Little House in the Wheat Field

Fall Decorations for Party

2008-10-23T07:55:00.004-05:00

Here's a few pics of the house decorated for Fall for the party we had last weekend.

The master bathroom

Front Guest Bedroom

Back Guest Bedroom

Living Room

Dining Room

Back-breaking Mulch

2008-10-12T07:45:00.003-05:00

Justin and I decided it was finally time to breakdown and purchase some shurbs and mulch. Thankfully, my parents were there to help. I think the two of us would have been completely overwhelmed. From going to the nursery to pick out every plant to scooping the last bit of mulch....it was exhausting! But, I am in love with every bit of it. I think we'll add a few more annuals in the spring to bring more color.

We still have to pour the concrete walkway. That's the framing for that you see in progress in front of the garage side of the house.

Justin's Birthday

2008-10-06T21:53:00.002-05:00

Ok...so it's not house related, but how could I resist posting some pictures of Justin's birthday at El Vallarta. He picked the place so he deserved the pie in the face. Nathan will be posting the video hopefully tomorrow on http://www.justiceplittle.com/. Check it out.

Justin's Tower

2008-08-18T12:34:00.002-05:00

Furniture!

2008-08-18T12:27:00.003-05:00

Moving is almost over

2008-08-17T23:28:00.002-05:00

Woohoo! We have almost everything moved. There are only a few miscellaneous items in the old house. It's amazing how much stuff we had crammed into that little house. We brought it over here and spread it all out. I'll post some pics tomorrow when it's not so late.

Moving Update

2008-08-07T22:46:00.002-05:00

The big move has been postponed for about a week. We did not pass the electrical inspection on the first try; however, everyone that we've talked to says you never do. There's always some little thing that just not quite right. I was upset when I first heard, but in all honesty I'm not packed and the house needs a good cleaning before we move in. So keep your fingers crossed that we get everything wrapped up in the next few days.

To summarize the progress this week....

Carpet in the bedrooms and upstairs
Septic tank installed and plumbing almost finished
Touchup painting on walls and molding
Appliances are being delivered tomorrow
Finishing cable, phone, internet wiring + speaker system intalled by J.Little (our neighbors may soon hate this feature!)

Pretty Lights

2008-08-03T21:55:00.003-05:00

I never realized how much lights can change the looks of a house. It's honestly weird to be able to walk in a room and flip on a light switch. The house looks wonderful and so far everything is working. We just need to purchase a different light for our bathroom and one more floodlight for outside.

Keep your fingers crossed that the electrical inspection actually occurs on Wednesday and that we pass. If we can get past that, I think we just might move in this weekend and close on the loan the next week.

Finished Flooring

2008-08-01T08:39:00.001-05:00

A few pics of the hardwood floor, tile and screened in porch.

Almost Finished

2008-08-01T08:31:00.002-05:00

It's been a long week, but alot of work has been completed. If all of the inspections are passed next week, we'll be moving in next weekend and closing on the mortgage on Aug 12. Keep your fingers crossed!

The bathroom and kitchen countertops have been installed. The guest bathrooms just have white marble. Our master bath was supposed to be this pretty cream color with speckles. It's hard to tell in the last picture, but that is me comparing the sample to what was installed. The countertop we received is gray with speckles. While it is a beatiful top and would look great with white cabinets, it just doesn't fit in our bath. The marble place has agreed to make us a new top that is more cream/brown/tan. They said the sample we picked is very difficult to make.

Tile

2008-07-25T17:31:00.001-05:00

Columns

2008-07-22T22:08:00.001-05:00

The columns and front door will be painted to match the siding color.

Cabinets

2008-07-22T22:06:00.003-05:00

No....the cabinets are not this orange! The color looks absolutely different in person and different in every picture.

Closets everywhere!

