Hard-Grass Flooring

Flooring. The word that stumped us for months.

The ranch house had many many square feet of sub-floor to cover, and we had many many options. But there are two problems with lots of options; first, not being able to decide what we wanted. Second, making a decision (based on those many lovely, luxurious options) and then unsuccessfully attempting to cram the cost into a budget that's just not quite big enough.

And by "cram the cost into a budget that's just not quite big enough" I mean this; we knew we wanted solid hardwood floors. We knew we wanted something dark. This lead us to one conclusion; Brazilian Ebony. Ha! In our dreams. At $8 per square foot, that wasn't happening.

And so, we sort of, somewhat indecisively, settled for Walnut- only to realize that we couldn't afford it unless we downgraded to a thinner, engineered plank. The thin planks aren't as sturdy, so we were worried about quality. We don't ever plan on replacing our flooring, so this was a one time shot- in other words, we knew we'd better get it right the first time.

Brazilian Walnut

And to be totally honest, we weren't all that crazy about the green tones in Walnut. (Weird, right? Walnut has a lot of green in it. You can't see it in the photo above, but it's obvious when you see the large sample in the store.) But it was the darkest colored flooring that we could (maybe) afford. So, finally, after months of debating, we finally made a decision; we'd let God take care of it.

Okay, I know, that's not (technically) a decision. But non-the-less, we committed it to Him in faith, and He never disappoints. Even in trivial little matters like the flooring for our house. It must give Him joy to tend to the needs of his kids, regardless of how small or inconsequential they may be. Or maybe it was just to give us a chance to brag on how great He is to us. Either way, praise the Lord!

Here's how it went down; One night, a couple of months after giving the problem to Him, I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep. This never happens. But there I was, wide awake. So I moseyed on over to the computer and checked Lumber Liquidators. Well, by golly, there just happened to be a terrific deal on carbonized bamboo flooring. By terrific, I mean too-good-to-be-true compared to every other option and price we'd seen. And better yet, it was in a color we knew we liked, because we'd seen the same kind in a friend's house. Not only did we know we liked the look of it (which was always uncertain with other options, since we only had small samples to go by), but get this- it was solid! Not exactly solid hardwood, since bamboo is, in fact, grass. (Yet, interestingly not green, like walnut.) But the point is that these were wide, thick planks, not the thin, small planks of the cheap versions of walnut flooring that we were about to settle for before this little big discovery in the middle of the night.

Carbonized (Horizontal) Bamboo

And even though this variety is more of a mid-toned color, there are a lot of beautiful variations in it (excuse the dust);

And it's a nice contrast to our very dark espresso kitchen cabinetry and stair trim;

So, in the end, we think it works better than having really dark flooring. Balance and contrast is good!

So, waking up in the middle of the night and stumbling upon this great deal was a huge blessing. We placed an order that same day, before the sale ended or stock ran out, and voila; floor problem solved.

Praise Jesus. Has He done anything surprising like this for you guys lately?

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P.S. Lumber Liquidators is a great company to purchase floors from! We definitely recommend them if you're in the market for flooring. See the exact bamboo we ordered here (not necessarily on sale though).

P.S.S. Did I mention that bamboo is eco-friendly, just like another one of my favorite things? (Hint; first word- "cloth". Second word- "diapers".)

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Tending the Back Door

After almost a year of gently nudging the man of the house, honey-do list item #2 can get a big fat check! Our back door has officially been moved and we now have an open walkway between our kitchen and attic rooms. (Note: if you're not interested in how to move a door, skip down to the bottom where the real meat of the post is!)

This is where the door was before the move;

And this is the hallway space between the kitchen and the stairwell that leads up to the attic;

I've been wanting this door moved so that I could use the extra hallway space as a kitchen extension to hang our pots and pans. It would also allow us to walk straight upstairs to our two attic rooms without going through a locked door. Let me explain; this door acts as our back door- on the other side of it is the stairwell that goes not only up to our attic, but down to the first floor (which leads outside) and then to the basement. The door that actually leads outside is down on the first floor, and we share that with our neighbor.

So, Thane moved our locking back door to the top of the stairwell instead, directly to the right of the opening you see in the first pic. So, we still have a secure, functioning "back door", but it's no longer blocking our direct access to our two attic rooms. And if that wasn't complicated enough, just watch me try to show how incredibly easy (yet hard via photos) moving a door really is.

