Updating the Old Blog

Current state of things in Noblesville house :)

Okay, Okay, so it's been over a week again, and still no update.  I know,  I know.  I'm sorry, we're just busy with not-so-important stuff like educating and caring for 6 kids, packing, unpacking, looking for things we need but can't find because we're packing (and unpacking), building a house from the inside out, dealing with flooding, etc, etc.  You know, just mundane every day stuff, right? :wink:

We have a lot on our plate, folks, even when life is at "baseline", we have more stress than your average Joe.  Like a few weeks ago when Nolan tried on a new backpack and had an anaphylactic reaction to it!  What?! I know, right!?!  It was insane.  But that is our life with Nolan - zero to 180 in no time. Flat.  But, have you met the kid?  He's totally worth it.  :grin:  (He recovered fine, by the way.)

The update on the house is that we have WALLS, and a CEILING in the parlor (that's a living, room for you urbanites).  Brian is finishing up skim-coating in various upstairs rooms, and then it's priming and painting, priming and painting.  Andrew (12 y.o.) primed one whole wall (big walls - large country rooms, with almost 10 foot ceilings) last weekend, being the hard-working little man that he is.  Andrew also took photos, but they're on his camera and I haven't downloaded them yet.  So, photos to follow.

Still on the to-do list before the place is Nolan-safe - lots of cleaning.  Drywall dust everywhere, people!  And cabinets installed in the kitchen.  (Remember those awesome FREE cabinets?!  Yep, well, they're still on the back porch.  So.)  And, did I mention the priming and painting?  And, eh-hem, don't forget about the bird infested attic.  Oh, yeah, today Gabriel found a bird's egg in the house...and...he dropped it.  Splat.  Tears.  Oh, what fun this adventure continues to be!

Still on the "we need" list - We still need a small bathroom sink and vanity, and tub/shower for the upstairs bathroom.  The cabinet/sink/vanity my uncle gave us is super-duper-fabulous, BUT, we don't have enough time to make it work, because it is so big it will require moving the downstairs one upstairs.  Brian already estimates he has about 12 full days of work left in the house (on the weekends, in his "spare time"), and that is NOT including a major bathroom overhaul.  We also need...wait for it....paint!  And primer!  And elbow grease!  Manpower!  Helpers!

Thanks for reading.  Please continue to pray for us.

Lindsay

Kitchen Cabinets, and Prayer Requests

Hello blog world!  We are still here, though we've been down with the flu (as in influenza - upper/lower respiratory infections, ear infections, fatigue, aches, high fever and general nastiness), so forgive our bloggy absence.  We've wanted to keep you all up to date, but have literally not had time or energy for the last 2 weeks to do so.

Kitchen cabinets on the back porch for now

Brian has continued to work both his job and on the Quincy house, except for one day when the flu took over and he was delirious in bed with fever.  The next day he was up and off to pick up our FREE KITCHEN CABINETS - for which we are SO very grateful!  Thank you to Elizabeth who knew of our need and to her sister and brother-in-law who were so very generous in giving us their beautiful white cabinets.  It is still unbelievable.  Brian was really hoping for WHITE cabinets, and as someone recently said to me, God is in the details.

Please continue to pray for us.  Things seem to have slowed down quite a bit as far as finances and manpower.  While everyone else's life picks up speed as the year progresses, it seems we are still in somewhat of a time warp.  We have been given more time from the Sheriff's office, telling us the sale may be as late as mid June now (sale = eviction).  It's kind of a double-edged sword - being given more time.  More time means we have more time - it means the pressure of getting it all done is eased a little bit, however!! -  However, it means that the end of this LONG trial is dragged out a little longer, and our family continues in this limbo world of not really having a home.  One house in demo and unlivable condition, the other in boxes for the last 5 months.  We have moved around the boxes, gone without certain things we thought we wouldn't need in January when we packed because we thought we'd have to be out in February.  We had packed school things, thinking it would just be a month without them, and since have had to unpack several (unlabeled) boxes to find things we cannot continue without.  It is in all honesty, chaos.  

The Lord brought to my mind this morning, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Galations 6:9  Please pray for us - the temptation to grow weary is great.  Our children are fighting the temptation.  The older ones are becoming weary.  It is very unsettling for them.  We have tried so hard to keep it steady for them, to focus on joy in trials.  They have endured so much and have really done so well.  Please pray for the Lord to give us wings to fly through this last bit, as it is becoming hard to even walk.  Please pray for helpers to be many, for us to find more resources that are needed, for supernatural strength of mind, heart and body for Brian and the rest of us, and for us to get over this nasty virus that has taken our time and energy.  

Thank you for your prayers and for all the help you have given to this point.  We are so grateful.

Drywall, Finishings and Mud, Mud, Mud

Since our last blog update, we have been working pretty hard on getting all of the drywall work and plaster repair done. As you can imagine, this is always easier said than done. But it is coming along. The stairwell leading up from the side entrance door was a bit of a challenge, (pictured below) as there were so many pieces of wall coming together in one area. At the top of the stairs to the left in this picture (right) we installed a bit of new wall to house the switches for the lights in the area.












The area over the fireplace was covered in firewall drywall (5/8 inch thick) and then the plaster that had been present was blended into the drywall with lots of plaster. I have used about 50lbs of plaster to fill in holes and help with the gaps. There are a lot of areas where the wall has anywhere from 1-2 inches difference in thickness from one end to the other, so reverting back to plaster for at least some of it seems to work well. The problem is, of course, if you don't get it on the wall fast enough, it turns into a solid mass!

We will be getting a donated set of used kitchen cabinets this week! This is a huge answer to prayer and we are very excited and grateful. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures of those in the near future. Lindsay's uncle found a vanity and counter top for the upstairs bathroom from a neighbor of his. It is really nice, and we are so thankful.  It's too large to fit into the upstairs bathroom, though, so I am working on ways that I can make it work in the downstairs bath and then move the cabinet from down there upstairs. 

We ran out of money again this week with nothing left in the kitty for drywall mud, etc... I made it home praying about the next thing to do only to find a check for another $100.00. Another answered prayer. The Lord is good and faithful! 

Someone came out to look at the windows and the roof this week.  The roof estimate was $14K, and the windows were $300/window (several need replacing).  We will keep working on estimates there as the prices given are outside of what we can come up with in the foreseeable future. 

If you have done any work with plastering, mudding or hanging drywall, window replacement or just cleaning, let me know if you can help. We would really appreciate it, time is closing in and there is still more than enough to do. 

We have been overwhelmed with the support that we have been given and want to say thank you to everyone who has donated money, time and prayers toward our efforts! 

See you soon.