From the front. . .

We had a request for a picture from the front of the house to see how the addition is tied in. Here ya'r!

House Update

Here's Joel working on the roof. I hope ya'll haven't been losing sleep over our roofless state, because he did finish it. Actually, he finished it the night that it began to rain! God is good. It seemed to take FOREVER (especially for Joel), but it's done and it looks awesome!



Here's our house, complete with roof, windows, and Tyvek! Isn't it beautiful?!? Now comes the fun part: wiring and plumbing. This part isn't so easy as it sounds, and it seems to be a long process. Joel keeps telling me we'll be done by the end of March. I think I believe him. But in the meantime, it sure is nice to not have leaves and wind rolling through the house, willy-nilly.



The current job: wiring and plumbing. Crazy how much wire it takes. Seriously. It makes me think that candles are very practical. :) After this step (and the inspection) comes insulation (yay!), and then drywall. This is a very happy part for Joel, since he isn't doing it! (drywall, that is.) I guess that leaves time for siding. Alas.

Here's Joel's little workshop. It was supposed to be a garage, but our house is too close to the property line to have a real garage. At least he'll have a home for all of his tools (and my freezer). :) Aren't the stairs awesome? Much better than the paint bucket we had been using to get to the main level! Joel learned his lesson with those, though: never ask your wife what she wants when you could just google the correct dimensions. Apparently I want the railing 6 inches higher than what is considered "normal." Poor guy!!

(Now, I'm sure ya'll are going to be wondering why there are pictures on this post but not on the previous posts. Joel is now sitting by me and has instructed me in the blogger method of picture placement. Way to go, coach!)

Just the Girls

While Joel was enjoying himself down under, the girls and I headed to Portland for a week of friends, family, and FUN! We were thankful to stay with Bob and Karen Callison who graciously opened their house and hearts to us. The girls asked for some time afterwards when we were going back!

Our week in a nutshell: a visit to the Ramona Quimby Park at Grant Park, my friend Heather's baby shower with the college gang (Carrie and Mer), a fun night out on the town (no kiddos) with Mer (Flying Pie Pizza and Pied Cow), lunch and a visit with Grandma Mouser, and LOTS of Mommy/daughter time. :)

Meghan came down a week after we left (she just can't get enough of her wonderful family!), and we went to the TuleLake Fair. SO much fun! The girls went on rides, we ate dough boys (elephant ears to the rest of the world), and we even ran into family. What are the chances that Uncle Mike and Aunt Tami would be there when we were? So they invited us over for dinner and we got to catch up with everyone.

Joel didn't get to come. Poor guy, stuck in Australia with tons of wind and rain. :)

We'll put pics on Picasa. :)

So Joel wrote that he'd write more. That was two months ago. So now I've been assigned the illustrious task of updating ya'll on a good deal of things. First, we'll cover Australia. I didn't go. There really are no bitter feelings (aside from the fact that I've never left North America and I've never been to Hawaii). :) But Joel had a good time. He's pictured here with a beautiful Land Cruiser. Most of the pictures he took were of Land Cruisers. Go figure! But he also had the opportunity to spend two nights in Hawaii, see Pago Pago (or at least the airstrip), go to an awesome petting zoo (a favorite with many of those who went), and see some of the Australian coast. I'd post more pictures, but this blog thing is evil and won't put the pictures in the order I want them or where I want them. Therefore, please visit our Picasa webpage to see more of the sights. Unfortunately, it was monsoon season so he was unable to go deep-sea fishing. He did, however, make time to visit a wrecking yard where he picked up side-view mirrors, rear sliding windows, a dash grab handle, and a few other cool Land Cruiser items not available on American models. Go figure. :)

too long

Well gee, I guess it's been a little too long since I've posted. I've just been extremely busy for the last 2 months. Fall weather has begun to set in and today happens to be extremely rainy and working on the house just isn't feasible. Work on the roof is just too dangerous under the present conditions. As it sits right now, the sheeting on the roof is nearly done, I have a bit of over-framing left to do on the new bath and workshop, a few large pieces of fascia, and the eave sheeting, nail it all off and begin shingling. After that I've got to finish the shear nailing, get it inspected and start on the windows and siding.

