Carport Removal

We had a rotten carport attached to the house. Some guys from the church came over to help us tear it down.

They chained one of the posts to a bobcat after sawing the roof apart from the roof of the house.

In just one hour and forty-seven minutes the entire thing was removed and we had a completely cleaned off driveway. It was a HUGE accomplishment!

Philip Visits!

Philip came for a visit during his move to Chicago. He will be working there a couple weeks a month, so he got a studio apartment. Jonathan helped him move and it was quite an adventure!

The alley next to his building just barely fit the moving truck. The guys had to load up the service elevator, get in, then move everything to the other side while riding up to Philip's floor in order to be able to exit out the opposite door. Despite the close quarters, the guys decided it was the easiest move they've ever made. Philip had planned so well ahead that they were able to place the furniture precisely according to Philip's drawing of the space and finish in record time. We appreciated Philip coming to Anna early so we could spend some time with him and show him where we live...and get the Lincoln/Douglas photos, of course!

8th Anniversary!

We have celebrated anniversary number 8! We went to one of our favorite places: Carolina Beach. We stayed at The Front Street Inn in Wilmington which we had stayed at for our fourth anniversary as well. We got this photo out front to compare it to the one we took in the same spot 4 years ago. It's hard to believe we've been married this long--the time really flies by! Being back in the Carolinas was wonderful. We went through our former stomping grounds in Charlotte and were able to see some really great friends for what seemed like too short of a time. But we were so thankful for the opportunity and glad we made the trip.

The Ultimate Fixer-Upper

We bought a house. It needs a ton of work. We're hoping to get to move into it by Christmas.

We do really like the layout. It is one of the rare 3 bed/2 bath finds in town. We think it was built between 1936 and 1941, but who's to say because it was a foreclosure (as you may have guessed) that, I might add, included a drug bust. We sure know how to pick 'em!

Here are just a few of the things we're doing: replacing the plumbing, replacing the electrical, gutting both bathrooms and kitchen, ripping off the rotted carport and adding a garage, replacing all the windows... the list goes on.

We like the "English Cottage/Storybook " look of the house which was apparently popular in the US during this time period. There are hardwood floors, coved ceilings, and glass doorknobs. We think it will look nice a year from now. :)

We actually sought after this house if you can believe that. We were looking at a different one on the same street that we didn't really like but were possibly going to settle for. One day I was walking down that street and thought to myself, "now, why are we settling for something when there are cute little houses like this storybook one in town?" At the time, it was not on the market but a friend from church told us it was vacant due to foreclosure. So we waited... after several weeks it became available, we viewed it, beat out other offers for it, and now we're the not-so-proud owners! The answer to your next question is, "yes, I do believe we are out of our minds."