Home Improvements: Part One

Well, since my wonderful hubby is back from his week long stay in Valle Crucis, NC without me (I'm not bitter, really), I think it's high time I posted some pictures of our home improvement projects. We started in May and our goal was to tear down an existing deck (if you can even call it that), build a screened in porch and new deck, and also put vinyl siding on the front of the house. My FIL, BIL, oldest nephew, and Jeff finished the siding last weekend. Jeff left a day later and I was left to paint shutters and our front door. I finished up on Wednesday so now our biggest outdoor projects are officially complete! In this post, I'll share the deck building project.

The first step was tearing down the existing back deck:

Next came the construction of a 12x16 screened in porch and a 10x20 uncovered deck. This project took about a month to fully complete since it was Jeff, his dad, and his brother who built it. You may remember that his brother has many health issues but the most serious is his kidney function, which is only 18%. How much we did each day depended on how he was feeling. Since he has experience building things like this, we relied heavily on his expertise and advice. He worked very hard to help us complete this project and we are very thankful for all he did to help us. My FIL also worked very hard, probably much harder than a 70-something year old man should. We are thankful for his help and his diligence in getting things done. This picture shows them putting down the flooring for the screened porch.

They built the uncovered portion next.

The next project was the roof for the screened porch. I'll skip the part about how the roof leaked and we thought we were going to have to tear it down until my super smart BIL came up with a solution!

Next, the walls for the screened porch went up, along with the railing for the uncovered portion.

We took a break and Jeff played us a tune.

We did several other things including putting up screen, a storm door, vinyl siding on the outside, lattice on the ceiling on the inside, lattice around the outside, lattice on the inside around the walls, put up a ceiling fan, built two sets of stairs to access the deck, and put down carpet on the screened porch. The end result was a beautiful 36ft. long deck that we are really enjoying. Here you'll see three views of the outside.

In this one, you can see how we put lattice around the inside walls, you can see the carpet we put down, and the furniture we bought for the area. We also attached lattice to the rafters on the ceiling but I didn't take pictures of that :-o)

 

We are so glad to be finished with this project. It was a huge project that kept things messy for a long time. However, it was so worth the wait!

Tagged by JennaG

JennaG tagged me for this fun meme.

Here is how to play: If you had the opportunity to do a 1-year internship in a company or field completely unrelated to your current career or specialty, what would be your top 5 choices?

My current "career" is being a wife and mommy and is the most important vocation a woman has. It is my calling, my love, my desire, and my duty. Having said that, I'll answer based solely on the things that I think would be interesting.

1. ESPN sports commentator. I can hardly contain myself when it comes to Lady Vols basketball and college or pro football.
2. Philanthropist, bringing simple medicines and food to third world countries. My hubby tells me all the time that I have this incredible need to save the world :-o)
3. Coach of the Lady Vols basketball team.
4. Animal farm owner. I'd love to have about 100 acres of land so that I could take in unwanted cats and dogs.
5. NFL team owner. At this point, I'd like to own the Indy Colts or Dallas Cowboys.

I'm tagging my RL friend Jenny because she's an interesting gal and I'd like to see what she comes up with!

 

We Have A Teenager!!!

In honor of our oldest daughter's 13th birthday today, here are thirteen things about her:

1. She is shy.
2. She is a hard worker.
3. She is very giving.
4. She is obedient.
5. She is compassionate.
6. She is learning to play the guitar.
7. She is homeschooled.
8. She is very mature.
9. She loves the UT Vols and the Tennessee Titans. (Much to the dismay of many of her friends!)
10. She loves to play Dark Age of Camelot online.
11. She is a most excellent kitty caretaker! (She is, however, allergic to them and we have 5!)
12. She loves to read.
13. She is such a blessing to her parents.

Today she'll get to take a couple of her friends to her favorite pizza place and then to see Nancy Drew. Since Jeff is out of town, we gave her an early birthday present. She's had this since Saturday and she is enjoying it so much! It's a Blueridge BR-60 acoustic guitar.

Happy Birthday Logan! Daddy, myself, and Caroline are very thankful to have you in our lives. You're a wonderful person and we pray you will continue on the straight and narrow path, loving your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength.

 

"Mystery Paint"

Boy, have I been busy since my hubby went on vacation! It's been crazy because I've been trying to get some things cleaned out while he's gone. I'm sure I told y'all that he went off to bagpipe instruction school for a week. He's "stuck" up in the beautiful mountains of Valle Crucis, NC with about 80 other bagpipe students. He's enjoying himself and learning alot. He left on Sunday and will return on Friday so we are anticipating that! It's never quite as fun around here when he's gone.

