Chaos. To describe my house in one word, that would be it. We embarked on a remodeling project this week and it promises to be a doozy. As of last night, I don't have a couch, sink, fridge, stove, microwave, toilet, bath, or sink in my house. My bathroom, kitchen, and family rooms have been completely gutted. I went to bed at 3:30 for the second night in a row, and I am exhausted. Only a couple weeks to go . . .

Dave Robinson and his wife, Jennifer, are going to be missionaries to Malawi, Africa, and are currently gathering support before their expected departure sometime next year. They are traveling around in an RV and are currently parked in our church parking lot next to our house. Dave told us a couple months ago that in November he would be in our area to help renovate some rooms in our home. He and his family used to build homes, so he has the expertise and know-how that we are sorely lacking.

Our house was built in 1937. Someone told me it was a bungalow, but I don't know what exactly that is. All I know is that it is a perfect rectangle with the short side as the front of the house. Not too stylish on the outside, but I tend to think the interior is more crucial. This house went up for sale just a few months after Victory purchased its building back in 2003. The Lord provided it just as we were needing to get out of apartment living, and I am truly thankful for it. It's been a blessing to live right next to the church for the past three years. However . . .
It does have its limitations. Many things within are simply falling apart. The kitchen cabinets were in poor shape, the bathroom and kitchen floors had water damage, the carpets were spotty, several things needed repair. Brett and I try not to get caught up in material things, but we were simply embarrassed to have people over, which we love to do. The opportunity arose where we could have an overhaul done, in sort of a now-or-never situation. Plus, it will help when we sell it down the road.

So, for those of you familiar with my house, here is the proposed plan:

1. The kitchen will be moved to the yellow room. There will be cabinets underneath the windows, a sink in the corner, and space for a dishwasher (which may have to come later). I'm really excited to get storage space and doors, yes doors, that cover the cabinets.
2. The old kitchen room will now be the dining room. We hope to put in a corner bench that will act as seating to two sides of the table.
3. The front door that's never used will be taken out and made into a wall. The window that was to the right of the door will be the new door, effectively making the living room a larger space.
4. The bathroom will get new fixtures. No more ugly blue tub with blue tile, no more gross old toilet with the broken handle. Our toilet has been without a handle for a couple years now. The top of the tank was left open and you reached in to pull the handle up. Once I went with Connor to the restroom at church. He did his business, then looked at the shiny chrome flush handle and asked, What's that? I wanted to laugh and cry.

These are just the major things that are going on right now. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm thrilled to be able to get some things updated. Last night, we gutted the kitchen and bathroom. It looks like previous owners deided to do their redecorating on top of the old stuff rather than remove it, so there were two linoleum floors to pick up and two sets of shower tile to break down. We found some old newspapers stuffed in a corner that were from 1951. A woman could purchase a velvet pillbox hat for $12.45 and boy's dungarees were $1.57. Interesting, maybe we'll make a time capsule to put inside the framing.
Tonight's festivities involve painting walls and trim, so if you are bored and want to join a lively party, head out to our house around 7-8. (Please use the restroom before you come over, teehee) Many thanks to Josie and Phil who helped out last night. Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the progress.