me!

I last wrote on May 7th while we were in Atlanta.  We had left Pittsburgh 6 days earlier and went on a whirlwind trip of the South.  We flew to Tampa, Florida where Mark's sister, Laura, was graduating from Medical School at the University of South Florida.  We had a great time celebrating her success and seeing the beach!  Then on Thursday, May 5th, we went to Atlanta to spend time with my family and meet our new niece, Olivia Whatley!  It was a relaxing time that I am now so glad we had.  We had family cookouts, went to the Zac Brown Concert, got a pedicure with my mom, held Baby Olivia, got a massage, played Wii, and much more.  On Sunday, May 8th (Mother's Day), we left Flowery Branch, GA in our new Chick-fil-A Cow Car to drive back to Pittsburgh.  We left later than normal because we had a nice brunch with the Porters.

Later that night about 8:30 pm (only an hour from home), about 4 miles after crossing in Pennsylvania on I-77, a deer came out from the left hand median and we hit him going about 75 mph.  The airbags immediately deployed, the horn sounding off, and Mark pulling off of the side of the road.  When we got out the car had minimal damage, but we realized that I had blood all down my front.  Either the airbag or i-Pad (which I had been using) hit me in the mouth during the crash and had knocked my two lower teeth back into my mouth.  My lip was also sliced open.  Mark immediately called 911.  Since the airbags deployed, we couldn't drive the car.  The EMTs arrived first and said I needed to go straight to the hospital due to facial injuries and being pregnant.  They loaded me into the back of the ambulance and took me to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV.  Mark rode with me and the police told us they would tow the car.

I have never been in a hospital except to visit other people.  Therefore, entering the hospital through the ER was VERY overwhelming.  A team of 10 people waited for me... medical students, OBs, dentist, and more.  They sent Mark to go check me in and immediately starting taking blood, starting an IV, checking the baby, and more.  They found the baby's heartbeat fairly quickly, but it was a little low.  They were not extremely worried, but wanted to continue to monitor the baby.  They then looked into my lip and the bleeding.  After about an hour, I was given 12 stitches in my lip to sew my lip back together.  About this time, Daniel (my brother) and Kristen (his girlfriend) arrived from Pittsburgh.  I think he was pretty surprised how bad my faced looked.  I asked Mark to take a picture so I could see it, but he wouldn't.  Lastly, since it was a Sunday night, the dentistry division was not on duty.  One of the ER attendants had talked to the dentist.  He had suggested that if they could pull my teeth back into place in their normal socket, they had a much better chance of surviving.  Without any pain meds (because of being pregnant), they literally pulled my teeth back into place.  It was the most pain I have ever been in thus far in my life!  After all of this drama, they decided to admit me for the night.  Mostly to monitor the baby, but also so the dentist could look at my teeth on Monday morning.  It was a long night!

I held it together very well until about 3:00 am.. then I lost it!  Emotionally I was a wreck.  I was beginning to question why all of this was happening to us.  If losing our house wasn't enough, now we were down a car and my face was screwed up.  I never questioned that God loved me and had a perfect plan, but I didn't understand the point of ALL of this at ONE time!  I cried... and cried... and cried.

The next morning, the hospital did a full ultrasound and said everything looked perfect with the baby.  We then went down to the dentistry division.  He finished pulling my teeth into place (still painful).  The dentist said that my teeth were actually very healthy and in the correct position.  He said at some point they could possibly die and I would need root canals, but he said not to bother anything until that happened.  They put me on a soft diet for 3-4 weeks and sent me home.

The entire time that we were in the hospital, they wouldn't let me walk.  They pushed me everywhere in the wheelchair and Mark followed behind.  Since I had a HUGE lip, stitches, and stayed on the OB floor, we joked that everyone else probably thought Mark had punched the pregnant lady!  You should've seen the faces that people gave us.

Daniel came back in Mark's truck to pick us up from the hospital.  After a few more hours, I was discharged.  We had to pass the spot where the wreck had happened, so we pulled over on the side of the highway.  The ambulance driver had mentioned to Mark that the deer was dead on the side of the road.  The boys needed proof... and got it!  Daniel took a picture and tried to convince us to bring it home as wall decor.  We then stopped at the exit where the Cow Car was.  We got out all of our belongings (which was a lot since we had been on a road trip) and locked it up.  We headed back to Pittsburgh to move into our rental home.

Still in shock and kinda dazed, I found out that my parents were already on their way up to Pittsburgh.  My dad had been adamant that they needed to come and help.  I disagreed and was mad that they were making this sacrifice.  Boy, was I wrong.  Having them here for 4 days was the best thing for us.  They did things that I wouldn't have been able to do for weeks.  They were sounding boards as we expressed fear, discomfort, and frustration.  They cooked for us!  Mom did laundry!  My dad was even the Chick-fil-A Cow TWICE!

The insurance company has decided to total Mark's car because it is so expensive to replace airbags.  Even though we are really disappointed about this, they are giving us a really good amount for it.  We let our contractor know about the accident, but told him to keep pushing ahead with the house.  We've been to see an oral surgeon twice here and he said that everything is healing very well in my mouth.  I've had another appointment with the OBGYN and everything with the baby is right on track.  We are blessed!

We keep joking that we're going to use up all of our insurance coverage before the baby is born between home owners, car insurance, and medical.  I still have questions and am lost for words or explanations, but I know that God will not give us anything bigger than we can handle.  I have had meltdowns for sure.  There are days that I do not know what is the priority- the house, Chick-fil-A, the car, or the baby.  I promise we are drama-free people and used to live a less stressful life!  However, God is teaching, guiding, and molding us one day at a time.  Thank you for your prayers!

PS- My next post will be an update on the house!