Spring.... Finally!!

OK, so when I said that there was a house update coming "soon", I meant soon in the relative sense. I have had a house update in the works for a while but it always seemed to get sidetracked by, well, work. I apologize to those I've kept waiting! (you know who you are!! haha) So, in my attempt to bring you up to date, I am going to get right to it!

Never mind her finger, I love that Abby saw this scene and came running for the camera. She might be a photographer one day with an eye like that.

The great melt off begins!

It's going...

...going...

 ...and the snow is finally gone!! Whew! 

Everyone is happy to get out and stretch their legs.

The window sills are lined with the anticipation of a garden...

...soon, but not quite. It's still chilly at night.

But the grass is growing. And the sheep are keeping it down. You can see where they've been!

Rotational grazing already.

The creeks are flowing, the pond is filling! It's great to be outside! 

Being outside means it's time to get back to work on the house exterior.

The boards are measured, cut and nailed in place...

...and then the battens are nailed on.

Last, the trim is put on around the doors and windows. It's starting to look finished!

We've also been filling in under the porch with rocks from which there are many to choose from! We'd like to keep critters, mostly of the feline variety, from making their homes under there.

 It's much like putting a giant jig-saw puzzle together.

Lydia is helping Matt put some rock stairs in to make it easier to get to the basement door.

They look good (even with your eyes closed!) You can tell it's spring! Jackets on, jackets off, jackets on again!

On the other side of the house, the heat pump has finally been installed. 

It is connected to these units which are in place throughout the house. They are perfect for the in between weather when it's not quite cold enough for a fire but just cold enough for some extra heat. Also looking forward to having air conditioning in the summer! If you'd like more information on the system we went with, you can find it here.

 The next big project was the book shelf. After an initial sanding, Phil put it together but then took it apart again for a more thorough sanding and to stain it. It was so sad to see it put together and then have it taken down again.

We used the same stain that we used on the floor downstairs...

...and then sealed it with tung oil.

Waiting for it to be ready took f.o.r.e.v.e.r!!

Finally, it was ready to put back together and then the unpacking of our books that have been in storage for 3 long years began!!

It was like welcoming home long, lost friends!! Some finishing touches, and the library is complete! Interestingly, this was the only area in the house that I could actually picture in my head before we started building. A small sitting area with lots of natural light, a place for your tea, it's the perfect spot to spend the afternoon with a great book!! I absolutely love it!! I think it is my favourite spot in the house!

Another large job that needed to get done involved the fan above the stove. Ever wonder how you hold something heavy in place while you work on it? Wonder no more!

The issue with the fan was that, being an industrial fan, it was too strong for residential use so it had to have some modifications done to it. This necessitated installing and removing it more than once. 

Once Phil made the modifications, it was finally installed for good.

All that was left to do was to install the last cupboard over the fridge...

...and the cover plates in front of the sink...

...and voila, the kitchen is finished! It looks lovely!

But in the interest of keeping things real, this is what it looks like most of the time! (at least on bread making day!) :-) 

Having a full kitchen allowed us to process our own beef this year.

Grinding up the beef...

...measuring into 2 pound packages...

...and labeling accordingly. As you can see, everyone helped.

The packages got more interesting as the night wore on.

It's not all work though! We're thankful for birthdays to celebrate!

And Open House at the fire hall where Ben gave us a tour.

Ben in full turn out gear.

You have to sit in the fire truck, of course!

And there's cookies! There's always cookies!! (Abby made this batch by herself!)

So these are a few of the reasons why I haven't updated in a while. We stay fairly busy between work and school and work on the house. And we've added a few extra things in this year as well. This is a busy season of life. Now that spring is here, our much needed period of rest during the winter is over. That's OK, we are well rested and ready to work. As we look ahead at the goals that we would like to accomplish this summer, we are mindful of our ultimate goal which is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. We have to continually realign our earthly goals to make sure they line up with this all important one. We are so thankful for the work that the Lord has given us to do and we are incredibly thankful for the blessings He gives us as we do this work. He is good, all the time!

And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

Colossians 3:23