Here's the all too-unwilling man of the house, getting ready to knock this baby out without so much as a power drill or- by the grace of God- a single curse word.

See the little pin at the top of this hinge? It has to be lifted up and out, which can be done using a hammer and flat head screwdriver. Just wedge the flat head in the seam, and give it a few taps with the hammer to get it moving.

 

And out comes the pin!

Give that treatment to both hinges, and it's off with the door!

Now it's as simple as removing the existing hardware;

As well as re-moving the hinge plates;

And then re-installing all of it in the threshold of the new spot (if you plan on putting the door back up in another location).

This is the dead-bolt. We were fortunate that somebody else had already done this exact door-spot-switcheroo before, so hollowing out the hole for the dead-bolt was very easy (it was filled with caulk). Otherwise, we would have needed a drill to hollow it out.

 

Re-installing the hinge plates;

Then came the trickiest part, for which there is no photo; lining the door back up with the hinge plates so that the big hinge-nail can slide back in to secure the door. This took both of us (hence no photo). But once we were all lined up, it was as easy as just sliding the hinge-nails back in.

And now we have a full, unencumbered view of our not-so-fancy (army house) kitchen and then dining room. Notice the new-ish microwave cart to the right- my latest attempt at better kitchen organization.

And now for the meat. Right around the time I was coercing Thane to complete this honey-do task for me, I came to a sermon preached out of the gospel of Luke titled "Jesus and Demons" (I'm going through the entire series, and it's excellent). And this particular sermon on "doors" came in a timely fashion- just as we were moving our back door. Here's a quick synopsis; 

Sin is the opening of a "door". We either belong to God or Satan. If we are Christians, Satan does not own us, but we are still able to "open our doors" and invite demonic influence into our lives. And this is a checklist of common ways that we do this;

Doors of Demonic Influence

-Sexual sin (1 Corinthians 7:5)

-Marriage between Christians and non-Christians (2 Corinthians 6:15)

-False religion, false teaching, false Jesus (1 Corinthians 10:14-22; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Corinthians 11:1-4)

-Bitterness (Ephesians 4:17-5:2)

-Foolishness and drunkenness (Ephesians 5:18-21)

-Idle gossip and busybodying (1 Timothy 5:11-15)

-Lies (John 8:44)

-Idolatry (1 John 5:18-21)

I'm guilty of a good number of these things, and by the grace of God I have to constantly strive for obedience so that I'm tending my own doors. Not only for the sake of living within God's will (the most important thing), but for the sake of my family. They're affected by what I do every single day.

So I hope this list is just as helpful to you guys as it is to me. I need these constant reminders and warnings from the Word, to continually strive to put off the things of the world and be conformed to the image of Christ. Praise Jesus for His amazing provision- for His Spirit that allows us to live the lives He meant for us all along.

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Jesus is Not Confined to My Couch

Jesus and I used to have a morning "appointment" on my couch, during Asher's first nap of the day when I could sit down with my bible and a cup of coffee. But my, how the tides have turned. Long gone are the days when my daily tasks fit together like pieces of a puzzle. This multi-tasking mamma is officially a has-been. 

I knew that Asher's "perfect schedule" wouldn't last forever, nontheless I couldn't help but hope it would! And alas, it met its demise at our last move. I just haven't been able to get him back into a consistent routine. Sleeping through the night, regular naps, and regular meal times are a thing of the past for this little guy. And thus the end of other things, like a time slot for daily exercise and (most importantly) time with Jesus.

Meanwhile, certain parts of the house have been in a state of disarray. For example;

This is our second bedroom, which sits at the end of our long, narrow hallway. It's visible from the living room, and we (as well as guests) see it every time we walk down the hall.

In comes a task from the good old honey-do list; move one of the love seats (being stored in the attic) so that I can create a reading nook.

Check! Now we've got a much nicer sight to behold from the rest of the house (we see this room opening a lot; every time we walk back to the bathroom, master bedroom, nursery, laundry room, and office). And since Asher naps in his crib which is in the room directly to the right of the reading nook, I can easily put him down and hop on over to the love seat for some reading with minimal distraction- no dirty dishes, toys on the floor, unmade beds, or laundry in sight.