Why am I so far behind? I contribute it to my taking three weeks off from building to work long hours away from my family in a horrible place where water spins backwards in the toilet. They made me drive on the wrong side of the road, forced me to envy Land Cruisers wherever I looked, and subjected me to blokes with unintelligible accents. I have some pictures of the place that I'll post up later. In all reality Australia was a great place with great people and I had a wonderful time. While I wish I could be further along on this project I would really be kicking myself if I had turned down the opportunity to travel abroad -even if it was without my family.

Flying trusses

Progress is a funny thing. One day you're just bumming along, doing what needs to be done and making progress - but from the outside it doesn't appear than any significant work has been done. On the other hand, in one day the entire look of the project can change, suddenly an angular conglomeration of lumber and sheeting begins to look more like a house. In both instances progress is being made, but one is infinitely more satisfying than the other

Today we flew trusses. A crane is pretty handy for lifting 24' wide by 12 foot tall trusses into place. There are only a few tidbits to comment on but first I want to thank those that came out and helped.

Flying trusses is a little different than flying F-15's for Brian "Bueno" Bergeron!

Brent Brewer keeps thing organized on the ground.

Jeff Klein keeps us supplied (with wit and sarcasm!)

And thanks to our neighbor Don - who let us use his yard for the truss truck - and in return got a new gate and fence post, courtesy of the truss truck driver who demolished them on his way into the yard.

Rinda wants me to make sure that I include a picture of our ceiling-less bathroom for posterity, so here it is:

Insert funny story here: The weather has been very nice and the cool beginning to our summer has really kept the bugs down. I'd been working late and hadn't had any problems with bugs. So I didn't think twice on Friday when I ripped the ceiling and back wall out of the bathroom in preparation for today. Wouldn't ya know it? Friday was the day that the all manner of insects came out in full force - mosquitoes, midges, moths and all kinds of other creepy, crawly, buzzy, flying thingamajiggers. Taking a shower that night was NOT pleasant.

Anyway, with the help of the guys mentioned above, we were able to get all of our trusses at least close to in place. We set up the gable truss on the far side and then set the four trusses for that pop-out as a pack to set up later:

Then we set the center section attic room trusses with the help of the crane so that we wouldn't have to roll those big buggers by hand:

Finally, we set the 5 trusses for the eastside popout as a pack:

Jeff and I worked feverishly over the weekend (which just happened to be my drill weekend) to finish the interior walls and little jobs needed before the trusses. Sunday night the bible study gang came over and the guys helped me finish up the top plating and I marked out the truss layout in preparation for the 8 am truss delivery.

I'd be remiss if I didn't add a picture of my ladies washing Mommy's car, in costume of course.

Friday and Saturday's work

Thought I'd (Joel -happy Mike?)just splash up a couple of pics of Friday and Saturday's progress. I finished the walls for the shop and sheeted them. The shop walls are 10 ft tall and my sheeting is only 9 feet so I'll have to add blocking between all the studs and add more sheeting on top. I also put up a couple of small pieces of sheeting and cleaned up a few wood scraps - ones I definetely am not going to use - to the fire pit they go! I was planning on getting the doors for the shop cut out ( the sheeting that is) but broke my router bit half-way through the side door. Routing it just leaves such a nice edge and is so much easier than a sawz-all that I figured I'd rather just wait 'til tomorrow and can pick up another bit.

Here's the pics:

Under Blue Skies

We're camping this summer and without having to leave home. For around a month we've been living with our back hallway (really just a pantry area) open to the elements. Well, there is/was plastic keeping a few of the elements out. I had torn the wall out in order to extend the new subflooring into that area because the 6 foot wide area will be extended to 8 and a 1/2 feet with the add-on.

Saturday, with the help of Brent Brewer, John Buckalew, and Bill Case, the plastic came down and the six feet of roof that were covering the back hallway (and our only bathroom!) came off. Fortunately, I had thought ahead and built a temporary wall between our bedroom and the now wide open construction area.

So now, in order to use the bathroom we have to step outside! See? Camping.

