Crown Molding and Such

I'm not quite sure how we ended up with crown molding before new floors, but it looks lovely. Three sets of original french doors are also being put back in their respective places. There is no baseboard molding yet.....floors first!

Cabinets

The kitchen cabinets have been installed. Of course, it's not as easy as 1,2,3. They now have to be painted white, and the framed doors need to be brought to the glass shop to have the glass installed. I'm happy with the outcome!

The Keller Kids

Our summer visit with Madelyn has ended; Anna cried herself to sleep. She'll miss her nanny and Maddie as they make their way back to Italy. Until next year!!!! Zachary, Madelyn, Anna, Caroline, and Jake

The Bus Crew

All smiles! Jacqueline, Georgia, Anna, Sydney, Jake, and Ross Allen

Stepping onto the Bus!!!!

Day #1 at the Big School for Jake

We started Kindegarten today. Anna, fourth grade this past Friday. Jake was a bit nervous at the breakfast table this morning. He cried and complained of a tummy ache. He was a bit less anxious at the bus stop; he refused my help, saying he could get on the bus himself!

More paint

Okay, so I'm afraid the color is a little dark, but it's already on the walls and I happen to like it! High Tea...that's the name!
Another pic of the living room. I love it love it love it. I'm thinking about some red couches.

Blogging

I've come to the conclusion that I enjoy this blogging stuff. It's just simple. I may say goodbye to facebook and myspace forever (or maybe not). Anyway, an update on life.....finally started working as a PA in the Pediatric ER, Jake is starting kindegarten in a month, Anna is turning into a lovely young lady, Cory is enjoying helping coach the softball team, the house is STILL not done, our last vacation was to Disney in May, our next vacation will be God knows when, blah blah blah.

Summertime Softball

We're taking a short break from our painting project. Anna's Allstar team is playing in Slidell...the final tournament of the summer. They've done well, and of course, I'm proud. At this particular tournament, there was a parade of all of the teams competing. Below are pics of Jake without the lute (tears) and with the lute (smiles).

Jake has tagged along for most of his sister's games. The tears come often, but so do the smiles:) He's even managed one or two fist fights (literally) with boys that are mostly bigger than him. He is ONE OF A KIND! Sweet Jake.

A Masterpiece in Progress...Anna's Room

My 9-year-old daughter, Anna Catherine, chose to have a brown and aqua themed room. She debated on blue and green, hot pink and orange, mint green and pink and at the last moment, she decided she didn't want her room to look like every other 9-year-old's room. So, these are the colors that SHE wanted. I think her room will be more elegant than funky. We're planning to use one of the old fireplace mantels (since a fireplace no longer exists) along with some old window frames to liven the place up. Oh yeah, she get's a chandelier too and the best windows in the house!

In the Works

I'm in pain. Painting is HARD work. My feet..my back...my head...my arms....my poor body!!! The colors are turning out nicely though. As you can see, many of the shades are pretty bold. We have super high ceilings and big rooms so I can get away with color. Plus, it's an old house; it should have character. No bland tan here. These pics are of the dining (blue-gray) and living room (gold).

PAINTING=WORK

Cory and I are attacking the job of painting a 3600 sq ft house. Unfortunately, hiring someone to do this task costs a bundle, and it's just not in our budget. We're saving approximately 6-7K in labor costs by doing the work ourselves. The paint itself will run between 3-4K. I know that sounds like a little money, but we're coming to the end of our budget and there's lots left to do!!!!

The picture to left is the kitchen, and I happen to love the color. The blue-gray is the master bath...love that too.

Upstairs...bonus room, game room, toy room. I'm not exactly sure what it's called, but it has been completely finished with drywall. They still need to "float" all of the walls.

Drywall...In the Initial Stages

We've had the sweet sound of music (in another language) blarring throughout the house for the past few days as the guys we hired to hang the drywall work, work, and work some more.

This is the formal dining room, and beyond that is the living room.

Our New Front Steps

We recently had our front steps built using old brick we salvaged from the original site. I do love these steps. Drywall can now be delivered since we have a "sturdy" entrance.

Upstairs... The top picture is of the huge (really) bonus room. The bottom pic is of the 4th bedroom. It has a bath attached to it. Progress...we'll soon be putting new drywall.

I've forgotten what the front porch looks like....

The porch is covered with wood, wood, and more wood. The first picture is of the wood we removed from several ceilings (hiding behind sheetrock) of the house. It looked pretty bad until Cory plained it. The finished product is shown in the second picture. Now, we'll have beautiful wood ceilings in our kitchen.

Some of the rooms had tounge and groove wood walls behind the sheetrock. This wall is in the foyer, and it will remain exposed after we're done. Instant wainscoating (only half way up). The other half will be drywall because too many pieces of the wood are missing.

The stairway, still unfinished!

A Small Sample of the Terrors that Lurk Inside!

The entire kitchen will be gutted...the island is a goner! Down below is the dining room and beyond that is the family room.

Progress is slow.

So we still have a load of work...as you can see! The house will more than likely be painted white with black shutters and a red front door. I change my mind every other minute.

Colors...

Yellow is out! Although this is not our house, this is an example of the color scheme we're thinking about. We've also thought about dark, slate gray-blue. Any ideas??

Shingles and Dormers...an accomplishment. We've also started replacing the old siding with new Cypress. The house will be painted another color soon

Summer 2007...We have a whole house again. We've also replaced the roof and rebuilt the dormers.

The house made it to our property in three seperate pieces. It remained this way for a while as our mover neglected to put it back together.

Coming Down the Road in Pieces (October 2006)

The House at its Original Location when We purchased it in March 2006

Cory and I blindly bid on this house in an auction back in March 2006. We won! Wow. Don't ever purchase a super huge old house and move it unless you're ready for the trials and tribulations involved with it. Luckily, we love the thing...called Nesser Butler. What kind of name is that? I'm not sure. We were told by a woman who grew up in the house that it has a name and Nesser Butler it is. Maybe I'll call her Nessie. Our hearts and bank account are wrapped up in her.