Stay Tuned....

This Blog is under radical construction!

Coming soon...

Lotsa'....so check back!

Photos you may have not seen before....(photos I didn't know existed! I found these on Nathan's parent's computer!! Thank you guys for snapping these!!!)

Tired Parents and Hyper Happy Baby Aug. 09

Nolan and Daddy (Aug 09)

Nolan and Mommy Aug 09

Nolan (Sept 09)

Nathan preparing our dinner in the hospital (Cute piggy toes!) (June 09)

Me in the hospital the 2nd time with the uterus infection (I think I am blinking or napping?) (June 09)

A cute one of Liz, MamaB, Nolan and Me (Sept 09)

One tired new Daddy...This is where Nathan slept for 5 days while in the hospital the 2nd time (June 09)

1 Day old! Nolan Elijah Black! June 11 09

At about 2pm, the first time I seen Nolan. (June 11 09)


Sweet memories....June 11 09

Going home...only to return a day later. :)

A lullabye to my son....

Hush, Lil Nolan don't you cry,

Momma's gonna buy you some ganic' fruit.

And if that fruit you won't be fed,

Momma's gonna take you to Panera Bread.

And if Panera Bread is closed,

Momma's gonna take you to Chick-fil-a.

And if Chick-fil-a gives your tummy a fit,

Momma's gonna take you to Target.

And if Target has no deals,

Momma's gonna get you a burger meal,

If Red Robin gives your taste buds a shock.....

We will sit right here and continue to rock.

Can you what my favorite choices are when we go out shopping? :) So if you ever decide to get me a gift card for my birthday.... ;)

About 2 weeks ago: Nolan's first visitors...Thomas Grey and Charlotte Hayes!

Nolan goes to Red Robin!

Well, he attempts to...when we walked in the door

and we are greeted by the smell of propane...

we mentioned it to the waitress and she said she doesn't smell it,

but ya know someone mentions it about 1ce a week...

needless to say we high tailed it out of there. ;)

Master Nolan at the Stagville Plantation

Last week, Nathan took Nolan and I to Stagville (in NC).

We went on a fun tour through the house, barn and slave homes.

One tired momma' and a cutie patootie!

So what is up with the cutest baby in the world?

(I am allowed to be biased. I am his momma'!)

Nolan is growing like a weed! I just put away the last of his newborn onesies that were waiting patiently in a pile for me to organize. I cannot believe he was so tiny a month ago. Time goes by too fast. I have been told to enjoy it while I can and I am trying my best-est to do just that. I am guessing Nolan weighs 10.5 lbs, but we will see next week at a check up appointment if I am right.

Nolan loves bath time. After I wash him, I take him out of his bath chair and let him float on his back (I hold him of course) and he LOVES it! He looks around and moves his legs and arms through the water. I am so excited he is a water baby. Now all I need...er...I mean, he needs...is the above ground salt water pool and he will be set. :o)

Nolan and I have now been traveling with Nathan everywhere. It was really hard for me not being able to go with Nathan on adventures to town or to work on jobs. Now that I am feeling so much better, both Nolan and I are enjoying Nathan's company again. :)

Here are a few pics from 2 days ago. While Nathan was working on rebuilding a well house roof and cleaning gutters (getting them ready for painting), Nolan enjoyed basking under a tree on a quilt.

For those wondering...I have gotten quite a few emails and comments wondering why I can't v-bac. In order to get Nolan out, my uterus was cut upwards 80% of the way, which rules out vbac-ing. From all the research I've been doing, if I had a normal size inverted t-incision, vbacing could be an option (though the risks are much higher for rupture then normal cuts). Right now I am researching about c-sections. There is no such thing as a "natural" csection ;), but I am investigating all my options. A lot of things that are done as routine are not necessary and depending on the doctor you chose, different options can be available to you. Every woman should have the choice to make her baby's birth be as she wanted it, whether she have a csection or deliver naturally. Whether she wants pain killers, wants her husband to announce the gender of the baby or doesn't want to be shaved....each woman should have say in the birth of her child. Some may wonder, why does it matter? Because birthing is big part of a "womb-man" 's life. One of the many great things about being a woman is that our bodies were designed to nurture, grow, bear, nurse and raise children. Birthing is one great miracle we get to experience. It's amazing how the Lord makes life within the womb from the joining of a husband and wife!

