Hopes and Dreams and Farmhouse sinks

It was a big week inside the house! The tile crew was so hard-working, and finished their job early! They tiled all four showers, the kid's bathroom floors and put up the backsplash. 
Some of the previous crews have taken lots of breaks, forgotten to lock the gate, told us they were, "staying the night on the property"-a story for another time maybe-, they have left food, beer bottles and other trash and even milk, (yes! MILK.*gag*) on the porch and in the house. But, this crew was working by 8 am, packing up at dark and even worked this past weekend to finish up. They were clean and closed the gate. We are grateful for them, and hope the remaining crews follow in their footsteps. Here's some of their work:

Master Shower (sorry about the blurry, dark picture!)

                                     
                                     

                                                

Isn't that backsplash just the bee's knees? We love it. I especially love how each stone is slightly a different shade. It looks natural and polished.
You can also see in this photo that the countertops have been installed! Granite was something neither of us cared about having, but was included with the price of the house. We just had to pick one. I think it looks really great, and we're happy with it. The best thing about the coutertops is how they compliment my. gorgeous. perfect. double. basin. farmhouse. sink.

Obviously I wish I had removed the plastic before I took this picture. I was just so stinkin' excited! It is beautiful and I can't wait to see it with our dishes in it.

                             All the bathrooms have the same countertops. They look like this:

Carolynn's bathroom

This week, the electrician and the plumber will be finishing up! We could have lights on by the weekend! The a/c crew will be here next week to install the a/c and finish up what they started.
There is still lots and lots to do...paint touch ups, painting the porch, finishing the gutter system, sanding and staining the floors, carpet upstairs, more paint touch ups, appliances...but closing by the end of the year is still the goal. Doesn't look like we'll be putting up our Christmas tree this year, but hopefully we'll be ringing in the new year in the house. Finished. In our finished house I should say. :)

I have been thinking lately that as a family, we have hardly just enjoyed being here at the ranch, day to day, doing the things we always used to like doing here.  It's real life here now. We need groceries and we need to go to school. Our time here is less novel, being that we are here all the time. We haven't been adventuring, exploring, or frog catching as much as a family that lives here "should be". Upon realizing this, I felt disappointed in myself. I have forgotten what we are really doing here. Of course, I deserve some grace at this time in our life, and I have had good intentions. We are gone every weekend doing laundry and taking hot showers!
But, this weekend, Landon had a later start soccer game, and we had a real breakfast together, Brian went out on the tractor, we played outside and breathed fresh air. We didn't throw our laundry and the dog in the trunk, and drive away first thing Saturday morning. We came back earlier than usual on Sunday and explored and played in the mud. It was so refreshing, and comforting.

 Oh yeah. Aaaaahhhh.

-Steph