One Year...

So I intended to post something yesterday, but couldn't come up with the words. It's been a year since Katrina tore through the MS Gulf Coast. In some ways it feels like it was yesterday and in others it feels like it was a life time ago. We continue to be amazed by God's grace and mercy in the midst of the changes and trials. We have been blessed in ways we could never have imagined, and we are eternally grateful to the many who have given us so much over the last year. Please know that we do remember each and every one of you and praise the Lord for your help to us.

I thought of putting links to posts from this time last year, but decided instead to just encourage you to go back and read them on your own. I don't think separating them and picking out one or 2 would do them justice. People say that memories fade over time, but I can tell you that sitting here today, a year later, typing this post, I still remember vivid details of our beach house- and I'm grateful for that. We have lots of great memories of the almost 2 years we lived there- many holidays surrounded by friends and family. We'll treasure those and remember that just because the structure and pictures are gone doesn't mean we will forget. Our treasures are not to be stored up here on Earth, but with our Father in Heaven. Ok, I get it Lord, and when I forget it again, please use a little more subtle reminder!

Curb Appeal

There really is a lot to be said for a little landscaping. Here is a current picture of the house and our weekend landscaping project. (Yes, that's my mom putting the screens back in the kitchen windows- thanks Mom!) We elected to sod the front yard and seed the back yard. Given it's August in Mississippi, we are running the sprinklers 2-3 hours a day until the sod "takes." Thankfully, Batch and Tim installed a sprinkler system so watering the lawn is not such a chore. There are a few more plants to add to the garden and some mulching to be done next weekend, but all in all, this will be the new appearance of our house!

In the backyard, Batch and Bishop are building this great deck for outdoor entertaining. In addition to the table shown in the picture, we will have some seating along the railings of the deck. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and Batch and Bishop will finish that up on Friday. Here's a picture of the deck in process:

On the Road Again

Well, it's official, Batch is on the road again!

This weekend it's for pleasure. He's off to Vegas with 15 other guys for Skip's bachelor party. Yes, I'm slightly insane to send my husband off to sin city alone, but I trust him.

After spending next week at home trying to finish the house, he will return to TSG on August 28th. He will once again become a road warrior splitting his time between Houston, TX and Cleveland, OH. He's looking forward to the project although adjusting back to life on the road will be a HUGE challenge for both of us (and for Luke, our dog).

A few tidbits...

First of all, BELATED HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Steve D and Dad B who've had birthdays this month. I've been off my game this year and basically missed everyone's birthday so I wanted to give them some much deserved and delayed attention! WE LOVE YOU!

We are still enjoying the house although it's still a work in process. We get little things done each day so that's nice. Batch and a friend, Tim, have been working on the sprinkler system off and on this week. On Wednesday, Jerry came by and he and Batch decided to replace the old (rotted and rusted) main drainline to the house. About halfway through the process, we got the biggest rainstorm we've had in almost a year so we spent the evening with no running water, but we survived with no permanent scars.

We cashed in some of the American Express points we've been racking up during this process and got a new vacuum cleaner. I think we're also going to use the points for a lawnmower as soon as we finish the sprinkler system and lay some sod!

Seems like there should be something more interesting to mention that all that, but I can't think of it right now...TGIF!!

Hurricanes and warm Gulf waters...

don't typically mix well so please pray nothing substantial comes of the 3rd named storm of the 2006 Hurricane season, Chris. As of today, Chris is still a tropical storm, but as you can see the projected path leads it straight into the Gulf of Mexico early next week. The latest Gulf temperatures are around 90 degrees which could mean rapid intensification for the storm. Check out this link to our tracking site of choice.

Another first in the Kensington house...

...our first dinner party! Batch made his famous spaghetti, and we enjoyed the evening with about 12 friends. We invited those who were present for our last dinner party in the old house (well, those who still live on the Coast). It was a good time, and we look forward to doing it again soon. We will be having a proper house warming party as soon as a few more items are finished around the place (master bathroom and landscaping). Now, before anyone reading this gets offended at not being extended an invitation to the first supper, there will hopefully be MANY more, and we had to limit the invitees based on places to sit and eat (we still do not have much furniture).

As part of the preparations, I made sure to get my camera out and put it in the kitchen/dining room, but alas, I still forgot to use it and take some pictures of the festivities. Maybe next time!

Busy week...

A couple of milestones this week- we cooked dinner INSIDE our house- oven and microwave only- and as of last night we have countertops and a cooktop! Hopefully we'll be able to find the hole saw we need to install the faucet which will complete the kitchen sink! For those of you at First Pres. on Sunday, we all know how important the kitchen sink is! :)

Besides the usual work on the house it seems like we've had a busy week socially. We had dinner guests Tuesday night, we tried to make it to church on Wednesday evening but ended up working on the kitchen, had an event at a neighbor's house last night and are schedule to head to Lagniappe Pres. tonight for a crab boil. The events continue tomorrow morning with a baby shower for our neighbors Kevin and Beth who recently adopted their 2nd child from Russia (an adorable little boy named Drew).

I'll try to post more pictures of the house after this weekend.

House pictures...

Here are some pictures of our house. It's still a work in progress, but looking more and more like a home each day...

