Wrapped

| Fall 2015 |

| Fall 2016 |

We did it. We added a wrap around porch to our 1890's farmhouse. We are officially living in a dream. Kind of a scary dream, but that's where we're at. When we bought the farmhouse it had a screened in front porch. The screens were in pretty rough shape so they got taken off. We decided pretty early on that we would work a larger porch into the plan, spanning the North and South sides of the house as well. Why not? The house could stand some added architectural interest, and it just fits with the nostalgia of country, farmhouse living. Ben and Countryside wanted to wrap the porch around this Spring when we were still finishing up the renovations, but being the typical fun-sponge that I am, I said no. I couldn't handle one more thing at that point, and I was still nervous about how everything was going to flush out with the bank. Ben shook his head and moved on. Countryside went on with their business and we were very near the end of the renovation period when suddenly the basement started caving in. Not kidding...there were stones and chunks of foundation piled up on the floor. That's a problem. It was fixable (obviously, because we're living here now) but was an unexpected $4,500 out of pocket. Then Ben was thankful we weren't over-committed on the porch already at that point. See babe...it pays to be conservative sometimes.

Once everything was settled, our loan was closed with the bank, and we were all paid up with Countryside, we got a revised quote from Greg and decided to move forward with the porch. They couldn't fit us in until September which was just fine with us. We were able to enjoy Summer and tackle some lesser projects as well as a lot of time at the beach. The crew showed up to start the porch mid-September and were finished with their part in about a week. They took care of the footings, framing, roofing, and everything else that needed to be structurally tied into the house. Then Ben took over to install the decking all the way around. He got some help from my Dad and much less help from me and the boys. We tried, but we ended up just being in the way most of the time. To Ben's credit, he never showed if he was frustrated with us or not. He's a champ.

We were so excited they finally got to see cement work at our house. The boys love cement trucks. The missed all of it during the renovations, and even missed cement day when our neighbor Todd put up his barn. But we were home THIS cement day, and they got to enjoy it.

Footprints with Ellis is a game changer. He jumped in with full force and went in almost to his knees. Greg laughed, smoothed it out, and we tried again.

To Countryside's credit, none of the guys ever showed if they were frustrated with the boys or dog...

Ben was also stuck with the job of destroying the concrete step by the front door so the ledger boards could get attached for the deck. It honestly took hours...but he never complained once. I mean he did sort of, but not as much as I would have.

Pretending the wood was their "ship".

Painting toolboxes with Dad. Ellis' shorts make me laugh every time. And his socks and shoes.

Helping Grandpa Stob

We rock only the best fashion trends over here.

Late night ice cream sandwiches celebrating Mom's birthday eve.

LAST DECK DAY, also the day U of M played Ohio State, hence the TV set up outside.

We also finally replaced the front door in November! That was a fantastic day. Apparently when you grow up you start to get excited and thankful for things like health, good relationships, financial stability, and new doors. The old door was not only an eyesore after the rest of the house was freshly updated...it was also incredibly terrible at staying closed. All of our neighbors know this. The wind blows straight out of the West, over the cornfield, across the street, and into our front porch. It blew that door open all the time, and many times we weren't home so our neighbors would drive by and shut it. Thanks Tony, Jennifer, Todd, Julie, Kevin, Nicole, and anyone else who shut our door for us. We appreciate you all, but hopefully no longer need these services. We have a deadbolt now.

So, like any project we take on, there is Phase I and Phase II. Phase II for the porch will hopefully be completed in the Spring of 2017, but we'll also have a two month old so we'll just see. Phase II includes staining the deck (we installed unfinished, treated decking), staining the door, installing the ceiling around the porch, wrapping the porch posts with cedar, and landscaping! Colt is already reading up on what we should plant, so we all have that to look forward to. 

Until next time...