Woo-hoo! The baby has arrived!! I am starting to feel a lil better and the stairs are not so daunting as they use to be. (Our computer is upstairs.) The past almost 2 weeks have been a bundle of emotions for us. I thank all of those who have been praying. God is so good to us. His mighty hands have been well at work in Nathan and I's life. I sit here in tears as I say I can truly see the work of the Lord in my own life. Where would I be without Him? Countless blessings and miracles have taken place in the past 2 weeks. We have had some very trying times and yet in the midst of it all the LORD is STILL SO GOOD TO US!!!

After many hours of labor, I was unable to deliver at home. Nolan was positioned posterior and his head was tilted back which made him get stuck. To remove him, the doctors had to make an upside down T incision on my uterus. Due to this, c-sections are now the only way I can birth. It hurts me dreadfully when I think of it. Having a c-section was the last thing I thought I would ever have to have. Now they are the only way I can have our children. Some minutes for me are harder then the next. I am still healing emotionally and physically from all that has gone on, but in the midst of everything GOD IS GOOD! He is so good to me! I cannot praise the Lord enough these days. I can't count the blessings that HE has given to us! I cannot count the miracles! I can't say thank You Jesus enough. Nolan is truly a gift from HIM and I am so thankful to share his little life!

While I was pregnant, we would get asked where we were having the baby (as in which hospital) and we would always reply, "We are having the baby at home, if everything goes well." Home birthing was our preferred choice, but we always left room for a hospital birth. Our stay at the hospital was great. The doctors are very well skilled and the nurses on the recovery floor (I cannot remember the right name for the floor...the mommy floor? ;) were very sweet and helpful. Nolan was in NICU for 2 days. When he was born his apgar was 1! You can't tell it now. He is the most alert lil' thing when he isn't snoozing. :) Just shows the Lord's goodness to us!

After being released from the hospital, we had to return the next day due to me having a uterine infection. We had a 4 or 5 day stay (I can't remember exactly right now... ;) and the Lord has healed me up. :)

My husband has been such a blessing to me this whole time. He has stood by me and supported me when the world seemed like it was going to cave in on me. I love you Nathan! (I love you more!) Words don't express how much you mean to me! <3

How to sum up this post? With pictures, of course!

Nolan Elijah Black
June 11th 2009 (2:45am)
8lbs 10 oz.

(9 days old here)

The story behind the above 3 pictures....Nolan just woke up from a snooze and I picked him up to nurse him. I kissed on him a lil and then started to say his name over and over with much happy momma' talk. He produced the above smiles (and a few more) and I caught them on camera! For those who are baby smile skeptics, babies do smile....it's not gas. ;)

(9 days old above)

Guess who is awake and lookin' around?

(10 days)

Sleepy doodle!

(11 days)

"What are you having?"....is a common question that both Nathan and I get now a days. With my baby belly poking out, we get many questions and comments about Baby Black. I always respond, "We are having a surprise!" Some people are shocked. "You don't know what your having?" The older generation relates a lot, "I didn't know what I had either....of course we didn't have the options to know." Some then continue on and guess what we are having by the way I am carrying. I will let you know many people say we are having a boy. My tummy sometimes feels so high I am afraid nodding my chin might bump it.

Another comment we hear a lot after I say the baby's gender is a surprise is, "Just so long as it's healthy....that is all that matters."

I have heard a lot about a "healthy baby" since I became pregnant. I will be honest too, I would love for my baby to be healthy. I would love for their life to be a normal, healthy one. I think that is the human mother in me.

