A Year Ago This Week

Starting off, this week has seen a lot of changes and honestly I'm not really sure where this entry is going, so bear with me if I wander a bit. We had a small crew on Saturday but managed to get quite a bit done. I had Sean and Sarah and Gpa Vande Ree over on Saturday.

Sarah touched up the missed spots on the ceilings on the first floor while Grandpa stained more windows and then gave all stained windows a first coat of varnish to protect them from all of the dust that will be in the air. Essentially sealing them so later coats can be applied as the trim is reinstalled and it all can be finished in one swoop. It's amazing to see the details starting to come together and to see actual colors being applied throughout the house instead of stud-yellow or dust-cardboard-brown.

Sarah Paints the hall/Grandpa varnishes the windows

Go Grandpa, Go!


Sean and I spent the entire day taking things out and putting things in the house with a large telehandler. If you're not familiar with the construction world, a telehandler is a large forklift-like machine that has a telescoping arm that will reach to great heights. The machine I rented would reach to 36' and we needed every inch to reach the third floor.

We removed all SIX steam heat radiators which was a MAJOR event in of itself. The two that were in the third floor room weighed over 700 pounds each! Seriously, not real sure how I didn't blow out my back or Sean didn't have a blood vessel burst in his forehead. I had always thought part of the plan was to take them out, refinish them and replace them in the house (maybe one per floor) as a decorative item in the room. Now that they are out and I really don't want to test my back again, I'm at least considering, they may not make it back into the house. I'll take a look at how much it would cost to have them sand blasted and repainted vs. selling them online or to a salvage place and make a decision then. Jeni, the designer, is hoping that I don't put them back in. I might do so just so she'll have a design challenge ;-) We then lifted all of the trim boards for the second floor into what will be Ellie's room so that the installers could begin on Monday. That brings up another story of Meredith special interest magazines stepping in to design a few rooms for issues coming next Spring/Summer. I'll touch more on that later. We also lifted the last two windows up so they can be installed Friday. After that, my house will be sealed up with no drafts or flapping plastic!!! That hasn't been the case since January 13th! Finally, we hoisted the new bath tub for the master bathroom. That tub is HEAVY and HUGE! it's such an odd size that it took quite a bit of maneuvering and melon-scratching to get it in the air and through the window safely. The one thing I forgot to take out was the extra drywall, which at this point may prove to be an issue, but I'll deal with it later.

I lift the pallet to the 3rd floor/Grandpa watches closely

Sean & I STRUGGLE to move ONE register/THe Tub goes in the 2nd floor

Sean guides in the tub/I try not to hit the house

Sean thinks I got too close to the wall


This week was also the anniversary of the crash. I have a lot of things swirling in my head that I'm not sure will come out intelligently or is appropriate or even are things you care about, but I'll say them anyway.

The local news station taped a story and was aired on Monday evening locally and Tuesday evening elsewhere. The affiliate stations aired it in the Chicago/South Bend area for sure, don't know about other areas. If you haven't seen it, check it out here http://www.kcci.com/video/index.html. It's listed as 'Two Rivers Plane Crash First Anniversary' on the right in the navigation. I thought it was really well done and was really surprised at how much they had me on considering the other people are better looking, although Ellie is pretty darn cute!

How I know it aired in IN is because I took Tuesday off from work and drove to the crash site. I visited with the farmer and his wife who own the land. As you can imagine, when I was there last year I didn't really get to know them and wanted to see how this had affected them and how they were doing with it. Beyond the financial impact which really is of little concern in the larger picture, they were deeply affected by this and have since invested a great amount of time and money into creating a memorial at the crash site that is 200' due East of where the plane crashed. It was one of the most beautiful memorials I have seen and was done with great taste and thoughtfulness. Dale and his wife are faith-based people who are easy to talk to and who are hurting with every member of the families that lost a loved one that cold November night a year ago. While differently, they feel the pain of how immediate loss can be absolutely devastating. I talked with them for a few hours and went on my way to South Bend to stay with a friend's family for the night.

Front reads 'May this always be a place of rest for souls on their journey to heaven'

The back lists all who perished/A reminder of hope

Leslie N. O'Bannon 6/1/79-11/13/06

The temporary marker of the actual crash site


I didn't really know what to expect in my trip to IN and I'm not sure I really know yet the full effect it had on me. I know that I followed through on a promise I made a year ago when I visited the first time and that was to see the sunset on the night of the anniversary. It was amazing to see the hand of the Lord once again create an amazing display of color, serenity and calmness. I talked with the Lord and asked what He wants from all of this. There wasn't an immediate response other than the peaceful chirping of the birds, the stillness of the cool night and the calm settling in my heart.

There have been many great moments in the past year, there have have been many very tough moments. Through them all I have felt the Lord holding me up. Literally, I have often 'felt' the strength keeping me upright when I shouldn't have been able to stand, I have thought and said the words that I couldn't have thought, I have given hugs when I really needed to receive hugs. I don't know exactly what it is the Lord wants with me or this situation, and I have said this to a few people, but I feel that He wants this to have a great impact. On what, on whom, for how long I have no idea I just know that I have to trust that He won't let me go, He will continue to hold me up and give me the words that will continue to connect people together. I'm not really sure what I'd do if He didn't. Which leaves me no other option - I must trust Him, I must continue forward, the alternative is not an alternative.

