Inside Project House 2012

Beware, some images in this post may be shocking!

Just because I have not posted about Project House the last couple of weeks doesn't mean there has not been some progress!

While I was in Florida last week, James and crew got the new metal roof put on.  I had a hard time deciding on colors for roof and siding, but ended up choosing a neutral brown tone metal and a gray siding with white trim.  I know....boooorrrrring!  Just didn't want to get too carried away and become outdated in a few years.  Siding is ordered and hopefully we will have it up soon.

They also took down the brick half wall that was on the front of the house and tore off the back porch.

Before

After 

Yay, no more brick!

So today, we began the daunting task of working inside.  However, before we can do a whole lot, there is tons of clean-up that must be done as you will see from these next few images.  I just wanted to get good "before" shots of all the rooms before they were touched so we could really appreciate the finished project! 

 (yes, you are correct, there is no floor in the living room!) 

Saved insulation from the missing floor we presume. 

(WHY would someone save this????)

There was some roof leak which cause damage inside. 

So, today we got all the carpet and padding out (as well as all that fantastic insulation) and started taking out the carpet tacking.  We also discovered a weird floor issue in one of the bedrooms that puzzled James, but I know he will figure it out!  The A/C we are still unsure about - the wires have been cut, so it was a hot day to work.  Luckily the house has an attic fan (one of my favorite features - we had one our house growing up) so there was a little airflow.


I also put out mouse/rat poison and foggers so we could make sure there are no varmints or creepy crawlies taking up residence. 


More to come!

The arrival of River

Again, I have neglected my dear old blog!
BUT, I must say these last two months have literally flown by.
July 1st, really????

I have so much to catch up on with photoshoots, Project House, etc, but my biggest news is this little guy:
Welcome grandbaby #2, River Jacob on June 16th in the wee hours of the morning.

I know it's normal to think your own are more beautiful, but really, is he not the most precious thing ever????

I mean look at that sweet smile! :)

Here he is with his sweet momma! 

I've never seen anyone so excited to become a Mom. I know she is going to be a great one too. 

And, here I am in Grammy Blissdom! 

I am truly blessed to have these babies in my life. 

I just hope I can be a good Grammy to them. 

I want to teach them family values, Christian values, how to make messes...then clean them up,
fun arts & crafts, snuggling, silly songs & dances, that it's okay to cry, and how to love unconditionally.

My heart is full!

Journey

I want to share a project by one of my very dearest and "bestest" friends, Karla Rush.

Karla and I have about a 10 year history.

We met when she became my boss as I was hired at my previous employer.  She quickly became not only my mentor, but also my very close friend. I cannot even begin to list all the highs and lows we have experienced together, but there have been some really really good times and some really really bad times.  The awesome thing is that we have remained very close through it all.

Many people have not know that Karla is a super talented singer. Along with her multitude of other God given gifts, her soft, sweet angelic voice is amazingly soothing.  I have known this for quite awhile as we have had some fun karaoke nights at she and Fred's. :)

I am so proud of Karla for following her dream and having a CD made. I was also honored that she asked me to design her CD cover art for this project.  After she and I discussed the music and the title of the CD, we met and did a quick photoshoot and then we worked with the company who duplicated the CDs and put together the packaging and I am excited that she took delivery of her completed product this week!

If you are a fan of old time gospel hymns like Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross and I'll Fly Away, you should purchase yourself one of these. I must say, they are a steal at $5 and they can be purchased through Karla's website through Paypal.

Here is a sample of Journey: Ain't No Grave.

ProjectHouse2012 has officially started

AND so it begins...

This weekend we started our little project.  There is so much to do, but we merely worked on the yard. It needed (still needs) a lot of work, but at least it is presentable for insurance purposes.  We also had to clean up lumber and brick that had been deposited on the carport and back porch. 

I snapped a picture when we arrived Saturday morning:

As you can see, it is a hot mess!  That brick wall you see above is in fact leaning out from the house, but that is all coming down anyway for new vinyl siding.

If you think it looks rough out here, I must tell you that lumber was once the floor in the living room!  Yes, there is only floor joices left in the living room. (we'll save those shocking photos for another day.)

Let us look at something nice:

Yes that is view from the house looking toward the road.  There is a great pine grove across the road. Very pretty.

Okay, back to the hot mess...this is one of the little outbuildings.  It is not bad and we don't know yet if we will try to repair this or start fresh.  For now though, it will be like this

AND this if after day one with hard work from myself, hubby, Alex and her friend Travis.

