October 1st

Not only does October 1st happen to be our deadline for HUD, it is also the opener of bow hunting season in Michigan. This October 1st will be memorable not only because we are living in our new home but now, also because Ben shot his first "backyard buck" at our new home tonight!! We have a lot to be excited about tonight :)

Move in day!!!

We passed! Today will be our official move in day, we couldn't be more excited :) pictures of our furnished home will be coming soon :)

So Close....

We are getting so close to being finished with our project!  We are excited to be scheduling inspections and getting close to our move in.  As of now we are hoping to have all inspections completed and passed by Thursday...this plan may change quickly.  We will keep all of you updated on our official move in date when we know what it is :)  For now, here are some pictures to keep you updated on the progress. Upcoming projects include, completion of the garage, carpet, plumbing completion and appliances being installed. 

We can finally park on the cement!  The garage is coming along and our door should be here soon.  

Door handles

Main bath mirror and light 

Lighting fixture over the dining table 

Wood stove :) 

Lighting fixture in the mater bath 

My wonderful worker boys hanging doors 

A Large Hole

Our most recent project leaves us with a large hole in the side of our house.  This might sound bad, but actually it means that we are making progress!  Today the hole was cut for the egress window.  We also worked to get the house ready for trim painting.  The next projects on our list are finishing the egress window, the kitchen, and painting!  Anyone who is interested in painting let us know :) 

Be sure to check out the video at the end of this post.  :) 

Our cabinets have doors!

Pantry doors 

This is where the microwave and stove will be.  Any votes for what would look nice as decoration above the cupboards?

Sneak peak of the counter top.  Now we just need drawer fronts

The hole for the egress window 

Lots of dry dirt, clay, and rock 

 Check out the video of the cement coming out for the egress window....

Lots of little projects

As we are nearing the end, we are discovering that this house is full of lots of little projects.  On the agenda for this week is, finishing trim, completing the stack stone and siding.  We also plan to get carpet and appliances ordered.  Thank you to Kendra's mom for helping shop til we dropped for appliances, carpet, lighting fixtures, and so many other important finishing details. 

Imagine yourself doing dishes at this window and looking out onto the beautiful back yard! 

Coat closet and linen closet in the hallway 

View of the hallway with trim and doors in! 

The garage siding project has begun

Stack stone for the wood stove walls 

A closer look at the stack stone, we are very happy with how well the colors coordinate with everything else in our home

A portion of counter top 

More counter top 

This area will eventually be closed in using the extra steel from the roof...it will then become our wood storage area 

New wood for the deck between the house and garage 

Kitchen cabinet doors 

Doors 

Back to School

I am not sure if it was because we were working on the house all summer...but this summer sure flew by!  Kendra is back to school and had a great first day with her students today.  While Kendra prepared for her students, Ben has been working hard to prepare the house for move in!  We are still hoping to move in by the end of September and are getting very excited!  

New posts for the wood storage area 

New flooring for the deck between the house and the garage.  We decided not to put typical decking on this because eventually this will become a fully enclosed mud room.  

Cabinet doors! We can't wait to see these in the kitchen!

Another door, all stained and ready to be hung

Tile

We have been working hard to complete the tile shower in our master bathroom.  The shower is now completely tiled and needs to be grouted.  On Saturday, Matt and Julie came to help us.  We were able to get the heated floor placed and the bathroom floor tiled!  We also got a few more doors hung this weekend. We are excited to continue with trim this next week.  

The floor in the master shower 

Floor and seat in the master shower 

Master bath floor 

Thanks to Matt and Julie for helping us lay the wire for the heated floor.  The guys dug out the grooves so that the wire would lay flush with the floor.  Julie and I were able to help glue the wire so that it wouldn't move while we tiled.  

Closet door in bedroom #1

A little bit of everything...

I am realizing that I have been slacking on the blog updates, so here it goes.  Since our last post we have been working on a little bit of everything.  We have decided that a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are lots of pictures to give you an updated look.  In the past weeks we have been getting more and more excited to show off our house that is really beginning to look and feel like a home.   We especially loved being able to show off he house to Kendra's cousins Emily and Ryder while they were in town!  It was fun to have a whole group of family over to see the progress!  

Master Shower.  I had no idea what a project tile work was.  It is hard for me to be patient while rows set before we can put up additional rows.  

A closer look at the tile in the master shower.  The large tiles will be on the ceiling and bathroom floor.  The small tiles will be on the floor of the shower.  

Steel garage roof

The roofer after a few long hot hours on the roof

The hearth tiled and grouted.  This coming Saturday the stack stone will begin. 

Main bath being tiled, it has since been finished, grouted, and the toilet put in place....I must have forgotten to take a picture. 

It is so nice to have light switches!!!  No more trips to the breaker box to turn the lights on :) 

These bushes are still not my favorite, but I think the rocks help to spruce them up a little.  

The field just beyond our property line.  If you look really closely you can see 3 bucks hiding in the field.  

Part of our woods.  Looks like a nice hunting spot to me :) 

Our swamp that is about halfway back in the woods