We’ve been house sitting here at Paul and Jo Weaver’s for almost a month now. What I haven’t told you is the surprise we’ve been planning for them once they get back!
The house actually belongs to Matt Snader and Pauls are renting from him. A week after we moved up, we had the Snaders over for a meal after church and while they were here they noticed the awful kitchen all over again. The floor was soft, the countertop wavy and full of large cracks, and the sink leaked to name a few of the problems.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if we replaced the kitchen while Pauls are gone?” Matt said, half joking.
“Hey that would be fun!” His wife Marlene exclaimed. “We should do it!”
None of us could get the idea out of our heads, and the Snaders ended up stopping at Home Depot on their way home to look at cupboards and countertops.
The next day Andy priced the job, and as soon as we got back from our anniversary getaway he started tearing out the old kitchen.
Matts oldest boy, Shane, has been here every day to help, and Matt has helped with Home Depot trips. Cooking and dishes have been interesting with the kitchen torn out, but Marlene has sent a few meals and we’ve been using a lot of paper plates.
The more we tore out the old kitchen the more we realized how bad it actually was. The leak at the sink had rotted out the floor beneath the cupboards and it was a wonder no one had fallen through!
Slowly the new kitchen has gone in and I’ve been amazed how the children have been able to take naps even with the skill saw blaring. Oscar loves all the sawdust to make a mess in, but mostly I just try to keep myself and the children out of the way.
This project has been the talk of the church for a couple weeks now, and we all anticipate Paul and Jo’s reactions when they come home to find a brand new kitchen installed.
They are currently on their way up, driving through Canada, so it is crunch time to get the trim done and the floor replaced.
They hope to be back Wednesday or Thursday so I won’t post this until after they get home so I don’t ruin the surprise!
Update: They’re back! We moved home yesterday evening and Pauls arrived home around 10 pm. We’ve heard from them a little this morning, things like “We were astounded by the new kitchen!” And “Our jaws dropped when we came in the door!”
It’s a good feeling to plan and execute the surprise of the century and have it actually work out the way it’s supposed to. I was scared someone would let it slip, but Pauls made it up totally ignorant of the surprise in store!
In other news, it is good, good, good to be home. In the last six months we’ve only been home about 2 1/2 months with house sitting and our six week trip. It’s time to stay home for a while.
