Progress on house

So the tile was supposed to be set yesterday & possibly have grout today.  That means when we get back from Thanksgiving, we can move stuff around and start work on the kitchen/dining/family room.

As a result.....we've all had our turn being sick & now it's coming back for Round 2, we may not make it to Idaho because somewhere out there is a blizzard in Northern Utah/Southern Idaho, although we've not seen ANY of it here in Provo, & we're still living at my parents with about 3 pairs of clothes.

BUT, I'm choosing to be grateful that:
#1  I have a house to put tile in
#2  I have a house that is close by to stay in while the tile is being installed
#3  I have a house that keeps me warm & out of the blizzard wind outside
#4  I have lost 5 pounds in the past 4 weeks since starting my workouts at Curves.
#5  I have a great job
#6  I have a wonderful family, parents, in-laws, siblings, friends, extended family, etc.
#7  I have a body that can fight illness


Here's your current picture update:

Master Bathroom all laid out!

Close view of tile

Hallway toward kids' bedrooms, all laid out

Laundry room, all laid out

JBJ's room, all laid out. I love how his room looks!

Journey to a New House Day 3

Looking down the hallway towards the kids' rooms

Looking down the hallway towards the entry way & kitchen

Looking down that same hallway back towards the bedrooms

A closer view of the tile

A Journey to Joy

I don't feel good.  It started last night.  My head is heavy, my nose feels like it weighs a pound, my lips are dry & I can't taste anything.

I certainly can't sing.  Although I suppose I could sing the bass part of most songs quite well right now... but I'm an Alto.

I went to choir rehearsal anyway, so I could get counted for attendance + I had to drive my carpool.  I didn't want to get anyone else sick, so I didn't sit in the choir loft. I sat over to the side, away from everyone, and am not planning to be in the broadcast on Sunday.

Sometimes during rehearsal, you get pretty involved in what's going on...you watch the conductor, you record songs, you shuffle music...you don't really pay attention much to the people in the audience who are watching you.  Today I had the chance to pay attention a little better.

I noticed a young girl being led down the aisle to a seat in the balcony.  She had that familiar white cane in front of her telling everyone around her that she was blind.  She was led to a seat & put her cane down under her legs. 

Without her cane, there was nothing spectacular about her.  She looked asian or hispanic and she looked very young.  No one was sitting with her.

But, without fail, after every song the choir "taped & timed" (which means a recording is made for the director to listen to so he knows what to work on the next time we rehearse), she clapped and smiled so enthusiastically that I found myself smiling at her.  There were several songs where she promptly jumped to her feet and gave her own private standing ovation.

It was very touching to watch.  It brought tears to my eyes. And it got me thinking...

How many others out there in the world feel the same joy when they hear the choir sing?  What am I really a part of?  This isn't just a wonderful, amazing opportunity to sing with one of the most famous choirs in the world, or be led by an incredibly talented director.  This is an opportunity to touch people's lives... To bring joy to thousands of people, who listen over the radio, who watch on TV, who can't leave their homes, who live too far away to visit SLC, who may have no other connection with members of the church, who simply want to feel the spirit of God, who may have no other opportunity to worship...

And it brings me to a state of abundant humility & gratitude & awe....

And joy.  Just like hers.

New House Journey Day 2

Master Bathroom

Looking from Master Bedroom, down the hall towards the kids' rooms.

Our 89 boxes of tile & bags of whatever he uses to stick the tiles to the cement.

JBJ's room

BJ helping EJ comprehend how heavy the tiles are.

Looking from near the kitchen, down toward the bedroom hallway.  Notice how much dirt was under the carpet. Ew!

Front Bathroom

Laundry room, with new paint!

Photos of the House Journey

Looking into our laundry room.  The new paint color will be that blue-ish color painted near the baseboard.  That is a sample of our new tile under the blue-ish color.

Jeremy's room looking into the hallway.  All carpet will be replace by tile.  Hallway will be the darker color at the top of the wall in the hallway.

Looking from the dining room into the hall/entry.  The green walls will be painted.  Those are my newly painted cabinets.  All flooring will be tile.

Entry way looking out front door...Notice the lack of flooring & the new paint on the walls.

Looking into the family room.  This is Jeremy's stuff & the laundry room stuff.  Notice the vinyl flooring that will soon be gone and the new paint color on the back wall.

The darker color is the new paint color for the entire family/dining room, entry way, & hallway.  The doors will also be painted the same color and then antiqued.  The vinyl and the carpet will be replaced with tile.

This is our front room with all the family room stuff in it, along with things that were on the walls.

Freedom's Journey

I am touched by the words to this song, "Distant Land" by John Rutter.

This song was written in 1990, soon after the demolition of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison.

I see a distant land; it shines so clear.
Sometimes it seems so far, sometimes so near.
Come, join together, take the dusty road.
Help one another; share the heavy load.

The journey may be long; no end in sight.
There may be hills to climb, or giants to fight.
But if you'll take my hand, we'll walk together toward the land of freedom.
Freedom.



I hear a distant song; it fills the air.
I hear it, deep and strong, rise up in prayer:
'O Lord, we are many; help us to be one.
'Heal our divisions; let thy will be done.'

I know the time will come when war must cease;
A time of truth and love, a time of peace.
The people cry, 'How long till all our world can join the song of freedom?'
Freedom.



I touch a distant hand and feel its glow,
The hand I hoped was there; at last I know.
Swords into plow-shares; can it all come true?
Friends out of strangers; start with me and you.

I see another time, another place
Where we can all be one, one human race.
The walls will melt away, we'll come together on the day of freedom.
Freedom, Freedom.

Journey to a New House

We closed on this house on February 29, 1996 ... almost 15 years ago.  It's time to move... time for a change ... time for something new ... time for a fresh look.

But we can't afford to move.  So, we're not. (Did I scare some of you?)

Since we built our house, we've added curbing, sod, bricks around our garden, rocks in our front garden beds, a white picket fence in the front yard, a few trees, several different colors of paint, newly painted kitchen cabinets, & a large back & side patio.

Now, it's time for the biggest change of all! 

Tomorrow, we move out of our house for a week.  We are getting tile installed in 3/4 of our house.  The original carpet will remain in our front room & in 3 of the 4 bedrooms...everywhere else is getting new tile...big tile...on the diagonal...dark tile...with dark grout.

Today I have been painting like a mad woman.  My mom came over to help and EJ helped me paint the laundry room, which officially erases the original paint color of the house. (But don't look in the closet or the kitchen pantries because that is still the original color, although I hope to paint the pantries soon.)  I want to get everything painted while I don't have to worry about keeping the floor clean.  The family room/kitchen/entry/hallway is now a sand color & the laundry room is a blue/green color. (Thank you, Allison!)

A few weeks after the tile is done, the window people are coming to replace ALL of our windows and to give us a back sliding glass door...good windows...windows with no panes ...windows that will keep the hot air in & the cold air out during the winter ... windows that will actually keep the kids' rooms cooler in the summer.

As if that isn't enough, we are also adding a new furnace and an AC system.  Yes, everybody, it's true ... 15 years without an air conditioner!  The time has come to have cool air during those 100 degree Provo Summer months and not humid, swamp cooler air.

So, if we survive the mess & the chaos, you're all invited to come over on New Year's Eve to celebrate the fact that we're not moving into a new house...we will be living in one.

(Pictures will come later...haven't uploaded them yet.)