2008-07-22T21:58:00.002-05:00

Pantry

Pantry again

Back Guestroom Closet

Front Office Closet

Front Entry Closet/Justin's Media Closet

2008-07-15T07:09:00.003-05:00

A few updated interior pictures after the crown, trim and base mold. It's really starting to come together. I think the cabinets will start going in by the end of the week and the pads for the garage and porches may be poured too.

An upclose view of the crown and base molding.

The front steps....the bricklayers curved them a bit and added a little column at the end. I think it looks good.

Exterior View

2008-07-10T22:13:00.003-05:00

The brick is almost complete. The front is completely done and most of the steps are in. It's looking great!

Trim Work

2008-07-10T22:09:00.002-05:00

The trim work has been going up this week. Most of it is up throughout the house, and it looks wonderful! Interior doors have also been installed.

Busy July 4th

2008-07-04T19:13:00.003-05:00

Clint came over and started installing the light fixtures. This is in the bonus room upstairs. We have the ceiling fans, can lights and plugs installed.

Justin checks out the fan in the Jukebox Room/Allison's Office.

Justin's antenna is going up behind his little storage building. This is only 30 feet of it....there's another 50 to go. He's paying a guy to put this up who will climb it and then pull a 10 foot piece of it up behind him until it reaches the 80 feet. I'm sooooo glad Justin is not trying to do this himself!

Brickwork

2008-07-04T19:10:00.003-05:00

There was a team of eight men working on the house today. I am in love with this brick. I like the texture, the color....everything. I can't wait for the houseto be finished!

Painters Galore!

2008-07-04T19:05:00.003-05:00

We like helpers when it comes to painting. Nathan joined us on Thursday to work in a few of the closets. Justin's parents, Robert and Kathy, came on Thursday and finished the closet paint. We have three walls and one closet left to paint. Woohoo! (Of course, this is not including moulding and doors.)

Brick

2008-07-02T21:29:00.003-05:00

On top of the painting that was going on inside today. The brick layers were outside getting started on the brick. Even though I thought I loved my brick....I am even more in love with it now!

More Impressive Painting

2008-07-02T21:16:00.006-05:00

It's very impressive to see how much a family can get done when they work together. We are truly blessed to have a family that is there when you need them even if it's hot and tiring work.

Carla left the baby with Momma for a few hours to help trim out a few rooms.

Uncle Terry even joined us to help roll the bathroom.

The ugly black stripe on the right of this picture will be a magnetic wall. It's paint from Sherwin Williams that goes on as a primer coat and the you cover with your normal color. This area will be above the desk in the kitchen so it will be a nice place to leave notes.

Matthew and Daddy worked in the hot bonus room trimming the corners and ceiling.

This is looking in from the front door to the living room. This "Spiced Cider" wall is where the piano will sit.

Can you say progress?

2008-07-01T20:58:00.003-05:00

Wow...look at this! Daddy and Justin started the day at 5:30 cleaning and sanding the upstairs. Chad joined Daddy around lunch time and they finished all of the ceilings. I left work early to finalize the paint colors. Justin and I then showed up after work and were able to start putting some color on the walls with Daddy and Chad. I think it looks great!

Painting

2008-06-30T20:59:00.002-05:00

I'm sure this will be the first of many posts about paint. We have a very large house that needs to be painted floor to ceiling at least three times. We have the first coat of primer on most of the first floor. We have the pantry and our bedroom and bathroom left to do downstairs and the all of the upstairs. Daddy and Momma painted the two bedrooms, bathrooms and closets before we even got home from work. Chad, Justin and I showed up about 5 and worked until dark. I think we're going to make good progress this week.

I'll post pictures after some color starts going on the walls. For now, it's just more of the same white walls.

Sheetrock Update

2008-06-27T18:08:00.005-05:00

The sheetrock is almost complete. I think they just have a few ceilings to finish which should be done tomorrow. Then it's time to cleanup and get ready for the paint.

Justin and Nathan look over the first few day's work.