Then, in order to get plumbing to our new shower I had to tear out the 2x4 framed wall that formed the long side of our existing tub. I had the day off Monday and tore out the wall, reframed it in 2x6, and with the help of our friend (and architect) Brent Brewer drywalled it installed a new tub surround. Sorry, no pics as I was too busy but you can see the newly framed wall (near the ladder) in this photo:

That photo also shows the wall I framed tonight, the final one on this side of the house, our shower will take up that end of the addition (the windows will be in the shower).

And the final picture for our show and tell, hey look, a door! This one will be the door from my shop into the back hallway/mudroom

I won't tell you that my plans showed that section as a 2x4 wall (because it was existing) which I framed up early on (to hold up the roof) and then later installed the door.... Only to find out that because I had rebuilt it it needed to be 2x6. So that's what I did on Sunday.

It's been quite a week and I just finished up de-nailing and sorting all the shingles we tore off and putting the final touches on the tub spout in the bathroom. But I've still got a lot of work ahead. I've got to finish the shop walls before final truss measurements on Monday (the 21st). Before the 28th (when the trusses show up) I've got to finish all the interior walls (including reframing the bathroom wall that was formerly the back of the house), pulling the bathroom ceiling out, cleaning up the areas where the trusses will sit, sheet everything that isn't already and nail off all the sheeting. Yikes, be praying for us!

Hungry

Rinda here.

For about 8 years I have supported Compassion children. For the past three years I have supported Rene Edguardo Morales from El Salvador. He loves soccer and art, and hopes one day to be a teacher. His parents do not know Christ as Savior, but he's praying for them.

Rene is lucky to be a Compassion child. Monday through Friday he knows he will have lunch at the Compassion center he attends. Not every child is so lucky. Recent statistics state that 4 children die every 30 seconds from hunger. That breaks my mommy heart! I sat reading about the Global Food Crisis, crying, and wondering what I could do to help.

$13. I can give $13 to feed a child for about a month. $78 feeds a family of six for about a month. When I consider my food budget for four, I'm humbled. Can we sacrifice a little to make a huge difference for someone we don't know? YES, we can. Can you? Click on this link to learn more about the Global Food Crisis and what you can do to help:
http://www.compassion.com/sponsordonor/global-food-crisis/default?referer=60321GenAnnouncements
You can also click on the I Support Compassion banner below to find out about sponsoring a child for only $32 a month. (I don't drink coffee, but I think that works out to 12 Dutch Bros a month.)

There are many good causes in this world. I support Compassion because their ministry doesn't stop at humanitarian aid; it spreads the Light of Christ into some of the darkest corners of this world, giving more that help: it gives HOPE. Hope of a future both temporal and eternal. Please prayerfully consider joining Compassion to heal hearts and lives.

Join Compassion

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Why this now?

It seemed like we had a pretty good thing going at our old house on Mt. Whitney St. In fact, sometimes I really kick myself for leaving there. I mean, when you go from this:

To this:

Well, maybe you can't understand... I guess that picture doesn't show all its horrid glory. Actually, it looks pretty quaint doesn't it?

Well, don't let it fool you, it's a demon in white lap siding.

So what are we doing? I guess what it comes down to is that while we have never been folks who spend beyond our means, we feel like there is always room for improving how we utilize the blessings that God has bestowed on us. Frankly, money has never been my strong point. Somehow, no matter how much more money I make in each job change, we still end up at the same point - nearly every dollar accounted for and never any seeming change in living conditions. That's the way it feels at least.

While we were still in the other house we felt like if only we could be a little more self-sufficient we could provide ourselves - most importantly, the girls - with a lifestyle that we could benefit from. When I say benefit I mean that we'll be healthy, well rounded, hopefully more Godly, studious, hard-working, well, a lot of things that we haven't been. And in a way green, not green like you hear it talked about in the news - that self-righteous, money-driven attempt to assuage the guilt by buying the newest technology or "carbon offsets." blah. I'm no hippie (despite what the guys at work say), I love my Land Cruiser - wish I could afford to drive it more - but there is some green in staying away from a new vehicle and driving a 26 year old tank. Yes Meghan, my Cruiser is older than you.