One of the things I've been trying to finish up before his return is the front of the house. We put up vinyl siding last weekend but the shutters and front door needed to be repainted. I decided I'd tackle that while Jeff was gone and I finally finished up this evening. I'm very excited for him to see it because our house doesn't look the same. It has changed completely! We talked about what color we wanted to paint the door and shutters before he left but never went to buy the paint. I did that this week and was basically "on my own" concerning the actual paint color. Jeff has no idea what color I picked out and I don't want him to find out until he returns home. We talked mostly about doing a burgundy/cranberry type color. All I will say is that I did not go that route. I opted to "break out of my box" and go with something I would not normally pick. It was painful standing at the counter in Lowes, waiting for them to mix the paint. Should I really go with that color? Am I making the right decision? Will Jeff like it? If I like it, he'll probably hate it. What should I do? Maybe I should just wait until he gets home and ask his opinion ......I went on like that for a few hours. I went to Lowes in the morning to buy the paint but couldn't decide on the color so I came home. I went back to Lowes in the evening and decided to just do it! Three or four hours and many questions later, I got the paint and came home to start immediately.

I talked to Jeff right after I finished up today but I refused to give up any hint about the paint color. I can't wait to share the before and after pictures with all of you but that'll have to wait until this weekend! I did tell him that I would post a picture of the color swatch from which I picked our paint. I hope he doesn't look at the sheet and immediately know which color I chose because I want him to be totally surprised when he pulls up Friday evening. So, just for my uber wonderful hubby, here's the swatch:

I must say that it looks awesome! I love it! My FIL and BIL love it! Honey, when you think you've figured out what color I chose, email me. That way I can share with everyone how close you came to the actual color! Y'all keep your fingers crossed that he loves it! Oh, and did I mention that I didn't take the sun into consideration today and now I have a farmer's tan?!!! LOL! I was blinded by love for my sweet hubby!!

Have a great day!

Armchair Reading Challenge

I saw this over at Jenny's place and because she is my RL friend, I couldn't let her out do me! Just kidding Jenny! This challenge is being hosted by A Life In Books and you can find rules and details here.

Here are my choices for this challenge:

1. Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot. (Ecuador)
2. Silas Marner by George Eliot. (England)
3. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. (Lexington, KY)
4. The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett. (Habit, KY)
5. The Redemption of Sarah Cain by Beverly Lewis. (Lancaster County, PA)
6. Finding Ruth by Roxanne Henke. (Brewster, North Dakota)

I'm very excited about this challenge and the books I've listed. I have only been to one of these places (Lancaster County, PA) so it'll be exciting to read about the others. Also, two of these books are ones that I have received through blogging giveaways. The Patron Saint of Liars came to me via Jill who is having a monthly book giveaway called Jill's Book Bag. Finding Ruth came to me via Katrina over at Callapidder Days. Thanks also to Roxanne Henke, who is the author of Finding Ruth and who actually mailed it to me.

I hope you'll join the challenge because I know it'll be a ton of fun! It is a great motivator so what are you waiting for?!!! Get to work on your list and post it so everyone can see what you are going to be reading over the next few months!!!

Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Weekend Reflection # 21

I decided to be a rebel this week and use the old WR header!

This week has flown by and has been pretty good. We've gotten some much needed rain and my garden is loving it! I'm loving it too because it means we have to water the garden less! Yay! Several of our plants are flowering so it won't be long before we've got some tiny veggies! We already have some tiny roma tomatoes and we're hoping the cucumbers will be next! Our okra and broccoli have shot up like crazy this week! I have some zinnias that are coming along nicely and I can't wait to cut them and put them on our supper table.

Last Sunday, we enjoyed lunch at a local Mexican restaurant with some friends from church. We ate and then sat around talking for about two and a half hours. We hadn't been able to do that in a long time because of all the construction we've had going on. It was nice and just lots of fun to be hanging out with friends.

On Wednesday, another friend and her children invited the girls to go swimming. They were gone for about six hours and had a blast! I hung out at home with Jeff and read. I finished reading Tales From the Bed by Jenifer Estess. I enjoyed the book very much. I learned alot about ALS and wonder what it would be like to know you are dying and that you're going to lose your ability to walk, talk, swallow, breath, etc. Jenifer was diagnosed with the disease and instead of locking herself away, she and her sisters created Project ALS. It was a fascinating story about her journey from the time of her diagnosis to her death. I'm not certain that she believed in God or understood His sovereignty over all things and that made me sad.

On Thursday, Caroline had her last ballet class of the summer. I'm happy for the break and look forward to only having to tow her to piano lessons once a week. It'll be nice to stop running back and forth so much!

