More than Priceless (week 4)

 Ecclesiastes 4:12
Though one may be overpowered, 
      
two can defend themselves. 
      
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

This particular blog has been on my mind for almost a month now. As we sit 4 weeks in to the most frustrating amazing home remodel I can imagine; it is long overdue.

Tonight, after a not-so-good day, I took a shower before 8 p.m. and listened to Jude read and Lucy chatter for over an hour, while 7 people who had worked harder than I for the previous 8 hours, sanded our floors, vacuumed our walls, and patched our ceilings.

And if you want my advice on how to have a secure and blessed life - here it is: never underestimate the value of friends and family and make a few handicapped friends along life’s way (they are never too busy and always happy to help).

As I watch our savings account dwindle, I am comforted to know that our relationship account is full. And if I have to owe a debt, I’d rather owe a debt of love to those who loved us first. One way to look at it is this: that this house has given more than 30 people ample opportunity to make an investment into their relationship bank (i.e. If they need a favor, they know well what door to come knocking at!!).

We know we will never be able repay the love that has been poured out on us, nor can it be tallied in numbers, but we do want to acknowledge it (and beg that you keep it coming):

Childcare 80 hrs x 4 x 2 x $2 = $1280
Manual labor 80 hrs x 4 x $10 = $3,200
Skilled labor 40 hrs x 4 x $20 = $3,200
Borrowed tools, donated supplies = $2,000
Rent, meals, ice cream, hand-me-downs, = $800
Advice, “I’ve got this friend who....”, and long distance 24 emergency therapy calls = $200

Conservatively - you all have saved us $10,680 this month - so - over a lifetime we could say, a good group of friends and family is practically (not to mention their priceless emotional and spiritual value) worth more than 10 million dollars.

You would be financially ahead to make time to hang out with some handicapped people in your community and really get to know and love the people at your church rather than work overtime. Just a thought...

This, does not mean, however, that I will quit avoiding our pile of receipts that has accumulated this week, which is only rivaled in size by our pile of used sandpaper.

P.S. If you haven’t been able to help on this particular project and would like to... never fear, I am sure we have many more needs in our future. And for those who don’t want to help - this is all still good news for you, because we hope to “pay it forward” - grace just works like that.


Please don't call child labor... it wouldn't make for a good week... besides, maybe this way he will take care of the floors (here's hopin')



One good ice cream break!



Ok. He really did work... some... he mowed the jungle lawn that we have neglected, and he was there to remind me of our wreck for the 5 hours thereafter. Always a cheerful one.


random fact of the week - it takes me the same amount of time to prime 630 sq. ft as it does to listen to the book of Ezekiel (7 hrs.)

A few things

So, about this week.

I wrecked my dad's truck - which is the second time I have wrecked one of his trucks. I am writing off truck driving forever.
Which is a shame because I now get the "contractor's discount" at the local hardware store. So if you need a connection *cha-ching* - I'm IT- but if you are buying things on a large scale you'll have to bring your own truck. Because like I said- I'm done with those.
Finally, I worked until my fingers bled this week. I always thought that was a figure of speech but NO. I had to put gloves on so the blood wouldn't get in my alabaster grout. I think I should get points for that or something - but I don't know who is giving the points. I suppose someone would think they should give Jarod and my dad points for sanding floors at 11 p.m. too. But I don't. I hate that we are sanding floors and sadly it shows in my attitude this week.
But - we are surviving - mostly because Dairy Queen blizzards are buy 1 get 1 for 25 cents this week.

P.S. No one was seriously injured in any of the above mentioned activities, but I am sure we are all worse for the wear and excessive ice cream eating.


pictures and a real post will be up on Tuesday and tomorrow is the last day of the Blizzard deal.

See This? Week 3

This represents 55 hours of work I did not have to do. 11 people from the local Catholic high school came and scrapped wallpaper and tore up tack board on a community service day. Several were international students themselves and gave me some good "host mom" pointers as well, "They will cook their own food at times - don't stare at it like they are gross." OK. And thanks for the help... I hope they will all come by for a visit when it is all done - what a great day. Thanks BARB!!!



