week one recap.

We survived Demolition Week!

David was able to talk off work some on Tuesday to help out, which he thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks to both sets of grandparents and our friends’ pool, we were able to stay out of the house as much as possible. Here’s the progress:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple pics to remind you of what our kitchen and dining room looked like before:

 

 

 

 

And here we are now! Doesn’t it feel so big?

 

 

 

They weren’t able to save any of the original hardwoods like they hoped. That’s okay, it will look much nicer to have matching floors in the whole space.

 

 

You can see where our island will be built in the above photo. I learned that it’s not going to be large enough for the sink and dishwasher, but that’s okay. They will go under the window, just like before, and the island will be a nice food prep/serving area.

So now I thought I’d show you what our makeshift kitchen/dining room look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

See? We have plenty of space. It was a little touch-and-go this week when the boys’ section of our house was also closed off and the whole family was sharing this bathroom, and washing dishes, but we made it.

True confession: I used the Instant Pot a grand total of one time in the first week. I had such good plans, but it’s pretty much impossible to prepare a real meal in our house. So we ate lots of sandwiches this week, and one morning I took ingredients over to Steve and Linda’s and made us a pot roast with veggies in her Instant Pot. It tasted delicious!

I have modified my expectations for our eating habits this summer. If I can make two home cooked meals a week, I’ll be happy. I need to make a better plan after our trip, like have lots of fresh veggies chopped and stored in the fridge. It’s only been 7 days and David and I really, really miss real food.

 

 

 

 

Good-bye, old kitchen!

And now I’m typing this quick post from the Columbia Airport, ready to board our first plane to make our way to the Middle East. These past couple weeks have been the most stressful we’ve experienced in some time, and there have been tears for sure (all mine). My brain felt like it would explode with details for our trip, the kids’ time here, and kitchen decisions … all with pounding and plumes of dust filling our house.

In fact, when Scott asked me just this morning to get him measurements for the new appliances I plan to get before I leave, I had to hurry away before I burst into tears.

Thankfully he said we can email them tomorrow. Whew. Just picture me trying to find WiFi so I can look up random fridges on the Lowe’s website.

But. We made it here. Thank you for praying for us. As David’s dad drove us to the airport, our kids happily starting their week of VBS with their friends, I felt a weight lift.

And I can now genuinely say I’m thrilled for this chance to travel with David.

Love and hugs to you all. I hope to blog while we’re away!

 

Father’s Day, 2019

 

 

And we’re off!