Kitchen Update

I told you about our plans to remodel our kitchen a couple months ago in this post. We were set back a few weeks by some annoying little things with our house that came up. First it was our water heater. It started spewing water one day. We were planning on replacing it before too long anyway but it would have been nice if it would have waited for us to do our kitchen first. So Thayne took a day off of his work to work at our house and he had one of his workers come over and help him. And since Thayne is OCD, ADHD and just a crazy handyman in general he couldn't just leave it at replacing the water heater. No, he also replaced the old galvanized plumbing that ran from the water heater through the rest of the house. Of course that also meant ripping out the ceiling in the bathroom downstairs. So now I have a new water heater and plumbing and a bathroom with no ceiling. But hey, who needs a ceiling? That bathroom is also on our list of things to do so I guess the no ceiling thing just pushes it a little closer to the top of the list.

Then, a week after that our front yard turned into a swamp and we dicovered that our main water line that runs from the street to our house had a leak in it. Really. So, Thayne took another day off and had one of his workers come over again and they dug up my front yard and replaced the entire main water line. I still have to put my yard back together but this crazy weather we've been having has made it hard for me to do that.

So , after recovering from all of that we finally started on our kitchen project. The photo below is my inspiration for the project. My kitchen is a lot smaller (10' by10') but this is what I'm going for. I love all of the natural wood accents and the painted and antique glazed cabinets. It's exactly what I had in mind.

I forgot to take photos of the room when it was gutted. We tore out the lathe and plaster on 2 of the walls and we ripped out the floor so that Thayne could replace all of the plumbing and electrical. Then we put in the new subfloor and drywall shown above.

Once all of the mudding and taping was done we were ready for the paint and the flooring. We had one of our neighbors who is also one of Thayne's workers come over to prime and paint. He had it all done in just over an hour. He is seriously awesome when it comes to painting. I left him and Thayne's brother at the house while I went to work and I cam home to find this... My floor had been installed! I almost cried tears of joy when I saw it.

That night Thayne and I installed the wall cabinets and put the base cabinets in place. We moved the Stove and the NEW fridge in place. It's getting so close I can hardly stand it! We will be getting a new microwave and intsalling it above the stove and eventually we're going to buy a new stove too.

We installed our lovely IKEA butcher block and I've been working on getting it stained and sealed over the past few days. I could not be happier with the way it looks. This weekend we should be installing the sink and dishwasher (Yes! No more washing dishes in the bath tub!). We will also add the decorative molding to the cabinet drawers and doors so that I can get them painted and glazed. Thayne also needs to finish up with the electrical so that we can have light in there again. We are getting a new wood finish window too but it's special order so it will probably be another month before we have it. After we get that installed we will be able to do the tile backsplash. Then the finishing touches like the wood finish base and crown molding and decorating. I can't wait to have a gorgeous kitchen that I love. It's coming along and won't be too much longer. I will keep the updates coming!

She's all grown up!

Tristyn graduated from High School yesterday. I can hardly believe it. Time flies by so fast these days and it only seems to be going faster. I swear it was yesterday when I first met Tristyn. She was 10 when Thayne and I started dating. Thayne introduced me to his kids about 3 weeks after we started dating. We went out on a Wednesday afternoon and had a picnic at the park and flew kites. It was so much fun. I remember how natural it all felt. They made me feel so welcome. That was 8 years ago. :( Tristyn and I became fast friends. She was my little buddy who ran all of my errands with me just because it was fun to hang out. One night Tristyn and I went to a dallor movie and to Wal-Mart for a prize. The prize she picked was a "Best Friends" bracelet to share with me. I have to admit that the kids all had a big part in my decision to marry Thayne. I was so excited by the idea to be able to be a part of these amazing little people's lives. And I do have to say that they have all made my life richer and more fun. Watching Tristyn grow up has been one of the highlights of the past 8 years. She has handled so many of her trials in life with incredible grace and integrity. SHE HAS MADE ME PROUD. In all that she has done. I love that girl. I have enjoyed every moment we've spent together. It makes me sad to realize that she is moving away for college in August and the time that I will get to spend with her will be cut dramatically. But I hope to be able to still continue to have our long conversations about life and people and the things we love. I hope that she always feels like she can talk to me in the same way that she always has. I hope that she knows just how much I love her and want only the best for her. I hope that she knows that I will support her through thick and thin and will always encourage her to be true to herself.

Tristyn, you are the more than I ever could have hoped for in a step daughter. I am so proud of you and I love you more than I can say. Congratualtions! I know that there are some amazing things waiting for you in your life and I can't wait to continue watching you experience all that life has to offer!