Hallelujia!

Our 6 month long project of installing the fireplace is complete! John did the whole thing on his own - by himself. I am so impressed! It was such a long process, using free time and working in the evenings when he could to finish this great addition to our house! I know John enjoys projects around the house, but I also know he is really glad this one is now complete! Now we can just sit back and enjoy!

Mantle detail

Stone detail

The finished product!

Just Like Daddy

One night this week, John was installing the thermostat for the new fireplace on our lower level (still not all finished with the facia, but we'll post photos when its all done!) and Logan just had to help. He was so interested in everything John was doing, especially the tools he was using. So, John made sure to keep Logan included and the two had a ball! It was fun to watch and I just had to get a few pictures!

Discussing the best route for the wire...

And such nice hugs!

I can just hear it, "I wanna be just like my dad!", Logan will say in a few years! He loves to help Dad, eat with Dad, play crazy with Dad after work, and read stories in Dad's lap. What a lucky little family we are to have Logan...he is so sweet!

Project

After deciding we would stay in our house for a few more years, we want to do a couple home improvement projects. First (and only, for the time being) on the list is a fireplace downstairs. Our lower level is so cold and was built with poor heating, so we knew with Logan's toys down here and lots of space to play, we needed to do something to warm it up! This area has been a constant work-in-progress since we moved in. My mom helped paint while I was pregnant, then we rearranged this summer, and now we're looking to make it a cozy place for Logan to play and for us to watch movies someday.

The fireplace arrived today, so its sitting in its place - looking like a major Logan hazard! Luckily, we will soon have a finished product that will keep us warm and toasty this winter! Of course, John (the resident "do-it-all-yourself-stick-it-to-the-man-handyman") is doing much of the work himself, with the help of a few friends and neighbors. I'm sure it will be a while until its perfectly finished just the way we want it, but I'll just settle for functional, at this point! After all, we are under a time crunch now that the weather has turned...