On Friday, I started preparing for Jeff's 5 day trip to Valle Crucis, NC. He'll be attending bagpipe instruction school from Sunday, July 1 through Friday, July 6. My FIL and BIL came over in the evening to start putting up j-channel for the vinyl siding that goes on the front of our home. I'm very excited about this project because our house will look so much nicer! Friday night, my nephew, his friend, and my BIL came over and watched Breach with us (see more about this movie below). It was a fascinating movie and I've been thinking about since Friday. I was already familiar with this story but the movie made me think about so many things. It is said that Mr. Hanssen, who is serving a life sentence for his treason, is in solitary confinement for 23 hours per day. I cannot imagine that. I would go crazy!

Saturday, I got up early and got our crew movin'. My FIL and BIL came over to put up the vinyl siding. Jeff helped them while I cleaned house. They finished the siding and now all that's left is for me to paint the front door and trim and also the shutters. I'm not looking forward to painting those but the door and trim should be a breeze. Hopefully when Jeff returns, it'll be done and look like a totally different house. I'll post before and after shots as soon as we're through with it all. I will say that the siding made a world of difference! In the evening, Jeff and I left the girls at home and went shopping for Logan's 13th birthday present. Since he'll be gone on her birthday (July 5), he wanted to get her present and give it to her beforehand. After spending most of the evening finding just the right deal, we got it and gave it to her. I'd love to tell you what it is but you'll just have to wait until Thursday to read about it and see pictures!

Today we enjoyed a wonderful worship service with our church family. We've been studying the book of Esther and I'm learning alot. After church, we came home to pack the car up for Jeff to leave. He left around 2pm and I hope he's going to enjoy his time and learn alot. This is the only time each year that we are ever separated. It's very strange without him around the house. The girls and I plan to pass the time by sewing and watching tons of Jane Austen movies! We have every version of Pride&Prejudice that's out and we're also going to rent Emma and Sense & Sensibility. We may even go a little wild and rent Jane Eyre! Can you tell that I love Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte?!!!

Speaking of movies, I thought I'd throw in what we've watched this week. First off, we don't watch alot of regular tv. We are HUGE sports fans and that is why we have cable. If it weren't for sports and Lost, the cable would be out of here in a New York minute! Since we don't watch alot of regular tv, we rent movies. We recently switched from Netflix to Blockbuster Online and are loving it! I know alot of you recently started renting movies via Netflix and they're great. Let me just say though that Blockbuster Online is way better! I love the fact that you can take movies you get in the mail back to the store and get a new one instantly! When you do that, they also immediately ship out the next movie in your online queue. It's wonderful and you see twice the movies you'd see otherwise. Anyway, back to the movies we watched this week....The Last King of Scotland was pretty good. It is based on the reign of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. If you have a weak stomach, don't watch it. The harsh reality of the movie kept me thinking about it for days afterwards. Another movie we enjoyed this week was Breach. It was a well made movie and was very interesting. I have read plenty about Robert Hanssen over the years so I was excited about seeing this movie. Again, it was a movie that really made me think. Throughout the movie, I couldn't help but feel compassion for Mr. Hanssen. Jeff is always saying that I have this incredible need to save the world! We also saw Miss Potter recently and loved it! It is based on the life of Beatrix Potter and was wholesome, clean, and just plain good! Great family movie and especially meaningful if you love Peter Rabbit and other books by Beatrix.

That about does it for our week! I hope you week went well! To read more WR's, head over to Judi's!

 

Jill's Book Bag

Boy did I get a treat yesterday! The girls, Jeff, and I were sitting at the kitchen table having lunch when our doorbell rang. It was the Fedex guy and the girls went to fetch the package. I knew that the package was for me (and so did everyone else) but I tried to stay cool! The girls brought the package to me and I thanked them and set it aside. I wanted to finish my lunch before I started getting all wacky over what was inside the package! You see, Jill over at Who Could Ask For Anything More is hosting a monthly contest called Jill's book bag. I won for the month of June and Jill had emailed me on Wednesday to let me know she'd sent out the package. I could hardly wait for it to arrive and reminded everyone around the house, several times, that I was waiting for this package. When I finally opened it, here's what I found:

I just LOVE the bag! It's so fun and bright and I'm going to love filling it up with things! It was so generous of Jill but she didn't stop there! She also included some goodies in the bag.

She wrote me a sweet note and included The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett, some super cute beverage napkins (for my zinfandel and chocolate), and a really cute Post-It notepad. I've overjoyed and so thankful for these wonderful gifts! Thank you Jill! For anyone else reading, Jill will be doing this monthly so head over to her place and watch for details.

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Giveaway

Iris is having this cool giveaway over at Sting My Heart and I thought I'd share it with you. She is giving away this beautiful purse and I'd love to win it! I need to win it!

All you have to do is sign Mr. Linky and you'll be entered to win! Thanks to Coach J for tipping me off!

On another note, I am currently reading Tales from the Bed by Jenifer Estess and it is really good. I'll provide a complete review of the book after I've finished it. It's a quick read and I should be finished with it tonight.

Hope you are having a wonderful Friday!