Basement phase 4 {moving the electrical box}

Here's where I left you last time I mentioned our basement renovation...

Basement {phase 3}


This view is from the bottom of the basement stairs.

Our plan is to turn this large open area into a playroom/ TV/ hangout room. The space to the right (behind those beams) will be a storage/ laundry room area.

Here's the problem:

You can't really have a safe and functional playroom with an electrical box right at the bottom of the stairs.

So, we decided to move it to a safer location (in the soon to be "storage/ laundry room")

My sister and brother-in-law stayed with us over the weekend to help with this tricky project--because we're amateurs when it comes to electrical work, and because we love having them stay with us! Win-win.


Basically this is what they (Dave and Greg) did...

Essentially they removed the old box, and put a new one up in the storage room...

Easy enough, right?!

Greg and Dave working their electrical magic!

Ummm, it wasn't QUITE that easy...at least not without some major bumps in the road.

This was my FB status on Tuesday:

"Soooooo moving an electrical box is a bigger headache than we thought:

- Two days of hard work followed by a failed inspection.

- A failed inspection means the city won't reconnect your electricity.

- Not having electricity is forcing us to be VERY creative.

- Being creative means borrowing generators, lanterns, and the neighbor's laundry machines.

I guess you could say we're living the Amish dream right now :)"

Yep, that sums it up.

Greg was able to fix some mistakes for a second inspection...

And after borrowing a generator for a whopping FOUR days (thanks Nik and Jamie!) 

we finally passed our second electrical inspection!

Some observations:

1. My breakfast every morning requires TWO appliances--coffee maker and toaster. 

2. Bath time in candlelight is kinda fun!

3. Eating out was an easy excuse all week, but I am definitely feeling more sluggish and sleepy as a result.

4. We have awesome and incredibly generous neighbors.

5. Moving an electrical box is like solving a puzzle. A really hard puzzle with roadblocks and occasional booby-traps.

6. We played outside a LOT more than normal this week. 

7. Generators run on gasoline. About 10 gallons of gas will generate electricity for roughly 24 hours. Gas these days costs a LOT. We used the generator for four days. You do the math.

8. I felt incredibly helpless with this project, but more patient than I expected. I just tried to be Greg's cheerleader.

9. My husband is my superhero.

Let's hope the hardest part is now over!

Church softball

Another season of church softball has ended.

We were able to go to most games this year.

Going and actually watching are two different things.

But, we were there.

And that's what means the most to Greg.

I do love my man in a good lookin' uniform. 

Especially those pants. 

Yes.

Please.

***

Happy seventh...

Surprise dates are always my favorite.

Greg planned one yesterday {unbeknownst to me}.

It was splendid.

Went to see "The Avengers" in the theaters where I snuggled against my own personal superhero in the dark.

Starving and hungry we enjoyed a late but delicious dinner at Olive Garden.

We chatted about our favorite highlights over the past seven years.

Collectively we came up with the following (in no particular order):

1. Kensie

2. Mason

3. our 5th year anniversary trip

4. Amazing Race in Chicago

5. living in Europe for 9 months

6. trip to CA

7. overcoming struggles

My goodness, we're blessed.

Marriage isn't all cake and roses.

It's a journey.

I'm quite enjoying ours so far. 

Can't wait to see what God does in the next seven years!

***

From crib to bed: How it's going

It's going good overall. We switched Kensie from her crib to her big girl bed last Sunday night. 

The first night went great!

Clearly she was excited. 

I mean look at those sparkling eyes with that reassuring thumbs up?! That girl kills me sometimes!

She slept ALL night without rolling off, and greeted me in the morning with excitement, 

"I sleep in my BIG GIRL BED! I a BIG GIRL MOM!!!"

"Yes you are Kens. You ARE a big girl! I'm so proud of you."

Well naptime the next day wasn't quite as successful. She was SO excited about her new room and everything in it. She just couldn't contain herself. There were so many tempting pillows to rearrange, clothes in her closet to fold and re-fold, books to get out and read. In short, she couldn't stay in her bed. 

So we came up with a solution.

I calmly explained that if she can't stay in her big girl bed, then she will sleep in the pack n' play.

So far, we're on an every other rotation.

One night in the bed. 

One naptime in the crib.

One night in the bed.

One naptime in the crib.

You get the idea.

I have to say I'm loving this transition though. It's so fun to tuck her in at night, sit on the edge of her bed and have little conversations before I turn out the light and leave the room. 

(How's potty training?? Umm don't get me started. So NOT there yet. Let's just say I'd rather give birth than potty train an almost 3 year old. Not even kidding.)