But...would our baby be any less a blessing if it's "unhealthy"? Would our baby be any less welcome or wanted if it were unhealthy? If our baby is born with a defect, isn't God still faithful? If our baby is born with down's, isn't God still good? The Lord uses both the whole and the lame, the healthy and the sick....

YES I would love for my baby to be born healthy, but I want even more for our child to be used for the Lord. There's a story in John 9...the disciples ask Jesus as they pass a man blind from birth. "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he is born blind." Jesus answers, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."

Had this young man not been born "unhealthy" his life could not have been used for the Lord and we would be missing this account of God's awesome power in the Word. BOTH the whole and unwhole are used by the Lord. We shouldn't limit Him, shove Him in a box and question Him when things don't turn out how WE want them.

This morning, the words of Jesus speak to my mommy heart, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life..."

The story behind this post: I woke up today near 6am after a long night of trying to sleep. The sun is poking it's happy rays through the curtains and Nathan is snoozing heavily beside me. Our little one has begun his/her routine. A little movement here, a punch near my hips, a kick in my ribs and what seems like a flip in the middle. I groggily lay there as I think about our baby who will be born in only 7 weeks and the LORD lays this post on my heart. I think to myself, "I need to share this. Lord help me get my pregnant body out of bed without waking my sweetly sleeping husband." As my body rolls out of bed and I shiver as I put my jammies on, I begin to tiptoe out of the room. Right outside our room, to the left, is the underbelly of our staircase and a closet built under it. I begin to round the corner as I notice our orange, plump and pregnant kitty (Lil' Miss) sitting at our opened front screen door. I quickly jerk my body back around the underside of the staircase, "Did she see me?" I ask myself. I peek around and glance at her. She looks back at me as I quickly duck my head behind the wall again. "LORD! Please make her go away. She will meow and wake up Nathan." I peek back over the corner....she is still there. She now commences to lick her fur. You have to meet Lil' Miss to understand the ferocity of her meow. She is loud and she is demanding (and NO she does not get that from me!). I ask the Lord as I peek at her again, "PLEASE make her go away." She doesn't budge. She turns and looks at me and I hide behind the wall again. I then get an idea. I will scare her. I pop my head around the wall and with big eyes and my best ugly, mean and scary face I shake my head at her. She stares at me and blinks her eyes unimpressed. I hide back around the corner and cover my mouth as I try to suppress the laughter that is trying to break forth outta' me! That is probably a face Nathan will never want to see....as I calm down I inquire, "Lord, if You want this posted, please keep her mouth quiet??" I calmly walk over to my front door, look down at my normally HOWLING cat, who silently glances up at me and shut the door. Silence as I tiptoe up our stairs to post. The LORD really wanted this posted as keeping Lil Miss quiet is something only the Lord can do. :)

Guess What!!

Diapers!

Oh-So-Fun Baby stuff!

Nathan and I found these cloth diapers on craigslist! Usaully Kushies are 4 for $50, but we found all 20 infant size for $80! These are not the old cloth diapers that you need pins and covers for....come on now, we are hightech hillbillies! These come complete with velcro, fitted leg holes, a liner and a pocket to insert additional liners for extra heavy wetters! Some are very decorative and others are plain. :)

Above: The innards of Kushie diapers.

Sheppie tries out one of the baby's diapers.

(don't worry I am laundering this one again before I put it on the baby!) ;)

Fuzzibunz!

I also bartered online for 6 infant size Fuzzibunz. They have adjustable snaps (no velcro!) and a pocket in which the seperate liner is placed.

Which do I like better? Whichever one works best! Both are suppose to be leak proof and comfy for the baby!

