A Homemade Mantel

Still here and STILL pregnant.  Only 6 more days until we meet this little man unless he comes sooner!  Today I wanted to share another project with you, but it's just a quickie that was done over a weekend.  We had 2 big holes cut into our den wall for the TV and the fireplace, and desperately needed a mantel!  My dad is a pretty handy carpenter if you haven't learned that yet, and I was honestly hoping Ben would learn a little something from him through helping with this project!  I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the results!  Considering they just started drawing, cutting, and nailing one Saturday morning, it turned out pretty darn good!  We got lucky because my parents had an extra mantel in their garage they weren't using, and it was the perfect fit for our den!  So they just built around it!  Here are a few pictures I took of the process.  Once again, Ben had a "vision," and I think it was achieved!

I'll post the finished pictures soon!

Sleepy Saturday

Sorry for the lack of posts!  We are full term now, and VERY anxious for baby Walker to make his appearance!  Today is a dreary day, so we are spending the day being lazy and watching movies!  I'll leave you with a few pictures.  Have I mentioned I want this baby OUT??

Audrey with her great grandfather, "Pop"

Come out Walker!!!! We're ready to meet you!

Already loves the lake!

Our floor

The other day, a friend asked us what we considered to be the hardest project so far.  Ben and I both agreed, our floors, hands down.  I have yet to mention this, because I feel like no one will fully grasp how difficult, dirty, time consuming, expensive, and frustration it really was.  This house has a large crawl space, that is pretty clean and dry. (So I've been told!)  I don't really remember who found the termite damage (maybe the inspector?), or how everything started, all I know is we had to pull up ALL of the old floors, subfloor, and even the floor joists.  I believe the problem was that the original joists were too far apart, and there were very spongy spots in the floor.  You could step certain places and it felt like the floor might collapse.  We wanted to brace the floor properly, so we never had to go back and rip up our new floors.  It was so crazy to see how the foundation looks when you rip up the floor!!  There were literally HOLES in the house.  I would come over in the evenings, and one of the rooms would have no floor.  Just a straight shot to the ground.  Dirt.  My dad and 2 other guys had to completely rebuild every single floor joist.  That is hard work, people!!  Then new subfloor was laid before the new hardwood could go down.  Truth be told, we lived here for a little while with just subfloor.
When it came to choosing the new floor, Ben and I both agreed we didn't want any carpet in the house.  I hate carpet, and didn't grow up with it in my house.  Sure, a NEWLY carpeted room can look nice, but it never looks that way for long.  And with youngin's running around, I knew it would be quickly destroyed. Just not our cup of tea!  Every room in our house is hardwood, with the exception of the laundry room and 2 bathrooms, which are tile.  I knew exactly what I wanted the wood to look like, and had found a picture online months before we moved in.  I saved it and found out where I could get it.  Turns out, Lumber Liquidators had it!!  It's called Knobhill Birch and is handscraped.  It is wide planks, and very dark.  I absolutely LOVE it, although we have since learned that having dark floors is like having a dark car....it shows everything.  I feel like I sweep, vacuum, and/or mop every day, and it still looks dirty!!  But that's the price I pay I guess!  I think the best way to show you the amount of work that was done, is just through pictures.  There are a bunch!  I probably have 100 pictures of just floor work!! I'll do my best to pick and choose! :)

Original floors

Dad IN the floor...

Our bedroom!!  Yes, that is the ground!

I got there one night and there was a 2x4 just hangin out in the middle of the room.  I made the mistake of asking what it was doing there and was told, "it's holding the ceiling up so it won't fall in."  Oh, ok. ???!!  Why did I ask?

Some termite damage.  Nasty little critters!!

Ahhhh! Fresh, new floor!  And STRONG might I add!

This is how the floor was when we moved in.  We just wore shoes everyday. :)

And THIS was a GLORIOUS day!!  Our hardwood being delivered!! I believe there were 40 some boxes the guys got to carry in!

Pay no attention to the date on this picture.  It isn't in our house.  This is the picture I found on the internet before we even started the floor project.  This is the floor I fell in love with!

And here it is in my house!!!  We love it so much!

It is really comforting knowing you have strong floors beneath your feet!!  This house has made us appreciate the things you never think about!

A favorite picture

I decided to try out this link up thing !! I am joining Kelli in her Oh Snappy Day post!  You all know how much I adore taking pictures and scrap booking them!! Each one takes you back and tells a story.  And let me just say-if you don't have kids, and you think you take a lot of pictures now, you just wait, my friend!  I have already started wondering how I will ever keep up with the picture taking and scrap booking of my 2 precious little ones!!  Since I have soooooo many pictures, it's hard to choose just 1 favorite to share.  But, this one stands out to me.



I actually did not take this picture, but it's still a favorite.  My friend, Megan took this at Audrey Grace's baptism.  I love so many things about it.  See the little dimple in my sweet girl's chubby little arm right at her elbow??  That's the first thing I love.  I also love that it looks like she has a rubberband around her wrist from all the fat rolls!!  I also love the blurred background, which is always one of my favorite things about a good picture.  I love how she is just passed out on me, in such a sweet sleep, with no cares in the world.  I also love that this picture takes me right back to that spot.  I feel myself sitting there, in our church, holding my first born chid, about to give her to God through baptism.  I remember choosing her gown, dressing her that morning, and every word that was said that day.  And I'm wearing the pearl necklace and earrings from my love.  Such a special day.