When he came out dressed like a ninja, I thought it would be worth documenting. He’s passionate about life. Always moving-and never predictable. He’s one of my favorite people. I think I’ll keep him-at least until he’s eighteen.
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It’s finished. Sigh of relief. Fixer uppers are no walk in the park. But when we finally crossed the finish line for this project, a spark ignited somewhere in this “design soul” of mine. This fixer upper journey is more than remodeling a house-it’s telling a story about us. Our family. God’s goodness. The adventures-the hard and the easy-that shape us and make us grow. Houses are stories. Before This photo was taken before the wallpaper peeled off, the water stains set into the carpet, and those black tiles started falling off in the shower. It was bad. For as…
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The Temporary Shower The bathroom demo has begun. It’s only 3 days until Christmas. I hesitated starting the demo over the holidays. Since we only have one shower, we had to improvise and make a temporary shower in the basement. This shower is primitive. Some of you will wonder if I’ve gone completely crazy. But I’ve learned through this fixer upper journey to be flexible and willing to do things most people wouldn’t do. This 1956 mid century bathroom was exactly the same as when it was built. The pink tiles, floral wall paper, and the pink fixtures reminded me…
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Basement demolition started last week full force. Everyone-including the four kiddos joined the hammering, ripping, bashing, and breaking. All of us have enjoyed the adventure so far. We decided we would do the basement because the last 2 summers we’ve been without air conditioning. Basement Before Photos In these photos, you can see the asbestos tiles. We had those removed before we moved into the home. The basement is actually sectioned off by that large orangey wood wall. The man who built it took pride in how he put it together. It was tough taking that wall down! When we…
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The journey you take when you embark in renovating a fixer upper is bittersweet. They eventually become what you dream about, but the journey to get there is long. I’ll be the first to admit that fixer uppers are hard work. But the stories these walls could tell, well, it makes all that hard work worth the effort. Just imagining the history gets me all nostalgic inside. It’s almost been two years since we purchased our fixer upper. It’s our first one and although it has it’s challenges, I wouldn’t change it for the world. We were meant for this…
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His eyes light up. No words, but you can tell his heart is beating faster. You watch him hunch over, close to the ground. He’s in his own little world. A perfect world where there is adventure and happy endings happen every day. Then you see him capture something in his hands. He’s careful. In fact, you’ve never seen him move with the care he is showing now. He turns toward you slowly. Again, you see the light in his eyes. Holding up his clasped hands, he says, “Look, I caught a firefly.” His voice is barely above a whisper.…
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This Fourth of July, our friends from Alabama came to visit us. We’re so thankful for them. These are the times my kids will remember forever. Good stuff, ya’ll. Good stuff. There’s nothing like hanging out with good friends. Ya know? Hope you had a wonderful Fourth of July.