How many diapers (cloth or disposable) does a baby go thru' in a day? 10-13! That is what I have been told. I don't like a baby to sit in wet or mess, so I know I may be changing more often then that. Would you like to sit in your own potty? I think not. ;)

So what is the plan? I have decided not to cloth diaper right away. For the first 2 weeks of life, Baby Black will enjoy the 7th generation disposable diapers that my mom found at Big Lots! The 2 weeks will allow the household time to rest and relax and let the laundry machine prepare itself for "baby use". ;)

7th generation diapers? Unlike Pampers, Huggies, Luvs and other diaper companies 7th generation DOES NOT put ingredients like....dioxins, tributyl-tin, sodium polyacralate and other harmful ingredient near and on baby's skin. While what is in a normal disposable diaper may compost (baby poo!), the diaper itself does not disintegrate. I am NOT a hug a tree girl (my woodstove feels quite nice thank you!) but my concern is my baby's health.

A lot of people have never even thought of what they are putting on their baby's bottoms. For them, this may be new info. OR some may not think the risks are great. They may have had 5 in regular pampers and never had any adverse reactions.

For me, it's a lot like the issue of vaccines, healthy eating, the way we live, etc. What is my conviction is not everyone else's. I don't expect every parent to be like me either! We gotta' do what we feel is right by our own children! :) For me, I am just writing to share what exciting things I have found and to educate those who have an interest! :)

After the baby's birth and once our household resumes routine and operation, my cloth diapers are going to be so fun to use!! I will have to give an update once the baby comes and share how the diapers worked (all 3 - disposable 7th generation diapers, Kushies and Fuzzibunz) and any other tricks I learn. I already found a fun diaper "cleansing lotion" that I am going to make! I will have to put directions up (with pics).

How does cloth diapering work?

This is just one way of cloth diapering that has been shared with me.

Have another way to launder cloth diapers? Share by leaving a comment! :)

Step one: Put diaper on baby.
Step two: Within 5 minutes to 3 hours the baby will have made a prize JUST FOR YOU!
Step three: Remove diaper, clean baby, put new diaper on.
Step four: Take the diaper (with your prize) and wipe out prizes into the toilet. Place the diaper into a laundry basket (that has a lid).
Step five: Every day or every other day you should have one load of diapers for the washer.

Some things I have learned from others about cloth diapering:

*You don't have to use a wet bucket. It can destroy fibers in the diapers.

*Don't use high tech detergents (the ones with enzymes) on cloth diapers. They eat the life out of your cloth diaper. I plan on using something fragrance free (less harsh chemicals). I hear both Ecover and 7th Generation are great for diapers. Also Dr. Bronner's Soap (liquid) is useable on diapers! We will hafta' see what is on sale. ;)

*Babies with cloth on sense they are wet sooner then babies with disposables. This is due to the "SAP" super absorbent polymer in most disposies'. It absorbs and holds in wetness making baby not realize it has a truck load of potty in it's diaper.

*Line drying is better for the longevity of your diapers!

Interested in seeing the $avings that cloth diapers can be?
http://greenbabyguide.com/2008/01/31/how-much-money-do-cloth-diapers-save-a-cloth-vs-disposable-cost-comparison/

Info on what is in regular disposable diapers (Huggies, Luvs, Pampers, etc.)....
"Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process. It is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S..1
Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin (TBT) - a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals.2
Disposable diapers contain sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbancy tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome.3
In May 2000, the Archives of Disease in Childhood published research showing that scrotal temperature is increased in boys wearing disposable diapers, and that prolonged use of disposable diapers will blunt or completely abolish the physiological testicular cooling mechanism important for normal spermatogenesis."
Taken from: www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.php

Did you know? (odds and ends :)
**YOU were in your grandmother's womb? By week 13, your mom had over 2 million eggs in her ovaries! One of those eggs was you (or atleast half of you ;)!

***3 weeks after conception, a baby is the size of the head of a pin. At week 8, a baby is the size of a pinto bean! At week 13, a baby is about the size of a peach! At week 17, a baby is the size of your hand spread open! Some of you may wonder "how big is Baby Black right now?" Baby Black is 26 weeks and according to "the books" weighs 2 pounds! At week 27, a majority of baby's are 15 inches long from head to toe!