One side note, this is actually where our guest bed used to sit before it came a corner for piled up books and other odds and ends. It was centered on the odd frame-out that used to be a door opening.

On another side note, see the art? My Grandaddy did both of them. If only you could see his whole collection! The painting to the right (in the picture above) was centered over the guest bed that used to sit where the pile of books were. But after moving the bed, I moved the painting as well so that the set would be a "pair" over the sofa.

And the pillows were "recycled" from our living room. They got kicked off of the main sofas when these came into the picture.

But more important than how it all looks is whether it gets me sitting down with the Word of God more consistently. Again, Asher's departure from a schedule has made it a real challenge. But that's life! As great as it is to have a perfectly planned chunk of time each day to count on for reading, the absence of that luxury is no excuse for a distant relationship with Christ. I've got to keep in the Word. But not not just for the sake of another check on a list, but because it's a joy and a pleasure! Not to mention I need the constant guidance and correction it supplies.

But whether I fit structured reading into my day or not, it really all boils down to this; Jesus desires for me to love, follow, and be in relationship with him all day, not just when I get time to plop down on the couch with my bible. And that's my deepest desire, too. So perhaps this more chaotic time is a blessing in disguise; an opportunity to get myself out of that rigid "thirty-minute couch appointment with God" and focus on practicing His presence continually, in everything I do. After all, He'll be faithful to provide me with the time I need for reading, assuming I'm faithful in taking advantage of those times. I have to admit that often I let too many other chores and distractions get in the way. But praise Jesus for His patience! I have to continually strive to be more diligent and disciplined.

Well- I can't exactly say "not a sermon, just a thought" at this point. Haha, sorry! I'll just sneak one more thing in, if you're still reading- One great way I've started to enjoy His presence throughout my whole day is this (something I've mentioned before); playing a sermon two or three times as I'm about the house- and playing it more than once so that I catch whatever I might have missed when out of the room to change a diaper/swap a load of laundry/etc. But as great as this is, I'm still hoping for plenty of time in the Word! There's just nothing else quite like it, this is where all joy, peace, and truth is. Where I'm constantly reminded of the goodness of God in contrast to this fallen world. Praise Jesus for His immense, amazing love and truth.

So here's to hoping this new little reading nook gets plenty of use!



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P.S. See my bible studying method here.

P.S.S. Asher started sitting up yesterday! It was a total shock!

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We Have Cabinets!

Our very first peak!

Cue the choir- the kitchen cabinets are up!- and after four and half years of planning, it's like music to our ears. Praise God for His perfect timing and provision, as well as enabling us to get this massive cabinet hanging project behind us!

But first let me set the stage.

We arrived at the ranch after 22 hours of driving to discover a much anticipated garage full of newly ordered cabinets. It was like Christmas morning. With glee in our eyes, we ripped open boxes like kids ripping open gifts. And just like Christmas morning, this lead to inevitable chaos;

As great as it was to stare that them amidst a sea of cardboard and scattered haphazardly on the floor, we couldn't wait to get them hung. And on the verge of chickening out and hiring a pro to do it for us, I gave Thane a hearty "you can do it!" (Easy for me to say, since I wouldn't be doing it, LOL.) But a little encouragement goes a long way, and the iron-man-cabinet-monkey (that he's now proved himself to be) did it! Along with the much appreciated assistance of somebody else we'll call cabinet monkey #2.

This was our inspiration (see the full gallery here);

And we decided on maple cabinets with an espresso stain from MidContinent Cabinetry. This look is what we based our stair design on, as well.

