This Brutally Beautiful Life

What do I think of the house? Wonderful! Beautiful! Fantastic!

The crew literally attacked the house from every angle all at once and I imagine that more than once throughout the week someone stopped and muttered "This is why they knock the house down and start over on that TV show . . .".

More progress and improvements were made in 10 days than the wife and I have been able to muster in the 3 years we have owned the place.

When we took the blindfolds off on Sunday afternoon were bowled over. Let the photos speak for themselves (click to enlarge) . . .

Front of the house just before we bought it . . .

Front of the house now . . .

Before we bought it . . .

Now . . .

Before . . . . Now . . .

About 1 year after we moved in . . .

Now . . .

Before we bought . . .

Now . . .

All that is to say nothing of the beautiful new kitchen counters, the wrought-iron gazebo and trellis in the back yard as well as the freshly-painted nursery. Its just that all those spaces are currently littered with boxes and supplies and debris from 10 days of construction work done by 50+ people so the photos do not adequately convey the beauty of the improvements yet.

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And the family room which was the catalyst for this whole extravabonanza?

Just after we moved in . . .

Now . . . .

Well . . . There was only so much time and so much money . . .

Still, the insulation is in and the room is 2/3 drywalled (the hardest 2/3)

The driveway?

Now . . .

Okay, so the new sprinklers don't exactly "work" and the timer is still in the box . . .

Just about all sides of the house still need some stucco work

The mail box is sitting on the front step and the door doesn't yet have a door knob (just a dead bolt) . . .

The new deck doesn't have any stairs so you have to climb a ladder up and down and the family room is . . . well . . . you know . . . .

The washer and dryer are in the driveway and the sewer backed up this morning . . .

But still - a vast improvement.

If needed house repairs were drops of water, we were adrift in the middle of the pacific with no wind, no gas and rapidly running out of food and water . . .

Now we are in the middle of a lake - a large lake - but at least we can see the shore and the wind is at our backs.

Adequate words escape me once again.

I was trying to think of how I could possibly repay all those who gave and came and worked and I think I have the solution - visit. Our home is your home - come for lunch, for dinner, stay until breakfast - you will always have a second home in Lemon Grove (Best Climate on Earth!)

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There is a baby shower coming up in about 5 weeks and you all are invited. Don't bring a gift - just come and bask in midst of your sacrifice. If someone asks, "What gift did you get them?" just grab a beer and say "Hope".

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I think this picture pretty much says it all . . .

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Some of the gals set out to refinish the wood floors. After hours of sanding, they got down on hands and knees to wipe the floor clean in preparation for staining - and then stopped for lunch . . .

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Somewhere along the line, one of them got something on her hands which was invisible on the newly sanded floor but was revealed in sharp relief once the stain was applied. The hand prints are forever sealed into the floor right in front of the fireplace.

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Sure, I could sand it down again and re-stain and no one would ever know it was there.

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I think I will leave it. It is the hand print of a friend - a visible reminder of all that was given.

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Years from now when an unknowing guest walks in and asks, "What's with the hand print on the floor?" I will smile, and say "Sit down, you won't believe this story . . . ."

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Thank you from the bottom of my heart and from the center of Holly's "Annabelly".

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Please keep praying - 12 weeks to go - our little Annabelle needs a miracle . . .