Oh Let the Sunshine In (and yes, I'm facing it with a HUGE grin)

Friday night Bryce and I stayed over my parents' house to hit up some early morning yard sales in their development. (more on that in another post--let's just say I got me some treasures) But I just wanted to show you guys what I came home to on Saturday afternoon. This is what my driveway looked like when I pulled in.

And no, a tornado did not touch down in Lancaster County. This is the evidence that Mitch had a helper assisting him on the renovation. Not only did we have a huge pile of crap in the driveway, but there was a hole in the back of my house. A pretty significant one, at that.

Yep, that's my kitchen right there.

To me, this was a glorious sight. I've been waiting for this day for so stinkin' long! I didn't care that there was debris scattered everywhere or that my floors were so dusty from the demo-ing. Actually the worst part about this whole thing was that there were flies in my house. And if you know me, I'm a mad woman when it comes to flies buzzing around me. I can't handle it. But I sucked it up, and with fly swatter in hand, went about my biz as if nothing were out of the ordinary (except the fact that I had a huge smile on my face the whole time). 

This is what the kitchen looked like earlier in the day. That's the old kitchen wall and the old main entry into our home (door on right) and on the other side of that wall used to be the garage. (Just in case you're new around here, we're renovating our garage into a dining area, mudroom/laundry, and master bed and bathrooms.) I was looking forward SO MUCH to the removal of this wall. In my eyes, it signified near completion of this two-year project. Once this wall was gone, I felt that the renovation process would speed up tremendously. (I hope I'm right about that one!)

Here's the garage side of that same wall. (where our washer and dryer used to be.)

And no more wall. Instant gratification.

Here are the guys framing out the sliding door and dining area window.

And before ya knew it, everything was in place.

It blows my mind how quickly things progress when you have a helper or two. Granted, the "helper" we had is an experienced builder/jack-of-all-trades. (He built his own entire house!) We're so grateful to have friends that are willing to work hard and get 'er done.

What's amazing about the new door and window is the view. This is what it looks like sitting at my island and looking out. So green...love it!

And now I have full view of the back of the driveway so I can see the boys playing out there.

It's awesome.