Warning: not a house post

Stepping out of my normal, safe blogging about a house renovation and into the world of controversy. By now everyone has heard that Donald Trump is to be the next president of the United States. While I am happy with the ground the House and Senate Republicans kept during the election, I am as nervous as the next guy about Trump being president. However, I also firmly believe that the future of a nation cannot be decided or dictated by one person. If it is, shame on us. Nobody can take away our own ability to love, to support, to engage, to walk with people with whom we share different political beliefs, different skin color, different religious beliefs, different thoughts about how we teach our kids or protect our homes.

I know there are many, MANY Americans and non-Americans who woke up this morning sad, defeated, mystified, angry, etc. But you know what? Had the votes gone the other way there would have been just as many OTHER people feeling the same way. Which means we have a big problem here in the States. We are divided. We don't understand each other. We feel lost and hopeless. Might it be because we've been putting our faith in a system controlled by man, rather than an eternity conrolled by God?

No matter what or how you feel about the election yesterday or the results pouring in today, you should not stand by and be a passive observer. I believe there are things we can ALL do to change the trajectory of our beloved country for the better. In no particular order, because my I've been thinking jumbled thoughts since 3:00 this morning...

1. Pray. Pray for Donald Trump. Pray that he seeks God's sovereign wisdom and chooses a cabinet and staff wisely. Pray for a teachable heart, compassion, humility, and self-control. Pray for those who are put in place as his advisers and aides. Give them wisdom, patience, perseverance. As a political novice, Trump will need all the GOOD help he can get, and we need to pray that he will be receptive to it.

2. Pray for those who are scared about what Trump as president means for them. Pray that they receive comfort and reassurance during this time that Trump is not king, God is. Pray that God places people in their lives to come along side them and show them love and kindness and acceptance.

3. Love. Love those around you. Many are confused at how "hate" could win last night. Let's show the world that hate cannot and will not win. That is up to all of us. We can all show love to others and build our own communities. THIS will change our nation...love from the ground up, not hate from the top down.

4. Pray for a soft heart for yourself. It is easier to harbor anger and resentment than open your heart to the possibility of something good. I think many Americans have made up their mind that Trump will be a terrible president. I'm hoping that we can go into this thing with an open mind, giving him the benefit of the doubt from this point forward. Yes, he has said some horrible things. But I said horrible things yesterday that I regret as well. God's mercies are new every morning, and that goes for everyone, Trump included.

5. Pray for other world leaders, that they will give Trump and America an honest chance. Pray for unity across not only our country but across our world. A house divided cannot stand.

Pray for anything else you can think of. When you feel agitated or scared, make the conscious decision to pray for Trump. When you are angry with a friend who shares different beliefs than you, pray for your relationship. Not much of a praying person? Try it anyways. What harm can it possibly do? As a Christian I know that it will not do harm, it will do GOOD. Just trust me on this one.

As a teaser for a future post, and to keep the integrity of this fixer-upper blog, here's a picture of Ben and the boys working on our new deck. When it comes down to it, the president isn't going to change how we live our lives day to day. So let's not let it consume our thoughts or ruin our relationships, okay?

before and after :: kitchen

Yes, I'm blogging on a Saturday night because my life is really that exciting. Kids are asleep, hubs is working, and the Cubs are playing Game 4 of the World Series and it is too stressful to watch with my full attention. So the logical solution is to recap the kitchen remodel from 8 months ago, that I took "after" pictures of 4 months ago, right??

For a room that's supposed to be the heart of the home, a gathering place, a memory maker, etc., it sure caused a lot of marital spats. Now that it's done we are both very happy with it and with each other.

