Here are some more pictures of what we have done to the house:

Crown molding in the dining room. We just painted to old molding the same color at the kitchen cabinets and filled in the cracks with caulk. (I rotated this and the other sideways pictures but they still came out on their sides. If anyone can help me straighten them up please let me know.)

More crown molding above the back door. You can see the difference between the old molding and the new by looking at the outward corners top left and top right.

The new dining room set. There is a bench on the far side of the table. We bought two more chairs and the bench (the chairs will be delivered next week) which we will use when we put the leaf in the table.

A better shot of the bar stools.

The last thing to be finished was the filler and crown molding above the fridge.

Finished bar and north wall.

The cabinet in the living room.

New lamp shades emit much more light than the old opaque ones.

New rug that Tyler, Deanne, Andrea and Joe gave us for Christmas.

The hall.

The new office floor. Sarah wasn't happy that I took the picture with her in it.

Crown molding in the dining room.

The new throw rug by the front door. You can also see a little more detail of the living room cabinet.

I haven't done this for a year but I think I'll try. We're getting very close to having the kitchen done - - we're still waiting on the filler and crown molding above the fridge but it should be here next week. A couple weeks ago Tyler showed me how to add pictures to a blog. I was tired at the time and not much sunk in but here goes . . . (I got the pictures but they're in reverse order. If you start at the bottom it will make more sense.)

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The finished north counter.

The finished bar.

The finished south counter.

We waited for three weeks for a few pieces of molding (notice corner molding is missing on the bar). When it came the filler above the fridge was missing - - we're still waiting on that.

Tyler hooking up the disposal, tap, drain, and dishwasher. I hooked up the gas stove before he got here.

Floor in, cabinets in, stove sitting in it's spot but not hooked up - - It was like this for about a week while we waited for the countertops.

The beginning of the kitchen floor.

Kitchen floor day - - laminate flooring is stacked over the sink cabinet.

Cabinet installation day.

Dining room floor in.

Paint day. Andrea helped a lot.

Tyler starting to lay flooring in the dining room.

Everything out of the kitchen waiting for Jerry Ferguson to do the tape and mud work.

Tile removal day - - Tyler and I rented a "demolition" hammer (like a jack hammer) and it took almost four hours to undo Dave's excellent tile work - - at times we wished he hadn't done such a good job.

Demolition day - - we moved the red cabinets into the dining room so we could still use them during the remodel.

Sarah and I in the demolition stage. I took the upper cabinets out Friday, October 16, 2009. This looks like it was taken the next day.

A special thank you for Andrea

July 22, 1996
1010 Main Street
Plattsmouth, NE 68048-1724

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Hill:

This will probably appear a bit strange, but I just had to write and let you know how wonderful it has been for me to have your daughter in my home. We have shared our Savior together, cried and eaten together, and all of it has been such a joy and a pleasure to me. You can really be proud of this beautiful child. From her I have learned a lot and am very thankful for that. I could go on about her but I’m sure you’ll understand how I feel about her, there is such a special place in my heart for her. I truly love her. Thank you for letting me share a part of her life. If you or any of your family come this way please stop in.

Love in Our Savior

I am

Analee Hetrick “Lee”

Life and Lawn Mowing

Saturday July 13, 1996

-All I’ve done so far is mow the lawn, so here are some more thoughts on life and lawn mowing:

We are each assigned a large park (life) to mow. Some start in the middle of the park with no idea of the limits (gospel guidelines), others are blessed to start on the edge. Those who start on the edge (baptism, confirmation, gospel instruction, FHE, etc.) lay down a good mark that will lead them through the rest of the job. Those who don’t start on the edge randomly go from one thing to another not knowing exactly what to do or when to do it. Some rush to the marriage gazebo and frantically try to mow around it but invariably miss important spots (like FHE, service, and unselfishness). Some get stuck in the picnic pavilion and get overcome with the need to make food (occupations) and feed themselves. Others want to spend all their time on the swing set (recreation, etc.) The owner of the parks asks those who start on the edge to take some time off (usually two years or 18 months) from their own park to go and help the others. It’s hard to leave because they’re just getting to some interesting parts of their own parks to mow (schooling, possible marriage, jobs, etc.,) but the owner assures them that He will take care of things while they are gone. While they are gone they help others tune up their lawn mowers (help them recognize the Spirit) and show them the edge. Some refuse to change, but others say, “That’s so clear, why couldn’t I see it before?” When they get back to their own park, to their surprise the owner has trimmed and edged and installed lights so it’s even easier to see what is left to be done and how to do it.

Memories of Grandpa Hill

November 25, 1984 Mom and Dad have been home from their mission three weeks now. Today they spoke in church and reported to their ward. All through the meeting I kept imagining that Dad would get up and be too emotional to speak. I determined if it did happen I would get up and help him. It didn’t happen though. In fact, Dad talked so long the meeting was 20 minutes longer than it should have been. If it had happened, this is what I would have said:

This is my dad- - and I’m proud of him. Let me tell you what kind of dad he is. He’s not the kind of dad that takes a son hunting or fishing or to ball games. He’s the kind of dad that takes his oldest boy to elder’s quorum meeting with him even though the boy is only seven. He’s the kind of dad that time and time again wakes his boys up at 5:00 am because it’s time to pick cherries or apples or haul hay or thin beets on the welfare farm. He’s the kind of dad that says to his teenage sons you’ve only got to go to one of the three meetings every Sunday but he goes to all three - - no wonder his boys are soon receiving awards for 100% perfect attendance. He’s the kind of dad whose eye’s water when the Spirit is near, who loves the Lord with all his heart and shows it through service to others. He’s the kind of dad that every boy ought to have - - a man of love and faith - - a man of God.

I may have sent this to everyone earlier but it's a good reminder of the importance of being specific in our prayers.

August 19, 1984 A couple of weeks ago we had our ward youth conference at an unfinished cabin in Indianola. Kay and I left Saturday morning (after I had supervised a cherry picking assignment on the welfare farm). We didn’t have a map. All we knew was we were looking for an unfinished cabin owned by Kay Atwood’s brother-in-law. I thought we could ask anyone and be able to find it right off. We got to Indianola at 7:55. We asked the first person we saw and headed up a canyon. We drove for about 20 minutes on rough country roads and were just about to turn around when we saw a sign that said there was to be a town meeting at Doug Atwood’s place. Thinking that must be the place, we continued on. We passed several mountain homes but no Atwoods. We drove through a small gully and up a hill at the top of the hill was a sign that read, “Surrender Hill.” We chuckled a little and kept going. It was about 9:00 am now and we hadn’t seen anyone on the road or come across the Atwood’s home. We decided we needed some heavenly guidance. I said a prayer and just when I was asking Heavenly Father to send someone to help us, a truck pulled up in front of us. We asked them how to find Doug Atwood’s place and they told us. We drove for another 15 or 20 minutes and found it. The youth conference was not there. We asked a gentleman next door to Atwood’s if there were any more Atwoods living in the canyon. He said that Lamont Atwood did. We started looking for Lamont. We drove around for another 15 or 20 minutes, asked for more directions, still was lost, and then I asked Kay to pray. After her prayer we both felt like we should go back to one of the forks in the road and try the other way. We did and it was worse that the way we had tried in the first place. Just as we were coming back to the fork we met a pickup. Amazingly enough Lamont Atwood was in the pickup. The youth conference wasn’t at his cabin either. We decided to go into town and try something else. We talked to a real estate developer who said we were welcome to drive around his 6000 acre development if we wanted. We did and then we found signs that lead us to the conference. We got there just after 10:00. Our prayers were answered quickly, promptly, and very specifically. We just weren’t asking the right questions. The cabin did belong to Kay Atwood’s brother-in-law - - his last name was Baker though.