We found this photo while, sorting photos from your Mom's and I thought I would add it to your blog......ENJOY.....

ps. I wont be joining Ryan out there this weekend, I am have a Yard Sale with my Friends......Ryan was suppose to babysit for me.....so it think he will be bring Celesse!

Update - drywall complete and painters arrived early Monday morning 7/28 to start on the texture. They finished it Monday and primed it to paint on Tuesday. Then Wednesday was the big day the first coat of paint. It is so pretty inside and looks fantastic. But they will be back again on Friday to do the second coat and finish up.

We should be able to pick up our ceramic tile this next week and begin tiling the house. It just depends on how long it takes for us to finish the house after that gets done. Once we install the cabinets we will be able to finish the plumbing and get our furnace and a/c unit installed then I'm guessing we are pretty close to move in but that is still a ways away. We are estimating 6-8 weeks if we are lucky so wish us all the luck in the world. Although this process has been eventful I am still ready for it to be complete.

Update on house - brick officially finished on 7/23/08 and boy did it ever turn out good. I know everyone knows I dreamed of my daddy bricking the house for me but even if he did live close again I don't think he would have been able to do so anymore. But the bricker, Dave Trankle really pulled through for us and did a extraordinary job. The brick work is fabulous and the fireplace is absolutely superb. I am more than impressed with how it all turned out.

The drywall should be complete soon and we will begin painting hopefully next week. Then we can start laying tile. We are putting ceramic tile throughout the entire house. It will make it easier with the dacshunds. Hopefully my parents will be here by mid August and they will be able to help with the tile. Well stay tuned for more updates and hopefully I can get some updated pictures on the site soon.

Hello - the house is coming along and now we have a completed fireplace. Dave Trankle is doing our brick work. He is so pleasant to work with and has done an awesome job on the fireplace. It really makes the room. The weather wasn't the greatest this past week so they couldn't work much outside; but it is supposed to be clear this next week. They are hoping they will finish the rest of the brick work then.

The sheet rock was started on Tuesday, July 8 midday and finished late on Thursday, July 10. Boy what a mess there was when they got done with that. It was awful but I was going to be off on Friday so I worked along with Roger and Dave's boy getting it cleaned up. That boy reminds me a lot of Derek. He is a real hard working boy and will do just about anything to help you. When we got it all done we wrote him a check for $25 to thank him for all his help. He didn't want to accept it but we eventually forced him to take it teling him he didn't have to help us clean up the sheet rock that he had done that on his own.

Derek, my step son and wife Meredith's house is also coming along. Their siding has been put on and sheet rock was finished this past Tuesday. Roger and Derek went over there yesterday and cleaned the mess up at their house.

Well nothing more for now but will update as more news develops.

Well lots of activity since the last time I wrote. The bricklayers nearly have the fireplace done and the rest of the brick and steel have arrived so they will start back on Monday. I was so excited when we decided to brick the rest of the house. It is sure going to look good. Also our sheet rock was delivered this past Wednesday so the workers will be starting on that as well this next Monday. So there will be plenty of activity this next week. We hope to start laying tile by the first of August. If I hadn't already advised we are putting ceramic tile throughout the entire house. I know that sounds odd but our house requires it because of our dogs. We love them but it will be so much easier having the tile so we can clean up any messes that come along.

Roger and I woke up this morning and took a walk to the new house to see what activity was going on. The bricklayer was there working and boy has that chimney came along since last Wednesday. I did get emotional when telling them I really wanted my dad to brick the fireplace. I was okay until Roger said now don't start crying I know you wanted your dad to brick it. Well the waterfall hit then so I had to compose myself.

Banjo, our oldest daschund came over to the house today with us. She was definitely putting a show on and keeping the bricklayers with something to look at as she barked and kept their attention on her. She likes to have all the attention and is ready to move as much as we are.

I took plenty of pictures this morning and will go over to my sister-in-law's tomorrow to get the site updated. So keep looking hopefully by tomorrow evening you'll see some new photoes.

Well vacation was gone and done before I realized it. I went to Las Vegas to visit family and my nephew got married while I was there. Boy that makes me feel much older that I believe I am because I remember when that kid was born. Whoa how times goes. My sister-in-law, Becky - niece, Celesse - and nephew, Dillard came with me. It was nice to have them along and it really gave mom and dad the chance to see the grandkids that are back here in Missouri since they live all the way out in Nevada now. We miss them so.

