Pictures of the Week

Well. Matt commented that my pictures of progress on the house sort of stalled out. Unfortunately, the frequency of posting is directly related to the amount of work happening at the house.

If I were to post pictures of this week there would be one of me working on insulation Thursday afternoon. I was itchy and grouchy, but determined. The boys in the background were even grouchier than me.

There would be a picture of Kendall working on the snow blower today for a couple hours. He just wanted to quickly get it running so I could clear off the drive while he worked on the house. (It never started.)

There would be a picture of Kendall and I walking around the house, cold and tired, deciding where to put lights, switches and outlets.

There would also be a picture of the four of us sitting dejectedly in our new house eating oranges and drinking coffee. We are dressed in full winter gear, right down to the snow pants. (Except for Kendall and that explains why he was so cold in the last picture.) We’re taking our morning break, only it’s a lot less exciting than the morning breaks were when our families were here and so much progress was being made. The boys are chomping at the bit to...I don’t know what...go home or fight or something and Kendall and I are just plain overwhelmed.

Thankfully, I didn’t take pictures of any of these happy occasions.

This week it was back to the real world. The two weeks prior were a frenzy of family and building- a good old fashioned barn raising. This week Kendall went back to work. We made it out to the house 1 ½ days. Next week it will be even less. Kendall has a work trip to Thunder Bay from Monday morning to Wednesday evening. (I get to tag along.) Then Kendall works night shifts Wednesday and Thursday and day shifts Saturday and Sunday. That leaves Friday afternoon for Kendall to work at the house and maybe a few other moments squeezed in here and there. When I think about that, I feel a bit like I’m stuck in a bad dream.

But then tonight Eli goes, "I don’t want to go out to the dumb house anymore." (He has a tendency toward negative thinking at bedtime.) So I explain that we just have to keep our "eyes on the goal."

As a way of keeping our eyes on the goal, I will include one last "picture": The sun is streaming in through the many windows in the addition. Looking out the picture window, I can see the snow heavy on the trees in the winter wonderland and the frozen bay. I can hear the boys playing out in the snow. I can picture our cozy couches and the kitchen. I can almost feel the heat from the wood stove in the basement.

That happened today too.