Phase One of Drywall Completed!

I did not post pictures of yesterday's progress on the drywall, so here it goes...

They actually completed the Great Room. They did everything, including the ceiling. I took a picture of the ceiling but it looked weird so I didn't include it here.

This picture is of the Great Room from the second story landing.

Here is an updated picture of the pool. Notice the water in it. I do not recommend swimming, it is ice cold.

Today, after dinner, we headed over to check out what had been accomplished. It seems all of the drywall is up. I have never drywalled before, so I do not know the technical terms, but I think the next step is the "plastering" (or whatever) that hides the seams and nail holes. Jeromy guesses that this will take another week or so.

This first picture is of the ceiling in our bedroom.

A look into our master bathroom:

Our kitchen now has walls!

200th Post!

Okay, I forgot to recognize the 100th post and I just realized that I had completed the 199th post. So, this one is the 200th! I can't believe I have actually posted that much. I'm sure that building the house helped. Jeromy and I have gone through a lot since post number 1, but I can say we are very happy wit where are lives are now. Well, I'll try to keep track so I don't miss post 300.

A Trip to the North

This morning Jeromy, Andy, Laura, Mom, and I headed to Frankenmuth, MI. We stopped at Birch Run first for outlet shopping. I bought a new sweater at Motherhood Maternity and we bought some baby clothes at Carters. After shopping for a while, we headed over to Tony's for lunch. If you have never ate there, I definitely recommend it the next time you're in Frankenmuth.

After lunch, we went to Bronner's where we all spent a lot of money. We bought a bulb for Abigail and a Baby's First Christmas ornament. After spending a few hours at Bronner's we went to downtown Frankenmuth for a very quick shopping trip (we were in the store for fifteen minutes). We then headed home.

We had a good time today, but I think we would all agree that we are tired. It's nice to be home, in my pj's, and watching a movie.

More Drywall!

Yesterday, Jeromy and I went to the house to see what more had been accomplished. Here are the pictures that we took:

The brick is finished!

A view of the drywalled study:

Our bedroom walls are up!

A picture of our "toilet closet"

The stairway leading to the basement.

They also have accomplished more on the pool. The hoses are all connected and they have most of the surrounding hole filled in.

Today when we went they also had the pool filled with water. They have to make sure that all the connections are working correctly before they lay the concrete. We do not have a picture of the filled pool because we did not take the camera with us today. That is okay though since they did not work on the drywall today at all.

The Drywall has Begun!

We went to check out the progress on the house this afternoon. They have drywalled the ceiling from the laundry room through the kitchen. Upstairs we discovered that they had drywalled Abigail's room and the bathroom completely. Here are the pictures of these two rooms:

More Bricks and Insulation

Here are the pictures that I took today:


Jeromy trying to figure out how we're going to get into the house with all the scaffolding in the way.


The drywall has been delivered!

A Day of Stress

Today has been a very stressful day! Oh, where to start?

Let's see...let me begin with baby stress. I was up off and on all night. I had a weird pain in my abdomen and a steady trickle of liquid coming out so that I felt as if I was peeing my self (I know, pretty picture). Anyways, I was nervous that something might be wrong so I called the doctor. They wanted me to come in today to make sure it wasn't amniotic fluid. So, I took a half day, picked up Jeromy and headed to the other side of town. Luckily, the doctor said that it was not amniotic fluid. Most likely Abigail is laying on my bladder (I know, disgusting). So that takes care of that stress.

My second stress actually took place while I was at school this morning. My third period class went very well where all the kids were reading silently. Then, the bell rang for the break before fourth period (my class is a double block) and next thing I know I have two kids tumbling onto my desk fighting. Let's just say, I was in shock and so was the rest of the class. I went around the corner and grabbed the closest male teacher (I wasn't going to break it up...Hello, I'm pregnant). By the time I got back one of the boys had broke up the fight. So, we took the boys down to the Dean of Students. The nice thing is that by the time I returned the rest of the class had picked up the room (how sweet!). It was not a fun day at work.