The house as come along quite well since I last posted. I will get new photos online soon; but will have to get Becky's help to load them on. Our windows have been in for quite some time now. They are floor to ceiling and crank out at vertically. Roger picked them out without me and I think he did a totally awesome job. There was a lot of things though especially colors that I picked out without him. It was better that way since he is color blind. The bricklayer arrived on Wednesday June 25 starting on the fireplace. After Roger and him talked they decided it really wasn't going to be that much more to go ahead an brick the house so we are going to do just that. Roger is so excited and so am I because all along that is exactly what we wanted to do.

The heating and cooling duct work was done while I was gone on vacation but still have the furnace, hot water heater, air condition, and outside furnace to install. The outside furnace will be our main source of heat. It is a central boiler from Buchheit's. It will allow us to still burn wood to save on heating cost but not to have the mess in the house like we have had for years now. The furnace in the house will only act as back up in case we are out of town in the winter or in case the furnace outside gets the house below a certain temperature then it would kick on.

On Wednesday the builder showed up to form up the concrete slab in front of the garage and patio area on the other side of the house. We also had the insulator come and start on his work as well. The house is definitely starting to take on a lot more dimension than a few months ago when we started construction on April 14. Boy 10 weeks later has showed a lot of changes.

Well take care and keep an eye out for pictures. Hopefully by mid week I'll have them on the site.

Well no updates really since I last wrote on May 31. We are still waiting on our plumber to finish. I just pray that some progress starts soon. The house went up so fast early on that it is hard to just watch it sit. We have been ready for the bricklayer now for over a month to do the fireplace but the hole for it still remains vacant. He is really busy but as is expected. Most construction in our area didn't get started till mid April due to the horrible winter.

I will soon get a break away from everything when I leave Sunday June 15 for a visit with family to Las Vegas, Nevada. I'll return on June 24. It will be nice to get away and relax. Maybe with the time lapse I'll come back to major changes at the house.

Roger and I were over at the house this morning. He was trying to figure out how the outside furnace was going to be hooked into the house. It flusters him and in turn flusters me; but we are determined to not let it tear us apart. Everyone tells us that if we can make it through this house construction we can overcome everything. So we are determined to overcome this hurdle and spit at it in right in the face. Does it sound sound like we are ready for it to be over or what, because I am ready.

Well at the end of this week now 6 weeks into our house building we have electrical, phone, and cable lines going everywhere in the house. They started with the wiring process on Monday May 26 and finsihed up on Thursday May 29. There was some plumbing work done but not yet finished. Our plumber has had a lot of calls to fix air conditioners in the area since it is just now in the last few weeks starting to get warm around here. It is so hard to believe that already 6 weeks has passed since we started construction. It still seems like a long time before we will move in but so much time and things have passed by since we started it will be here before we know it.

Roger has been real busy helping Derek with their horse barn. It has been coming along slow but the start where the poles are set is indeed a slow process. It was a real hot one today so I'm sure they were ready to quit early. I called them this evening and found out they quit around 5 so I was glad to hear that.

Hello everyone sorry I haven't posted for awhile. It has slowed down a bit around the house but still changes taking place daily. This week has been some plumbing and mainly a lot of electrical work. Their are outlets and wiring going everywhere now.

Roger and I were off together on Monday and Tuesday. Monday was Memorial Day and Roger had gotten off midnights that morning. He was amazingly able to stay up all day and barbequed for all of the family. It was off and on rainy all day so they didn't get to work on Derek and Meredith's horse barn like they had planned; but the round baler got some much needed maintenance in preparation for hay making season. It was nice to have the kids there for dinner even David to enjoy some time together.

Tuesday - Roger and I took off in search of a new king size mattress for our bed and light fixtures for the new house at Lowes. We stopped first at Billy's Place in Oak Ridge. It is kind of a cool place for us country folks but more like a hole in the wall flea market for city folks. Well he had a set that was extremely comfortable so we told him it was ours. Thanks goodness he will hold it for us for up to 3 months because we aren't quite ready for it yet. We then left and headed into Lowe's to check out the light fixture selection. We needed to get a fixture for over our island in the kitchen and ceiling fan/lights for all the bedrooms. Well we came home with all that but changed out mind on the fixture in the kitchen. Both of us apparently liked the same light but didn't say anything to each other because it was a bit more than we wanted to spend.

Wednesday - I returned to Lowes and get the fixture we really wanted for the kitchen as well as 2 fixtures for over the mirrors in the bathrooms that we had forgotten.

Nothing more to report now. I go on vacation in 2 weeks from Sunday leaving with Becky(my sister-in-law) , Celesse (niece), and Dillard (nephew) to go out west and visit family in Las Vegas, Nevada for 10 days. My nephew Jared is getting married on June 20 to Martha Sorensen. So we will soon have a Martha Englehart. If she is has special has Jared has lead on I'm sure she'll be a welcome addition to our family. I can't wait to meet her.

