Speaking of the House

Is the house all I ever talk about?  It is obviously a very big part of our lives.  Every waking minute (and sleeping ones too) is spent working on the house, paying bills and doing paperwork for the house, and even dreaming about working on the house and paying bills for the house.

This man should get the "Hardest Working Man Ever" award, if in fact such an award existed, and if it doesn't I may just have to make him a trophy anyways.

Poor poopsie puts in 50+ hours a week at work and then heads over to the house and works his guts out until about two in the morning often times.  We have recently been working on tiling all of the bathrooms and kitchen.  It is a long labor intensive process and can be very hard on the body. 

Zac didn't know how he was going to do it all himself.  I love to help him whenever I can, but often times Bronson and Charlotte can be a handful, clinging to me and with Bronson screaming his horrible Banshee screams, I often have to just give up and take them home.

Zac prayed... and prayed... and prayed some more for some sort of help or relief, not really sure how Heavenly Father would answer this prayer.

And then the seagulls showed up... okay, wrong miracle... but right idea.... actually his KIDS showed up and they came to work.

It has been a long time since we could get Bronson to sleep in the pack 'n play at the house, so I finally figured out that the right amount of exhaustion + van ride = 2-3 hour nap for Bronson (granted we have to keep the van running outside that long, but it is so worth it!) 

So in answer to Zac's prayer, he got me for several days and Bronson slept and worked with us!  

But even more impressive than that, our boys had a strong desire to help their dad.  Zac taught Tanner and Ian to use a nail gun and they nailed down all of the hardi-backer for the tile in the kitchen and the laundry room. 

They rotated, one using the nail gun while the other finished pounding in any nails that didn't go in all the way with a hammer.  They worked tirelessly for 11 hours and then did it again the next day!!!  Ashlyn helped by running tiles to her dad and babysitting Bronson and Charlotte.  Her services were also invaluable. 

And Charlotte kept herself entertained and out of trouble for days on end! 

Even Buster decided to help...

We have found that he is not your typical baby when it comes to construction.  He absolutely LOVES tools and especially loud power tools.  Zac lets him hold his drill and push the buttons and he gets so excited when he hears the noise and feels the power.  He was definitely born into the right family! 

One more because he is so cute (can you see the tears in his eyes?) 

Poor Zac's knees hurt so bad after 2+ weeks of tiling, that even the knee pads weren't helping anymore.  He used Bronson's diapers to try to add extra padding. 

Zac and I still can't believe how our prayers were answered by Heavenly Father with our own children.  It seriously feels like for at least several days our children were blessed with super-human powers and unlimited amounts of patience and endurance.  We don't know how else we could have ever gotten everything done.  I am so blessed to have such wonderful, wonderful children :) 

Finished kitchen tile 

Downstairs bathroom tile 

And now we have lights too! 

And paint... 

Tiled upstairs guest bathroom 

Here is our load of lights, that are all now hung and working! 

We'll get there... if we don't all die first!