This is a toilet pulled from our bathroom. It does not work right now - so don't pee in it. Mark did and it wasn't fun to clean up.... but at least ... ya know.




This window should never be complimented - I hate this window. I hate the window beside it. I hate windows right now. Why does everyone think they are so pretty?? Those fancy little cross pieces make me want to claw my eyes out... I'd rather clean up the used pulled toilet then paint another chipping fancy window.



This is "Buzz light year - Tinkerbell green" I love it. I don't care if you do - I just hope the kids do for at least a few years.



This blue ceiling is proof that my husband really does love me and that it is a really good thing to have an open door policy - because with enough people walking through giving advice - someone has to be able to solve your problem. Problem: dark blue ceiling showed all of the errors of the last painter on the beautiful crown molding. Rejected solutions -take down crown molding to refinish and then comes the paneling and repairing whatever is behind the paneling or paint over white paint with blue paint. Acceptable solution - buy more trim to go on top of gap in old crown molding. Again - I spend more money and more time... breaking my own mantra.... but it's my mantra I can do that. Sort of...



Randy and Jarod at their happiest - ripping out the carpet - Randy happy because he gets to destroy something - Jarod happy because he gets to redo these floors to make them AMAZING once more. Isn't "ok" good enough??? Come on? The Mantra? Remember?? I guess I blew that on the blue ceiling and I'll be spending next week behind a sander.



Oh yeah... and those cubbies behind me... they kinda went against the mantra too... but ain't they purty?



Here is the start of an AMAZING tiling day - 5 guys - 15 hour day - 2 rooms tiled!!! Way to go!



Oh and here is our home's first fridge which it never saw because we sold it on Sunday - and hauled it off from the house of the people we bought it from. Didn't lose a penny - just a little time and sleep... and now we have to get mini appliances I guess. YEAH for cooking for 13 people in a toaster oven!



We interrupt the tiling day to pull down some wallpaper. Sommer says, "Ok guys, remember don't do this at anyone else's house, OK? EVER."



THANK YOU GUYS - if the mantra becomes a reality it is because of YOU.

Let's take a vote on the manta, doable or not?

"5 weeks -$5 grand"... move in ready and furnished... at least with a couch and toaster oven... :)


PS. The dots on the photos are dust. I'm sure it is bad for us - but it REALLY ruins the photos

Warped Priorities

I cried tonight over shattered dreams of a dark blue ceiling. I might need to regain perspective.

Week 2

Tip of the week - the value of a $12 paint brush is far more than the extra $10 you might think you are spending.

Also, I could make an advertisement for my Uncle Donny’s sheet-rocking and mudding skills. I could make an add for John’s painting skills - and I think by the time I am done with this place - for my own. It really is all about practice.

And, if you ever wonder why people paint their houses such hideous colors it might be because they just got tired of painting white. All I want for today is to paint the kid’s room green. I just want to paint green. Is that so much to ask?

Somehow in the midst of this mess we managed to go to a fun Chinese birthday party, watch Jude play his first soccer game (I use the term ‘play’ quite loosely) and Jarod took Jude to “How to train your dragon” - his first movie in a theater. And we made and mailed out our rental advertisement today - so ready or not our house is open for business!

We also had the distinct privilege of spending a Sunday afternoon in the Bethesda “chair cemetery.” I always knew my family had a place they put all of their half broken miss matched chairs - I just never knew it would come in so handy. After 3 hours of searching the 2 sheds and 5 homes we came away with a list of over 35 items to fill our house. GO PACKRATS!

Oh, and we also bought a fridge and stove from the classifieds - that turns out - DON’T fit in our kitchen. So, if anyone would like some appliances give us a call - otherwise looks like we will be starting our own collection of “could-be-useful-to-someone-some-day” junk in our new garage.

And finally - today Jude and Grandpa Bob will watch #3 - their final Starwars in the series. And it has officially made my son annoying to speak with - because, “NO, I do not have a forcefield.”

