Digging In

We've officially begun work on our new backyard. The kids love playing outside and once we've made some improvements, this backyard will be nicer than our one on Eastmoor Dr. It's less oddly shaped and I can see most of it from inside the house. The yard will be a work in progress for the next few years as we take out old landscaping and begin doing our own. Dan took the rotting railroad ties to the landfill a couple weeks ago and has begun his battle with the very invasive lilies. We'll plant grass seed as well as start a garden this summer. We also hope to build a shed and add a clothes line, but we'll have to see where those fall on the ever growing "projects to complete" list. Sylvia is looking forward to getting our sandbox filled.

Goodbye 804 Eastmoor Dr.

It's taken me a little while to figure out what to write for this post. We sold our house on Eastmoor Dr. to the city back in October. Since being offered a buyout, we knew that the house would someday be torn down. When we moved out, there was little left in the house. We took our kitchen cabinets, appliances, closet systems, doorknobs and even the carpet. It really didn't look like our home at that point. Over the past few months, we've seen windows and siding removed as well as the interior walls. The kids, especially Sylvia, have enjoyed watching the backhoe tear down numerous houses in our neighborhood over the past three years. Sylvia would sometimes ask if the backhoe had gotten our house as we drove down Eastmoor when we were living there. We explained that we would live a new home before the backhoe "got" our house. It has been a great lesson and reminder to us that the things of this earth are temporary. Because of Sylvia's interest, we knew we wanted to watch our house be torn down. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about it but it's a once in a lifetime opportunity. So, when we got a call around 6:15am on Monday, February 13 letting us know that they'd be taking it down in about 45 minutes we knew what we had to do. I don't know if we've ever gotten the kids ready so quickly. My parents met us at the house and actually stopped the demolition crew from taking their first bite. We were expecting more notice, but I think it may have been nice in the end to not have time to think about it too much in advance. It was a cold and snowy morning and we, especially Drake, were thankful that our neighbor across the street invited us in to watch most of the demolition. Sylvia said a few times that morning, "They haven't gotten my bedroom yet." The rest of this post is spoken through pictures and I think they say more than enough.










One last thank you to everyone who supported us through the flood and helped us re-finish our house. Your efforts weren't a waste. We actually lived on Eastmoor longer after the flood than we did before. It was a wonderful place to begin raising our family and we're thankful for the years we spent there.

I'll leave you with a few quotes...
"My favorite thing about my house is the people that live there."
"It's not the house that holds the memories. They are in your heart."

Packing

I do not recommend moving with a 19 month old, an almost 4 year old and while 8 months pregnant. But, we survived. Fixing up the new house and packing was a slow process. We're very thankful to our family and friends who helped along the way. Moving day actually went very smoothly and rather quickly. We're still in the process of finishing up projects and getting settled in...and probably will be for the next year or so. But, it's beginning to feel like home. Just last night, Sylvia asked, "Why are we living here?"


It was a little difficult to pull out of the driveway at our old house for the last time. Sylvia asked why I was sad and she cried a little too. She suggested that someday we could remember what our old house looked like and we could build it again. She also wants to make sure we will be able to watch it get torn down.

Outdoors on Eastmoor Drive

I thought I'd share some picture from our last couple of months living on Eastmoor Drive. As you can see from the pictures, we spent a lot of time outside enjoying the beautiful September weather. We're going to miss our backyard although we did bring the swings and sandbox with us. The kids have already enjoyed getting out in our new backyard to play. Hopefully, by the time we fill our sandbox next spring, Eric will be done with his eating sand phase. That boy doesn't just put a little sand in his mouth, he will consume it by the spoonful if you're not watching.

Our New Place

Here's a sneak peek at our new place. We're closing tomorrow morning. Then the work begins. Painting is one of the first projects on the list.

Warm Weather is Coming

Luckily this summer has not been too hot so far, because we are currently without an air conditioner. Tonight Dan poured a new concrete slab for our post-flood air conditioner which is larger than the one we had before. Sylvia was determined to try and move the wheel barrow. We attempted to put her hand print in the concrete but she did not cooperate.