Luke sitting in the middle of his new kitchen!

A view down our LONG island with the pantry in the background. We should get countertops and the rest of our appliances next week!

A view of our "famous" living/dining room from the kitchen

The master bedroom...not much to see here but at least there's a bed!

If you had told me a year ago that I'd be excited about a washer and dryer I would have thought you were crazy, but even I am enjoying these new additions to our home.

One of the guest bedrooms- we used some antique beds Mom had in storage. The cute bedding is courtsey of Lois!!

The front of the house with our NEW front door!! Doesn't it look great? We will likely start on landscaping next week so I should have more exterior pictures to post then.

Home Sweet Home...

Are you sitting down and ready for this news??? We are finally in our house!! We officially moved in on Saturday and have been settling in since then. We were blessed with many helping hands to assist with the final push and cleaning efforts! The church had a group in from Palm Bay, FL to help with VBS in the mornings and help in the community in the afternoons. I'm so terrible with names, but there were 10 wonderful youth who cleaned and prepped the house. I must also mention our good friend Virginia who convinced her boyfriend to spend his Friday off installing our front door so many, many thanks to Virginia and Tim for making the move possible- the front door actually works like a front door now- and by that I mean you need a key instead of a drill driver!!

Believe it or not, we actually had our first house guests this weekend too...the Mahnes and the soon-to-be Manuels came to visit and were a tremendous help getting things put away and just giving us a chance to play for a weekend. They brought their boat so we got to get out on the water some...by the way, although they claim to have cleared the channel, drive carefully...it's not as clear as you might think! Pictures from our adventures to follow later.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th!

BTW, our kitchen cabinets are being installed as I type so we might get a kitchen soon too!!!

The latest...

Sorry we haven't been able to post more pictures of the progress. I will try to take some soon and get them up here. Things are moving along and we are still hoping to be in by July 4th. My boss has generously agreed to my working 1/2 days next week to help with the final push at the house. This will also allow me time, when stores are open, to get some furniture and "essentials" for the house. WOO HOO!

Looking more and more like a home...

Here are a few pictures to tide everyone over until tomorrow. There's been a lot going on around the homestead so I'll try to take some more pictures tonight and share them tomorrow. Our goal is to be in the house by July 4th weekend!

One of the "Jack and Jill" guest rooms- ceiling fan courtsey of Laura, Bobby and CW
Master bathroom cabinets...there's also a wall cabinet I actually installed!

The NEW exterior of the house..more pics tomorrow as it's now finished, but this is close!

We've had a fun couple of weekends away, but are looking forward to some time in town to finish up the house and actually move in! We'll need some volunteers to help us clean it and get it liveable so if anyone is interested... :)

Today

I drove one of these...

AND

... one of these

The skid steer was cool but the excavator was incredible.

I feel like a little kid who just spent the day playing with the toy(s) he always wanted.

I may not sleep thinking about it.

B

WE PASSED!!!

Here's one more reason (as if we need more reasons) to PRAISE GOD...
The plumbing inspector came back out this morning and we PASSED for both water and gas. We will be able to call the gas company next week and have them come set a meter. Batch also called our plumber and let them know we passed and that we'll be ready to install the water heater next week.

Buddy is here today working with Batch to get the final pieces of the electrical complete so we can call for an inspection on Tuesday. That means A/C and FLOORS!!!

We are taking a break this weekend and heading to Chattanooga, TN and Birmingham, AL to visit some friends. Have a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Time to do the tiling...

...we did the tiling! For those of you who remember the old Dunkin' Donuts commercial, that will make sense. For others, sorry for the random reference.

Well, thanks to lots of help from my mom over the past week and a VERY long work day on Saturday, all the floor tile in the house has been laid. Depending on what is happening in the rest of the house this week, we will likely grout the new tile later this week or early next week. We've also put the first coat of paint on most of the trim (baseboards, crown and door molding) T.S. left behind for us to use.

Batch spoke to our local plumber late last week and he said that, legally, the city can not make us replace the washing machine drain since it was existing but that it would likely cause us problems down the road so we're better off replacing it now. Hopefully his crew will be able to replace the drain this morning and get the inspector back out to sign off on the project.

Bobby and Laura have been coming over in the evenings to help with the finish electrical work. They have all the ceiling fans installed and most of the electrical boxes wired up. There are some more ceiling fixtures to install and an outlet or 2 to find (they were accidentally covered by sheetrock) then we should be ready for final electrical inspection!! That means sweet A/C AND installation of our hardwood floors.

The neighborhood handyman is making quick work of our siding project. Almost all the "boards" of the board and batten siding are installed, and he should be able to start putting up the battens this week. We might be ready for house paint by the weekend.

Thank you for your prayers during our rebuilding. Please continue to pray for smooth building and passed inspections. So many things are just sitting on ready waiting for a small trigger to let the progress continue.

We will post pictures as soon as we remember the camera!

Progress Pics

We are installing board-and-batten siding. This is a picture of our house with the boards (no battens yet) but it looks much better than before.

Again from different angles.

Yesterday, we also installed cabinets, a light fixture and the shower head in one bathroom. The camera angles are bad (really bad, but I think you can make out the progress), but it looks a little more like a house every day.