Well, Electricity and Windows!! Oh my!!

Morgan and his co-worker Clint got right down to business and took down the well house the night before we left on our family vacation to St. Louis. 

Unfortunately after trying for most of the day the well guys were unable to repair the well and a new well will have to be dug. This is not what we were hoping for but its something that needs to be done. I would explain to you what all the issues are but that would mean I understood what the issues are. Bless the well guys who tried to explain to me what they were doing by drawing a picture on the side of his dusty truck. This momma doesn't know a thing about wells!! 

I also drove to Iowa City to look for Quartz for the kitchen counters. I totally struck out and had about the most awkward meeting with the distributors ever possible. First they called their warehouse "candy land". What?!? I am not joking people. Then the guy asked me if I had allergies because my eyes were read..."ummm excuse me? I woke up at 5:30am ...thank you sir!" I could not get out of their fast enough...weirdest experience ever! 

Last week I also got this bright idea to put Transom Windows in the kitchen above a few of the doors. So this week our contractors framed the doors and...wow! It makes the room look so much bigger! 

This is the doorway leading into the butlers pantry. The fridge will go in the space to the right of the doorway.

Here's what the transom windows will look like! I think it will really open up the room and let a lot more light in!

We then packed up and left for St. Louis on Friday and spent some time at the Magic House, which is basically an enormous old house renovated into a children's museum. Brodyn had no fun at all!

We then spent Saturday at the St. Louis Zoo. We had so much fun exploring and seeing so many animals!

We then had a fun night at the hotel swimming and eating way too much! We headed back to Cedar Falls mid morning on Sunday and about an hour into our trip this was our view...

To bad it didn't last the whole way...driving long distances with small children is not healthy for this momma!! But we made it and had a fun time!

Now back to work...

Learning to be Patient!

We've been asked a lot lately how things are going at the house. To be honest, we've been at a little bit of a standstill for a few weeks. It's been a little bit frustrating but we understand that people have lives and are busy with other things. But the electrician started this week and should be wrapping things up by next Monday so the insulation crew can begin.   Yay! 

We also had to replace some of the windows so that's being done this week! We were able to get windows that match the style of the old windows and so you can hardly notice the difference! Yay!

While we were waiting for the electrician we got a lot small projects done. One of those random projects was getting the well checked out, just to be sure things were a-okay!  We found a few issues there and will have to take down the well house so they can be fixed. It's not something we were planning on but it goes with the territory of fixing up an old house.  Praying that everything goes smoothly and that we can keep expenses low!

We also moved into Morgan's parents house the last week of July. We are so grateful they are willing to have us invade their home, because let's be real when you have two boys invadeing is the correct term. We are planning to be here until the renovations are finished. The boys are LOVING the extra attention and all of Grandmas fun toys! We are trying to stick to our schedule and the boys are doing awesome!

We've crammed all of our essentials into the upstairs! And are starting to settle in. I know it's probably not ideal but everything has been going SO well and I know we will look back on this time as a fun adventure! 

Our stuff finding its place in Morgan's old room. It's kinda fun staying in your husbands old room. Since we've always lived close by we have never have stayed here so it's funny to go through some of his old stuff.

More of the essentials stacked up in the spare room.

We've been enjoying some fun activities at grandmas including washing mommy's car.

We also had the chance to spend the weekend up at Morgan's parents house near Decorah a few weeks ago! I love this picture because everyone was playing nicely for once! A mothers dream...

Sawyer is learning so much lately!! It's amazing to see your kids grow. He has also become our climber...he got into this chair all on his own and as you can see is pretty happy with himself! Mommy on the other hand almost had a heart attack!

We are so excited to keep things going on our house but we love this time to be by family.  We also are excited to be close to our new house so we can pop over whenever and only having one house to worry about is bliss! 

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

Wow the last few weeks have gone by so quickly! You can really start to see things beginning to take shape! We've been busy with meetings, framing, plumbing, mowing, mowing and mowing. 