The upstairs bonus room now has the last window installed. This is Justin's side of the room for all of his computer toys.

Looking out the back windows of the living room. As of Friday afternoon, they have the main living space ceiling to finish and we'll be done!

This is the pattern on the ceiling...I promise it will look better once painted.

The garage with the vinyl siding on the ceiling and what they call "smart board" on the walls. We do need to paint the walls, but we're almost finished in here.

VBS

2008-06-23T21:03:00.005-05:00

How could I forget about these pictures?? Justin, Nathan, Liz and Cady helped kickoff Vacation Bible School at FUMC by dressing as a characters from SonWorld Adventure Park. I think Justin got the easy end of the deal compared to Nathan.

Justin's Workshop

2008-06-23T20:56:00.002-05:00

Sheetrock

2008-06-23T20:47:00.003-05:00

Most of the sheetrock was completed by Saturday with the last few bits added today. I think the mudding and finishing part of the sheetrock comes next. I've heard this is where it gets messy....yay!

From the back of the living room looking towards the front door

From the guest bedroom hallway through the living room into the kitchen

Back of the living room out the kitchen/garage door

Justin's workshop

2008-06-18T20:20:00.001-05:00

Daddy, Chad and Justin are continuing the work on a shop for Justin. He'll keep all of his antenna stuff in there and have the large 80 foot tower close to that shop. I can't wait!

More Progress

2008-06-18T20:14:00.003-05:00

I hear that things really slow down when the inside work starts. I think that's only for people watching the house from the outside. I can see differences everyday. Most of the ceiling sheetrock was put up today in the main living spaces along with the pantry and two closets. I'm impressed with that. We also have the vinyl up on the front porch and screened in backporch ceilings.

Siding and Sheetrock

2008-06-17T22:40:00.003-05:00

The siding is in place on the dormers. Look how well it matches the windows.

This is Justin's storm shelter/closet. It's reinforced with steel and extra plywood.

The sheetrock is up in most of the upstairs bonus room area.

Look at this!

2008-06-17T22:27:00.002-05:00

Sheetrock was delivered on Monday...a day before we were expecting it!

Insulation was completed on Friday. This is a picture is in the bonus room upstairs.

Patrick takes a few hits on the sand in the screened in porch.

The boys head back to the house after starting the work on Justin's little shop. Maddie and Sadie stay as close to Daddy as possible.

Chad helps nail the wall supports into place.

Overdue Update - Windows and Doors

2008-06-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

The doors and windows were put in last week. I've just been slow in putting up pictures. I love the front door. It will be painted a dark tan/brown color. I think that will really make the glass on the door stand out. In other news, we passed the electrical inspection on the first try this week. Insulation should start tomorrow or Monday followed by sheetrock sometime after that. We're excited!

Justin spent his free time this week placing his "patch panels" for all of his hundreds of feet of cable. Here he is showing off his work. Look how neat those cables are. They almost look profesional!

Bonus Room -- Remodeled

2008-05-29T22:14:00.002-05:00

We're not even finished with the house and we have already remodeled. We decided to expand the bonus room to include one side for Justin's play area and the original side for who knows what. This first photo is taken from the road side looking over the master bedroom.

With the ceiling lowered to 8 feet and the closet and half wall around the stairs.

Justin is standing in the closet. The other side of the stairs will be the walkway to his side of the bonus room.

Cables

2008-05-28T06:51:00.002-05:00

Daddy and Justin worked on the cabling over the weekend. I'm pretty sure I can safely say that I have the most cable in my house in all of Dyer! P. Little never wants to get back in that attic again.

Maddie does not like to leave Daddy's side. I honestly thought she might try walking across those beams.

So far the cables look very neat, but I hear they have plans to make it even better. Justin didn't want me posting this, but I wanted to brag on how good it looks so far. Nathan and Daddy both helped P. Little with this so we have them to thank too.

