The progress this week:

-the best news of all, with everything we’ve done/bought/including the kitchen and electrical, we only now just spent $5,000 out of our $15,000 budget. We are pretty excited about that. We are doing it in cash with money my grandmother gave us that is getting added on to our payoff amount of the house back to her, interest free.

-all the new wires are almost done being run throughout the house. Inpection will be next week.

– 700lbs of concrete were poured by hand into the foundation of the home to re-stabalize the home.

– All the termite damage to the siding and subfloor were replaced with new lumber.

– A 4″ cast iron pipe that was 15 ft tall was removed that was part of the old plumbing.

– Plumber comes out on Monday to show Tim what plumbing lines need to be ripped out. New pipes on Friday!

-The new floor plan of the house is set and all framing is in order.

– We have a drywall crew and they are set to come out right after the plumber.

So, a productive week? Yes. A hard week? One of the hardest we’ve hard. Tim started HVAC school, he’s still doing some contract work on the side, I am still running my cleaning business when he is home, and THIS HOUSE! AHH! I got my first horrible deal on craigslist. This loser sold me a stackable washer and dryer that was broken for $350. I had to drive over an hour there and back! Then, after getting home and it not working, I had to convince him why he was going to let me return it and get my money back! So, he consented, in fear of his life, and I returned it to him! Oh well, I guess all the deals I’ve gotten have been great so far so I was due for a bad deal. And at least I got my money back. Our 3 year old came down overnight with Pink Eye and Strep Throat. The kid hasn’t been sick in 2 years so I don’t know WHAT was going on with that.

Can I just complain for a minute? We are tired. I am tired of destroying the house and ready to start the reconstructive phase. I am tired of our stuff being in storage. I am tired of living with our parents (i love all of you), we are now at my mom’s temporarily b/c she’s only minutes from Nellie Mae and we are double timing our work late at night. I am tired of not sleeping, eating, and I don’t know if I have worn make up in the past 2 months. I am tired of trying to juggle babies, house renovations, and part time jobs.

But, all at the same time I am thankful. I am thankful for Nellie Mae. I am thankful for my hardworking husband who is basically building us a brand new house, going to school, working, and allowing me to work a small amount. I am thankful that we do have a family who is loving and supporting us, helping us, and allowing all of this to happen. I am thankful that even though this might be the hardest phase of this whole project, we will be living there soon. Tim will finish school in the spring and at Christmas school will lighten up and he’ll work full time. We’ll pay our house off in 5 years, and this will all be worth it. For the first time, we are living sacrificially to make our long term dreams come true. And it’s hard.