Goodbye ugly green house!

When people ask for directions to my house, I say: "We're the ugly green house on the corner of 2nd and Maple." Well, that description is shortly going to change, and I can't fully express my excitement! Last week when Chad and I were in 'town' (i.e. Pheonix) we went to the dentist and THEN we went to Home Depot. Home Depot is like a candy store and I the kid. Chad, however, basically detests the place because, to him, it only represents work. To me it is the land of thrilling possibilities.
Well, we bought some new siding, wood, paint, and other supplies to facilitate our home's exterior transformation. And yesterday we started working on it! I was a little bummed when I could only get a couple hours out of Chad yesterday. But today I had my mom come to watch the kids so the both of us could completely devote ourselves to the project. So this morning Chad tore off the water damaged siding 'skirt' at the bottom, and the old knotty trim. Then he opened up the chimney facade, or as Chad called it: the can of worms. We discovered some severe old termite and water damage. It was briefly discouraging. But, luckily, my husband is amazingly handy, and he just tore out the old, and framed in the new, and by the end of the day we had gotten a lot accomplished. Granted, it looks worse than when we started, but when I look at our little construction site, the vision in my mind is beautiful!

Chad thinks I'm crazy to actually enjoy this home improvement process. But I do. I love knowing that I'm accomplishing it myself. I loved working side-by-side with my husband today. I love finishing a project for a fraction of the cost of hiring it out. And I love having a beautiful place for my family and I to call home.

I guess pretty soon I'll get to say, "We're the cute grey house on the corner with the white trim and the beautiful garden out front!" (well, one step at a time!)