It's getting exciting around here

It felt a little like Christmas Eve last night. I kept waking up with a flurry of excitement in the pit of my stomach. Knowing that our basement carpet would be installed by the next night was almost as good as waiting for Santa. My Dad, Justin, and I have spent countless hours in the basement. Until you've finished a 1400+ sq. ft. basement it's hard to explain how much time and effort it takes. The trim, caulking, and painting have been endless. There were times when I wished we had half as many doors to paint and caulk. We've been so grateful that my Dad would come up about every 3 weeks and stay for 3 or 4 days to work. He's a busy guy and we've been so spoiled to have such a hard worker on our team (and doing most of the work). We couldn't have done it without his smarts and strength. And just under two years after starting to draw up our plans, we are nearly done! Other than raising kids (and all that comes with that), I think the 3 things that I've worked the hardest on in life are my college degree, our yard, and our basement. It was especially tricky because I always wanted to be able to make progress downstairs but then one of the kids would need me, dinner would need making, or the house upstairs would get too dirty to ignore. It's been a juggling act for all of us, really, in different ways. I'm not that good at juggling so I'm glad to see the end is near. And now I get to decorate! I. Am. So. Excited.
Along with all of the work, we've had some great moments together. Nolan and Ezra have found so much joy in "helping out." Nolan was actually a big help in sweeping up all the sawdust.

Here's my Dad in action. And I forgot to mention that he also would take us out to eat sometimes. He works for free AND buys us food. How did we get so lucky? Nolan and Ezra were always so excited for Grandpa John to come visit.

Here are a couple of before shots:

Even Ezra was so in love with the carpet pad when it got here.

And I don't want to give many "after" shots right now. I'd like to save them for when I have furniture and some cute drapes I'm planning to make with my Mom. But here's a teaser. It's not tacked down yet, but it gives an idea of what's to come.

Now that the basement is nearly done, we can start to organize the storage room that is currently stacked to the ceiling... literally. Man, we look like hoarders! We've still got lots to do, but it will be exciting!