Stretched

So... the Lord is good. Can I get an amen?  Last week we spread wide our tent and closed on the dirtiest, stinkiest, most neglected house I've probably ever set foot in.

And we LOVE IT.

{Little known fact about The Thorns: We love homes.  Like, we sit in bed every night - eeeeevery night - and look at them and then we talk about them and then we decide what we'd do different with them and if we could live there.  Yeah, we are weird.}

Moving on.  

Many of you have asked if we are moving.  The answer is no.  We love our neighborhood and although our house is small, it fits our lifestyle so perfectly that we are staying put.  This little gem that I write of will be a rental property for us.  Just writing that feels impossible, just so we're clear. I don't know how/why He does it but sometimes God inspires you to think bigger, better.  Then he hands you a little nugget on a silver platter and all you have to do is accept it.  Kinda like grace.  But that's a whole other post.

Now where were we?

Fact: this house was built in 1919

Fact: the man who lived there had 2 large dogs and no fenced yard.  Yeah, it smelled rancid. Yes, they might have tried eating a few doors.

Fact: the house has the most amazing garage, which we hope to covert into livable space at some point.

Fact: we have 30 days to finish the remodel.

Here's our BIG to-do list:

1- open up the floor plan for better flow into the kitchen.

2 - knock out a weird kitchen wall/window to open up the kitchen into the dining space.

3 - manipulate the kitchen layout, adding an island, and new floors.

3 - convert a random extra room into a third bedroom.

4 - create a laundry area.

5 - refinish all hardwoods.

6 - paint.

7 - fix a few windows.

8 - and if we have time... paint the exterior.

DISCLAIMER: iphone pics taken the day we got the keys. Please forgive.

Oh, and here's that garage I told you about.  It's so charming it kills me.