Our Fixer Upper - Kitchen/Dining/Entry Part 1

I really love doing these blog updates on the house. Mainly because it's all the progress photos from one room altogether. You should know that I am ADD when it comes to demo and working on the house. I get a part functional, then skip to another room and start another project. These posts make it look so organized and summed up. Ha! Anyways...on to the kitchen/dining/entry room!

This was the biggest transformation room in the house. It will also be the most extensive and most expensive when we are completely finished. 

These are the before pictures:

 (looking from the living room into the entry and dining room)

 There were a couple of things that had to be done before we could move in and buy new appliances. This range was original to the house (1985). It was skinnier than any range they make today and it was built in. So we removed the range, the bottom built in piece and the side piece to make room for the range and fridge to fit there side by side. 

When we did that we realized that it was hard wired and so was the vent above it. My new range was electric and my new microwave had a built in vent so we were going to install it above the range. So my amazing uncle came over and converted both of those to outlets for us! Yay!

Mom had to do some finagling for our dishwasher hookup as well. Then we had to cut down the cabinets above the range to make room for the new microwave. Because we didn't want to domino us into a whole kitchen renovation right then, we popped off the trim pieces, cut it down to size, removed the vent, installed a new shelf and then finally reinstalled those original trim pieces. We haven't cut down those cabinet doors yet because, let's be honest, it's functional now and I've moved on to tearing up the next thing...

 ...the fur down and the upper cabinets blocking our view from the kitchen to the dining room! Jonathan's brother and his family came out the weekend after we moved in (after they came to help us move in!). One of the things that I wanted gone the day we signed on the dotted line was this upper cabinet. With some extra man power there Jonathan agreed. The cabinet space in the kitchen has been a little challenging now, but I do not care. It has really opened all of this up so much! 

We also removed the wooden trim pieces over the windows because no. 

Next was ripping down the blue wallpaper and removing the spindles in the random cut outs of the wall between the entry and the dining room. My dad's side of the family came out for a work weekend and they were a huge help!

The wallpaper was all down and I had scraped the popcorn off of the ceiling. And then I was just staring at this random wall that divided the entry and the dining room. I wanted it gone. But to convince Jonathan... 

We really weren't sure what we find behind this drywall. A header we assumed, but would it be a header that was necessary to holding up our house?! Wouldn't know until we ripped into it. I was all too happy to get started on that. 

We asked a friend, who knows a thing or two about houses, and he said it's fine to come down without having to move a header up into the attic! Hallelujah! Our first miracle in the #ladydianereno! 

We found this out the Friday that Jonathan and the boys were going to leave for their annual Mitchell boys camp out trip. One of the last things Jonathan said to me before he left me alone for the weekend was, "I do not want you tearing down walls while you're pregnant and home alone." Dang it! After getting that great news!? He did approve of removing the drywall. So I did that and I wanted more... 

I did get permission before I knocked out those bottom 2x4s while I was home by myself... The other side of the wall had a random low light switch for the dining room. All that did was encourage Parker to make the dining room light into a strobe light. I was ready for that to be gone. My nephew was coming over that Saturday and I thought it might be best to keep the wires covered while he was there! :) But that afternoon after family left I got back to work. 

You'll notice throughout these posts that some of my pictures are at weird angles. That's because I'm pregnant and exhausted by the end of the demo. I never claimed to be a photographer. Just a girl who loves making a mess. 

When Jonathan got back from his boys weekend, he helped me take down the rest! He's such a goofball, but he keeps me laughing through all of this! 

Then we removed the header in between the dining room and the living room. And made jut-outs into flush corners and walls. 

Before:

 After we removed the header:

Moving the 2x4s back into the wall to make the walls flush: 

So a little recap on where we started: 

And where we are now: 

Still very much in construction zone and lots more to do. But so much openness!! And I'm loving it. 

Entering my third trimester this week has forced me to focus purely on the nursery until I'm completely done. With holidays in there it's going to go by quick and February will be here before I know it! 

Our Fixer Upper - Laundry Room

When we started looking for houses this past Spring, I wanted an older home that I could fix up and make it my own. Our home in Abilene was brand new and we loved it, but we bought it after all the design details had been made. It was hard for us to make it our own when everything was done.

We did manage to add in some projects that were catered to us...

Bunk Bed

Entertainment Center (with cabinet doors)

Mirror

We eventually decided on this sweet home. When I say we I mean I saw it by myself and told Jonathan I liked it. We put an offer on the house before he even saw it! No pressure...

*Disclaimer* There will be "before", "in progress" and "functioning" pictures. In this stage of life I get a project to "functioning" status and then life happens. The whole completely done "afters" just aren't happening right now. Check back in 10 years... 

Let's start this crazy whirlwind in the laundry room. At this house I wanted my deep freeze in the house and not in the garage where it was hot and I had to walk around cars everything I needed something. So I decided to stack my washer and dryer and put the freezer beside them. I wanted to rip out all the built in cabinets on that wall and certain family members opposed pulling down perfectly good cabinets... :) So we compromised and cut them in half to make room for the stacked appliances and still have some shelves. 

