The House

We have been trying to check off as many house projects on our list before the weather gets colder. I've decided something: home improvement projects go a lot faster if you have time or if you have money. We don't have much of either so elbow grease is our only offering :)  I am SO grateful that my home is comfortable. We didn't want to buy a "fixer upper" house because we knew Trent would be so busy. And our home is cozy and comfortable but does need updating and that is what we've been so busy trying to do! Most of our time has been spent on projects that have probably needed doing for several years and it has been fun to feel like we are giving this house a little TLC. Most of our projects thus far have been invisible, meaning they are the under the surface changes. I've found that as the woman of the house that is slightly frustrating. I can't wait to get to the fun, aesthetic things and make the house "ours" but know that these changes are of higher priority these first few months!

The kids have had a good time raking and hauling leaves to our compost pile. This kept them busy while Mom and Dad were busy blowing insulation. 

Trent (miraculously) had election day off of work. It happened to be beautiful weather so we decided it was attic insulation day. Trent had put many hours in over previous weeks getting the attic ready to blow insulation and then suitable for storage. My job was to man this handy dandy machine we got from Home Depot. I fed the insulation bales into this while Trent blew it into the attic. 

Here he is getting ready to blow the insulation. Overall, for two novices, it went very smoothly and the change in our house temperature has already been noticeable! I think it will be very worth the effort. 

Nathan is Trent's shadow whenever there is a project at hand. I love to watch it. He takes it so seriously and will willingly do any odd job that is available. 

I don't have pictures of it, but we also just finished the spare bedroom downstairs. Trent drywalled it and I did the paint work. Seeing fresh paint and woodwork was so satisfying and we are quite pleased to have it done and ready to get organized. 

We left such a nice tidy, straight forward life in 

our Gilbert home and I would be lying if I said I never missed my brand new house with no projects to speak of. But having a house that we can make our own and work on as a family has already been a very good thing for us and we're learning lots in the process. We're going to tinker on small projects the next couple months as we plan and prioritize our next thing to tackle- bathroom, kitchen, living room floor? Jury is still out on what it will be so stay tuned!