House Pics: Before and After

Look at all that black soot...it was everywhere. The past occupant heated with a portable propane heater and everything was covered with a black film. 

This was the very first time we walked into the house. The smell was overwhelming. The previous occupant let her dogs "go" everywhere.

Those black marks in the floor are dog feces and urine...at this point, and I am not even through the door yet, I wanted to walk away and never come back. 

More dog damage down the hallway.

Sophie's room. The cleanest room in the house. 

Looking back down the hall toward the door. 

Past the door and into the living room, kitchen and dining area. The cupboards were sagging and the doors were falling off. 

Peel and stick tile in the kitchen. 

Laundry area, bathroom to the left and the master bedroom straight ahead. Look at that floor...

This is the wall to the living room (straight ahead) that I washed for about a half an hour. You can sort of see the "clean areas". Nothing was coming clean. If it were not for that red wall to the right, I would have left. But every time I started feeling overwhelmed I would look at that wall, which happened to be the only nice thing in the entire place, and I would see a house, not just a box that someone lived in. 

We scraped the tile up and removed cupboard doors. 

Tim demolished the top cupboards. 

We painted the ceiling bright white...

See the difference? :-)

 After everything was coated in Kilz...a few coats.

 We painted the walls a light butter cream...

 We put new light fixtures up.

 No top cupboards...walls all painted.

 Another view.

 We started laying the flooring. Experimental plywood flooring...it's looking good actually.

 Another view

 Staining floors...

 New front put on the cupboard and stained.

 The boys room after paint (their choice), trim and floors stained. (My lens was a little dirty apparently)

 Sophie's room.

 Down the hallway...Love my little tulip light fixture.

And the kitchen...

We still have a lot of work to do. We didn't have time to put a second coat of stain on or do the 4 coats of poly. That will have to wait until it gets warmer and we can camp for a week. We are also completely out of money so I have to wait to put up my open shelves and ceiling trim in the kitchen. The bathroom needs to be redone, and so does the master bedroom. We did get the floors down, but we haven't painted it yet because we ran out of paint. We worked about 4-5 days a week for 2 weeks, driving 2 hours a day, working with very little experience and knowledge. We are so pleased with the results and are SO happy to finally have a home to call our own. It's 980 sq ft. of pure joy. We were blessed with a gifted refrigerator, a brand new stove that was dirt cheap and a free dishwasher! It's amazing to see how Father provides for us. We are so blessed! 

We couldn't have done any of this without the love and support of Tim's family, who let us and our 2 dogs live with them for nearly 6 weeks. They were so gracious, patient, and forgiving. Having family close by was something we missed while living in Wyoming, and we will never take any of them for granted again.

We are missing our family in Wyoming and I have sat in my kitchen wanting to call my dear friend to join me for a cup of tea and a turn about the yard...with misty eyes I thank Father for the time we had. 

My prayer now is for community. We will be seeking out a church in the next few weeks and hope to become involved in the community. Having a home means nothing without people to share it with. Our doors are open, and we welcome any visitors, dinner guests, or those looking for a peaceful day in the country! 

If you'd like to keep us in your prayers, we need financial provision to replace a part of our water pump that isn't working properly. This will be at most a $400 fix and at least a $100 fix. We are praying for the $100 fix and the knowledge to do it ourselves. Tim is looking for a part time job to keep us afloat until his business gets off the ground, so prayers in that area would be greatly appreciated as well. 

Have a blessed day!