Febuary 19th - Just one year ago....


My goat, Melita, was giving birth to triplets....and Nathan wrote an email to me that would make life change forever. Not only my life, but the lives of my family.


I sit here typing this as our tiny lil' blessing moves and kicks around in my womb. To think just 1 year ago, I was a "maiden in waiting" and now I am a "mommy in waiting". Waiting for the "birth"day of our baby.


Life is full of waiting. The question I would like to pose is, "Are you waiting patiently on the LORD?" We WANT what we WANT and we WANT it NOW. You notice the keyword...WANT. It wasn't until I waited that I got what I wanted. I can tell ya' too....what the LORD has for us is SO worth the wait. :)


Happy Feb. 19th anniversary, Nathan!! I love you! Thank you for being a goodly husband to me. For your love, encouragement and for all the happiness you bring to me! I love you more!


Want to read what happened a year ago....
http://trulythoughtprovoking.blogspot.com/2008/03/story.html

Some sad news....

Almost 2 weeks ago, our dog Sadie died.

After having spent the cold night in our home, Sadie and Sheppie were let outside to go potty. Nathan tried to call both of them back in, but neither were interested. When we went up to fix a pipe issue at Nathan's parent's, Sheppie was barking through the fence at Dayda and Sheba (Nathan's parent's dogs). We called for Sadie, but she never came. We figured she was off in the pasture getting a bone or chasing a squirell. We spent about 30 minutes inside and then headed home. As we drove down the lane back to our house, I looked out my window at the iced pond. My eyes narrowed down on a broken patch of ice and a dark object floating in the water. I told Nathan to stop and said, "I see something in the pond." We ran to the edge to find Sadie. Nathan retrieved her cold, limp body and we quickly drove back to our home. We tried to revive her (cpr and hydrotherapy), but it was too late.

It hurts my insides as I type this and the tears just keep flowing. Sadie's death was very, very sudden. We expected her to live a long and happy life. She was only 10 months old. We expected her to be here as our children arrived. I expected her to always follow me and greet me and roll over to get her belly rubbed. I expected to always find her stretched out on her favorite log. I had hoped she would have her first litter while I was still pregnant with my firstborn. Nathan, Sheppie, Lil' Miss and I sorely miss her.

In the midst of us missing her, I can see the Lord's hand and how He has used something sad for our good. I am sure you may be already thinking what thoughts crossed my mind a few minutes after we found Sadie in the pond. As we quickly ran back to our van that day, I turned around to see Nathan running with Sadie's little limp body. Suddenly the thought hit me, "That could be one of my children." We have discussed dangers on our farm. We already had several rules for our children about ponds, equiptment, barns, etc. BUT until the day Sadie died, I never really grasped the true danger of ponds.

The Bible says all things work together for our good....that does not mean only good things will happen to us. The Lord knows what is going to happen everyday of my life. He doesn't make bad things happen to me, but He does allow them and uses the outcome for my own good.

Ya' know...it's just not sweet little doggies like Sadie who die unexpectedly. Do we take our family for granted? We just expect our parents to be there. We think that our siblings will always answer the phone. In our mind, our spouse will always be there to snuggle up to and our children will always be there to hold. The truth of the matter is we don't know what tomorrow holds. Don't take the ones you love for granted!

"...whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:14

From L to R: Sheppie, Lil' Miss and Sadie...

Nathan snapped this picture about 3 days before Sadie's death.

The log was Sadie's favorite sleeping spot.

No, we didn't ask them to pose for us,

Nathan just happened to catch a "kodak moment". :)

Your right!

Your right. I should post more. I should keep you more up to date. I should let you peek inside my life and see what is going on with me. ME.....who you care for and love so much!
Some may wonder what is going on with Nathan, baby and me. You wonder if Nathan finished the back porch, what adventures have we been on lately and just how big that baby is making my tummy.