Before:

In progress:  

Functioning:

Still to do on this project - paint the cabinets

The next phase in the laundry room was combining a pantry and closet into one big pantry. The existing pantry was so deep and dark that it wasn't really functional for this short, prego momma. So the demolition started! 

Before: 

I removed the shelves, doors and door frames. Then the fun part...busting out the drywall! 

 We added a header just to make sure it wouldn't all crash down when we removed the middle wall.

The next thing we had to do was bust out the tile that was in the closet part so the new pantry floor would all be the same. My brother and brother-in-law put a lot of sweat and too much blood (for my preference) into removing that tile. I ended up taking the rest of the tile up in the laundry room too. 

Then came framing the new pantry out and adding the drywall and new shelves. I also bought a pre-hung double door with the trim already attached and we installed it. And then added door knobs. 

Functioning: 

Still to do on this project - paint new door and trim, install new flooring (when I decide what new flooring will go through out the entry, kitchen and laundry...)

I'll also scrape the popcorn ceilings, paint the ceiling and install a new light fixture...one day. I have some big plans for making this laundry room bigger to add a sink and mudroom area in our 5-10 year phase. 

So far this has been really fun and really frustrating. But that's what you get when you decide to buy a fixer upper and live in it during the renovations. Oh yeah and there's the whole being pregnant and homeschooling and soccer and community group things...

Unexpected Changes Coming...

You know the Lord's timing is quite unexpected sometimes! We love Abilene. We love the family the Lord's given us here. We love the community we have. But the Lord has shown us our time in Abilene is coming to a close.

Jonathan has accepted a teaching position at Stephen F. Austin State University. We'll be moving to Nacogdoches, Texas this summer.

Jonathan wasn't really looking for another job. He loves it at Hardin-Simmons University and has enjoyed his time there. We kind of went out on a limb with SFA thinking if it doesn't happen it doesn't happen. We like our life here and the worst scenario in this situation is to continue living the life we love with people we love.

This truly is a bittersweet thing. I'm really excited about being so close to our families, but right now it's not what I'm thinking about. I really feel like I'm grieving. This has been the longest we've stayed in one place since we've been married. This was where we bought our first home, brought our second baby home and ventured into foster care. This is the place the Lord provided family when our families were so far away. This is where the body of Christ has so beautifully demonstrated His unconditional love for us.

I've been crying for months knowing that this may be the outcome. I have a hard time talking about it still because of the tears that well up.  And my insides twist at the thought of starting over. The thought of saying our goodbyes breaks my heart.

We have so enjoyed our time in Abilene. We feel a peace about this decision in the midst of our sadness. And we're anxious to see what the Lord has in store for our family in Nacogdoches.

My Tattoos

I may or may not have the "itch" again...the time in between each one seems to be getting shorter! So while I'm thinking tattoos anyway I thought I would write out the stories behind my current ones. 

My tattoos started in college. I was a sophomore at East Texas Baptist University. I always joked that that was where people went to become pastors or parents had sent their kids there to be straightened out. But I digress.... I had always wanted a tattoo, but that year of my life I didn't want to have anything to do with the Lord. I don't have a picture of that one. While the actual tattoo design doesn't have any meaning to me (no I don't regret it), the reminder of that time in my life drives who I am today. That was the first time in my life that the Lord's GRACE clicked with me. I had been a "good" girl all through high school. That year I knew I had done nothing to deserve it. I was not "good" by the Bible belt's standard. I had put my family through the ringer. I had caused a lot of grief and worry to my friends. And even still He loved me and poured out His mercy and grace. Simultaneously justified while a sinner. He did that through those surrounding me too. 

POWER. In 2012, I signed up to go to Zambia for a week of Camp Life put on by Family Legacy. (You can read about that story HERE) I knew it was something the Lord was calling me to, but it wasn't exactly easy leaving Jonathan and my 3 and 1 year old boys at home. 2 Timothy 1:7 became one of my favorite verses as I confessed my fear to Jesus:

"For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of POWER, love and sound judgement." I wanted a permanent reminder for something I've struggled with all my life. That trip to Zambia got the ball rolling with our heart for the orphan. Which eventually led to us becoming the hands and feet of Jesus to the kids in front of us in Abilene.  

ARROWS. I have wanted a tattoo for each of my boys for a while. I just didn't know exactly what I wanted. In 2014 I decided on arrows because of Psalm 127:3-5:

"Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like ARROWS in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." 

I designed each arrow and took it to the tattoo artist. 

REFUGE. This one came about because of our journey with foster care. There is a lot you get bombarded with while fostering kids. Lots of people you answer to, lots of people telling you what to do, where to be. Visits with all the agencies involved, visits with the parents. It's overwhelming to live like you're in a fish bowl with everyone watching and evaluating. So I clung to Psalm 91:4:

"He will cover with His feathers, and under His wings you will find REFUGE."

Last summer I also wanted one more added, but hadn't settled on the design. I tend to take a while to design it, but once I have it finished it's hard for me to sit and wait! Delayed gratification is not my thing. It's actually the one I'm getting my "itch" for now. You'll have to stay tuned for that one, but the theme for it will be HOPE.