I've been putting this off for months now because I don't feel like any of our projects are actually done yet. But we've made a lot of progress on the inside & (lately) the outside of our house. The house is already so different than when we bought it, even though there are still many, many things to be done. Here are a few photos of our house, to show the progress we've made.
BEFORE:
The backyard of our house was severely neglected by the previous occupants - renters. The yard reaches to the back fence, where my mom is standing, but there are so many over grown bushes (
including blackberries - ugh!) that fill up a huge portion of potential garden space.
The "bush" to the left of my mom is really a massively overgrown blackberry bush. So big, that it has taken over at least 2 large shrubs, if not more. It was pretty hard to decipher what was going on back there. The bush to the right of my mom is as big as a tree & just needs to be pruned a lot.
On the East side of the backyard, the blackberries have continued to invade the area near the back fence & grass has been allowed to grow into what may have been a nice flower bed/garden at one point. (
The bush to the left of the photo is the same bush that was to the right of my mom in the previous photo.) We're very excited to have that little shed to store all of our tools & garden supplies, so that the garage can be used for other storage.
I took this photo this morning to show some of the progress that was made before today. My dad made a huge dent in the flower bed on the East side of the lawn months ago. We hadn't done anything else to the yard until last weekend - Kenton & Kevin took the chain saw to the blackberries on the West side of the lawn.
AFTER:
This morning, they worked hard to clear out the pile of branches & debris that was created last weekend + they pruned the giant, tree-sized shrub that needed some love.
As you can see, there is still so much to be done. I love that I can see the back fence now & am feeling hopeful that we can clear it out even more back there & make it look more like a flower bed than a jungle. :) Someday, I want a garden back there. But that might be a little too optimistic for this year, considering we're also having a baby in a couple months.
BEFORE:
Here's a photo taken from the entryway looking towards the living room, dining area & family room in the back. This was taken before we replaced the carpet & installed new tile in the kitchen, but I don't have any photos of the tile.
The wood on the wall was is good shape, but not exactly my style. So we made plans right away to get rid of it!
A photo from the dining area, looking back towards the living room, entryway & hallway.
AFTER:
The wood has been removed, the walls painted, new mantle built & installed, new carpet installed, & our furniture in place. The black squares on the wall on either side of the fireplace are still waiting for their vent covers to be reinstalled. Again, we still have a long list of projects waiting to be tackled.
A close-up of the mantle - still needs to be touched up. But I was very motivated to get it installed before Christmas so that I could hang our stockings. :)
Looking from the dining room into the living room. I painted the trim around the windows & Kenton installed new blinds on all of the windows. (
I wish I would have folded that blanket before taking the picture, but whatever...)
BEFORE:
The master bedroom, before.
AFTER:
Not a very great shot of our room, mostly because it's messy & there are still a lot of things that need to be done in the room. But here is a photo of our photo art on the wall & a little glimpse of our new bed from Kevin & Outi (
purchased for Kenton in high school).
And just for kicks...
Here's one of the better photos from the first time we toured this house. The house was filled with too much furniture, lots of junk, piles of laundry & too many beer cans for one family. It's hard to see but the tv in the corner is actually in front of another larger tv - I assume the one in the back stopped working?? Not really sure. Anyway, we somehow were able to see through the junk & imagine all the potential this little house held.
On Wednesday, Dad & Finn came to my OB appointment with me. It was at the end of the day, so Finn & I were home together & we met Dad at the doctor. 
I usually have appointments in the mornings, when Finn is with my parents or Kenton's parents. So this was Finn's first time seeing Dr. Haugen (the doctor who delivered him) since he was a newborn. This was also our first time experiencing how behind our doctor can get by the end of the day. We waiting for quite a while in the play area until it was my turn. Luckily, Finn loved all of the toys - & there were a lot to choose from!
Finn was very interested in my "seat" & figured out right away how to turn on the lamp. He also watched very closely as the doctor listened to the baby's heart. He even commented later on the "lilli (little) soap" that Dr. Haugen put on my tummy (ultrasound gel stuff) to listen to the baby. :) 
Finn gets very excited when we talk about the new baby. Today, I talked to him about the tiny diapers that his baby brother will wear & he just giggled, like it was the cutest thing. He likes to pretend to bring things to the baby, like food, toys, blankets. He's going to be such a great big brother!
26 weeks