Bricks and Insulation

While finishing up work yesterday, Jeromy called (on his way TO work) to inform me that they had laid a large part of the bricks and it looked like insulation had been put up in the garage. So, after dinner, Mom, Kelly, Alex, Elena, and I headed over to take a look. I was unable to post yesterday because the camera's battery died and I needed to recharge it before I could download the pictures.

Here are pictures of the brick. Unfortunately, the sun was going down, so there is a glare in one of the pictures.




Here are pictures of the insulation (I know, not very exciting):


A look downstairs from upstairs:

Abigail's closet:

The ceiling in our bedroom:

The Pool is Here!

This afternoon, Jeromy, Alex, Elena, and I stopped by the house to see what had been accomplished. Nothing happened yesterday (except a trench that now runs through our yard toward the house. Not sure what that's for). We were pleasantly pleased to discover that the pool had been placed in the hole that had been dug.



We also discovered that our bricks had been dropped off and it looks like they are prepared to start working on them tomorrow! I will hopefully have some pictures of the completed work then.

Political Statement

Okay, I have not talked about politics so far on this blog. But, my sister Kelly sent me something that I thought I should share. As many of you know, I am very against Barack Obama. Even though McCain is not great, he is definitely better than Obama. I won't go all of my reasons now (a lot of them have to do with his socialist leanings). Anyways, the link that Kelly sent me gave me yet another reason to be against Obama.

I am very pro-life. I can't understand the justification of killing a baby. How can anyone look at an ultrasound when a fetus is only a few weeks old, see its heartbeat, and not believe it is a living being is beyond me. Anyways, I have learned from the website that Kelly sent me that Obama, as a legislator in Illinois, voted against a bill to protect babies who managed to survive an abortion...FOUR TIMES. In other words, if a baby survives and is living outside the womb, Obama does not believe it should be saved. Instead, the baby is left to die (usually through asphyxiation). I can't even believe someone would vote against a bill which would protect these poor babies. Click on the link below to find out more!

More House News

Yesterday, the pool company finally began digging the hole for the pool in the backyard. Jeromy and Mark worked together to design our patio space and then they began to dig. Getting to this point has been quite a struggle. I would not suggest ever working with this company. There are many times that we (meaning Jeromy)has called him and then we never hear back. We thought it was just us, but Mark has been just as frustrated with him. Anyways, here is a picture that I took today:



While at the house today, we ran into one of the guys who work on the pool and he said that they should actually put the pool in the hole tomorrow.

In other house news, the electrical work is finished. Mark is hoping to begin the insulation process tomorrow and drywall on Friday or Monday. We're moving along.

Abigail's Latest Picture

It's not the greatest quality (I think she might be moving), but it's a cute pictue of her profile. I can't wait until December!

Funny Baby Story!

(At least it's funny to us)

Yesterday, I had yet another check-up with Dr. Kanios (my OB/GYN). As always happens at my appointments, Lynn (our very nice nurse), used a Doppler to check out Abigail's heartbeat. Well, yesterday, was a very active day for little Abigail. She never stopped moving! (At times it even hurt! Body organs are not made to be trampolines.) So, when Lynn was measuring the heartbeat, Abigail must have gotten annoyed because she slugged me very hard right where the Doppler was. We thought it was very funny and cute. Lynn said that as time progresses she may do that even more. I have a feeling that we have a very feisty baby!

Delayed One Day

Jeromy commented today that he had driven past our new house a few times and there didn't seem to be anything going on. He had to talk to Mark about a couple things and he discovered that there was a really good reason that they hadn't been there. There is a house on the other side of Toledo being rebuilt by Extreme Home Makeover (that show on ABC). Mark and his entire crew worked overnight on the house. When they left at 6 a.m., the electrician was still there. Obviously, when the electrician finished he went home to sleep.

So, even though nothing was completed on our house today, at least it was for a very good reason!

Amazing What Happens in a Year!

Tonight I was looking through past posts of this blog and I was struck by how much has changed in a year and a half. In January of 2007, when I began writing this blog, we were still seeing Dr. Karnitis for fertility treatments. I have to admit at that point I was beginning to lose steam. Then, in March, we had our last bout of fertility.

