Monday, January 11, 2010

Psalms 127:1 Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it

As promised this post will be about something that takes quite a bit of Miguel's and my time....our house. When Miguel and I got engaged one of the things that we agreed on was that we did not want to rent....we wanted to own our own home. That being said we could not afford much because we did not want to be house poor. So we decided we would get a "fixer uper". So we looked.....and looked.....and looked some more. Have you ever, dear readers, been in a house that is listed at less than $10,000? Well, I have and let me tell you it is SCARY!! We were at one of these scary houses when the realtor said, "Hey I have another house that you might be interested in if you have time to look." My mom and dad were with us and we said sure. This house had a lot of things that we wanted...it was out in the country, had a good size yard, and had some growing room. Yes, there were certainly some scary parts, but I asked myself the question that my mom told me to, "Does this feel like home" and it did. My dad was telling Miguel to ask himself, "Do you really want to work 8 hours a day and come home and work on a house?" (Chuckle) Well, we put in an offer and after a VERY long ordeal that would take pages and pages to go into, we were finally home owners. Let's just say that the bank messed up soooo badly with keep delaying things that they ended up paying ALL of the closing costs and cutting us a check for $900. Now the fun begins. Our house is about 100 years old. It has 5 bedrooms, living room, dining room, family room, utility room, and one bathroom. It has 2,200 square feet. It needed A LOT of work. We had 1 year to get a new roof on, siding, new windows, and some of the rooms didn't even have dry wall. The walls just had studs. The front room when you enter the house was actually being supported by floor jacks because the previous owner decided to knock out a supporting wall. But, as anyone knows that has done any remodeling, the work was way more than we orginally thought. The house had the orginial wiring in it from probably when they first wired the house for electricity. So EVERY wall had to be knocked down so we could rewire it. With the deadline looming over us some really awesome family members and friends spent countless hours tearing off the roof, drywalling, painting, or whatever. You know who you are and I still get teary eyed thinking of all of the help that we received. I know God will bless you. Now we have been living in the house for about 3 1/2 years......in adition to all the work that had to be done within a year, Miguel has put in all new doors inside and out, reinsulated every room, new wiring in every room, which means new dry wall in every room, new floors, we have added walls, and knocked out walls, and took out doors. Did you ever noticed that old farm houses have doors every where?!??! For instance, the kitchen originally had 4 doors into it and there was a door from the dining room into the master bedroom. We still have more to go, of course, but we have come a long way. We still have some of the bigger more expensive projects, like the kitchen. Looking back would I gone this route? Being newly married, living in a continual project? Hmmm I'm not sure....but I can tell you this...I have learned A LOT. I always joke that if you want marriage counseling...work on a house together. I have learned when to give my "helpful" suggestions and when to be quiet, I have learned to be more patient, I have learned that there are still awesome people that will drop everything because you need help, I have learned that it's not what you have or how everything looks that people visiting your house notice its the love and peace that fill your home, I have learned to budget my money better, and I am still learning that there will always be projects and things to do, but I will never have this day again to spend with God and my family......so some things can wait. =)
And now I give you some before and after pictures.............................




17 comments:

  1. No pics of your favorite sister? *sigh* I was even up on that roof. Ok ok...so I was taking pictures and not roofing. *grin* It's come alomg way. Can't wait to see the finished product!

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  2. I do have to say thanks to Maria for all of the pictures....they brought back so many good memories and without her careful documentation, we would not have the proof of our work. I will have to do a separate post and include some of THOSE pictures Maria. There are some wonderful ones of you working on our house that I am sure my readers would love to see.

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  3. It's looking great!! It definetely looks like you guys put a lot of work into it!

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  4. LOVE THE HOUSE! :)...

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  5. Becca and Gen~ Thank you! We still have a ways to go but now that we are "seeing the light at the end of the tunnel" is it becoming more fun. =) And you all are welcome any time.... we have plenty of room!

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  6. Wow the house is looking wonderful! I remember when we came for the wedding and the rooms upstairs had cracks in the walls to the OUTSIDE! Maybe old fashion AC?! Can't wait to come visit again and stay in the Guest Room!

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  7. I must say that was one of THE most stressful times of my life....rushing to try to get as much done as we could before you guys came, planning the wedding, and being gone until 6 days before the wedding! And to top it all off it was only the second time I saw you guys and I so wanted to make a good impression. But...on an up note, now you will be impressed no matter how the house looks! =) By the way is anonymous Roy and Jodie or Alex and Terri?

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  8. or is anonymous Canti and Al? hmmmmmm

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  9. WoW....why didnt you tell me how poor my spelling was on my comment?!

    In some of the pics (on the disk) it was funny that you couldn't tell which room was which! They were all bare walls!

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  10. Maria~ I didn't notice. Sorry! I know but it's weird...I can still tell which room is which....maybe because I know the rooms VERY well! I have spent quite a bit of time in them in various stages. It was such a neat feeling looking at the pictures..isn't it weird that what you view as such a hard time of your life when you are going through it...you look back later with such good, warm feelings of that time?

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  11. what doesn't kill us...only makes us stronger

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  12. Wow I can't even imagine how much work that was. It's definitely come a long long way. Looks great!! Awesome!!!

    By the way, I'm from St. Paris...about an hour south of Lima. It's a long way from here. But it's great to see more Ohioans on Blogger. It helps to feel a little bit closer to home. :)

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  13. I know a Josh from St. Paris. Goes to Bro. Lee Vayle's church. Do you know him?

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  14. You're house looks awesome, Steph! ('m trying really hard not to be jealous!) ;)

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  15. Shan~ Thank you! We still have a ways to go before it is completely finished, so if you could see the parts that weren't done yet you would not be jealous at all! Trust me. lol

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  16. Stephanie your house looks great - We are also doing up a house and emphazie with you - it takes lots of time and patience, but one day it'll all be done. It sure make you appreciate each part that gets done.
    - Rebekah Shearer (josh shearers sis in law)

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  17. Rebekah~ So nice of you to stop by....especially since you understand! I would love to see pictures of your house. Do you have a blog or something that I could view some pictures? Do tell Josh I said hi!

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