Here are some pictures on the progress!

This will be the coat closet when you walk in. There's a old door in the picture that we will use as the door to the closet! And yes the ship lap is staying!! Woot woot!

Here's the look I'm shooting for!

A new shower stall all set in the main floor bathroom!

Plumbing for my kitchen sink! We are doing a white apron sink with a double basin. Is it weird I'm excited to wash dishes? 

Upstairs shower/bath was also put in this week.

And I had to sit in it just to make sure it passed the test! Baths are my favorite!

Plumbing all ready to go for the double sink vanity!

Listen, it looks about the same but there's really been a lot done! A lot of structure stuff to make sure no one falls through the ceiling and also getting everything level.  It takes some time but it's sure coming along! We ordered the cabinets this week and I am so excited to see them set up in this kitchen!

Demo Weekend

I said it on social media and I will say it again!!! We are so blessed with hardworking and FUN friends and family! I am so thankful to my girlfriends who let us borrow their husbands for the day on Saturday! I know it's normally a family day (and Father's Day weekend) so I am extra thankful that you all are so amazing 😘!! Morgan is all yours for your next home project!! 

Here are some pictures of the fun day we had!

The ginormous dumpster that I said, "no way are we going to fill that whole thing!!"... And that's why I don't make those decisions people! It was full by the end of the weekend...and we aren't even finished! Oh and that's my father in law on the roof emptying buckets! I made sure no children saw this happening...I don't want them to get any ideas for those teenage years!!

I don't even know how many times I went up and down these stairs. I am amazed I never wiped out on the cardboard. (These are leading up into the kitchen.)

The kitchen wall before...

During....

And after!!! By this point I was so excited! I can just see everything coming together!! It looks like a mess now but soon this will be our gathering place! And that makes a mama happy!

My dad and my father in law spent most the day working upstairs. Taking down lathe and plaster, rewiring and I'm sure talking about how crazy their kids were for taking on this project 😉 

The wall coming down to make room for a bigger bathroom! I am amazed no one was "seriously" injured all day! I mean look at this mess 😫😫😫

Thanks to my mom, mother in law and sister in law for making lunch and watching the two minions so that I could help with demo (yes, it takes 3 people to watch Sawyer and Brodyn...they are trouble). 😷

 Of course some things came up that we weren't expecting but that's what happens during a remodel right!?! Morgan is learning to roll with the punches 😉 We are now redoing the main floor bathroom as well as some windows.   It will be nice to just have them done! 

To put the icing on the cake...of course a tree would fall down on Monday due to high winds from a storm. Thankfully it's far away from the house and nothing was damaged. I asked Morgan what the plan is for it and he said, "that's going to have to be there for a while!" That does not sound like Morgan haha!

I'm hoping to get over there today or tomorrow to take some more pictures of the demo work so far! I'll leave you with this...

 My view while mowing...I could get used to this!!

Before Pictures

Before Pictures

My husband was so eager to get started that he kinda forgot I wanted to take "before pictures"...but we make it work! 

Love the big window that looks over the yard! Looking forward to watching the boys get into trouble out there 😉

More kitchen cabinets

Back through that doorway is the back entrance and to the left is what we call "the addition". It's a living room that was added on later. It's an amazing big space and I envision lots of "mom nights" and kids sleepovers in that room!

This beautiful cabinet is just the cutest. I'm trying to find some way to use it in the house. Crossing my fingers!!!

The right door will be the butlers pantry and an exit to the patio. The middle door is a staircase to the basement. The door on the left are the stairs that lead upstairs.

This view is looking into the formal living room and front porch area. To the left is the front door and coat closet.

We are tearing down one bedroom to turn it into a larger bathroom upstairs. 

Stay tuned for more pictures! Demo weekend is this weekend! 

