during and after

Yesterday was a small glimpse into what our life will be like if/when we do our huge renovation. I realize it is hard to compare one day to months and months of upheaval. But it was still very exciting for most of us. Everyone was home from school (Nathaniel and Abigail were sick - sort of) and got a front row seat to the excitement. The boys, especially Nathaniel, were glued to the workers for most of the morning.

The truck couldn't have gotten here sooner. Our kids were banging on the window when they arrived which confused the workers when they were looking around to see who was making all the racket. You can see our new door in the truck.

Here is our wall being prepared for the new door.

What our family room looked like yesterday. The foreman came in and was in awe of what Andrew had rigged up to keep out the dirt and cold. He said he had never seen anyone do this before. (Big pat on the back for Andrew! That's my guy!) Oh, and I almost missed Nathaniel in the far right corner. He found a small hole in the plastic and watched all the action. Can you see him in the orange shirt?

Things got a bit loud for Jesse. Nathaniel immediately found the earmuffs and put them on Jesse.

Things were getting a bit chilly but that didn't deter Nathaniel from watching. He just got his warm winter hat and mitts and kept on watching the excitement.

There goes our wall. After I took this picture, Nathaniel stood in this very spot for about 40 mintues watching the men put in our new french doors.

And check out the light.

Here is the after. It is amazing that everything is back to normal in a short 24 hours. And in case you're wondering about the couch in front of the doors, here's the scoop. We plan on building a deck out these doors at some point. The couch will be moved closer to our tv (the kids are watching the Olympic highlights from last night) to allow us to have easy access to these doors.

And the outside view. We used to have a small shed right here. This got torn down last summer (we finally found out where all the ants were coming from). Andrew put up a temporary handrail until our new deck is designed and built. And the verdict - I LOVE LOVE LOVE all the light. I am realizing how important light is in a home. I'd put that up on the top of my list for designing any space.