White on White

Well right off I have to apologize for not remembering the memory card for the camera to take pictures on Saturday of the painting crew. Kind of ironic when you think about it. Anyway I had a great crew of 11 that showed up ready to rock and roll about 9:30/10:00. In the group were veterans Elisha, Ryan V., Heidi N., Shana D., Ron & Kirby V., Russ & Caryn VH., and newcomers Mike & Carol S.

The group tore into finishing the priming in the basement and did a great job knocking that out to keep the whole house on the same page. So many times I've run across the comment of "oh that can be done later.." It really can't because I see it as a priority because as soon as the crews leave for the first three floors, they leave for good. It's a tough thing, but the basement is just as important a part of the living space as the first floor is. The first floor will be used by guests and is more formal, where as the basement is still for guests, but it's less formal and allows me a space to work out and relax and an area for Ellie to play with friends without the stress of breaking things. That's not to say that the bar has to go in first (although I'm sure the work crews wouldn't mind benefiting from that) but the fitness room and play area really mean a lot to Ellie and me moving forward.

So the basement primed, everyone moved back to the third and second floors to paint the ceilings. It took a little bit for everyone to get on the same page to paint the same way and using 5-gallon buckets instead of trays, but it all fell into line. Soon enough we were cruising along, listening to the Iowa Hawkeyes catch up and eventually beat the Northwestern Wildcats. Cruising along I jumped outside to help Russ spread straw on the newly seeded yard to help get a head start on grass before winter setts in. We were setting up a temporary fence when Elisha came out to ask that I come and see the work in the house. Seems that the paint isn't covering as well as it should. Looks like there's going to need to be a second coat. Great. Looks like painting is going to take longer than expected - just like everything else. oh well, just keep pushing I suppose.

Over lunch the discussion sort of turned to how 'quickly all of this has come together'. Which then got me to thinking about major dates of turning points along the way. Painting the walls is of course one of them, but then I tried to go back and recall others,. Here are a few that I can remember or point specifically to:
Jan. 6th - Signed the papers of ownership & Laid out cardboard
Jan.13th - Hammers sent a flyin' - clouds of nasty follow - for months
Feb. 24th - Main support beam in the Master Bedroom is installed - raising the ceiling 2"
Mar. 24th - Kitchen 'nook' walls 'taken down' Matt S. whines a lot about almost dieing
Mar. 31st - Raise the breakfast nook from it's foundation
Apr. 7-11th - The backyard is cleared of trees
May 12th - Breakfast nook header fixed! One large kitchen now!
May 19th - Kitchen foundation rebuilt
Jun. 2nd - I break my hand, 1st sheet of drywall goes up in wash room , it's a while befor the rest goes in
Jul. 7th - The crew surprises me with a new play area for Ellie
Aug. 25th - Planting of the flower beds by a HUGE crews goes well - then I water a lot
Sept. 10th - Start installing insulation
Sept. 29th - starting installing drywall on 3rd floor - then waited some more
Oct. 6th - Completed insulation and sealing exterior walls
Oct. 11th - Final approval on the Plumbing!
Oct. 12th - Drywallers come and hang the house in TWO days
Oct. 20th - Drywall finishers are done, we start priming
Nov. 3rd - Started painting final colors - ceilings white

Wow, put in that context the year was packed with success and it went way too quickly! Here we sit in November, almost a year from the accident and SO much has been taken, SO much given and SO much to look forward to. It's almost too much to think about in just a few minutes.

It was kind of interesting to talk through some of those dates. I know there are others like when the wiring and plumbing were finished and the day the lawn irrigation was installed and the day that the crew from Pella came up an totally rebuilt my back yard and the list could go on and on. The greatest thing about all of that is I couldn't have done it without the grace of God providing the people, their talents, the materials, the great weather (except the COLD Saturdays from Jan. through March), the knowledge shared and the many laughs and hard times shared by all in the house and those reading this blog. It has proven to shape and mold me as a person. It's given me perspective and opinions, appreciation for detail and gratitude of generosity. It's kept me humble and grounded while continuing to uplift and inspire me. Some people have said that I inspire them, I'm not sure that I always see that but I'm happy that others are receiving blessings as well. Many years from now I'm sure I will look back on this and say with conviction that this was a life-altering experience, I hope that when that time comes I chose the correct path to walk and that the people who are touching my life now remain connected to me then. In the end my faith has sustained me but the love and kindness of from the people around me have made me stronger and confident that all is not lost and that even out of very hard times great things can be created.