Bonus Room Pics

2008-05-23T22:09:00.003-05:00

Justin asked for steps to the bonus room...and he got them. Aren't they wonderful!

This is the upstairs bonus room above the garage. It is rather large, but this picture makes it look huge. I think we're really going to enjoy having this space. We don't plan on finishing this initially, but we may need it in the future.

Friday's progress

2008-05-23T22:05:00.001-05:00

Friday brought a buzz of activity to the house. The progress made was absolutely amazing.

This first picture was taken before 10am. The roofers were really moving...

Clint pulls wire for some of our lights. I don't think there's anyway I can repay him for all of his hard work these next several days.

Ma came to inspect the progress.

The front of the house has shingles! Woohoo! Doesn't it look pretty.

2008-05-23T21:54:00.000-05:00

These pictures were taken early Friday morning to show how many shingles were put up the first day. I just can't stop saying how much it looks like a real house now...and so big! I absolutely love everything about it.

2008-05-23T06:29:00.000-05:00

Well, I've been slacking off again and it's taken me a week to get more pictures up.

Our bathtubs were delivered early this week. This will be in the two guest baths. Our shower unit for our master bathroom was just delivered yesterday. I'm so excited to see all of this going in!

This is the handy truck/tractor/I don't know what machine that Julio uses to reach high spots easier. It looks like a wonderful contraption that Justin could have a lot of fun with!

Look....it's a real house! Don't the dormers look wonderful? They really make the house look complete now. I was so excited to see them. I wasn't sure about them in the beginning, but Julio said the house needed something more. He was right...they look good!

More pics to come later today. Some of the shingles are up, and we'll be doing some wiring this morning.

New Addition to the Denton family

2008-05-16T22:36:00.004-05:00

Thought I would post a few pics of my new niece...well, not quite a niece, but still close to it. This is Matthew and Carla's little girl,

Carley Bale born May 16th @ 8:14 PM.

7 lbs, 15 oz and 21 inches long.

Decking

2008-05-16T22:34:00.002-05:00

After a busy week and a day of rain, the decking is on the majority of the front of the house. Here's a few pics.

We hope to be pulling wire for the electricity, cable, phone, internet, etc by the end of this week. Pray for good weather!

The Roof is taking shape

2008-05-07T21:07:00.005-05:00

It's been a busy few days. Here's the first pic from Monday.

Here we are after day 3.

My creative shot looking above the kitchen.

The blogs may be short for the next few weeks, but I'll do my best to post pictures as often as possible.

Moving on up

2008-04-29T20:43:00.007-05:00

I think most of the interior walls are complete, and we're now moving on up to the ceiling. I'm sure there is some technical term that for this that I just do not know.

This is taken from the door coming in from the garage looking through the kitchen to the front door.

From the kitchen door out into the garage

Looking at the house from the back. This is a new "pond" that has developed since we did the dirtwork to level our lot.

Front of the house, again.

This week's progress

2008-04-24T21:18:00.005-05:00

Here are the new pics from this week. The garage has been framed, the front porch is taking shape, and the boards are going up on the outside. Check out Justin's website in the next few days for a walkthrough tour of the house. http://www.justiceplittle.com/

Justin and Daddy make sure the worksite stay clean and picked up.

A view from the west side of the house

Lucy looking over her new house and planning where her bed will be

Antenna and a Dog Pen

2008-04-24T20:26:00.006-05:00

I just had to share what I found in my backyard this morning. I opened the backdoor to let Lucy out and noticed that the dog pen finally moved. The grass in it was at least 2 feet high, and I thought Justin finally noticed and decided to actually mow the whole yard. After work, I let Lucy out to play and we eventually made our way around the back of the house. The dog pen is still sitting in the middle of the yard, and I'm still feeling impressed that my dear husband finally noticed!

Then it happened...I looked toward the dog pen and then looked again. Did I really see what I thought I saw? No, he didn't...he wouldn't....but he did. He moved the dogpen close to his antenna so that he could tie it off. Look closely in the picture. Do you see the cable running from the top down to the pen?

