Day 103: Another Wall

Another Wall! Awesome!

Here's the advertising I talked about yesterday. Pretty ingenious, I must say.

Windows and Doors- Check!

My head hurts from all the decisions we have made this week. I am seriously on information overload!!!!
But today Taiya from PowerTownsend finally ordered my windows and outside doors. They should be here in two weeks.
We ended up paying a little more to upgrade the windows and put internal blinds on 2 of the back doors. I think they will totally be worth it but grrrrrr for thr price that continues to creep upwards.

WINDOWS

We were going to be fine with the windows that Chuck usually installs with the Prairie Design. Until.... he found a few that looked exactly like the ones we picked except 1- they happened to be the upgrade and 2- they were discounted! After doing a bunch of research with several trips back to PowerTownsend and a few frustrating moments due to their unhelpfulness- we finally decided to pay the extra and do the upgrade.
Reason we went for the ThermalPro Upgrade:
* The U Value isn't much different but they have a foam-filled mainframe. That means the outer edge has more insulation.
* The heavy duty safety latch with a better design auto-locks. It's safer?
* The ThermalPro windows have a Space Saver to reduce condensation between the glass.
Here's the chart they gave me to explain all my "bonuses"

Here's what our latches look like except I got mine in white:

And a reminder of the Prairie Design (a border around the edge):

DOORS

All of our doors match. I think that's my favorite part of building a house- the opportunity to matchy-matchy. Luv it!!!! The doors I picked are this Cheyenne style which I love. They will all be painted white on the inside. But the outside doors will be RED. Wahoo for red doors!! We LOVE them.

Cheyenne Style

 Here's what it looks like RED

 Here's the back doors that have the internal blind but the same design on the bottom.

I did change my Den doors to these 10-lite French Doors. We want to make sure we can always see those on the internet so this was our solution. I think I will love them!!! And they come primed and the windows covered (with sticky paper that can be removed after they get painted) which will make Chuck less irritated in my decision. So beautiful!!

Oh happy day for decisions made! Two down... a million to go!!! ;)

UPDATE: June 23, 2014- We finally picked out the color for the doors.

Day 102: Dining Nook

I am such a slacker! I forgot to take a picture from the left end of the property. Oh well! You only get one view today.

I'm happy to report that we now have another wall and 1/2. Yeah!!! Here's our West wall. The two windows are for my laundry room and my powder room. I'm so excited!!! {The reason for the plywood on this side is because he is advertising on the outside. I forget to take a picture of it. I'll do that tomorrow.}

The other thing they did today was our Dining Nook wall. Awesome!!!! That will be an amazing view of the mountains at dinner time.

P.S. Liberty measured out the size they thought they wanted their fort. Unfortunately as my kids get older, things seem smaller. They are pretty sure they are back to the drawing board. I guess a 6 X 6 fort isn't big enough for them.

I met with Chuck about windows and doors today at PowerTowsend. I think we finally got it all figured out. We will order them tomorrow. Oh my heavens! My brain hurts from all the decisions I've had to make lately!!! ;)

Day 101: Vertical Progress- Yeah!!!

Drum Roll please..........

Tada! We have a wall!

This is a grand occasion worthy of an amazing VICTORY POSE! LOL

Throw in 7 deer along the way and it is a GREAT day on Faith Lane! Woot! Woot!

Day 100

I can NOT believe we have been at this for a 100 days!!!!

It was supposed to rain today but it actually turned out to be quite a beautiful day. We stopped by after Stake Conference for a picture. 

Perhaps they will get something vertically done this week before the next storm (scheduled for the end of the week) rolls in. 

Day 99: Rainy Weekend

It's raining, it's pouring, the worker-men are snoring. LOL

Day 98: Faith in the Darkness

We didn't get a chance to go see the property until after Scouts tonight. It was getting dark and it was raining so the pictures are blurry.

Like Cancer

Coming to grips that your life is about to change forever
Praying for Guidance
Searching for a place to reside for the next.... (who knows how long)
Picking/Meeting your new Team of Specialists
Finding a plan that will work for you & for your Team
Frustration that their time frame and ideas that might not fit what you had in mind
Making a decision to move ahead with your plan (or theirs)
Sleepless nights wondering what lies ahead
Shedding a few tears
Fighting some emotional battles
Learning that even when you think you are clear with what you want- you're NOT!
Learning all sorts of new vocabulary that you never really wanted to know
Endless appointments and disappointments as you move forward
Learning to laugh at the small stuff
Wondering if you will even survive
Freaking out about how much it will cost
Possibly losing your hair or nails (that is if you are a nail biting or are ready to pull your hair out by the end)
Trying to find ways to cut the cost
Remembering that you are NOT the only one who is fighting this battle
Deciding what you could possibly do on your own
Praying for Help with all the stuff you can't
Giving up a couple things you thought were really important
Living a full, beautiful and happy life with your family if you survive 

Building a Home is a lot like Cancer! LOL
The similarities are actually pretty frightening. Enough so that this post came to me in the middle of the night and demanded to be written before I could get back to sleep. OH man! It's been a long 6 months or not really an end in sight. I pray that we survive!