In April, we announced that we had decided to pursue adoption. The rest of the year was spent researching adoption agencies and all the stuff that goes with it. Last September,we began filling out paperwork. Through the fall, we finished the paperwork, attended adoption classes, and even interviewed a birthmother. As we entered 2008, we were no closer to having a baby.

Then, all of sudden, in April, we discovered that we were pregnant! It's hard to believe that in the past year we have progressed from fertility treatments, seeking an adoption, and are now pregnant! Isn't it amazing how quickly life changes?

Concrete and Siding

This morning I received a phone call from Kelly to let me know that there was a concrete truck pulled up to our house. So, this afternoon, I was not surprised to find a concrete floor in both our garage and basement. Also, it appears that all of our siding is completed. Here are some pictures:

This siding is surrounding the baby's room:


This is the completed back of the house:


The Garage:


The Basement:

Exciting Baby News!

We have chosen a name for our baby girl! Jeromy has not wanted to make a decision on her name. But, I pointed out that we had really picked it but not officially. I also said that we were heading to Bronners in a few weeks and we should know her name so we can pick out her Christmas bulb. (Our family has a Christmas tradition of putting a bulb on the tree for each person. At my mom's house, it has been expanded to included husbands and grandkids.) So, we decided. Drum Roll, Please.......Our baby girl's name will be Abigail Grace Lewis! Of course, she will go by Abby for short.

In other baby news...Jeromy felt her move for the first time!!! I have been very surprised that he has not been able to feel her before now. She moves all the time and she sometimes packs a wallop. So, whenever I feel her moving Jeromy places his hand on my stomach to see if he can feel her. Last night I had my hand laying on my stomach and thought I felt her move. I told him, but he didn't think he felt any movement. Then, this morning, we were laying in bed and he had his hand on my stomach. When all of sudden she moved, Jeromy gasped, and asked me if she had just kicked. When I told him that he had finally felt her move, he was really excited! Of course, she kept moving so he was able to feel her move a few more times! I think it was the best moment of the day for him!

It's Greek Fest Time Again!

Once again it is time for the Greek Fest. Today, after church, we all headed downtown to watch Alex and Elena dance. Here are some pictures from their performance.

This is the group waiting to begin. Alex is holding the sword to take down the Minotaur during the first dance. While waiting to begin, he kept pretending to cut down the kid next to him. Elena is the little girl next to the boy next to Alex. She has her back to us.

Different dance, but, yes, Alex still has a sword. This is called the sword dance (Alex told me yesterday that it was his favorite). If you look through the boys, you can see Elena dancing the sewing dance. It was hard to get her picture. She was always so far away.

If you look down the line, you can see Elena dancing. This, unfortunately was the best picture I could get of her dancing.

Alex dancing.

The whole group.

Alex and Elena after the dancing. It was hard to get them to both look and smile. I think they are tired after the long weekend.

Pictures of Siding

I stopped by the house today to get some pictures of the siding. They have finished both sides of the house and a lot of the back. I also went inside and more of the electric work was completed. I didn't take pictures of that because they didn't make for an exciting picture.

A Quick Update

I don't have any pictures (nothing has happened which photographs well), but a lot seems to be happening. First, our plumbing is all in (minus the fixtures). I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that it was in the process of being installed. On Tuesday, Jeromy and I went back out to Lighting Gallery to bring our light fixtures closer to our budget. We were able to cut off five hundred dollars from the original order without making too many changes. Last night we traveled to Genoa to work on our carpets and other flooring choices (we had issues with Carpets by Otto, so we are trying this company instead).

This brings us to today. Immediately after school, Jeromy and I headed to the house to meet with Mark and the electrician. The electrician did not show up and Mark was not happy (I'm sure there will be words). So, we did our walk-through with Mark and made sure all the extra outlets we desired would be installed. We also found out about some changes that we will need to make once again at Lighting Gallery. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

Oh! I almost forgot! They have also began to put our siding on the back of the house. That would have been nice to photograph, but it was raining while we were at the house. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to get a picture.