Tired...countertops...floors...

Scott and Dad hung up the lanterns on Saturday...
Now I need to paint the front door black...

Mom and I painted in the laundry room - just the laundry room - all day Saturday.  OK - we did paint some baseboards in the bathrooms upstairs, but.....we spent most of the day in the laundry room.  How can that be?!?

Scott hanging our bathroom light fixtures...

The last bit of demo -- the half bath downstairs.  It looks so nasty! 
Jim came by late this evening to put up new drywall...

Frog eggs?

The kids are investigating the little dots in the baby pool...

Kitchen countertops have arrived!  Ashley calls them "cookie dough"
because the colors remind her of one of our favorite things to eat!

Installation...there is one seam in the granite near the kitchen sink and the
guys are using some sort of very nasty-smelling adhesive...

There is a little overhang on one side of the island so we can put a barstool or two for "perching" (that's what Luann, the kitchen lady, calls it)...  The floor guys surprised us today and started sanding the floors a day early - you can see the parts that they've already sanded in the photo...We've decided to just go natural on the white oak (instead of staining), so that will cut the finishing time also.  We're pushing hard for an 8/6/11 move.  The house will not be done, but it should be move-in-able.  We are utterly exhausted and ready to be done!

Two weeks from today until the big move...8/6...

Freezing some of the extra green beans from our garden sounded easy - and it was,
but we don't have time for this right now!  Back to painting and packing!

My good friend, Mary Beth, came over to help sand and fill holes...
Lots of dust in the air...

Corn husk green - I love the name of paint colors!  Upstairs bathroom...

Brown teepee...

Our eating location has improved - AC and no flies!  Better view too!

The trim guys are working hard today!  It's looking like a real house now!

Ashley helping to clean up the basement before we start bringing over stuff...

Hannah's helping too...

Foyer/front door...Toasted cashew...



Pumpkins!



Not very happy with the HVAC guy right now (who is in San Francisco on vacation)!  This thermostat is either broken or too complicated!  The AC upstairs will not come on.  It is smokin' up here!



Tidepools...this blue is really pretty with an
ocean-themed shower curtain that we ordered...



Hannah filling nail holes in the trim...we've been doing this for DAYS!

Connor is also filling holes...The wife of the floor guy is
helping us paint - she is really good at it!  Thankful!

Bathroom #1 upstairs - cabinets and countertops installed...Very happy with the cabinets...Drywall is finally done in the bathrooms, so we primed and painted ceilings tonight (that's a lot of fun -- joking)...I really wanted to get the painting done BEFORE the cabinets went in, but the scheduling didn't work...

Bathroom #1 shower...

Bathroom #2 upstairs - cabinets and countertops installed...

Bathroom #2 upstairs - tub/shower...

Master bath downstairs -- cabinets and countertop installed...

This is a shower, not a trashcan!

Yea - doors are being installed...master bedroom...

Watermelons!  I see three in this photo...

I think this is a "Georgia Rattlesnake" watermelon!  Heirloom variety...

Squash bugs are driving us CRAZY!  And something is killing our squash plants at the soil surface on the stem -- borers?  We're organic gardeners, so I tried DE (diatomaceous earth) scattered liberally...don't think it's working...We pick off the bugs and eggs and drop into milk jugs filled with soapy water, but it doesn't seem to end - there are so many of them!  We've lost 4-5 big plants...

When we're not at the other house painting, filling holes in the trim, or watering the garden, we're at the rental packing...what happened to my helpers?!?  We were packing up books and they found some they haven't read...

Another "helper" -- she found a book too...
I cannot believe the chaos we're living in -- this is a mess!

The kids filled up this full sized sand bucket tonight with green beans!  In fact, they quit when they reached the top of the bucket!  We're going to try to blanche and freeze some tomorrow for the first time...

More zucs and cucs...

*******
We are so exhaused.  I know -- I sound like a broken record.  We are just so tired.  Painting ceilings is really hard and uncomfortable work!    Trying to figure out our move date -- maybe 8/6 to give the floor and trim guys a little more time.  The man doing the trim thinks he might finish this week-end, then the floor crew can come in to start sanding.  They need 5 days with no one stepping on the hardwoods.  We have so much to do...

On a totally different note, I was happy to see this list of verses/character traits to pray over my children (and Scott and me!) recently.  I first saw this through Focus on the Family when Ashley was a newborn and just saw it again on John Piper's twitter...
http://www.reviveourhearts.com/topics/downloads/index.php?id=9479
(I'm not familiar with this website or the lady who runs it; however, I recognize this list and love it!)



Crepe myrtles in full bloom

Jasen and Scott working on the tile.  They added the grout and are now wiping off the excess...

It's nice to have lights again...

Tile is done!

Gammy, Hannah & Connor filling the nail holes in the trim to prepare it for the final coat of paint. 
Gammy, Poppy and Burgess (the dog) came to help out for the day...

Poppy and Daniel putting another ceiling fan together

This is what our meals look like (while trying to keep flies off the food!)...

The hardwood floor guy (Steve) is almost done putting the wood down.  He plans to
finish up the school room tomorrow...then they will come back for five consecutive days to sand and add the topcoats.  Still trying to decide if we should stain them...

Poppy putting together the front porch ceiling fans while Hannah and Burgess look on...

Scott installing... 

This is NOT a funeral!  Staying out of the sun while digging the front step footers...



Mixing and placing concrete...



Mr. Jasen helping the kids put their handprints into the concrete under the steps -- very cute idea!



Hard to read -- translation:  "The Dewhirst Family 2011"

 

Awww!  The kids found these three adorable baby bunnies under a bush...

*******

On the positive side, a lot of work has gotten done in the past few days...the tile in the bathrooms and laundry room is done, the front porch decking is nearly done, many of the lights and ceiling fans are installed, etc, etc.  So thankful the drywall guys showed up this morning to finish up (almost) the bathrooms.  The bathroom cabinets are supposed to be installed on Monday and the drywall needs to be done.  I wanted to paint before the cabinets went in, but that might not happen.  The trim guy finished up the windows and has started installing the interior doors.  We're struggling with whether to continue to push for a 7/30 move or wait until the end of August.  We don't want to pay another month of rent and I wanted to get somewhat settled before we started school back up (we usually start around the 3rd week of August) -- I don't even feel like we've had a summer break!  But...we can't rush the floors and we don't want to move in if dust is still flyin'...plus we're not packed and we have another commitment that has been scheduled for a long time...God is not surprised by any of this...He knows what is best...Inquiring of the Lord...