In no particular order but with explanations:


Jude and Paul spent Friday morning ripping out the old paper from inside kitchen cabinets. I have the video.. it is worth a watch but I am way too tired to figure out how to upload.



Do you like the dust as Jarod demolishes the lath and plaster in the bathroom? And then here is dad on his 4th hour of making little shower built-ins. WHEN OH WHEN will I learn to stop asking for complicated cute things???



The progress of our bedroom this week.




Dru and Jarod laying the hardybacker for the kitchen tile... we must say Dru's high school shop classes seem to have been worth your taxpayer dollars.





Look closely at Jude's face in the first photo - that is really about how intent he was the whole time... the second photo actually makes it look like he is playing.


Yes - he does do whatever she says and yes those are the same suspenders he wore when I was her age. Rainbow suspenders never go out of style I guess :).


And... happy easter from my two little hams...

Only a week in and it is already a blur... but these are my top 10 most memorable phrases from our first week as home owners:

1. From Jude, upon hearing which house we bought, “Mom, don’t make me go downstairs until you clean it and de-stink it, ok?”

2. From the two teenagers who came to our house opening who are “in the know” about our neighborhood, “Did you think about that this house was really close to all the college kids? “I think your neighbors might sell crack.”

3. From my friend Akos, after 4 hours of painfully and faithfully pealing wallpaper glue off of the ceiling, in a beautiful broken Hungarian accent, “Whoever is the man who thought to wallpaper this ceiling - I do not congratulate him today.” I could not have said it better myself.


4.Over the phone, from me, after leaving my crazy perfectly-good-wood-striping father for only one hour unsupervised, “Dad,
where is my bedroom door?” He missed the memo that we are trying to renovate a 5,000 sq ft. house in 5 weeks, and was just “playing around with it in his garage.” And then my mother, after being told that there were things more helpful for her to be doing than dividing spring bulbs from the yard, “If he can take your door - I should be able to take your flowers.” Really - without them this wouldn’t be possible - but come on guys - let’s focus. My second least favorite saying from my father is, “See this? We have to fix this.”

(My two perfectionist heros and their 3 day window project)

5. Jarod, over a lunch break, while staring at our perfectly good bathroom ceiling, “Why do you think they put in this drop ceiling?” Apply pressure. “opps.” “Oh, that was why.” As he stares at a peeling plaster ceiling cracked and crawling with mold.



6. Jarod, over a lunch break while staring at a perfectly good wall, “Well, we might as well take off that paneling to do the plumbing.” My dad, with folded hands, “Yeah, just take down that wall.” (Are you starting to see the pattern?)



7. Jarod, when I still hadn’t recovered from the wall and ceiling, “Well, while the wall was down I just thought I’d rewire this whole area.”


8. From Ernie, our general contractor friend who generously came in at 9 p.m. yesterday - after I had worked 11 hours - to give us some much needed advice, “Really, you can’t work with this bathtub.” “Really, you can’t take this bathtub out.” It didn’t seem like we had a lot of options. Because we don’t. And because I was very tired. He also let me know, "Oh see that discoloration as you scrape? That means it is lead paint." Good to know - after I have scrapped it for 9 hours.

9. Carl (one of the men who lives with my parents), in a whisper, after obsessively sweeping our floors for 5 hours, “Well, Amanda, what do you think of this nice little house you bought?” I look up from my wall wiping and after a long pause he says, “It’s not a very little house is it?” If Carl gets it - you know it’s true. Conversely, after BJ helped move all of our earthly possessions into one corner of our garage said, “You guys really don’t have much, huh?” Nope.

10. From EVERYONE who walks through the beautiful wooden front door, “It has such potential.” Clear translation: “Wow, what a lot of work.” And thankfully, “We support you a 110%.”

I can’t begin to thank everyone... and the list will just grow. Wether you were at our house the first night to bless it, or if you have been there every day since doing the dirty work, or watching our children, or just being a phone call away for me to say, “this wallpaper is coming off in fingernail size pieces.” We are thankful for you and your prayers.