A Space of His Own

As you know we've been working on Cameron's shed/room for some time and while it is still a work in progress it has reached a point that he was able to get settled enough to set up his new couch bed and begin moving in.  His first night in his own space was three nights ago.

Cameron putting the bedframe together

Bedframe in place, just needs mattress and covers

Despite a pretty good thunder shower in the middle of the night he slept well!! That's a good sign that all the insulation work the guys did was effective. One of the items we had been waiting for so that he could stay in there was his air conditioner.  We ordered it through one of the big box stores online services.  It arrived on Thursday by UPS, but online suggestions were to let it settle with the oils and all after shipping for 24 hours before turning the unit on for the first time. It's working well and has made it habitable in there.  It's been pretty warm lately and with all the thunder storms we've had it's been muggy, so having A/C in there was a definite must before he could stay in the room for any length of time.  This unit is a bit bulky, but with the small windows on the shed a stand alone unit was needed.  It does the job so for now that's what counts!!

Stand alone A/C Unit

Getting settled.

Kevin installed the pocket door that needed to be planed down to fit properly. He'll  be installing the mirrored bi-fold closet door today, along with the last of the window shades.  We have a closet organizer to install and to try to get more of his clothes in place so we can see what other storage needs he'll have.

Kevin testing the bathroom door after putting it up

Once Patrick has returned and is settled back here, the guys will begin to finish the bathroom. It's really nice seeing this come together.  So with Cameron now staying in his room, we were able to move Lauren's mattress into her room and out of Hannah's and Hannah can now enjoy a room to herself.  We still have work to do to finish the girls rooms off, but the fact that everyone has an area of their own has been a real achievement.  The finishing details will come in time.

Lauren happy to be in her own room

Hannah glad to have her room to herself

So another day begins getting more done here,  and continuing to follow the updates on little Teresa's condition and praying accordingly.  Again please check on their blog here: www.ourplacecalledhome.blogspot.com and join in the worldwide prayer for total healing of the new heart she's received.  Thanks for stopping by - Lynda

Out My Back Window

Since moving here a favorite part of this home is the view out my back windows.  When standing in the kitchen, sitting in the living room or walking out into the back sunroom there is a beautiful view of the back of our property that looks towards the island and lake. 



View of lake as storm clouds gather

This changes as the weather and various lighting conditions affect the scene.  The wildlife that inhabit this area is rich and so interesting to sit and watch.  I've said at times I feel I have my own "Jurassic Park" especially when the large cranes or herons fly over and land in the trees.  So here are a few photos taken at different times that show off my view. 

Steam rising off the lake early in the morning

Light effects as evening begins to set in

Fog in the low areas in front of our island, early morning photo

I still need to capture a pretty sunset when there's lots of colors in the sky to add to my collection. I love sitting in the wee hours of the morning when no one else is up with my cup of coffee staring at the view and birds beginning to take flight.  Very peaceful.

This has been a week spent in a lot of prayer time as we continue to lift Teresa up for complete healing with her new heart.  So many others around the world have been praying for this precious girl and her family as they deal with the hopes and fears of this incredible procedure to give her the chance for a long, healthy and happy life.  It's been a roller coaster of emotions as she's had such close calls and I can't imagine the strain on her family with the highs and lows of these last few days. It has really made me lean on the Word to guide my prayers and strengthen my faith for the promises of healing that are there for us.  Please join this family in prayer for complete healing and for the family of her "Hero Heart" that allowed this transplant to even happen.  I've provided the link to the families website on my last post and on the sidebar under Our Place Called Home.

Lynda

Giving Thanks

We've had the "Pray for Teresa's Miracle" button on the side of our blog for a long time now and along with her family and MANY other's have been praying for Teresa's heart to be healed or a new one for her. 

Last night Kevin saw the Facebook message that said they were heading to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a heart was awaiting Teresa.   We shared this with our kids who have been active in their prayers for her and we all sat down at the table to pray for Teresa, her family, the surgeons who would do this procedure and of course for the family who made the decision in their time of grief to make this incredible gift of life. 

Updates to their blog here : http://www.ourplacecalledhome.blogspot.com have stated that she has received the heart and is pink for the first time ever!!!  Healing will be a process and she and her family still need prayer to see this through. We ask that you would check their blog out and join with us in praying for the needs of this precious family and as they've stated the donor family of the "hero heart" she received!!!

Thank you - Lynda

Happy Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all the dad's out there.  Today started early to get up and make from scratch pancakes and eggs for dad's breakfast in bed.  He was surprised - hopefully pleasantly so : )

Dad's special breakfast

The kids were SO excited  to do this

So with that start to the day we're getting ready for church then it's a day for Kevin to relax and enjoy his day.  Dinner for Fathers Day has become a tradition of Cheeseburgers with Corona and lime.  So with these supplies and gifts all ready he'll be enjoying this later today.

Have a great day, especially to you dads!!!!

Pooltime and Project Updates

With the warm weather we've been spending a considerable amount of time in the pool.  Both ours and on our visits to Patrick and Jennifer's.  Yesterday we made a trip over to their home to meet extended family out from Boston for a visit.  It was a chance for the girls and Cameron to meet a young cousin.  Ava and Marie are down for the week and thankfully the weather's been cooperating for a nice break from the rain during their stay.

The girls ganging up on Cameron, he still has size on them and the fact his feet touch bottom : )

Lauren, Hannah and their cousin Ava in the jacuzzi

Noodle fight!!!

