Praise God...the work continues...and we are still intact--mostly! (A lot of sore muscles) We decided that for this project we would begin each day that we work on our kitchen with a time of prayer. This was in the hope that God would bless our efforts, give us patience with ourselves and each other, keep us safe, and give us strength to work and work hard!
We are also trying to find time to do our Christmas shopping, have some moments of fun, take time for our kids (who don't think remodelling is fun and who voted to keep the old kitchen), and get our Christmas cards and packages sent. The most challenging thing so far has been the removal of the old flooring in preparation for "Tile Guy" to come and put in the new sub-floor and new tile.
One never knows what one will find when one attempts to renovate an old house...
During the remodel, I have been trying to use the opportunity to learn something about myself--like why I like to fix up old houses...hmmm... I have come to some conclusions. First, when my hubby and I look for a new house to buy, we don't just see the actual house...we see the possibility of what the house can become...with a little TLC. Therefore, we approach house buying and future project planning simultaneously. Crazy... I was thinking more about this lately and thought that perhaps in some ways that's how God sees us.
God sees not only what is actually there, but also the possibility of what we can become if we let God do some renovations...
The next few posts are catching up on some progress in the remodel and some Christmas events. Today was the day Bret rebuilt this wall (which previously had a small opening on the left and now has a large center opening). We are pleased to be making progress, especially after taking so long to get the floor torn up.
A quick visit with Pere Noel while walking down the street. There were Santas from many different nationalities!
We drove up to St. Charles, MO on Christmas morning and visited with the Fennells and Ewerts. The next day we enjoyed a walk through historic downtown St. Charles, complete with caroling and a small parade. (The above pictures were taken along our walk) We visited shops, one of which was built in 1796 and sold dulcimers and hand carved wood items. Some shops sold candles, some quilts, some yarns and knitting supplies, some clothes, and jewelry. One of the buildings was the first home of the first governor of Illinois.
A mother-daughter snuggle after dinner on Christmas day. You can never have too many snuggles!
We got the tile up off the floor. Then there was a layer of plywood which was glued and screwed down (at 4" intervals). We had to clean out each screw head to remove it--this begins to explain why it took most of two weeks to finish the floor! We did also have Christmas in the middle there.
This is the beautiful view from the new sliding glass doors. We've had snow on the ground for several weeks (a little unusual for us here) and the kids have been enjoying a chance to sled in the backyard. The green barn-like building is Bret's shop. 
It took all day and some help from a friend, but we got the new sliding glass door put into place. The blue tarp is concealing a spectacular view of our backyard. We had to remove the old window and knock out part of a wall, build a new frame for the doors, insulate, and install the new doors. Yay! We are making progress, but it still looks like a kitchen under construction. I'll keep you posted... :-)
The wall above is going to open up to a large opening in the center with a short wall on either side of the opening. Cabinets will line the right and left walls making a large galley style kitchen. 
What was once a window next to the seating area is now a gaping hole. We enlarged the opening to accommodate a sliding glass door. Yay! Unfortunately, we did this on a rather cold December day! We worked until after 11:00 pm to get the new door in place and warm up our home.
