Seven Years

It was seven years ago today that the Mr. and I walked into the title company and signed a mammoth sized stack of papers and left with a hundred thousand dollar debt to the bank.
As I look back over the last seven years I am amazed at the passage of time. My oldest daughter was 10 when we moved in here. She will be 18 in one month.
Matt was in the third grade.  Third grade.  He will be taking driver's ed after Christmas break. He turned sixteen in October.
My littlest was only six. She is now in seventh grade. Almost a teen ager.
And I, I have gained a wealth of knowledge in everything from how to frame a room and drywall to cutting and installing a tile floor. I have lost seventy pounds since I moved in (and unfortunately gained some back) and gained a few gray hairs as well.
My husband has been behind the scenes making it all possible by continuing to work and travel every week. He has put up with so much more than he ever could have bargained for from the never ending sawdust to the never ending smell of fresh paint fumes at two AM.
And we have been blessed along the way in a million different ways.

Today I did a multitude of small fix its, such as replacing the hardware on my bathroom vanity, to preparing my closet doors for their new doorknobs.  I hate to replace original hardware, but the knobs just wouldn't stay on anymore, so we bought some really nice reproductions from Van Dykes.

And then I got an idea. I was outside touching up a spot outside my daughter's bedroom and looked at my paint. Then I looked at the deck. Then I looked at the paint again. I toyed with idea a minute and then made the decision. I would paint the deck. It wouldn't take too long, right? Ha. Well, they say a good paint job is all in the prep. The deck was covered in leaves and little prickly nutty things that had fallen from the tree above and lodged themselves in all the cracks. It took about an hour to get it all cleaned off and a wedge tool to clean out all the cracks. Then I began to paint. Previously we used stain on the deck but it wore off every year, even though it should have lasted two or three. Having not been stained in three years now, the deck was almost bare of any color. I never considered using paint before, but this was super durable exterior, and it has held up well on the exterior of the house, so I thought, why not.  I didn't get to finish before it got dark, so it will have to be finished tomorrow, but I think it's gonna look great. I will have more and better pictures tomorrow.