May House Pictures and Progress Report

Montana Man, my dad and my brother have been hard at work and we have interior walls as well as a nearly complete roof (just a few loose ends on that) and we are ready to order our windows and siding! With it inching closer to summer and me now past the half way point in my pregnancy we are feeling the pressure to move as fast as we can!



Views from the front door of the kitchen/dining and living room.



Our very large bathroom (our only one I might add!).



Laundry and linen closet.



A really bad picture of the master bedroom (not real sure what makes it 'master', pretty basic).



Kids' bedrooms, mirror images of each other.



Where the stairs to the basement will be located between the kitchen and bathroom walls.

People always ask the same question about the house... when will we be moving in? Well, through God's good grace I would like to be moved in and halfway settled before the first of September. I am not "due" until the 17th but with Mini Me coming a full ten days early last time I would like to not cut it so close I have no energy to birth the poor thing. With luck, (and I will later insert my foot in my mouth for saying this) I might go to my due date this time which would give me time to unpack fully, organize and feel really ready for little man. But, we have a long laundry list of things to do before we can get our occupancy permit:

pour basement floor
siding
windows
install door
deck the porch
plumb
finish electrical
insulate
sheetrock
install kitchen cabinets, counters and appliances
tile bathroom (floor, shower, tub surround)
install bathroom fixtures
install boiler/hot water system and baseboards
install pine tongue and groove boards on the cathedral ceiling
prime and paint
flooring (wood, carpet, tile)
install solar power system
septic and leech bed
drill well and run lines and install pump

Most of that is to make it liveable. Yes, we could live with bare sheetrock and sub flooring for a while, but after talking it through we realize with small children that what seem like easy "later" projects would be a big pain. So, we will take the few extra days to prime, paint and install flooring to save us a hassle later. The windows and doors might not get trimmed out right away and the porch will be in a state of "good enough" for a year or so, but it will be comfortable and functional! Thankfully we decided to go with a small house to start with and a lot of these projects can be accomplished in a weekend or by me in the evenings (like tiling or painting, refinishing the cabinets or tub). Building your own house is hard work and I am so thankful for a husband that is willing to do this and has the skills! I would like to glean some more carpentry skills and build the chicken coop although being five months pregnant I might need some help with the lifting *winkwink*. Yes, I am still technically supposed to take it "easy", but I seem to be stable enough to test my limits just a little. I am still lugging water, tending the garden beds and animals as well as wrangling my writhing ball of energy that is my daughter with little ill effects, a day or two of carpentry shouldn't hurt! In fact, I have been so active lately that despite my new larger appetite I am gaining weight pretty slowly. Not in a bad way! This baby is growing fine and is one strong kicking little dude, ask my bladder.

So, there you are. More updates to come as we progress!

Til next time.