Now for the DIY portion of the post;

Tool List
-Hammer
-Pencil
-Measuring tape
-Electric drill
-Heavy duty general purpose screws size 9x2-3/4"
-Laser leveler
-Regular leveler
-Stud finder
-Electric rotary saw (for cutting the cabinet trim)

The laser leveler and the stud finder was extremely helpful. The last thing we wanted was crooked, ready-to-fall death traps. If we couldn't guarantee how good this whole undertaking would look when we got through with it, we at least had to make them sturdy. Here's the leveler;


Black & Decker BDL190S BullsEye Auto-Leveling Interior Line Laser / Stud Sensor Combination Tool

And I've got to say that I'd have no idea what kind of screws to use for a project like this, but thanks to people who know a lot more than me, here they are- heavy duty general purpose screws;

Since I'm in no way a cabinet hanging expert, I can't really give you an accurate or detailed step-by-step guide. Thane could, but he has this thing called a job. So I'll just pass along a few helpful tips that we picked up throughout the process, just in case any of you are considering hanging new kitchen (or even bathroom or office) cabinetry. If nothing else, this goes to show that you don't have to be an expert to tackle this kind of project! All you need is the right tools and a little gumption. All Thane did to prep was watch a quick You Tube video (see a variety here) and enlist a little help from cabinet-monkey #2 (another able bodied man).

So here we go;

Before starting, use your cabinet blueprints to get everything laid out and prepped. Then there's no need to stress over whether you're hanging the right pieces in the right spots once you kick it off.

Tip 1- Start in the corner, if you can.

See the corner piece? We started there in order to get the right placement of the cabinetry. It would have been a nightmare to start on the outside of either wall and then realize that the corner piece didn't fit. So we avoided that possibility altogether and didn't run into any problems! This top corner piece is a "garage" with a little door that pulls down to cover whatever you store inside. It was a little tricky since the space between the garage and lazy susan underneath of it had to be the perfect width in order to accommodate our future counter tops. (How that will play out is anyone's guess...)



Tip 2- Use a 1x2 as a guide for hanging.

See the 1x2 board that's nailed under the rightmost cabinet? Thane used it as a guide for hanging the upper cabinets to be even and level. Determine how high your cabinets need to be hung on the wall (depending on if they're standard or not), and then mark that height. He marked the correct height using a regular leveler (to make sure his board was level), and then it was as easy as "stacking" each cabinet along the top of the 1x2 board and screwing it into the wall. By the way- whoa those walls are orange! Especially in this photo, haha. I'm thinking I might tweak this color a shade or two once we've picked our counter tops.

Tip 3: Studs=sturdy! Use a stud finder to mark your studs.

Screwing into studs vs. drywall is kind of a must in this case, so it was really helpful to mark out the studs so that Thane knew where to drill. There is a lip on the top back of the cabinet and one underneath as well.  Drilling into those lips will prevent anyone from seeing the screws when you're putting away dishes or just opening them up and showing them off.
 

Yep, they're sturdy!

Tip 4: Screw your cabinet faces together

If you screw the sides of each cabinet together it will remove any seams or gaps and make the kitchen look completely tied in.


You might remember the 3D plans our supplier drew up for us after measuring the dimensions of our space. Take a look at how one 3D compares to the real thing! (Minus counter tops and appliances...)

Unfortunately the lighting in this room isn't great. We don't have electrical lighting installed yet, and this room gets the least amount of natural sunlight. But oh well, you get the idea.

This might be my favorite section of the new kitchen;

I love the bookshelf with the cottage-y panel details. This was a total surprise to me, I assumed the backing to the shelf would be plain. Then to the right of it is a microwave shelf, which will be great for preserving counter space. Directly below the book shelves is what will be a desk for my laptop. I'm always finding myself dragging my laptop into our current kitchen to reference a recipe. But that will no longer be necessary once it gets a permanent home here! Not to mention the fact that it'll be great for playing music and sermons while I'm cooking and cleaning.

The empty hole with the wire hanging down is where the ovens will go. Word to the wise- as great as double ovens are, they're pricey. This is one thing we could have planned to do without when planning out the cabinetry. It's kind of a standard in the custom cabinet world, and it's just about all you see when you browse kitchen galleries while building your own kitchen plans. I think it'll be worthwhile in the long run, but it's a big pill to swallow right at first!

So, that's a big check on the ever long ranch house to-do list. And all glory be to Christ for providing us with the time, finances, and wonderful babysitter that enabled to get this done! This home will surely be a blessing to our family, but I'm praying that it will bless a lot of other people too. Hopefully it'll be a place for lots of wonderful family time, Christian fellowship, and service in the years to come. As imperfect as we are, we want to dedicate all we do to Jesus for the sake of His name and Kingdom. That's our desire and prayer!

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"Honey-Do" List; Featuring The Boot of Doom

Aren't husbands wonderful?!