Helping Daddy

Dan and my dad spent the past two weekends building a deck with Sylvia's help of course. Once there were deck board for her to walk on it was difficult to keep her away. She enjoyed bringing daddy all the deck screws he could ever want and more. Dan should be wrapping the project up in the next couple of days, and we'll set up Sylvia's new swimming pool. Then I know we won't be able to keep her inside. Thank you to my wonderful, hardworking, talented husband! It looks great.

Yardwork

Dan spent the past weekend hard at work in our backyard. He rented a bobcat, dumptruck and till in order to do some regrading. Although it tired him out, I think he enjoyed using the machinery. I am so proud of him and much work he has done on our home. He really is quite talented. Plus...he looks good in a bobcat.



Sylvia also helped out a little. She was dispointed when she had to stop filling her bucket with rocks and go in and take a nap.


She didn't actually get to drive the bobcat but it made for a cute picture.


We also had a few high school kids from The Spot come help us on Sunday. They spent most of their time removing landscaping rocks from our backyard. Someday our yard will finally be free of rocks.


This is what our backyard currently looks like. Dan is outside at the moment laying compost, grass seed, and straw.

Dusting

Two thirds of the bamboo floor in our family room is finished. Sylvia has enjoyed being able to venture out there. We think she likes the sound of her voice in the empty room.


I think I'm going to put her and Dan in charge of the dusting in our house.

House Update

The last time you saw pictures of our house it was all soggy and wet. Well, it has since dried out and we are in the process of rebuilding. My wonderful family "gave up" their family reunion to come work on our house in July. They hung the insulation and drywall (with Fransico's help), scraped the "cottage cheese" texture off our ceiling, picked away at wallpaper, removed dead bushes and landscaping rocks and had lots of fun...I hope. My dear aunts also helped me organize our preschool storage room which my teachers are very thankful for.

Thank you all so much for your help and for being "God's Hands at Work."


These pictures show the house after the mudding and taping was done but before we painted. We need one more coat of paint in our bedroom and then we're done painting. The remaining work that we (I should say Dan) are doing ourselves is...

1. Hanging kitchen cabinets & installing the counter top and sinks
2. Installing bamboo floors in the family room
3. Tiling the entryway and kitchen
4. Hanging interior doors, closet doors, and trim

The plumber installed our water heater and is going to do some work on the 2nd bathroom. The electricians should be there tomorrow to finish up and get our power turned back on. We've been using temporary power since shortly after the flood. Our carpet is ordered and will be installed as soon as we're ready for it. We have a couple of estimates for furnace and air. I'm sure there are things missing from my what-needs-to-be-done lists but things are progressing.

Here's a quick tour of the place. I'm going to label these pictures because the whole place looks the same and you wouldn't know which room you're looking at. Our small group Bible study has helped us out a ton as well. You can see a few of them in these pictures.

Living Room


Sylvia's Room


Guest Room (I just bought a daybed with a trundle that pops up and makes a king from craigslist. I am so excited about this bed because I wanted one but I didn't even know if they existed and then I found one for pretty cheap on craigslist. I am addicted to craigslist.)


Our Room


Family Room


Kitchen


Garage


Here's what the house looked like before the drywall.










We think we'll be able to move back sometime late October or early November. Then we'll have a nicer place for my Grandma to sit when she comes to visit.

Our Muddy House

Dan went back to our house on Thursday evening for the first time since the water receded. There was still water in the street but only mud and water damage is left in our house. As you can see, we got a lot of stuff out of the house. Most of the things left behind were up high enough and did not get wet. Our piano got some water so we'll have to see how it turns out. Dan even thinks we may be able to save our new bamboo floors in the family room. Our dads pulled our carpet out while they were there so things should dry more quickly. I joined the three of them last night and did a little cleaning. Our next step is to move everything out of the house but we can't drive in yet. Hopefully we'll find out more at our neighborhood meeting today. We are very thankful that it is not as bad as it could have been. God is good and is seeing us through this.

Here is a quick picture tour...

Our block


Our House


Living Room


Bathroom


Sylvia's Room


Guest Room


Our Room


Family Room






Kitchen




Garage




Backyard