So how does this tie into our house building process? If I ever come home and find something this "inventive" at the new house, I'm not sure what I will do....Any suggestions?

Walls, Walls Everywhere

2008-04-18T15:52:00.005-05:00

Look at these lovely walls. It looks like a house now, and I can honestly say it doesn't look so small anymore. In fact, it looks rather large especially if you look from one corner to another.

We have Blocks!

2008-04-10T07:27:00.014-05:00

The team of block layers worked all day Monday and most of Tuesday laying all the block for the house. I'm shocked at how fast they were able to do it....even more shocked by how fast they wanted payment! I hope I'm ready to spend some money in the next few months.

These pictures show what a team of mexicans can do in one day! Very impressive!

Pics from Day 2 -- Blocks are finished. Now we wait for them to set...and it rains, again.

We spent the weekend trying to pick a brick, mortar and roof color. We'll need to know our shingle color by the end of the week and will be meeting with the designer at the lumber company where we're purchasing everything. It's going to start moving very fast now.

Building Blocks

2008-04-06T19:10:00.002-05:00

The week of March 29-April 4 was filled with rain, rain and more rain. Construction was at a standstill again. But...there is hope. A new week starts tomorrow, and the forecast looks pretty good. A crew of Mexicans are coming tomorrow to lay the block. We're told it should take about two days. The blocks will cure for a few days and then the wood should start going up. I'm getting excited again. We just need a few weeks of not so much rain.

Hopefully, I can post pics tomorrow of the progress!

Let's Get Ready to Rumble....

2008-03-25T20:36:00.009-05:00

March 24, 2008....Shall forever be remembered as the day the house began. The rain has ended and the footers are ready for the concrete. This picture is on Day One. The perimeter of the house is lined off and stakes are in the ground....nothing exciting.

Day 2....The heavy equipment came in to dig the holes for the footers. (Or are they digging little burial plots?) Oh and guess how deep a footer is?? About a foot! Isn't that a clever name?

Day 3....Footers are poured. It looks like rivers of concrete.

I cannot post any Day 4 pics because my non 4 wheel drive vehicle got stuck while I was trying to take the pictures. How was I supposed to know it rained in Dyer when I was in Jackson all day? It looked dry....Oh well, it wasn't the first time I've been stuck. At least I was able to eventually drive myself out, but the builders may not like the ruts I left!

February almost gone....

2008-02-23T08:50:00.004-06:00

I thought it was time for an update. We are now approaching the end of February, and we have not started yet. The rain just won't go away long enough. Justin is trying to keep things positve by thinking that each month not building is another month of saving. I'm trying to take advantage of this time and make sure I like everything about the house.

Right now, the forecast for the next 10 days has less than a 10% chance of rain on each day. Keep your fingers crossed for us. I'm ready to get out of this old house. To understand our desire to be in a new house you have to understand where we are now. We are very lucky to be able to live in my great-grandmother's 100 year old house. Before we moved in, my mother told me it was a cold house...as in the curtains blow in the wind and all your heat goes out the ceiling. I blew her wisdom off because I like being cold. This is a different type of cold. We are anxiously awaiting spring time and the new house.

Even though I hate a few things about this house, I do love the woodwork on the inside. It's unlike anything you see in new houses, and it is truly amazing to think that all of this was done by hand. Here's a few pics taken right after we moved in.

Still Waiting

2008-02-02T22:09:00.000-06:00

First lesson in house building...Patience. Anyone that knows me knows that I have very little patience. My mother has always said, "Patience is a viture." I have promptly followed this with "which I do not have!" I want what I want when I want it, but for some reason it doesn't always happen that way. Here it is February 2nd and the house has not started. Getting the land transferred to our name took longer than we thought so we're waiting on the appraisal so we can be approved for our line of credit. We should have the go ahead on everything this week. Now we just need mother nature to hold off the rain for a bit.