Mine had a little honey-do list waiting for him when he got back to Georgia;

1. Give our washer & dryer the old switcheroo. The Lowes deliverers installed our washer on the right and the dryer on the left, which means the doors hit each other when they're both opened. That makes getting the wet clothes out of the washer and into the dryer a little difficult, especially when holding the baby. As Thane likes to remind me, it's possible that this is the only option due the hook-up arrangement in the back. If that's the case, that's totally fine. It's not an ideal set-up, but it's a temporary one, and I'm really just happy to be co-habiting with our own laundry room again! Four months of hauling our dirty clothes and diapers to a shared basement laundry room at Hotel K has taught me how to appreciate what we have here in Georgia. (So much so that I was led to give it a little low-cost makeover when we got back.)

2. Move our back door so that our kitchen opens up into the stairwell leading to the attic. This will expand our kitchen space and give me more room for storage. It'll also make the two attic rooms feel like a real part of our house if I don't have to go through a locked door to get to them. (The entire back stairwell spans four stories, from the basement to the attic.) We share it with our neighbors below, so until the door is moved it's all entirely open. Not that we don't trust our neighbors- they did a huge favor to us by watching our place when we were away- it'll just be nice to feel like we can go upstairs without going "out" of our personal apartment space.

The door will need to be re-installed directly to the right, in order to close off the back stairwell that leads down to the door that goes to the outside. (Our apartment is on the second story.) I'm thinking about hanging our pots on the wooden boards that are already nailed up.

3. Get my attic room that doubles as an art/storage/junk room cleaned up. So that I can use it for painting when the temps cool down! (There's no AC in the attic rooms.)

4. This one sort of hinges on #3- Move one of our new love seats downstairs. We found these for a great deal at a clearance center in Columbus. We don't need them here, but they'll be great for the ranch house. We've got plans... By the way, see that red bag peaking out of the bottom right corner of the photo? I've got a scary story about that below...

5. Create a reading nook. I'd like one of the two love seats to go in this empty spot in our second bedroom. It's kind of the catch-all room for the time being, it doubles as an office and guest room. So why not make it a little cozier for ourselves and for our guests? All it'll take is a little muscle to get the sofa downstairs and then a little womanly touch to get it looking inviting.

6. Kill the huge-silver-dollar-size spider with a marble sized black butt that I came across in the big red bag in the attic so that it doesn't get our baby; check!

Yes, this is what went scurrying dangerously close to my hand when I started to look into the red bag you see in the photo above (honey-do item #4). I'm not usually super skiddish when it comes to bugs. I don't like them, but they don't petrify me. This one's a whole new ball-game; it had chills and bumps and every kind of heeby-jeeby you can imagine running through my body. And after a friend suggested that it might be poisonous, I sent Thane upstairs a day later to try to find this crawly guy. I honestly never imagined he would, but to my astonishment he had the job done in about 30 seconds flat. This is how it went down;

Me- "Thane, I think we need to find that spider and get rid of it so it doesn't come down here and bite Asher."

Thane- "That spider's not coming down here."

Me- "Ok, well whatever, but it might be poisonous."

Silent pause for about five seconds.

Thane- "I'm going to go find that spider."

And this is what I heard from below- Clop, clop, clop (up the stairs)... Thud (items falling out of a bag and hitting the floor)...STOMP STOMP STOMP. Clop, clop, clop (down the stairs).

Thane- "I got him."

Me- "What?! Already? How'd you find him so fast?!"

Thane- "It was easy. I turned the bag upside down, he scurried out, he met the boot of doom." (I'll clarify; The combat-boot-of-doom. He was still in his work clothes.)

Praise God for husbands. They have nerves made of steel!

While we're on the topic of good husbands, I'm so thankful for Thane. He is a blessing from God. Yes, his dashing good looks and great personality are what hooked me in the beginning, but it's his relationship with Christ that truly makes him the wonderful man that he is. I'm beyond blessed to have a godly husband to take care of me and lead our home. And now that we're a family of three, I hope and pray that I'm the godly wife and mother that Christ would have me to be. I treasure these blessings and opportunities!

So what do you gals have on your honey-do lists this month?

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P.S. For another post on the best husband (plus a peak at one of my paintings), go here.

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