Well Roger got home from work this morning off midnights and wanted to go over to the house and see what the plumber had done so I got up and went with him. The piping had been done for the sink and washer macine in the laundry room. There was also shower/tub combos sitting in each of the bathrooms. I walked in and said well look we have 2 showers. We talked a little then he went back to the house to sleep. I swept the entire house again and used the shop vac to pick up as much as I could.

I've been picking up little things here and there for the house. I have the bath towels, shower curtain, and rugs for our bathroom. I picked out a light sage green for our bathroom. For the main bath the shower curtain is chocolate brown, light brown, and red stripes that go horizontally across the curtain. I bought brown towels but think I'm going to trade them for red. The bedding for the master bedroom is green and brown stripes. I've had it since early March and dying to put it out. I'm using the bedding mom had in grandma's room when she stayed with her in our extra bedroom. It is cream embroidered on one stay and pink floral on the other. I'm still deciding on what to use in my craft room. I'm going to put a full size old iron bed in it. I'm wanting something red so will wait and see what I find. I did find a lovely red tablecloth for the dining room table today. I snatched it up as soon as I seen it. I believe my favorite color is red but have so many favorites so even though I originally wanted to paint the kitchen and dining room red I opted to decorate with red accessories instead. The majority of the house will be painted a light to medium brown or tan. Our bedroom, bathroom area will be light sage green. The back corner bedroom that will be used as my craft room is going to be a light sunshine yellow. The extra bedroom is going to be pale pink. The entire house is going to be ceramic tile. I know that sounds odd but it will be a lot nicer with the dachsunds to have the tile instead of carpeting.

When we go over to check out the house at least one of them has to go with us and they just run around the house checking out every nook and cranny. I think they are as excited about the house as we are. But certainly we are more excited. Well not much more to report now so will talk more later.

Well we got our windows in last Friday and boy are they beautiful. Roger picked them out and whoa did he ever do an awesome job. They have long panels and crank out. I totally love them and they make the house look amazing. They really complete the front room.

Now we just need a fireplace. It hasn't gotten started but I'm sure the bricklayer will be there before we know it and we will wonder where the time went. It was ready for the plumber this week and he has been there some but not a lot. But I keep telling Roger and myself not to worry. We are coming along a lot better than I thought at this point so not to worry.

The builder who is building Derek's house came over yesterday to check out where we wanted all our outlets and fixtures to be put. He is doing the electrical wiring on our house. It was neat to lay out the outlets and determine what we wanted where. I'm just ready for the walls to start developing more shape but in time, in time it will happen. I still just sit back and marvel and what changes have taken place since April 14 when we started this extravaganza. Not sure what changes will take place next week but will certainly keep you posted.

Little Gwyn and Little Ryan!

Hey everyone - The builders have been at the house since Wednesday working inside now since the roof is done. They were finishing up the interior walls today. It is really taking shape inside more and more everyday. It is so exciting to watch the changes each day. It rained and poured all day Thursday and was real cool. It is hard to believe it is really the middle of May the way the weather has been lately. Our windows and doors will be delivered tomorrow morning. I'm sure it will really look tremendously different once those get in. The fireplace hasn't gotten started yet but I'm sure it will before too much longer. The roof will also be finished off tomorrow. I am so amazed that now 1 month after we started where we are already at. We started on April 14 so it is truly a blessing that the weather has cooperated so well thus far.

For those of you who didn't know. My step son Derek and his wife, Meredith are also building just down the road from us. They aren't more than a couple miles away from us. We are so fortunate for that. I hoped one of the boys if not both would live close to us when they grew up and we got our wish. I haven't been over to there house this week; but Roger says there place is really coming along. They got their roof put on yesterday. I will have to go over and inspect the changes their this weekend while I'm off.

Check out my Slide Show!

Hello everyone, It has been a week since I last posted. We did get our trusses set on Monday May 5 and decking finished on Tuesday. Then the roofers arrived on Wednesday May 7. We were so excited to see them arrive and hoped they could get the roof on before it was to rain that day but unfortunately it did not happen. They nearly did except for a small portion on the back corner of the garage and the ridge cap. It continued to rain on through Thursday and the roofers didn't return until Friday starting at 6:30 am only to be rained out again at 9:30 am. They were able to finish the rest of the roof and mostl of the ridge cap but not all so I guess we will see them back sometime this next week to finish it off.