More than you know, you have helped me to see this. You have prayed, given me your hours of service, given me countless hugs when I've needed them, given my words of encouragement. You have prayed when I didn't know it and you have prayed when I asked and you prayed with me. You have showed me the love of the Lord and I thank you. If I have shown the love of the Lord, it is because I have reflected that which is given to me. I still have a tough time trying to comprehend that love that has been given to me and not completely feel humbled by it. There have been a few times when folks have said that I'm amazingly strong, honestly I am only because the people around me have been fighting with me and lifting me up. You have been the hand of the Lord that continues to push me forward and keep me on the path that I'm traveling. You have helped me in more ways than I can list. Thank you for standing beside me in this extremely difficult time in my life. I could never have gotten here without you and I will continue to need you in the future. Less and less as the days go by, and hopefully there will be a time when you can lean on me. Thank you friend, I am forever be indebted.

-- John

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.

Roll Baby, Roll

Neil S. rolls in the good times!

This past week we embarked upon a new stage that is very exciting and very important - painting everything primer-white. It's a glorious occasion that at times during the summer I thought would not come until the 'other' white stuff was outside. Very happily, I can report that we beat the cold stuff, but still have our work cut out for us.

We really started on Wednesday evening when my sister and Ryan came over to vacuum the first floor and basement while Lola and two of her fantastic friends cam over to start priming. It was great, the hum of the vacuums almost drowned out the girlie talk up on the third floor. They were having a great time chit chatting away while painting and got through most of the floor before we all had to call it a night as we were so tired that we could no longer tell where there was and wasn't paint. The dirt and dust was all vacuumed up by the end of the night and now prepared us to 'go full bore' on Saturday with the rollers. On Thursday evening Margie S. came over and continued to prime the 3rd floor where Lola and Co. left off while I did some outside yard jobs during the waning daylight. When it had gotten too dark to work, I moved inside and helped Margie a bit. I had forgotten just how much I don't care for the taste of primer paint, but quickly remembered as I ate more than my share as we rolled the ceilings. We finished the big room in the third floor and called it a night.

Margie goes to town on one of the dormers


Saturday I was up early knowing that I needed to organize the three season porch before the crew came over. I still had quite a few demolition tools in the porch and really wanted to convert everything to painting tools. It just seems everyone is happier and works better when things are laid out for them and are easy to find. A little of my time spent beforehand on organization always pays off later in the day when things are moving along and I don't have to stop to locate this or that. Folks tend to know by now that most things they need 'are over by the sign in sheet' or 'over by the gloves'. MI also had a group that was going to consist of mostly new people and I wanted things to be ready for them as it helps retention of helpers too when they come over and have a good experience.

I ended up having a great crew of about 13 including myself with the majority of folks showing up around 10:30/11:00. Kind of tough that we really didn't get going until 11 or so but we still pushed hard. I tried something new, I had Brad from Pittsburg Paint stop over and give us all a lesson in painting . The walls are all smooth finished which means even the first coat is going to show through the final coat, so it has to be good from the start. He showed up a tad late as well so we waited on him some too. Although we got off a bit slowly, we made great time and most folks worked until 3:30ish and the folks on the first floor worked until about 4:30. Much was achieved and left a manageable amount to hopefully be finished this week.

Tyra B. dips in for more paint/Curtis B. cuts the edges of the walls

Greg S. rolls the ceiling in Ellie's room/Shana & Sarah protect the existing wood

Jeff & Kristen S. finish the 3rd floor/Debbie R. works in the bath

Christine S. paints the master bath/Neil S. rolls the master closet

Shana D. rolls the living room walls/while Sean does the ceilings

Mary cuts in the entry/and Sarah cuts in the French Doors

Mary and Sarah cut in the main Hallway

Next is painting all of the ceilings and then hang the first floor trim work that we took down months ago and I drew diagrams of. Hopefully my brain can make out the hieroglyphics and it all goes back together smoothly! It's exciting to see the solid color of primer white and the formation of actual ROOMS. I can start to see how the house is coming together. I'm sure that will continue to dramatically change as we add real colors to the walls and the floors are repaired and refinished.

The holidays are coming fast and winter is just around the corner. Wrapping up loose ends and getting moved in is starting to be a bit concerning to me. My friends Jim and Karen have been MORE than great friends to open their home to Ellie and me. I just don't want to over stay our welcome. We had originally thought I'd be in my house in September, then October, and now November... I cannot thank them enough. I know there are times that I'm sure they have wanted their own space and times when it's been great to be together. Hopefully the latter have been more prevalent and have outweighed the other. I know Ellie and I have had a great time there and we look forward to our new house, but we will never forget being 'the family in the attic'. It's been a long hard road to this point and I thank the Lord for placing such great, loving people in out paths to help us.