moving day

Quick recap: just about six months ago, my husband and I bought a fixer-upper. No really. A real fixer-upper... complete with raccoons in the attic, lots and lots of cat poop, and a nasty smell that permeated just about every inch of the property. {you know, not trying to sugarcoat things here or anything...}

We started the demolition work in July--ripping out floors and subfloors {before now, I didn't even know what a subfloor was}, most of the walls and ceilings, and all of the plumbing, electricity, ductwork, and windows. With lots {and lots and lots} of generous help from our family and friends, we started putting the house back together in September... and it's taken us until now to get it all in. New subfloors, walls, ductwork, electric, plumbing, cabinets, windows, doors, soffits, tile, trim, insulation--you name it, we replaced it. {Some have asked if we might have been better off ripping the whole house down and starting from scratch. Honestly, though, where's the fun in that?}

We plan on officially moving in this weekend {and really, not a moment too soon... our little guy is due in less than 2 weeks! ha!}. There are a million projects left to finish... but it's cozy, and livable, and 100% completely ours.

Here's a picture taken back in August, on the first day the guys started ripping out the floors. {Look at our expressions. Marty had just started to understand the gravity of the situation, but I clearly still had no idea what we had gotten ourselves into...}


And here's an "after," taken a few nights ago:


For a full recap in pictures, check out my facebook album :)