Ever since Andy and I signed that purchase agreement making us the owners of our very first home on Brookview Drive in Burnsville, Minnesota, with thee steepest of driveways in the south metro mind you, a yearly renovation has always taken place. Whether it was within the four walls or on the outskirts reworking & creating the landscape that failed to exist or just needed some serious lovin', we were always changing things up to make it better.
To make it ours.
And we have done that with every house we have ever owned. We made it home. Our home.
We are definitely no Chip and Jo, but similiar to that duo, we do have a lot of fun together. Enjoy working together. Making decisions together. Disagreeing together. Laughing together. The two of us.
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| There's one in every room we've ever renovated ;) |
But also the five of us. It's definitely a family affair.
Every. Time.
And this time around it was a bathroom reno...basically a bathroom overhaul. Down to the studs. In the driest of summers, it was more sweat than we bargained for and like any home project it required daily runs (and sometimes multiple daily runs) to whichever home store had whichever said screw/bolt/sealer/etc. that was needed in order to make the current step at hand all the more close to completion.
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| Destruction! |
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| Bye-bye vanity! |
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| My stud bringing it down to the studs... |
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| Give the boy a hammer! |
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| Love watching the boys work together |
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| New window! |
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| Tile floor |
Getting our three handsome gents involved regardless of the project has been a no-brainer. Ever since they could toddle around at the ripe old age of two they've been helping hand dad screws, bring him tools, pull out the wedges in the newly laid laundry room tile, etc. With every remodel the boyish tasks have upgraded to young gents according to their capability, and also the willingness to be challenged in order to get his hands on a new tool.
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| Getting the door painted |
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| Gotta get those lines straight for tile |
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| tile clean up |
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| Shower tile--let's goooo!! |
And when that time came for power tools. Oh boy! (in every sense of the word) It was amazing. Time-saving in all honesty.
But also life building.
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| Carson sawing the panels for the outlets |
Give your young gents (and young ladies) some tools. Pocket tools. Handheld tools. Eventually power tools. Teach them how to fix things, how to transform things, how to take something old and make it new. Let them get creative. And let them make mistakes along the way.
Be patient in direction. Yet so firm and precise.
Celebrate with them as they accomplish tasks along the way. And watch their expressions transform as they solidify the mastering of one skill only to move on to the next that will challenge them and boost that mode of confidence another level higher.
Not only are you giving them physical tools for the current project at hand, but providing learned opportunities in using tools for life skills.
Perseverance. Critical thinking. Teamwork. Overcoming obstacles. Hardwork. Rest.
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| The "before".... |
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| ....drum roll please.... |
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| tile shower....complete! |
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| Bathroom complete... |
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| ...and we're definitely enjoying it! |
The next Anderson remodel awaits and with so many newfound skills imparted to our handsome gents, I can only pray alongside imagining what the greater outcome will be. In both project completion and life skills learned.