Others miss the thought provoking posts. They wonder just where did my mind go and why am I not posting my thinkerest thoughts anymore for others to think upon.

Some, but hopefully few, are relieved that for the past 9 months my blog has slowed down. They are happy their email boxes are not constantly getting flooded with emails stating that I have updated my blog.

For those who have been patiently awaiting a new post, my sincerest apologies for not keeping you updated!! I hope this post will satisfy your wondering and curiosity! :)

**Nathan is, as I type, working on framing in the inward doorways for my laundry room and back porch. I hear him banging and sawing away right now! He has found a lot of old termite damage on the wall he is currently working on, but being the genius he is (I am not being biased! :) he is tearing out and bracing areas that need the support. He is such a good worker! In the past couple months since I last posted, he has finished the walls of the outside of our porch and pantry, put siding on the walls, tin shingled the roof of the porch/pantry and painted it also! Not to mention the inside electric wiring and other odds and ends that he has done! It daily amazes me how talented my man is!! :) The Lord has surely blessed me with a gifted husband! What would take many families years to complete, he can knock out in a short amount of time and make everything in our home be so wonderful to and for me!! <3>

We have been busy the past couple months with some outside (off the farm) jobs. We gave a home a face lift (inside), fixed a warehouse roof, cut and delivered firewood and many other odd jobs that I can't remember. :) We also did a lil' salvaging in an old building recently.
Since I last updated, we have visited my family a few times, went on a family roots trip to KY with Nathan's momma' and grandaddy, attended 2 civil war reenactment dances and a bunch of other fun stuff I can't remember at present. :) Oh! My 23rd birthday was on Dec. 3rd. Belated gifts, greetings and cards are still being accepted. ;) hehe

Our ninth month anniversary was the 5th of January!!! Can ya' believe it?

**Baby...what a sweet word that is! Exciting to think that in just a few months Nathan and I will have a lil' blessing of our own to hold, kiss on, to nurture and train up!!! <3>

We found a midwife that we really like and have already had one visit and will have another soon. I have had many people ask if I am comfortable birthing at home, if I am afraid...etc. I have no fear, nor anxiety bout' the whole thing. Birthing is a natural thing for us women. We are "womb-man"! :) Dangers lurk everywhere we turn. Things can go wrong in any part of our lives. That is just the consequence of sin in our fallen world. From all my research (oooo I am going to have to do a post on this one!!) home births prove to be safer then hospital births. Does that mean nothing will go wrong with our home birth? We don't have a guarantee that bad things will not happen to us, but we do have the Lord's guarantee that says, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you!" Why should I be afraid? I trust the Holy God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob...(and of Nathan, baby and me!)!! :o)

Currently, I am researching one size cloth diapers (cotton). Any recommendations?

That is all for now...but I am going to close with pictures!! Did I hear you say "YAHOO!"? :) You should be saying yahoo because it takes atleast 10 minutes per pic to upload them on to the blog! :)

*~*~*~Upcoming posts include pics and info on~*~*~*

*Nathan, baby and me

*Farm going-ons

*The evil history of eugenics

*Mail order brides in the 1800's

*Fun baby stuff I found online to buy!

*Civil War Reenacting...while pregnant.....

*Home birth'n, cloth diaper'n, water birth and infant potty training! (Learn with me as I learn about it!)

*Heirloom seeds and gardens!

*Updates on the back porch and laundry room progress

*and much, much more....

About 3 months ago: The back porch as-was with a missing roof.

This is before we extended the porch with more concrete floor.

The wall you see on the left was later torn down for the extention.

We doubled the porch/laundry room area, making it 13 wide x 30 long!

About 2 months ago: Nathan stirs up roof paint!!

About 2 weeks before, we poured the concrete floor

(no pics of that!! We lacked a camera during that time).

We then built the exterior wall for the backporch/laundry room,.

Nathan put the roof on (antique tin shingles and all!)

