Today our oldest son turns nine. It is hard to believe it has been nine years since we set out on this journey. He wasn't due until March 15, so he made his debut a little early. He was our miracle and we are so blessed to be his parents. I thought this would be a good time to tell the story of how Joshua was a direct answer to prayer. I wanted a baby the day we got married. Luckily, God is much wiser than I, and He knew that wasn't a good plan. After we had been married about two years we started trying to find a reason as to why we weren't able to conceive. After a year in which I had surgery and six months of hormone shots, my doctor told me that my chances of getting pregnant were pretty slim. We began to contemplate adoption. At that time I was working for an attorney who offered to help us with the adoption process. A couple of months went by and she came in on a Monday morning and said she had to tell me something. She had visited a church the night before to hear someone she knew speak. She said that after the preacher had dismissed everyone, he said that everyone should wait because the Lord told him to say something. He said that someone there was trying to get pregnant, or they knew someone who was trying to get pregnant. He said that his wife needed to pray over that person, because she had the gift of intersession, specifically to pray for those who could not conceive. When my boss came in on Monday she told me that she knew he was talking about me, so his wife would be coming by the office to pray over me. She came in on Tuesday to pray. She told me that if I didn't get pregnant right away to not let Satan steal my joy. That statement really moved me. Anyway, less than two weeks later I was having a pampered chef party at my house. I wasn't feeling that great and my Aunt Nikki kept saying, "I think you're pregnant." I hoped it was true, but I didn't want to get my hopes up. I waited two more days and then decided to take a pregnancy test. It was positive. John was sitting outside the bathroom, and when I told him it was positive, he just said, "I knew it." God's timing was perfect and today we once again celebrate the gift of our Joshua. Happy Birthday son! We love you and are so thankful that God allowed us to be your parents.
John has been busy today. I am just staying out of the way. The kids bath has been reduced to studs with some plumbing fixtures. Luckily the studs seem to be in good shape. He is sort of at a stopping point for today. We have to get a new tub before we go much further. The original plan did not include a new tub, or a new toilet for that matter, but as with most of our projects this one grew. We decided that since the new sink is white, the off white tub and toilet won't work. We probably should have thought this through a little better before buying a white sink. Oh well. It is what it is. We will continue to support our local home improvement stores. 
Last night he ripped out the cultured marble that was around the tub. 
It looks a little different now. See the cool mold growing. Anyway, at this point the kids could still use the toilet and sink in their bath. We discussed leaving everything alone since we have lots of stuff going on this weekend and we aren't sure how much time we can devote to the project.
Guess what? He couldn't resist tearing out a little more. I was just sitting at my desk working away at about 6:40 this morning, when I got an email with the above picture. I had only been gone for an hour. I guess the bath is officially off limits. We will now all four be sharing one small bathroom. This will be a great time of bonding. Last night when Joshua got out of the shower, he told me to feel his hair. He said it was really soft since he used my conditioner. Also, he told me that his skin was softer and smelled nice since he used my shower gel. I hope this room goes back together as quickly as it is coming apart. I don't share well.
Tonight John is starting to work on the bathroom. He is scoring the wallpaper. I am hoping it comes down a little easier than the wallpaper in the hall. I wanted to go ahead and include some pictures before John got much further on the project. I think he intends to have the wallpaper down by the weekend. The way he is going, it might be down this evening. 
Jacob did really good at the doctor. He is so brave.
Three stitches later all is well. He doesn't even have to miss school tomorrow. He is pretty excited that he has a story for writer's workshop. The joys of raising boys.
Today, Home Depot received our dollars for tile. They are the only distributor of Daltile Mendocino Golden Brown porcelain tile. 
Our truck was loaded down. Twenty-eight boxes of 18x18 inch tile is heavy. We also had to get the smaller tile for the counter and a tile saw. We still have to go back and get grout, but that will be an easier trip.
I cannot believe the transformation of the hall. I will be so glad when we get the tile and baseboards in.
We are nearing completion on the hall. I can't believe it is taking so long. Today, I put the second coat of paint on the walls. The picture above is from yesterday after I put the first coat on. John has finished painting the crown molding and we should be able to put it up this weekend. After that we can start on the hall bath. Once the new vanity is in the bath, we can start on the floors. I can hardly wait to get the new floors down and the baseboards installed. I am ready to have things back in order. 
Our hall project is taking longer than we intended, but it is getting there. Tonight we will put the last coat of paint on the doors and trim. Hopefully, we can get the walls painted tomorrow and then hang the new doors. We are making another trip to the home improvement store tonight for door hardware. Our next project will be the kids bath. It is going to be a big project. It started simply enough. We were just going to removed the wall paper, paint, and install tile floors. Somehow that has evolved to include a new vanity with sink and tile top. In addition, we are planning to tear out the walls around the tub to the studs and make it tile. It will be nice once it is done, but the chaos until then may drive me crazy. 
John and Oscar made quite a mess in the kitchen tonight. John thought it would be funny to spray Oscar. Oscar kept trying to attack the water. We are easily entertained.
John got the thermostat installed in the family room. After that we took a break from projects. I spent some time cleaning. 
The cat was having way too much fun playing on top the chairs. I had put them on top the table so I could mop the floor. She kept getting on them so she could hit at the chains on the fan. 
Once the house was clean, the boys spent some time playing rock band. I don't even try. I was not blessed with rhythm.
Oops! I am really not sure why the previous owners installed it indoors, but there are lots of things about this house that perplex me. John is going to install it in the garage instead.
Now we have a lovely blue spot on our wall. I have a hard time picturing what the family room must have looked like at one time. I am really glad they decided to paint the walls before listing the house. Anyway, John patched the holes and now we are waiting for it to dry. The hole where the gas line was is pretty big, so it will probably take several applications of patch before it is ready to paint. Luckily, there is some left over paint in the garage that matches the room. I really don't want to have to paint the entire room in the next couple of weeks.
Anyway, when John pulled the old thermostat off the wall he discovered some lovely wallpaper with records on it. 
Upon further inspection, I realized that they had painted over the wallpaper. 
In addition, there is a border around the top that was also painted over. Why would anyone paint over wallpaper. I don't get it. Needless to say the project list for that room is growing.
In addition to making a good breakfast he also likes to cook on the smoker. Today he is smoking ribs, potatoes, and corn on the cob. We have some friends coming over for dinner this evening. I need to get busy cleaning this morning while John is doing some sanding in the hall. Once he is done we have to get some primer on the walls. It is going to be a busy day. 
The cat immediately took it out of the vase and ran off with it. Once I recovered it, I put it in the family room so I can lock the cat out.
It has been in the mid twenties the last few nights, but it should warm up this weekend. I hope we don't get any more cold snaps. Have I mentioned I am ready for Spring.