The Time Has Come

2008-01-12T15:08:00.000-06:00

The phone call came last week on our anniversary telling us to be ready to start our house this week. We've waited a year for this, and now it's all a little scary. It's time to start making quick decisions on all the little details that I have to live with for at least the next 10-20 years....Flooring, paint, fixtures, appliances, cabinets, countertops, brick, shingles....and on and on. I hope we're ready for this.

Pictures of actual construction coming soon!

Just a metal pipe.....

2008-01-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

We don't have a house, and we don't have a driveway...but there is a culvert where our driveway will be! Woohoo. It's so sad when you get excited to drive by and see a metal pipe in a ditch.

We've spent the last few months making sure we were happy with our floor plan so that we don't make changes once the building has started. I want the building process to go as smoothly as possible. Last week we met with our contractor to finalize our plan. I am completely, 100% satisfied with everything. I really think it is the perfect the plan with open spaces and lots of storage, but most of all....it is not a 100 year old drafty, cold house!

More posts and pics to come!

Our House Plan

2007-10-23T21:36:00.000-05:00

Here's the plan we've picked. The outside will be similar to this except all brick (probably a shade of brown) and with more of a craftsman style on the columns and porch.

HomeFest 2007

2007-10-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

The Jackson Area HomeBuilders Association sponsored a show of homes in a few Jackson subdivisions last weekend. I went with a few friends to get ideas and just see what's new. The new design that was in every single house was the bull nose corners. (At least I think that's what they called them.) It's a rounded corner instead of a 90 degree turn. I just can't decide if I like it. How do you change paint colors between rooms when you have a curve? I think I'll stick with the traditional edge.

I am constantly surprised by what people will pay for in Jackson (insert other large town name here)....For a 1/4 acre lot with a cheaply made home, people are paying $400k. These buyers are seeing a large house in a new subdivision and signing on the dotted line before they ever look at the detail. Maybe I went into these houses looking for problem areas, but you would think simple things like uneven seams in crown molding and bad paint jobs would be fixed before hundreds of people take a tour. I also had an insiders guide on spotting "problems". April, a local designer that works with the contractors and home builders, joined us to see the trends. I loved seeing the looks from the builders when she was throwing out all their terminology. It was so much fun to see a woman in a man's world.

I was afraid I would fall in love with expensive elements that I couldn't have in my soon to be house, but I think it only made me appreciate what I'm building. Now if February would only hurry up and get here!

Below are a few pics of some design elements that I liked.

I think I need some of these on our bar.

I love, love, love this tile. Now, I wonder how much it will cost??

How about a separate little doggy shower for Lucy? I don't think Justin is going for this.

This is one design I just don't "get". I want a house not a castle.

And the Dirt Moved.....

2007-10-02T22:14:00.000-05:00

Justin and I are starting on our dream house. Back in Feb 07, we met with contractors and decided on a house plan. While all of that was exciting, seeing the actual dirtwork begin on the land is even more. The first picture is taken from the road looking back to where the house will be built. This picture is very deceiving...you cannot tell how much it falls off in the back.

On Sept 25th, the first tractor and dirt pan starting scraping the topsoil off....then it rained for 4 days! We had a pretty nice little pond started where our building should be. Then on Oct 1st, the dirt guys returned with more heavy equipment. It is absolutely amazing what these big machines have moved in two short days.

This picture is at the end of day 3. The back part is built up at least 5-7 feet with dirt from the levees. Tomorrow the people from Bellsouth will be here to help pinpoint the lines so we can move the dirt from the front.

I'll try posting some pics from each day so I can keep track of the progress.

The only problem now is the wait....our contractor is working on a house that is supposed to be finished by the end of the year so we are hoping that the actual building will start in February and maybe (cross your fingers) finished in July. Updates may be slow considering not much will be done between now and then.