Slow and Steady Progress...

A few people have asked why there hasn't been an update on the blog lately and mostly because there has not been a lot of visual change at the house.  Since the last week of June, they've been working on putting up drywall, sealing, and mudding.  The entire house now has sheet rock up, so it has walls!!  The mudding was being started yesterday when I stopped by, so I am really hoping to SEE some change soon.

The view from the front door.  The living room is the front room and the kitchen is behind the 1/2 wall.

A better view of the kitchen.

We also completely picked out everything for our kitchen!  It was such a hard process because there were SO MANY decisions- what brand of cabinets, what color, what design, drawers or doors, glaze, flooring, appliances, etc.  However Mark and I both REALLY like the final plan.

God is still continuing to work out the details for us in mighty ways that are really hard to ignore!  A few different people had suggested KraftMaid cabinets for us to look at, so we were out shopping one day and saw a display for KraftMaid.  As we walked up to look at the cabinets, the sales person jumped all over us telling us what great cabinets they were.  He proceeded to tell us about a sale they were having where you received a free upgraded finish, a free sink base, and free cushion close cabinets.  We took note of it and went home to do some research.  After talking to 2 contractors and looking up prices, we discovered that this was going to save us around $2000 in the kitchen.  They were all nice luxuries that we'd love to have, but were not necessities.  I am not sure if we would have spent the money on these upgrades or not, but God orchestrated all the details that we needed to get the plan for the kitchen finalized and in the contractor's hands in 36 hours so we could take advantage of these great options!

About two weeks ago, before we headed to the beach, we spent 4 hours at Lowes making decisions for the contractor.  These decisions included baseboards, casing, ceiling color and texture, hardwood stain color, bathroom tile, interior doors, and front door.  In the next week, we were asked to please have paint colors and light fixtures picked, so that will be next.

Please continue to pray for the timeline of this house!  Our contractor keeps mentioning September 1st, but we were originally told October.  Baby Ansley is due September 13th, so all of these changes will probably occur around the same time.  We'd love to be back in our house by the time Ansley is here, but we are prepared to not be.  We just know it will make the transition of our family a little more crazy!  At my baby shower, I asked people to pray that the house is done early or that Ansley is late.  All the moms laughed and said I would change my mind about Ansley being late! :)  The hardest thing about not being in our permanent home right now is not being able to create and nest in a nursery.  It is hard to look at all this cute baby stuff as it sits in boxes, bags,  and piles.  We know God's timing is perfect, but ask for your prayer for peace and wisdom.

Hope all of you are doing well and enjoying this summer heat!