Anyway, here's a little clip from this morning...

She's growing up too darn fast. I love discovering more of her personality everyday.

***

Life: my take on it

Everyone's life is different. I don't know yours. I only know mine.

And mine goes something like this:

There are 3 seasons to my life.

{1} 

The Cake Walk

Some years are easy as pie. Everything seems to run it's course as planned. Things easily fall into place. I expect things to continue to be easy because, well, they've been that way for a while. During this season it's easy to stop looking up. To stop depending on God . To stop trusting that His way is best. I start trusting myself a little too much. I start getting pretty confident that life is easy because I deserve it. Because I'm so great. Because I deserve nothing less. This season may be filled with "great" things on the outside but I'm often left with a longing for something more.

{2} 

The Crap Shoot

The next season is filled with hardship More like crap, to tell you the truth. A steamy pile of crapola. Whether it's my own doing or not. Something snaps. Life gets messy all of a sudden. I freak out--sometimes only a little, and sometimes a whole-freaking-lot. Either way the "$@&* hits the fan". During this season I have two choices. I can either walk closer with God, or walk away from God. I've done both. Sometimes, this season can be so overwhelmingly difficult my eyes become so blurry and confused that I can't see the bigger picture. I think there's NO POSSIBLE WAY anything good can come out of it. So I tightly close my eyes, shake my head and choose to blame it all on God. I might not say that out loud. But, that's what my actions say. And sometimes during this season I can lift my head up just enough to see that maybe, possibly, God might actually have His hand in all of this (which He always does btw--I just might not see it at the time). If I can force myself to see Him in the smallest ways, then sometimes during this season I choose to seek Him. And when I painfully and finally give it to Him, I can breath again. This crappy season might not get easier but I'm able to trust that He has a plan in the end.

{3} 

The Chance to Grow

This last season happens only AFTER the first 2 seasons. I don't know why but that's the way it is (at least in my life). Sometimes I never make it to this season. I just flip-flop between the easy life and the hard life--missing the whole "growing season" all together. It seems so foolish looking back. I guess retrospect is all we have though. It's only after a season ends that you can understand it better. This growing season is when God starts bringing challenges my way. My own personal life may be going somewhat smoothly. My communication with God may be ongoing. My Bible studies may be getting deeper. My deep, godly friendships may be flourishing during this season. At the same time, I see Him bringing outside challenges into my life. It's usually not just one issue. If God is really trying to grow me, He will usually bring in multiple circumstances/ people all at the same time. It can be overwhelming! But, it can also be a season to show others the same comfort that Christ has shown me. This is the season I'm currently in. It can be extremely emotional and hard, but SO rewarding and fulfilling. There is much purpose during this time. There is much to praise the Lord for. There is so much to learn from His word. And there is so much to apply.

Source: carmendmiller.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

I'm starting to understand each of these seasons a little better and how each one has a purpose. Maybe there's a fourth season and I just haven't discovered it yet. Who knows. I'm only 29 and I have a TON more to learn about life, God, and other people. 

But for now, that's what I got.

***

Time for a big girl room!

Someone is getting pretty excited to switch into her big girl bed this weekend! She is still in her crib. Amazing I know. I'm not sure why but she has never attempted to climb out! Ever. It's crazy. But since she's turning THREE in September we decided it's time.

Long story short, we are getting a full-sized bed from my Mom to use as Kensie's new big girl bed! Since we have a small house there's no sense in storing it anywhere. So, we will take down the crib and move in her new bed all in one night! I'm kinda nervous how she'll do but we've been talking about it for several days now. My fellow mommy friends assure me she'll do just fine. Here's hoping all goes well!

Okay.

Now on to the fun stuff!

Here's where most (if not ALL) of my inspiration has come from...

{CLICK on the pics above for links}

Source: etsy.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: potterybarnkids.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: houseofturquoise.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: thompsonfamily.typepad.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: camilleroskelley.typepad.com via Shannon on Pinterest

If you couldn't tell, we are going for FLOWERS, lots of COLOR, lots of different FABRICS.

I can't wait to get started.

Thanks for staying tuned in!

***

Linking up to:

An annual event

It's been a scorcher this week with temps in the triple digits! This is not normal for Michigan. I can only imagine what it's like in the South--hang in there friends!

Thankfully Greg's family goes camping near a lake over the Fourth, which was perfect for such hot weather. We had a great time making day trips throughout the week but I'm sure happy to be home in the AC.
Whew!

Hope you had a great Fourth of July!