The Schoolhouse is Almost Finished!!

 Hello all! Life has been very busy for us as we've been working to finish the remodel on our old schoolhouse. We're at the point where we were able to move in, but there's still some more work to be done. Soon, I'm hoping to share finished pictures and decor projects. For now, here's some more pictures of the process.

We replaced all of the windows in the house. So, I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot of projects with these treasures: 

 Paint in the Master Bedroom:

 Magnetic paint primer in our schoolroom:

Paint in the Kitchen/Living/Dining Room:

Paint in our boys' bedroom:

Under tile heating in the basement:

I'll be sharing a lot more pictures SOON, I promise! :)

Lord Build Me a Cabin: Thoughts on our Remodel Project

I feel the need to share some of my thoughts on our schoolhouse remodel project. In the process of our remodel, I've spent a lot of time thinking, dreaming, and planning. I've had a lot of fun doing so and sharing our progress with others. However, I want people to know that our ultimate goal isn't to have a big fancy house that looks like it should be in a magazine. Our ultimate goals are to reduce our debt and to use our home to the glory of God through intentionally raising our children and opening our home to others. In this day and age, there seems to be a great desire for everything to look perfect and to have a certain trendy look to it. It seems to me as though there is a feeling of superiority if we eat organic food or live in perfect magazine/catalog houses with all the right styles and design, when there are people who are starving and homeless. Not that there is anything wrong with eating healthy or having a beautiful home. In fact, those can be very good things. We just need to remember what's really important: are we going to find our identity in those things, or in Christ?  It's easy to get caught up in the temporary things of this world, but I want to have an eternal focus. I want our home to be comfortable and inviting, not perfect. I know this is a random post, and I'm not a great writer, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts. Please know that I'm not trying to preach, just simply share what's going on in my heart and mind. As the song says, "I don't want a fine mansion on earth's sinking sands. Lord build me just a cabin in the corner of Glory Land."

Schoolhouse Remodel In Progress Pictures

As promised, I wanted to share some of the pictures of our schoolhouse remodel in progress. You can see the before pictures here. These pictures are of some of the work that has been done over the last 2 months.

Lathe and plaster were torn off all exterior walls and wood floors were sanded down:

This wall paper was a fun surprise:

The exterior walls and the new walls were all framed and all new electrical was added:

Spray-in insulation was added to all exterior walls:

All of the plumbing was replaced, which meant digging up the concrete in the basement:

New drywall on walls and ceilings throughout the house:

Bedrooms, bathroom and hallway were built into one of the classrooms:

The staircase was sanded down (this picture was taken when only the bottom set of stairs had been sanded):

My husband has accomplished a lot in two months, and there's still a lot more to do. I will be posting more on individual rooms soon.

Old Schoolhouse

In my post yesterday, I mentioned the old schoolhouse that my husband and I recently purchased. We have decided that we would like to rid ourselves of mortgage debt within the next few years. That really isn't a possibility for us with the size of our current mortgage. So, we started looking around at some properties with one main requirement in mind, it had to be *cheap*. That's when I stumbled upon this amazing property that was being sold for next to nothing. We were able to purchase it last month and we hope to move into it in a couple more months. It was a WPA building built in the 1930's. It hasn't been used as a school since the 1950's, so there is A LOT of work to be done. Fortunately, I have a totally amazing husband who is more than capable of taking on a big project on a small budget. Our goal is to make this a nice home for our family while spending as little money as possible. :)

Here's a few before pictures of the house:

 The stairs:

 Large Classroom:

 Closet in Classroom:

 2nd Large Classroom:

 The basement:

 The back of the building:

Remodel in progress pictures coming soon.