The Story of Moving In

Chapter One - Storage
Our challenge this month has been all about moving into an unfinished house. The process began July 15 when we moved all of our belongings into storage.

At the time the floors were not yet finished on the main floor, so moving into the house was not an option. The only solution was to camp in the backyard. But, before we could even bring out the trailer, my dear colleague, Corrine, offered her house to us for the next few weeks. It was truly a God-send. Every day, we worked on the house and then drove to a beautiful, clean and comfortable home just 10 minutes away. We even were able to watch the Olympics in a cool basement. Thank you Corrine and Dennis for your generosity. Words cannot express our gratitude. It was perfect timing.

Chapter Two - Moving into the House
On July 30, we moved all of our belongings into our house! By we, I mean Joel, Rachel, Jon, Ashley, Amy, Brad, Dave, Sarah, Ryan, Aaron, Steve and myself. What a great group of friends! It was a quick 45 minutes from storage into the moving truck and then another 30 minutes into the house. Fastest move ever!

By this time, the floor was finished and the toilet was operational...that was about it. I should add that we did have some light fixtures up and a few plug-ins working. We were still not ready to live in this mess, so we continued to live at our 'resort' in Mackenzie Town.

Chapter Three - Living in the House
On August 8th, 2012, Steve and I officially moved into our house! I have to say my feelings were a mixed bag of stress, fear, disappointment, excitement and joy. Let me elaborate. Stress, because we still have so much to accomplish and we are both ready for a break. Fear, because of the unknown! It is a 100 year old home. Disappointment, because we were leaving a house that was safe, clean, neat, tidy, well-kept....I just don't like living in dirt. Excitement, because we finally moved in after 27 weeks of working on this place. And joy, because our house is our own.

Chapter Four - Living in a Renovation Zone

It took a few days to get settled. Our task was to complete the floor upstairs so that our furniture could find a place to sit. After 3 days or working on the hardwood, among other things, we finally finished. 

After one day of cleaning and sorting, our home is finally livable. By livable I mean that we can walk around with no shoes, sit on the couch, get cold water from the fridge, and eat at the kitchen table. 

We are still far from being finished. As you can see from the photos, we need counter tops, a matching couch as this green one will eventually move upstairs, touch ups on the walls, trim and so much more. At the moment we are just going to take a deep breath and relax for the day. After all, my first day of school prep starts...you guessed it, TOMORROW! There are conferences for both of us, a few days of camping and then full into another year of teaching.