I wrote this post on our family blog a while back but it rang pretty true today. It seemed appropriate to post it here.
I seriously worked on "house stuff" from 8:30 AM -4 PM today. I am having difficulty finding the last couple things that would melt my heart (within our budget)- a wooden banister for the stairs and white, non-wood columns for the front porch. I met with Chuck in the afternoon and after asking me to make a decision about windows and doors between too many choices, I finally growled and told him and the Power Townsend guy- "Oh my heavens! Building a House is just like Cancer!!!" I think I caught them off guard but it's seriously true!

Day 97: Happy Dance Wall & Water

It's gonna be a wet weekend.

The rain is pouring through the floor base into the basement. Grrrr!

They did however get a wall up in the basement. It warranted a "Happy Dance" by the kids! ;)

They also have been working on making the Window bases.

And I don't think it's our builders but someone has marked the whole neighborhood with these poles and pink flags. I have no idea what they are for though.

Day 96: Unpacked wood

It looks like they unpacked some wood today.

Day 95: Wood Delivered

It looks like they delivered some piles of plastic-covered wood today. But no changes to the house to report. And the next week doesn't look promising either. ;( There is a storm moving through as we speak. And except for possibly Thursday- it's supposed to be bad weather until next Monday. If it had been framed in the last 17 work-able days- they could probably still work but chances are now- they will have to wait. Bummer!

In other "it's never gonna get done" news- Chuck did NOT order windows today because he supposedly has questions about whether or not we want windows in the bathrooms and if we really want that big of a window in the den. Guess we are going to try to meet with him soon to discuss them. He wants to meet tomorrow but it's Justice's birthday so it might not be until Thursday.
       [I'm a little bugged about that because I text-ed him back on           March 10th with this message-
When you get a chance 
will you send me the size
of all the windows of the
house? I have a friend that 
does blinds and I want to
see how much they would 
charge me.
To give you something to
do on this rainy day. LOL
-Shay
      He never responded. So IF he had got back to me about my             message- we would already be on the same page for the                   windows and they would have been ordered. Grrr!]

I hate to constantly sound whiney {I actually feel like we've been way understanding and as patient as one can be with the sllllloooowwwww start we got due to the snow} BUT I just want some kind of progress happening. Maybe once the walls start moving upwards, I will feel like something is happening?
We'll give Chuck until the end of the month and then we'll probably have to have a talk about how he told us that we were his PRIORITY. {Maybe his definition of priority is different than ours. ;)} Cuz that is NOT what we are feeling like right now. Our contract still says we are supposed to close on the house by June 4th. We are aware and understand that that is probably NOT going to happen. BUT we have to coordinate with the loan people for 30 days out. That would be May 4th if it was going according to plan. So... we at least need an idea of our time frame.


ADDENDUM--- Chuck stopped by late tonight to discuss a few things with us- windows style and sizes, door sizes and styles, and the garage doors. Man, he works long hours sometimes! When we asked how his Easter went, he told us that his Dad has been sick. It made me feel a little bit guilty of my "grrrrs!" earlier. Not to mention that he is very personable when we visit with him. It's like your talking with a buddy of yours. I still wish the project would go faster but I want to apologize for making him sound like the bad guy. Hopefully for everyone's sake- it starts taking shape quickly.

Garbage Disposal- Check!

After some research, I decided to go with the InSinkErator Spacesaver Garbage Disposal.
   * It's way quieter than any we have ever had.
   * Multi-Grind Technology to hopefully help with our Septic System
   * Takes up less space under my sink
   * 4 year Come-to-You Warranty
I got one today at Lowe's with all the accessories. {I was tempted to buy it at Home Depot because they have it in RED. My favorite!! But the coupon won out in the end!}

Insinkerator Evolution SpaceSaver

Medicine Cabinets- Check!

I bought some medicine cabinets today from Lowe's. I love them!

Bathrooms

Master Bathroom

Powder Room Mirror-
This one is my favorite!

Showerheads- Check!

The Plumber will only install Moen faucets in the walls. So we decided on the Moen Caldwell Mediterranean Bronze Showerheads. I bought them today. Yeah!

Two for our double-sided Master Shower

Bathroom Tub/Showers

Closet Organizers @ Lowe's- Check!

We have really liked the white wire shelving that we have in our apartment now. We like the fact that they wipe down easily, let things breathe and they are white. For a little bit more than our allowance for the Master Closet, I was able to get shelving for the entire house. I'm so excited! They are mostly from the Rubbermaid HomeFree Series. We probably just created a whole lot of work for ourselves because more than likely- we will put them up ourselves after we move in BUT I can't wait for that kind of work. ;)

The 6-10 ft Adjustable Kit for each bedroom.

A couple baskets for the Master Closet

A Tie rack for Justice and Brett

A Wardrobe shelf for the Coat Closet
and the Den and the Playroom

Several Tight-mesh shelves for the Linen Closets

I also picked up a Multipurpose Cabinet for the garage
I plan on using it for Winter Coat Storage

Windows- Check!

We did pick out the windows we want. We decided to go with the outside grid windows in white. I think the design is called Prairie. Chuck said he was going to order them tomorrow.
Here's an example of the design we chose:

Day 94: Nothing AGAIN!

Still nothing. Are they ever coming back to work on it???? Grrrrr!