James and I spent Sunday afternoon working more on the yard. He wanted to finish with mowing and weed eater and I worked on trying to get that pesky vine-y stuff under control that you see taking over the right corner of the house. That stuff is crazy! The root system is in the ground and it's going to take some work to get it out.  I also put out tick, flea, and other pesky insect granules because rain is forecasted.  

Here is the end of day 2:

Oh, and we did encounter one snake this weekend...a baby copperhead. :\  Hoping its momma has decided to take up new residence!

This is from my Instagram feed.  I plan to utilize IG to help document #projecthouse2012 in real time. Feel free to follow me. I love me some Instagram!  

Tyler+Bekah

Just wanted to share a few photos of an adorable couple that will be getting married next weekend at a beautiful plantation in Louisiana. I was honored to take their engagement shots here at home, but I look forward to seeing their wedding shots.

I have photographed Bekah and her sweet little boy, Jace last Fall and can I just say this girl simply cannot take a bad picture! She is gorgeous!  (Tyler is one lucky man!)

My favorite of the day! 

Congrats & best of luck in your future!

Where did may go?

I'm blown away that this is May 31st....seriously where did the month go????

We had graduations, one year birthdays, medical scares, and a long holiday weekend. 

Alex graduated with her associate degree, Hadley graduated from high school, we had commencement at work, Carlee turned one, my mom had a heart cath which indicated she had 95% blockage in a main artery and had a stent put in, we celebrated a long Memorial Day weekend and got to take Carlee to the creek.

Another milestone which I hope to be blogging more about very soon is that we closed on a house today. This house is not livable at the moment and we got it by bidding it through a foreclosure sale, but we plan to put in blood, sweat and probably tears to get it the way we want it.
So stay tuned as I will be documenting ProjectHouse2012.

reflective

For some reason I have been very reflective today.
Maybe it's because we had our "end-of-year" meeting at work today where we reflected on our accomplishments and challenges and looked forward to what's ahead.

Or maybe it's because my dear friend had a big interview today that will change her life tremendously whether she gets the job or not.

Or maybe it's that this angel who landed in our lives last year will be turning one on Saturday:

Whatever has made me feel this way, it has made me so thankful for the many many blessings in my life.  I am amazed at how God works in my life and those around me.  There have been so many times I have been angry at God for not answering my prayers the way I want them answered (because, you know, I am so much smarter than God!!!) DUH.  When something happens in my life to change my circumstances I realize He is so much more awesome than I can even wrap my mind around!

Switching gears, because that is how my mind works sometimes, I want to congratulate my friend Jenny on finally starting her blog after having it for two years!!!  She is ambitious as she has a goal of blogging every day this week.  Cheers for Jenny! Go Jenny!!! *cartwheel* OUCH.
Cannon Family 

What are you reflecting on this week?
A special graduate making a new transition?
Your Mom or mother figure?
Whatever you are reflecting on I hope it brings peace and joy in your life.

Weekend away

I took a short weekend vacation last weekend to Orlando to see my favorite middle stepchild and her husband. 

Brooke & Rob!

It was such a welcomed break from my day to day and I was excited that they asked me to photograph their baby bump pics of my sweet little grandson, River. :)

It was also the first visit to their new home that they purchased last year.  I am so happy for them and what their future lives hold. 

 

I arrived Friday afternoon and Brooke and I went to eat at Mitchell's Fish Market - where Rob is working part-time. In fact, we did a lot of eating while I was there (if you know me, you know that is no surprise!) 

I also experienced Mellow Mushroom pizza and a local haunt, PR's Taco Palace. 

Besides spending time with B & R, my most favorite part of the trip was the few hours I spent with this view:

Ahhhhh, the beach! My most favorite place to be.  There is no better place to relax & refresh in my opinion. There is something about the salt air and feeling the sand on my skin that just makes me feel so great!  I could use several more days of that view quite honestly. 

We had two great days of taking photos.  The first day we took a more casual approach at a walking trail near their house with a little creek or "river" (get it?)  On day two we found a great background at Loch Haven Park and the Orlando Museum of American Art. We also found a fantastic little part in Winter Park on a lake that ended up being another hidden gem.  Here are few more pics of B & R and baby River a/k/a "the bump" :)

I cannot wait until the next time I am there and can share pictures of River on this side of the bump! :)