Granite

We finally got the countertops. Well, not all of them. They BROKE the largest piece that houses the sink and they broke some of the backsplash tile when they forced it up against it. We are not happy with the company that is doing the granite, but we won't complain yet. We are going to allow them time to rectify their issues and go from there. These pictures give you an idea of the color. It looks good, so far.

Carpet One

Here is the new carpet that is in the hall way and down the stairs. The light color is what used to be in those areas, now that color is only in the other two bedrooms and the bathroom. It looks really nice.

We got the carpet and linoleum from Carpet One. They did a great job.

Looking good

The new linoleum in the upstairs bath looks like tile. It has just a hint of blue in it. Looks nice with the blue carpet. This is the old 'raspberry/blueberry' room...now with a normal color paint and a very pretty periwinkle carpet. The two bedrooms and the Jack & Jill baths will be themed "Beach". North beach will be the bedroom in the back of the house, with a view of the pool, South beach will be the bedroom in the front of the house, with a view of the neighborhood. The 'baths' will be shells and fish. I will post the finished products, when they are....wait for it.....finished. :-)

Construction continues

Here they are destroying the float (thin layer of cement on top of foundation) and then the float is applied. We were not allowed to walk on it for 24 hours. So...we came in the front door, walked through the kitchen to go out the back door, then into the door to our bedroom. That is how we had to get in and out of our bedroom. Good thing the weather cooperated.

Deployed

Some of you know that I have a step-brother, Brian, who is in the Army, 82nd Airborne to be exact. He is 33 years old and lives in North Carolina with his wife, Suzanne, his step-daughter, Reagan, and his little girl, Phoebe. Today I received a letter from Suzanne stating that Brian was deployed to Iraq, the beginning of January. He is supposed to be there for at least 6 months and could be there until December 31st.

I have not seen Brian or his family since around 2001. I know that Phoebe was little. (I am looking at her picture now and she is wearing 'swimmies' at Grammy's camper. What a great family photo.) So, to say the least, it has been about 6 years since I have seen him. We do have a little bit of contact via email. Nothing elaborate, just a 'hey, how are you?' every now and then.

But when I received that letter, my heart sank and my stomach flipped. I started to cry. Knowing that my little brother is over there fighting for his life, for our country, for us. He is a wonderful person and a great Dad. And all I can think of, are those times he and I used to get each other into trouble, but were there for each other through thick and thin.

Please place Brian in your prayers to have him come home safely and quickly. Not only for me, but for his daughters and his wife.

Lil' brother...if you see this...I love you and I miss you. Please be safe and come home soon.