Different Seasons

Although both PG and Chilliwack have Fall and Winter they are both very differently feeling seasons with the same name. We are feeling more settled now and have been enjoying the different seasons of life that God has placed in our lives. I've been enjoying the rhythm that our lives have found so far, while still being able to just "go with the flow" of a larger household and flexible work schedules as well. 

Trying to add a few more breakfast options for Jade besides oatmeal, egg waffles (made with mostly eggs) has been a hit and gets made almost every morning now. 

Got into the routine of making a smoothie after we come in from the hobby barn, took a few days but Jade finally took to them. 

Brothers working together, keeping the farms and side business running while Opa is out of town.

These kittens have been the highlight of a lot of mornings for the girls. (very thankful that they have all survived Jade as she struggles to learn gentle)

Jade, always the more outgoing one, was willing to ride the lawn mower with Uncle Luke.

Hazel has had a few Aunty Elise Piano lessons

Jade is learning new words every day, and puddle is definitely on the list!

Another morning kitten catching. 

Hazel wanted a picture on top of the haybales.

Playing in the leaves with Aunty Elise

If we take it slow, Hazel is starting to be willing to try out some of the machinery. 

More leaf piles

Enjoying the fall weather with some friends. 

Kitten cuddles

When we moved and rehomed the dogs, we promised Hazel we would get bunnies instead. 

We are settled enough now that we had the time to make that happen. We ended up with two sister bunnies.

Hazel named hers Dandelion.

And Jade's bunny, Marsha. I have found it rather amusing that Hazels bunny is cuddly and Jade is much more jumpy and likes to explore. 

Jade has been rather thrilled with all the large puddles, and although it doesn't really look like winter, the wind was nippy so we had to combine our winter and rain outfits.

Feels a bit more wintery with the Christmas decorations going up and the dark but cozy evenings. The girls got to help decorate their first Christmas tree and have been quite enchanted by it. Definitely missing the "real winter" feel that PG often had, but not minding the mild weather while doing the hobby barn chores!

 

Phase 3: Rebuilding

With the structural issues fixed with the roof and joists the new plywood was able to go in making it look and smell nice a fresh.

Spent some time in the afternoon with Jared moving around the appliances in search of any kitchen layouts we would like as we had the ability to put them anywhere at this stage in the renos.

A dry afternoon! So we were able to tackle the little garden shed and overgrown shrubs around Jared's office to be. 

Very happy with the results. 

(Always a bit of double guessing in me as we cut branches and remove trees)

A pretty sunset

Dad and Jared installing a new hydro pole in preparation to upgrade the electrical on the property. 

Bathtub ended up coming out, and the girls discovered a nice tunnel into the living room. 

A little bit of reframing and the fridge found its new home, nice and tucked away. There is also a bigger landing at the bottom of the stairs now as they got moved back at least a foot. That move also allowed for more headroom coming down the stairs which much appreciated by Jared. 

The utility room door was made bigger so we can fit the washer and drying through there.

Opa found a nice used kitchen at a new and used store. Jared and I got to play kitchen tetris in the evening to find a workable lay out, which was quite fun. We even had some extra cabinets to make an island with. And even if it doesn't quite work out this way in the house, it is such a pretty kitchen I'm sure it will look nice any which way!

Phase 2: Demolition, Part 2

After the kitchen came out they moved on to drywall and insulation removal. Which revealed several structural and electrical issues. Dad called in framers to take over from that point. 

In these pictures the framers had already been busy and put in a proper beam to support the upstairs bedrooms. 

They straightened things up enough that this piece of paneling upstairs popped out a bit and doesn't line up anymore!

 Had some good laughs while reading the original insulation, old newspapers from 1951. I actually found it comforting when it was observed that not much had changed in the world. Wars or threat of wars was still happening, housing and living prices were rising, drugs were a issue back then too and all the same kinds of headlines that we read today. It was nice to know that what is happening today is "nothing new" and knowing this gave less reason to worry about what was going on in the world and just trust that God has it in his control. 

We could just see the tree cutters out the front windows.

Once they were finished the one at the front then they gave the large walnut tree a trim...

A very big one! The branches use to reach over the shop and cover a lot more of the driveway. Though it does make me a little sad, and I can sympathize with Hazel when she says "Mommy, I liked the tree better the way it was". The walnuts that were falling off of this tree were still in black casings rather then popping out of their green husks, so I'm hoping this will be a good reset for the tree. 

After seeing how other DIY additions were done we got a little nervous about how the living room was built, so the framers continued their work over there. 

Once again adding proper beams and supports.

When they removed the floors they found the a whole collection of gardening pots in the crawl space. Note the pile of stuff outside the glass doors....

Having a bit of a hard time envisioning a kitchen and dining area, especially when there are several different configuration options available and more walls keep getting removed. The fast progress has been really fun to see and we are getting closer and closer to putting it all back together!