The first place we wanted to start was education - Rinda and I both have Bachelor's degrees, hers in Human Development and Education. What great way to start, not easy, but definetly do-able. later I'll let Rinda write more about her educational philosophy and the program she uses called Classical Conversations - she's much better spoken about it than I am.

It's getting late so I'll end this here but we'll come back to this topic another time - there's lots more to write about....

Ok, so a little about this addition thing. A little over a year ago Rinda and I decided that the super charming and full of character 1920 Graystone house (our first home) in Klamath Falls' first addition didn't suit our dreams anymore. We were looking for a little more room to breathe and dream. As is always the case with us, money IS an issue. Our first house was a steal that we got lucky on, the second was going to take a LOT of work, and that's what we found. We had actually looked at this house on 2 acres 2 years ago but decided against it because of the amount of work involved. Well, things change and this one started to look a little more like a deal and less like a house on its last legs.

Rather than sell our first home (now I'm kicking myself considering the real estate market) we decided to refinance it, rent it out, and buy this 1930 cottage (?) on 2 acres just a bit outside of KFalls. Our plans were to add-on to the oddly laid out and cramped 1200 square feet.

So last summer we worked with an architect to get some plans submitted for the addition - a bedroom for the girls, a master bedroom with walk-in closet, open up the back hallway to serve as a mudroom and pantry, and a small shop space for me (I wanted a garage since I had to leave mine at the Mt. Whitney house) because of the proximity to the property line. Plans also involve rearranging the existing house to get us a dining room and improve the stairway to the upstairs which is currently about .5 degrees from being officially declared a ladder.

I would have liked to have had the foundation poured last fall but contractors would have nothing to do with us. Instead we got started in March. Here's the back of the house with the
Foundation poured and my stub walls on top, I believe this photo was taken about April 24th

As you can see, that roof looks brand new and with a couple of skylights, oh yeah, that's because insurance made me replace it last summer, even though I was planning replacing it during the build - because trusses for the addition overlap the back of the house by 6 feet....

Round abouts April 28th I had all the floor joists on...

See the shed with gate in the background? I built that for the tractor I bought. Guess what's in it now... Yeah, Goats... I can't get a break can I?
Oh here I am tearing the back wall off the house to lay sub-floor. Thanks to Harry Leach, Kevin Fournier, and Tim Moore for helping me with demolition

La dee da, sub-floor all on and ready for walls

And this is roughly where I am today. I now have under three weeks to get all the walls completed, 6 feet of the roof removed and remainder of the house prepped for roof trusses which show up on July 28th (yes just 3 weeks before I leave for Australia!).

In the beginning...

Well, I guess now is as a good a time as any to join the 21st century. A blog seems like a dandy place to do that. Why I chose now to start this is beyond me, it's probably the busiest we've ever been. The days are getting long and hot. The list of to-do's is even longer.

So a little about us (that would be Joel, Rinda, Hannah, and Dana) and what we're doing...

Joel is...

...Spending 9 hours a day as an F-15 Crew Chief in the Oregon Air National Guard at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Oregon... and...

...Building an addition on to the house during the remaining waking hours.

Rinda is...

...Homeschooling Hannah...Tutoring for Classical Conversations...Surviving Dana...Working in the Garden... Managing 14 chickens, 2 goats, and a Dog... Baking... Making granola... Making yogurt...Accounting...Laundry...Cleaning house...Finding bargains...and generally saving us money, she's working hard to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

Hannah...

... just finished her dance season with a recital, enjoys reading, geography, math, tea parties, popcicles, tormenting chickens and feeding goats. Not bad for a 5 year old!

Dana...

...Loves getting up entirely way to early for a 2 year old! She enjoys taking her shoes and socks off in the middle of the field and leaving them there, and eating whatever anyone else has.

All in all, though it often feels like we don't have much, especially in comparison to other folks around us; God has definetely blessed us and we're trying hard to make the most of those blessings.

I'll try my best to keep at this blogging thing but for now here are some pictures:

Hannah and Dana with Wesley and Landon Knapp. The kids were flower girls and ring bearers at Daniel and Kate Longstreet's wedding

The four of us at the San Diego Zoo

Anyway, more to come I hope.