Proof Positive: It Must Be Love

When we bought our house, the living room was actually divided into two rooms and separated by this lovely arch:

It made furniture arranging difficult and there was this weird diagonal wall covering up an old chimney. So, Stephen and I discussed eventually making the room into one big room once we finished our plethora of other projects.

Then, last October, I took Joseph and went away for the weekend for some fun thrifting in Richmond with Mary-Carolyn and my sister-in-law Sarah. In my absence and without my knowledge, Stephen and his buddy Aaron ripped down the middle wall in the living room:

SURPRISE!

It was a giant mess, but it really did open of the living room:

There were still problems to address... such as the single ceiling fan on the far right of the room, the holes in the walls and ceiling, and the building of the fireplace where the old chimney used to be inside the former diagonal wall..

Almost a year went by and we made some small leaps of progress, but, for the most part, we were busy having a baby. In August, my Mom & I took said baby and her older brother on a week long trip to New York.

I wanted to introduce Juliana to family that I don't see very often due to distance, particularly my grandfather who is in a nursing home & wheelchair bound.

Juliana was a big hit all around.

I even got to visit my sister Amy who just started at the Culinary Institute of America. Because she's AH-MAZING. She gave us the grand tour.

That is corn. You aren't imagining it. Of course it's corn. The Culinary only grows edible plants on their grounds. Duh.

While I was away, Stephen apparently grew bored and restless and ripped down the living room ceiling. Without telling me.

SURPRISE!

...

No, I didn't kill him.

Yes, he really is still alive.

No, he's not sleeping on the couch.

Yes, I'm still talking to him.

It must be love.

...

I may never leave the house again.

It's dangerous.

In his defense, there were very good reasons to take down the ceiling. The plaster was cracking and had fallen down in some places creating holes.

And it had the side benefit of making it infinitely easier to put in a second ceiling fan.

In the aftermath of the destruction of the ceiling, Stephen wanted to leave the rafters uncovered permanently. We tried it... for about a day. Stephen even painted some of them white to see if I would like that better. Sadly, it's the kind of thing that looks awesome in an old rehabbed apartment warehouse, but it doesn't work in a 1876 small town home. So, I requested a coffered ceiling.

Stephen and my brother built a framework with 2x4s and we just finished putting up all the drywall tonight.

I am so loving it! I really think it will look great if when we finish it.

Now... we just have to tape & mud everything, sand it, install crown molding, caulk it, prime it, and paint it. All with our arms up above our heads.

Piece of cake.

Oy.

We have a goal. We are going to finish the living room by Christmas--the ceiling, the walls, the fireplace/mantel, the built in shelving, the furniture... everything.

...

Pardon.

...

If you are quite finished hysterically laughing on the floor, then maybe you could find a little spare time to pray for us?