ourlifewithadog: January 2009

Well, we are in. We made the big move on January 1st-a great way to celebrate a new year, I highly suggest it. We had about 30 people from our ward show up to help us-an amazing turn-out, even for Mormons! We had everything loaded and unloaded at the new place in about 2 1/2 hours. We even had lunch made for all 30 of us after we were finished moving. We are extremely grateful to all the people who came and helped.

There's still quite a few little things that need to be done to make things a little more comfortable, but our major goal of having the basement painted prior to move in was accomplished. Our sleep schedule is a bit lopsided now, so we are looking forward to going back to work and school this week to get us back on track.

The kids are so excited to be in the house. Who am I kidding, I think Bill and I are more excited than they are! It just feels like home. I had actually forgotten how dark the duplex felt to live there until we had to go back to finish cleaning. You know how when you were a kid and you rearranged your room, the first couple of nights felt strange and you'd wake up and have to reorient yourself to your surroundings because things were so different? I was expecting to get that feeling here, but I haven't felt it at all. It just feels natural, like we've been living here all along. And though the duplex did fit our needs, it just felt dark. And not in a bad lighting sort of way. I felt it from the beginning...just...dark. But it's all cleaned up and we turned our key in to the landlord yesterday, so no more darkness!! Hello, Big House!

Bill is still working hard every day to finish things up for us-putting a door on the bathroom was pretty high on the list, but not as high as getting the hot water going. We put in one of those endless hot water tanks (Rinnai to be exact) and were starting to think it was highly overrated. After calling the heating guy that bought it for us (Bill installed it himself) and wasting a couple of hours on the phone with the company, they finally found the source of the problem. We weren't getting hot water because the cold water line was what was feeding the water heater. Bill was stumped and wondering how he could have crossed the lines. I was freaking out thinking that we were going to have to undo all of the drywall that we'd stayed up so late to finish so many nights in a row so we could get access to the pipes. Turns out the place that he crossed it was just in the half bath on the main level where everything was still open. And he did it while he was testing the pipes for leaks and had capped it off in a hurry, thinking he would switch it back later. During all of this wondering why we weren't getting hot water, Ben made the comment that when he builds his own house he thinks he'll hire out the plumbing. I have to admit, I had second thoughts of my own about Bill's ability to get the plumbing done in a flawless manner. After all, he installs floors for a living, not pipes, and this was a pretty big job from start to finish. But, my hero pulled it off again, so far things are running down hill-and we're in the basement! What a stud!! But for the record, so far I'm not all that impressed with that water heater. It'supplied by propane, which I've never had before, so I won't even have anything to compare it to for cost savings.

The first bath in this thing was amazing! Everyone should experience the joy of a jetted tub that's deep enough to cover your knees. Ahh, this is what my brother was talking about when he recommended experiencing the blessings and comfort that a new home brings. This is the life!!