The Journey Begins

We've been praying and dreaming about it for a long time.  Basically since we've been dating we've talked about our dream to raise our family on a farm.  I will admit I was a hard sell at first but after we had a little boy I couldn't deny the voices inside my head telling me that this boy was made for living in the country.  He loves to climb, discover, get dirty, be around animals, and just run.  After we had boy number two it was a done deal. We began talking about our options and praying for guidance and that something would come up that we could see ourselves growing our family in. I have always struggled with contentment but after many properties/land came up and didn't work out I finally got to a place where I said, "okay God I give up. Teach me to feel content and help me to trust in you." It wasn't much later when we were approached by some good family friends telling us that they were thinking about selling their beautiful, old farmhouse.  

This home screams Cedar Falls history and I can't wait to learn more about the Hearst family and the Maplehearst farm as we get acquainted with the property. The McClanahan family, who asked us if we'd be interested in the house, grew up down the road from Morgan's parents. They have 5 kids that they raised in this house and they have been close friends with the Troendle family for a long time.  We are so excited to begin this journey and feel so thankful to the McClanahan family for giving our growing family this opportunity. We hope to bring up our kids loving life and God as much as yours do! Anyone who knows any of you knows that this is true!

One huge bonus with moving to this house is how close we will be to Morgan's parents. We love spending time with family and it will be so nice to be so close! Also, since Morgan grew up in the area, he knows most of the people living around the house.  Which will come in handy when we need someone to push our snow or something comes up that we need help with...that never happens on a farm right?? Having great neighbors is a huge blessing when living in the country and we are very lucky to know some of those folks already!

We are going to do some renovations on the house. We will begin by renovating the kitchen and upstairs bathroom prior to moving in.  I have been busy pinning, reading renovation blogs, looking at builders websites etc. Pinterest seems to be the first step when starting any home project, right? Next we started meeting with potential builders and designers. We were feeling pretty discouraged at first because everyone we initially met with we felt didn't get our ideas. We then met with a couple from our church who renovated their farmhouse near Hudson. Their house was gorgeous so we wrote down the contacts of the people on their building team and set up meetings right away. We are excited about these professionals and feel confident they will work hard to restore this beautiful home.  My goal has alway been to keep the integrity of the house and so it was important to me to find people who are passionate about that as well.

We have big dreams for this house! Mainly that God will use it to grow his kingdom in different ways! We are so excited to see what He has in-store for our family. One thing I've learned about God during this process is you never know what tomorrow will bring. We are looking forward to discovering His plan for us!

I plan on using this blog to share with our friends and family the ups and downs of restoring an older home. I also think it'll be fun to look back on all the work we do! So please, join us on this journey to discovering Maplehearst!!

 

There will be a lot of school pictures taken on those steps!!

Welcome to the farm!! Ain't she a beauty!!

First few weeks...

The first few weeks home were full of highs and lows. Every new mom goes through them but I didn't realize the roller coaster my emotions would be going on. Thank goodness for my so very patient husband and my extremely helpful mom! I can't imagine having to do that all alone!

Having had a C-section made it very difficult for me to do all the new baby stuff. I pretty much laid on the couch and fed him and fed myself. When my mom told me she was going to plan on leaving at the one week mark I still hadn't changed a diaper! I was a little freaked out to say the least. Luckily I began to feel better soon after and we survived!

Brodyn was such a good baby right off the bat! He was pretty much on his 3 hour schedule right away. He soon figured out that during the night he could stretch it out a little longer. I think he was waking up once between 2AM-5AM by week four! As long as he has a full stomach he's pretty much a happy little guy.

In the hospital he lost about a pound but by his 2 week appointment he had gained all of it back plus some. He weighed 10pds 5oz and was 24 inches long. The nurse was very impressed with how much he had grown!

Here are a few pictures from his first few weeks!

Mom and Baby Brodyn as the hospital

Kaytlyn and Joan came to visit!

He loves his swing!

First bath at the hospital!

Sleepy baby in his skeleton outfit at the hospital