Now I'm crying...

I managed to control my emotions while all the men were here (not easy for a pregnant woman), but now I'm crying. I cannot thank my family enough for all the sacrifces they've made this weekend to help us.

We never would've made our deadline, and now I think we can (the carpet is coming on Thurs).

Tyler is an engineer, and a woodworker/cabinetmaker extraordinare. He brought his favorite saw, and homemade little baseboard setting gadgets, and trimmed out the rooms. He also re-installed the door that Todd fussed with for over four hours, using a little technique that he learned in his own house last week.

Did I mention that he's trying to finish a room in his basement right now, too? And yet, he took a day to drive five hours and help me. His wife was home priming walls by herself.

Dad is one of the best painters I know. He didn't even use any tape while painting navy blue against a white ceiling. He just does it freehand. It's amazing to me. He also made MANY trips to the hardware store, puttied holes, sealed baseboards, and installed light fixtures. He was cussing at the fact that I chose three different colors of paint for the boys' room (four counting the ceiling and baseboards) but he did what I wanted anyway.

I don't even want to know how many hours of sleep he missed by coming, and I'm pretty sure he took a day off...not easy on a Saturday, especially with Easter coming. He is a bakery manager and often starts working in the wee hours of the morning and then keeps going to make sure the shelves are always stocked. There's no such thing as a 40 hour work week with Dad. He probably also missed out on a nice day to work on his yard.

My bro-in-law, Jon, is the tile man. I don't really know where he learned it, but I know he's worked construction, and has done plenty of tiling in his days. I hear rumor that this was his idea. He saw the list on my blog and called Tyler saying, "There's no way they're going to get done in time...we have to go."

Yeah, he's my sister's husband, the one who lost a car this week, and probably has all kinds of Physical Therapy notes to catch up on, but he was here instead.

Then there's my brother Ben. Yeah, I didn't mention in my last post that he was coming, because I didn't know. Nobody knew. I talked to him on Friday night on his cell phone while he was stuck in CA traffic. Turns out he was actually on his way here. He slept in his car, and knocked on my door at 8:00 AM. This is when I nearly cried. He drove 9 hours to be here.

I didn't even dare ask what he was missing. He's a PHD student, a professor, a piano teacher, and certainly had plenty he could've been doing. Thankfully he stayed over last night and got a decent nights sleep before heading home. His wife is filling in on the organ for him today, and planted strawberries by herself yesterday.

Ben cut the tile, and Jon laid it. Todd and I will have to figure out how to do the grout, but I can't tell you how relieved I am to have this part finished. I know there would've been blood, sweat, tears, and swearing if we'd had to tackle this ourselves.


Here's a sneak peak at the boys room. We still need to build shelves, a desk, and add the trim to the wall.
Ben and Jon each took a turn "coming out of the closet" and as you can imagine we had a great day working, talking, and laughing.


Tyler, Jon, and Dad left at 8:30 last night, to get home in the middle of the night, so Dad could get a few hours of sleep before his bishopric meeting this morning. Jon had to get up and make a 2 1/2 hour drive back to Idaho this morning so my sister could teach her Young Women's lesson. Ben left this morning, after staying up late playing the piano with the kids. They love to play with Uncle Ben.

Thank you to everyone who had a part in this, and for all your sacrifices in our behalf. It means so much to us. I hope we can do something to help all of you sometime.


PS- Ben, the boys found a dime on the piano bench this morning, and they're certain it's yours. I told them they could keep it, but they insist that it's yours. Would you like me to send it in the mail?