Roger and I took a day trip away from it all to go to St Louis on Thursday for our Cabela's trip we were needing to make. We needed to pick out our chandelier for over the dining room table and 2 lamps for the living room. We picked out a really pretty one for the dining room. It has 6 shades with 4 wooden canoes leaned up to the center. I believe it will carry on the outdoor theme we are taking in the living room on into the dining room/kitchen area. We also found the 2 lamps we wanted for the living room. They both look like metal sculpted art work - one is a deer and the other a turkey. Camo one of our 5 daschunds came along with us on the trip. We had her in the shopping cart for a little bit but quickly realized she was too much to handle and shop like we wanted so we decided to kennel her at the customer service desk. Shortly later I took a break to go to the bathroom which are right next to customer service to find the clerks had her out letting her run around beneath their feet while they worked. They said she wasn't to partial to the kennel and they just couldn't stand seeing her whine like she was. Well Roger and I figured they owed us after how much money we spent there so we didn't mind much either.

We were looking for a gun safe there at Cabela's and we looked real hard at one Roger fell in love with before but after finding how much money it would cost to have it deliver it we decided to look for deligently at Bucheit's down home where we had looked at before since they sold the same brand safe, "Liberty". So we stopped by on our way through Perryville. Well sure enough they had 2 of the exact same safe he wanted in their warehouse but in green instead of grey. It holds 41 guns. So we went to look and Roger liked it so I put it on layaway for him. He was so excited and later said he didn't realize I was going to put a gun safe on layaway for him. I told him I thought he deserved it.

Well while we were up in St Louis Tim and Jeff came and put up nearly all the interior walls. It was so exciting to see the change when we got home. It made it so much easier to visualize how the rooms were looking and starting to take shape. Roger and I went over about 6:30 pm and cleaned up around the place burning trash and relaxing in 2 lawn chairs in the opening of one of the windows in the front room watching the bonfire. While we were visting Roger told me something that Tim, our builder asked him a few days that teared me up. Tim said to Roger, "Is it starting to look like Dad's house" and Roger said, "Yes it is". Then Tim said, "No it isn't it is looking like your house." Then there I teared up stood up putting my hands on Rogers knees starting to tear up and told him, "Thanks again for everything, you do not know much I appreciate this house and look forward to spending several years to come with him in it." For those of you who do not know we are replicating a house just like Tim's dad's house.

Standby for news and comments to come soon.......

Hello everyone - Well today was definitely exciting. I knew Tim and Jeff were going to be there to set the trusses this morning. I had to get up anyway by 8:30 so I set my alarm clock an hour early so I could get up and head over to check it all out and of course with camara in hand. Roger was over there the whole time as well checking out all the excitement. But just like I said while watching the floors poured he agreed. It definitely it is just like watching our favorite move in high definition. My favorite movie is 7 Bridges for 7 Brothers and he asked if it was as good as if I was watching that. I agreed it definitely was but so much more fun. It was amazing to see how they could walk around the edge of the house and set those trusses. They were walking with such ease it would be like me walking on flat ground --- absolutely amazing. I know it will be much more time before we get to move in but I sure am enjoying the journey until that times comes. Oh what an experience!!!!!! Thanks Roger I love you - Gwyn

Well Friday came and went with no work to be had due to weather. It was very stormy starting early in the morning and didn't stop till around noon. So it finally gave Roger and I a chance to walk over to the worksite and check out the changes. We are both super anxious for all the work to be done but it is fun watching all the changes from a empty field near our favorite spot at the pond to a house by the pond with a fantastic view. I'm sure most people would kill for such a view in front of their homes. Weather appears to be clear through mid next week so plans are to set the trusses on Monday May 5.

My mom and dad will be celebrating their 48th wedding anniversary this next Tuesday. Boy what an accomplishment they have made. I'm so proud to have parents who have stuck it out through no matter what. They have always been there for each other and for the entire family. Thanks for everything mom and dad. You are absolutely the best parents a kid could have ever asked for.

Hello everyone, I am having so much fun watching my house get started. As you can see in the pictures we have walls now. They were formed up on Tuesday and finished today. I have definitely been a constant on the work site. I don't think I'm in the way. I just sit back with camara in hand and photograph the whole thing. I told the workers when they were pouring the floor that it was like watching my favorite movie in high definition. I was absolutely mesmerized with all the excitement. The septic system was also installed yesterdsay. We started construction on April 14 and boy have been ever come a long way already. Well take care to all my friends and family and keep checking the blog for new updated pictures. We are expecting trusses on the house tomorrow or first of the week weather permitting.

Gwyn's House

okay so Gwyn is only 1/2 way doing this.....mostly its me Becky, but anyways here are some shots of her new house........she can tell you all about.....TRUST ME!