The tin shingled roof!

And look at the pretty detail Nathan made on the porch corner!

(Note: The shiney silver board is a make shift door until we get the laundry room door up!)

.

WAA-LAA! We aren't all the way finished on the outside.

The door needs painting and the siding does too.

L: Sheppy sleeps while Nathan works!

R: Lil' Miss and Sheppy!

L: The first week of November we went to KY to visit Nathan's family roots (on his mom's side). Here Nathan and I are at the Creelsboro KY Natural Bridge. Look how tiny we are!

R: ME!

Nathan and his mom going over the Lapsley Family cemetary map.

3 Generations!

And last but not least...

Grand-daddy, your first great-grand-baby asked me to put this picture on the blog.

Guess what? :)

O where, o where have the lovebirds been...?

I know the question that has been plagueing many of you...

WHAT have those 2 lovebirds been up to?

Last week, we partially finished our parlor! We put up our wallpaper (oo-la-la!) and our light fixtures! THEN we went thru' our books and put them on the shelves that we made! That was SO fun! So, you are wanting to see before and after pics, huh? ;)



The fireplace in the parlor/living room before Nathan started working on it in Mar. 08'.....Notice the walls *were* plain and don't have any woodwork, etc. to them.... This part of the house was built in the early 1800s and was originally one-story with an outside chimney (large) and a fireplace. In the mid-1800s they took off the roof and put on a second story, replacing the big chimney with the small flue shown here. Notice how they cut the original mantle in half in order to build the new chimney!

Nathan starts working on the fireplace in March 08' (while we were engaged)....








In the beginning of August 08' we started really working on our parlor!



Below is the mantle (hidden behind materials) and to the right of the pic, the beginning of our book cases!







The fireplace...incomplete...notice the big rock Nathan put over the fireplace (all by himself too!).

We have book cases on both sides of the fire place.

Here is another "before" picture of the process of making the book cases!
All of the woodwork and molding was either salvaged from other houses Nathan has torn down, or was made by him. The wide boards (some are as big as 20 inches) and some of the molding came from a house built in 1780 that we have been tearing down the last few months. Pics of that house to come....

Nathan starts to work on a beautiful topper above the 2 doors and front window!

All with homemade stuff of course.

We commenced our painting near the middle of August... Notice to the right of this picture the wainscoting and chair rail we put up. We had to tear out the old sheetrock and then the plaster to put it up. I tried locating pics, but couldn't find them.

Nathan's finished door top!

Then this past week, we wallpapered and put up our lights!

We still have the parlor floor to polyurethene and other odds and ends to move about, so a completed picture is yet to come.

Since we were 99% done with our parlor, we started a new adventure!....
Our back porch which will soon be our mud room, pantry and laundry room (as our plan stands for the moment... ;)

Close up of the pantry wall, before being ripped out, on our back porch...Nathan had the job of ripping all the old yucky stuff out. Why are we ripping it out you ask? The wooden floor of the pantry (which is connected to the porch area) was built at ground level and had termite damage (along with other problems). We are preparing to replace the pantry floor area and add additional footage in the front porch of our home with a concrete slab this week.

Nathan starts to do more demolition! :)

Nathan working in what use to be my pantry....

Nathan takes the siding off the front and tears down the front wall...woah!

Talk about yucky....Under the pantry before Nathan cleans it up....

Look below at what a great clean-up job Nathan did!

That's my man! ;) hehe

Sooo...what was I doing while Nathan demolished the pantry?

I was trying to find a place for all the stuff that use to be stored in the pantry (that sounds easy but it was a half day affair ;) , pulling nails from the boards Nathan was saving that were still good and cheering Nathan on! :)

While pulling nails, I reached for a board and touched this instead...

Well, that is all for now! It's almost 6pm and I have french loaves to create!!!

This concludes my post about "Adventures in Nathanland".... ;)

Much love,

Nathan's lil wifee'