Hannah

Lauren

Break time from all the activity for Marie and Ava

Kevin and I in our pool after working outside we needed to cool down

After spending some time visiting we headed home and Cameron and Kevin did some more work on the toolshed, we'd set the base down for the other day.  They finished this up today and also installed the baseboard in Cameron's main living area of his room.

Tool shed going up.

Final screw going in.

All done and ready for our storage needs.

Kevin installing baseboard in Cameron's room

Even though we still need to finish the caulking around the baseboard Cameron was anxious to bring in his first piece of furniture.  He's getting anxious to be in his new space.

At 1pm EST we all gathered around our kitchen table to be able to Facetime with Amber and Eddie, Kevin opened his Father's Day Card from them while they were there to watch.  He was thrilled to receive a Disney Gift Card from them.  We all talked for about an hour. Love technology that allows this kind of face to face interaction at this distance.  It's so much nicer than just phone calls, texts or emails.  Being able to see each other and all participate at once just makes it so much more pleasant!

Facetime and Kevin opening his card.  Hi Amber and Eddie!!!

After our call the girls settled down to play and the guys were out finishing up the toolshed, when I noticed some surprise visitors out on our front lawn.  A flock of wild turkeys with quite a few young ones among them were walking around the yard.  After hanging around for a bit they all followed each other in a line into the woods on the edge of our property. Love the surprise visitors we get around here.

Turkeys on our front lawn

Saw three hens with a lot of little ones, the male gobbler is there with the fuller tail.

A couple of the younger ones. Both cute and ugly at the same time : )

The whole group marching single file into the woods



At the edge of the woods and away they marched.

Lynda

Cameron's Main Flooring Gets Installed

After finishing the bathroom and closet floors with the vinyl tiles it was time to start on the main living areas floor.  Patrick came over to give Kevin and Cameron a helping hand with this.

Floor done with the vinyl tiles in the closet

The underlayment going down.

First laminate pieces being installed

Patrick fitting a piece in place.

Since Father's day is coming up Kevin asked for a laminate saw that he'd wanted to be an early gift so he could use it on this project.  So when we made our trip to Lowe's to buy the laminate we picked this up as well.

Kevin using his new "toy". Turned out to be a really great buy and help!!

The guys working together really made quick work of this project.  They weren't able to completely finish the floor yesterday as one of the boxes of flooring had flaws on every corner piece.  So a trip back to Lowe's this morning for Kevin and I to exchange this and then he and Cameron finished up the laminate and Kevin put the threshold pieces down between the bathroom and closet floors and the living area floor.

Last pieces going into place.

Threshold piece being nailed in place.

While the guys were working on this I had been shopping online for an appropriate style of sleeper sofa for Cameron's room.  He wants to be able to have a studio apartment appearance and it obviously needs to serve as his bedroom.  I looked through a lot of reviews and the biggest complaint with most sleeper sofas is the support bar that eventually became a real irritation when trying to sleep comfortably.  The problem with most futon style sleepers was they were either too small or uncomfortable.  I found in this process one sleeper sofa that consistently received good marks from customers and that was for Ikea's "Beddinge" style sleeper sofa. After a bit more searching I found that there is an Ikea in Orlando, only 36 miles from our home and they had these in stock.

So after lunch we all piled in the truck and headed out for Ikea.  I'll post our finds tomorrow when we have them set up in Cameron's room.  Until then, good evening : )

Lynda

First Floor in Cameron's Studio Room Installed

The day began a bit earlier to take advantage of the cooler morning temperatures.  I got the girl's school work started as Kevin and Cameron headed outside to cut some tree limbs that were too close and hung over the shed base we've completed, before we begin to put the rest of the storage shed up.

With the block down and rubber base covering it we needed to take out a few branches before we put the storage shed together.  There's a lot of trees that will eventually need to be thinned in the yard, but for now just the few branches that were really hanging over or too close to this shed.

Kevin cutting away some of these branches.

After clearing.  Ready for the shed to go together on another day.

With that done they then went to Cameron's shed/studio to work on his room.  Both worked together to install his ceiling fan.

The fan light goes up in Cameron's room.

Light globe goes on and...

We have light and a fan!!!!

Then Cameron came into the house to take over the rest of the girl's school lessons so I could head out to help Kevin put down the first of the flooring in the bathroom area.  We chose to use vinyl tiles in two different sizes for a more interesting look and pattern.  We felt the vinyl flooring in this room will work better than the laminate we'll be installing in the main floor area.  After painting on the flooring primer the other day we began experimenting with patterns and direction for the tiles.  Once we were satisfied with the pattern we liked, Kevin began carefully lining up and laying the peel and stick tiles.  I served as helper taking trash, handing pens, utility knives, rulers and more tiles to keep the flow going.  We covered the entire surface of the bathroom floor area in about two hours. We chose to cover areas that will be hidden by the shower base and vanity, as it keeps everything level and will help in moisture protection. It also reduced unnecessary cuts and shaping of the tiles.

Vanity near bathroom entrance.



Shower base sitting in the location it will be installed.



You have to look close to see the combination of 18X18" tiles with the 12X12" tiles mixed in. It didn't
show that well in any of the pictures I took so will have to try again.  The coloring shows up better in the previous picture with the shower base.

Once these were all laid we set the shower base in and the vanity to get an idea of the bathroom layout and the look it will eventually have once completed.

Then it was time to head to Lowe's to pick up the laminate flooring we'll put in the main bedroom area.  We'll use the remaining vinyl tiles to complete the closet floor. So as the post title states -
the first floor in Cameron's room is in!!!

Lynda