The problems really began back in November of last year. The kitchen that we inherited with the house was in satisfactory working condition. The cabinetry was sparse, the oven and cooktop range were very old, the floor wasn't great, and the space was cramped. But it passed initial inspections and would have been fine for a few years. Renovating the kitchen was not in the original budget approved by the bank, and we weren't supposed to use our own funds to address anything outside of the bank budget. So, we planned to wait until we were through with the bank and tackle it at a later time. We started other remodeling work in October of 2015 and by mid-November, it was clear that the kitchen was going to be an issue. It was smack in the middle of the main floor and the access point for the new attached garage. It was directly beneath the original attic space that was to be torn apart and turned into a bonus room, connecting the original 2nd story to the new addition. As soon as work on these two initiatives began, we changed our approach from "we'll do the kitchen next year" to "we will have to fix the residual damage to the kitchen caused by the other renovations" to Ben saying, "hey Car, we are gutting the kitchen. The bank will just have to deal with it." He'd had some conversations with Greg behind my back and I was basically left with no choice. We were doing the kitchen. I did end up calling the bank and explained the situation. We just had to write up a little "out of scope" letter, commit to paying for the kitchen on our own, have Greg sign it, and send it to the bank to keep on file. I do have to say, they made a LOT of exceptions for us due to the large scale of the project. Good people over there.

I digress. By the end of December the kitchen was completely gutted. To our surprise, we discovered original maple wood floors under the carpet and multiple layers of vinyl. These sanded down well and Ben was able to restore them. He also patched in new maple where original was unsalvageable, and to cover up the old stairs to the basement. He (and Repcolite) matched some stain so well that you can't really tell what's old and new. So floors were set. We met with Greg and a designer to decide on a new layout, because once everything was out of the kitchen we were left with a huge open space with many possibilities. We decided on a new layout that eliminated a sliding patio door out to the East and shifted the main working area from the North wall to the Southeast corner. The entire space beneath the kitchen is open Michigan style basement, and with all of the other plumbing and electrical being redone, it wasn't an issue to move lines or pipes around. We picked out cabinetry, granite countertops, fixtures, and appliances. Everything came together and voila, we now have a great kitchen that won't disrupt the house at a later time. It is so much better this way...we've been through a kitchen renovation before while living in the house and it was awful...and this was before kids. I truly am glad we were able to get this set before we moved in. We still need to do a backsplash and a little bit of trim work, but from our standards this project is essentially in the books.

Before:

the brick seems nice, but was actually faux panels. We didn't realize that right away, but it was kind of a relief when we did so we didn't have to feel guilty for getting rid of it.

yup, the dryer was in a closet on the backside of the dishwasher/oven.

Door to the back entrance and basement.

Can you spot the washer hanging out on the stairs? Hilarious.

After:

Facing North. The door was squared off so you no longer walk in on an angle. This was a much bigger deal when there was still a wall there that you would walk into.

Island from the Huizenga house. There are plans for a bigger island down the road, but for now this is a gem, a Ben Reuschel original creation. The opening in the corner starts the addition; this goes into the mudroom which attaches to the garage.

Covering up the original stairs to the basement allowed for a much larger kitchen. The house used to sit up quite high, requiring you to go up four or five stairs to get in. This was all built up so that the garage and main floor of the house were at the same level. The plan had been to keep the basement access the same, but we were able to move it to what used to be a closet in the front end of the house. 

Facing South. The top/larger door way leads to the "fireplace room", an addition that the previous owners put on about 25 or 30 years ago. It's a nice sized family room with a not currently functioning fireplace. For another day. The other door way leads to another large living/dining space, which also needs some aesthetic attention and is still pretty much used for storage and fighting. Literally...it's where to boys go to fight/wrestle. And they refer to it as the fighting room. For another day after the fireplace day. 

And because I assume that only family and friends read this blog, I will show you my messy pantry. It's actually in much better shape currently, as I organized (nested?) for about 2 hours the other night. I don't have a better picture because my phone is full and I don't have the energy to get a picture with the Canon and then upload it to the computer. Millennial fail. I digress, this pantry is HUGE and I feel spoiled to have it. I think it's my reward for surviving the greater renovation.

Closing thoughts: A) if you are contemplating a fixer-upper, DO THE KITCHEN before you move in if you can. I'm already dreading the backsplash project and that should really only be two days this winter. B) be flexible with your plans and don't get mad at your spouse for things that don't matter. C) White cabinetry is not as scary as it seems; we've lived here for over 6 months now and it is still clean and scuff free. I haven't even had to use a Magic Eraser yet. Probably jinxing myself, but I've been pleasantly surprised by this. D) GO CUBS GO...