Hide, Seek and Save

The last few weeks we have been waiting for the weather to clear.  After the destruction of the tornado in Moore last week we are more thankful than ever to have a roof over our heads during this time of transition.
At this stage of the build, we have to have fairly dry ground so that concrete trucks don't get stuck (again) in all the muck.  During the (very) wet and rainy days we have taken the opportunity to check some more items off our list.  We visited a few lumber yards to set up our construction accounts, did an initial review of our door and window orders, and made our decision on which framer to use.
We also cleaned up a few of the trees on the property and took time as a family to just play.  We are so blessed to have this beautiful land where we can build our home and love taking every opportunity to start building memories NOW.  The boys love running around the front yard!  And who doesn't love a good game of hide and seek?!?

Levi was long overdue for a trip to Texas, so on Friday we all loaded up and made our way to Gigi and Papa's.  While the boys played and napped at the house, we (Phil, Larry and I) made our way to a marvelous place known as ReStore.  It is a Habitat for Humanity resale shop.  We have one here in the city, but I have never had great luck finding anything.  We hit the JACKPOT at the Dallas location.  We have $4/sf in our budget for wall tile in our showers.  On Saturday we found a 6X6 white tile for both baths for $.63.  That is more than 80% UNDER budget! I still get giddy thinking about it.  We stopped by another store and found the accent tile for both baths.  The accent tile we decided on is a grey penny round for the boys bath and a white penny round for the master.  I expected to pay over budget for the accent tile, but again...UNDER budget.  Only a 25% savings, but every little bit helps. :)

On a side note, our dear friend Christa is saving my sanity right now.  She is a super busy, super awesome woman who takes time to answer my texts and phone calls when I am freaking out about one decision or another.  She reminds me that it is okay to pick things that aren't "the norm" and isn't afraid to tell me when I am totally crazy. We are slowly checking design items off the list, but the journey is far from over and I am so thankful I have a friend like her to help me.