Just some pics of the family

I love my boys.

Shelby has her daddy's eyes.
And mommy's legs... I believe they call our type of legs = "cankles."
Despite how chilly it is outside, Shelby refuses to wear anything else but pink dresses. AND her new favorite, little pink plastic shoes with a sparkly bow. Thank you Grandma J. for my pretty princess pumps.

More progress on the kitchen

Our wonderful children have had tremendous patience as we have been working on the kitchen since July. So far, they have managed to stay away from the power tools, paint and wires! Shelby has even picked up the broom and she tries to sweep the floor, walls and anything else the big broom will extend to! Harlan has been playing by himself outside. He does a good job playing alone but he keeps telling me that he can't wait until Shelby is 3 years old and can play with him more. They love each other and don't argue often... yet.

The granite is coming... the granite is coming!

By the way, look at that great looking guy in overalls!

We are grateful for amazing friends that have come over to help lift and cut granite in nippy weather instead of going for a morning deer hunt. Rob, you are the best! Thank you to Amanda for lending us your husband for a few hours.

This was the maiden cut of granite. We didn't know what to expect. So far, so good!

So above is the wall behind the stove with just primer. I was playing in my Photoshop program with color for the walls. No, it hasn't been painted in real life yet but I'm thinking of the below color. I have to have COLOR!

So, what do you think of this color for the walls?

Too late! I already bought the paint and I'm going with the red walls anyway!

Kitchen Remodel progress

So this is our kitchen before the remodeling started in July 2010. Yes, that was our only window in the entire kitchen.

You are looking at the North wall that had our stove with no place to put a hot pot or pan of cookies!

Yes, this was our sink area that looked out into the dining room/front door area.

And, yes, seen below was the ONLY counter space we had in the ENTIRE kitchen. It was a dark corner and you couldn't even see what you were working on because the light you see in the center is the ONLY light in the kitchen so you create a shadow on the counter. Total darkness.

Below is a teaser photo of what we have done so far. The counter you see in the foreground used to have a wall. I am standing in the dining room area taking this photo. There is LIGHT! There IS counter space now! Rich has done amazing work and pretty much on his own. He has torn out the lath & plaster, re-wired for more outlets, sheetrock, primed walls & used cabinets, put in can lights, painting, installing hardware on cabinets, put in a great big window, moved and modified the heater duct, granite cutting and MUCH MUCH more.

I'll keep you posted on the progress as I get time to upload these photos.