One Man's Junk...

Finally, the sign is in the yard. And now... we wait...

Putting the sign up reminded me of something that Asa said the other day. We were working on the house and Jeff had something he wanted to get rid of... so... like usual he put it out in front by the road and got out our big plywood sign that reads "FREE". We live on a fairly busy street... nothing, and I mean NOTHING has lasted more than 2 hours out there. Shower stalls, couches, even fence posts with hunks of concrete on the bottom. It's amazing. Anyway, Asa came running in the house in a total panic, screaming, "MOM!! Daddy's selling the house for FREE!!!!!"

It's never boring with a couple six years olds in the house.

Windows and Balusters

The windows are painted, the trim is done... all we have left to paint is the two back gables! Jeff and Randy (and Asa) did a fabulous job cutting out the new balusters. They made a huge difference on the upstairs porch!

In Color

After a long process of pressure washing, scraping and wire brushing the entire house (which was 98% Jeff's doing since I found out I am pregnant again at the beginning of the process), it's paint time! Jeff and Randy went ahead and purchased the scaffolding, which made the job a billion times easier, plus it provided hours of entertainment for the boys.

Jeff, Randy and Asa worked on the balusters for the upstairs porch. The old ones were the pits and had to go. Asa did a great job of sanding! We're hoping to get them painted tomorrow.

I'm glad we had already come to the conclusion that we needed to move closer to family because now that we have a surprise baby #4 on the way (and for those trying to add up the months... our youngest is almost 11 months old right now, so these two will be 17 months apart!) I will need family nearby more than ever. Also, the need for bedrooms has exceeded the speed at which we could finish the attic, so we have even more need to find a wonderful family who will love our home as much as we do.

The Announcement

We are in the process of painting the exterior of our house. To do so, we much first scrape. We are making lots of progress and hope to paint very soon. With that said, let me explain why we are painting now... because (gasp) we are getting ready to put our house up for sale. Yes, I said it. For Sale. I don't want to think about how much work we have put into it or how much I love it or how great it is looking or what plans we had in store for it... I am trying very hard to concentrate on the move. We are moving to be closer to our families, our kids will be closer to their grandparents and I will hopefully have a little family support as I begin my first year as a homeschool parent.

So, if you know anyone who would like to buy a mostly renovated house and take it to completion, I've got your house!

Growing Panes

Jeff has finished the top pane of stained glass on the front door! It's not the original design, but I think he did an excellent job. It's hard to believe there is only one pane left to go...

Crossing My Fingers...

Okay! It appears that all of our submissions to This Old House's Reader Remodels contest have gone through!

They titled out entries:

Kitchen - Working With The Old
Bath - A Period Perfect Tub
Living Room - Family Values
Garage - New Workshop From Old Smokehouse
Bedroom - A Noteworthy Nursery

A Room Fit For Ivey

I have been working on getting the nursery together for quite some time and figured that I would post some pictures of it. When we started on this room we had no idea it would end up as the bedroom for a beautiful baby girl!