House Construction

It’s been in the works for weeks. We’ve been talking about it for months, and thinking about it for years.But until yesterday, we’ve done nothing more then shop for, talk about, and think about it.

We are finally redoing the outside of our house. The old aluminum siding has more then served its years, and so Dad has begun ripping it off on the east side of our house. Mom is thrilled. Not only does she get a new wall of T1-11 (for all those un-technical people like me, T1-11 is just wooden siding, basically), she also gets a new, bigger kitchen window, and an outside electrical outlet. Our hope is to eventually put steel siding over the T1-11, but until then, Mom has plans for staining the wood to make it look as beautiful as possible!

We are going to redo the roof at some point as well. The roof will be done in steel roofing, and Mom has almost decided on a blue-gray color. The walls will be done in white steel siding.

Dad is doing almost all the work himself: ripping out mouse-eaten insulation, installing electrical outlets, tearing off siding, hauling huge sheets of T1-11 around. We are all thrilled that he is finally well enough to do this sort of thing! So far, Timmy and Caleb have been his only helpers. (I’m fine with that, too. I don’t really enjoy tools and related topics! Timmy was shocked when he asked me for a Phillips-head screwdriver, and I innocently asked what in the world that was.) Because the boys were doing so much construction work, and running around under ladders, Dad thought it would be a good idea to purchase a hard hat. Timmy and Caleb were thrilled, and wear it proudly whenever they can. We tease them that they look like a chicken when they wear it, but they don't mind!

Timmy in his hard-hat, helping Dad put up the new east wall.

All the construction hasn’t been outside, though. Just a few days ago Dad installed a stove-fan for Mom. Mom was tired of her house getting so hot every time we turned the oven on, so Dad did some research online, ordered the parts, and put up the small white microwave-like thing. Mom is so happy with it! Her house no longer reaches crazy temperatures, and we can cook much more often now.

Our front lawn is temporarily a combination of pieces of aluminum siding, pits of insulation, tools, drill bit boxes, extension cords, chairs, dogs, cats, and boys! Timmy and Caleb importantly talk about ‘helping Daddy’, and blissfully run for tool after tool, while Dad carefully thinks out and performs each step.

Since Dad is putting in a new window, the old one was torn out. That leaves a nice gapping hole while he works on getting the window in. For the moment, Mom has it covered with plastic, and keeps re-taping it with duct tape and masking tape. It certainly isn’t a beautiful sight, but Dad is working as fast as he can to get the new window in. Considering the hot temperatures of this week, they have been doing fine so far!

As for the rest of us, we cover our ears when Dad runs the loud tools, thoroughly discuss each development, and poke our heads out the back door to admire the rapidly rising wall every hour or so.

The Weekly Bible Verse

1 Kings 3:28: All Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered; and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him, to execute justice.

Bits and Pieces

On Friday, Rebekah Jean celebrated her 15th birthday. We had a wonderful day. Timmy declared that Beka probably set a record with ten birthday presents! Two of them she received beforehand: a pearl birthstone ring of her choosing from Mom, and Matthew bought her a songbird feeder, and set up a bird sanctuary outside her window (complete with a ‘tree’, consisting of some branches nailed onto a long stump, and bird-bath). The other gifts she received were a giant egg of Silly Putty, a beautiful made-in-England carving set, salt-and-pepper shakers, a butter dish, a painted ‘Enter With A Happy Heart’ sign, a set of five classical music tapes, and a lap harp. Everything except for the harp, music, and Silly Putty was for her hope chest.

Beka's 15th birthday hat cake. Photo by Mom.

Together Beka and I made a pretty hat cake for her. We used fondant for the first time, and were very pleased with the result.

A Word About The Weather

It has rained and shined this week. Our garden is still recovering from the downpours of last week, but we are able to get into the garden now. The rain not only revived our plants, it also revived the weeds! So we spent Saturday weeding all morning. Beka said that getting those weeds out at last ‘thrilled her soul’. I don’t know if I’d exactly put it that way! :)

A Word Of Wisdom

Pressure is a virtue, according to Caleb!