When we moved in there was a black wood stove on a tile pad in the middle of the living room. Coming out the top was a black pipe that curved up into our tall ceilings. It just didn't fit with my idea of the rest of the house...looked kind-of out of place. So our first order of business as new home owners was to tear out the stove. We did that with the help of Jason's brother, Kerry, and our nephew, Dylan, as you can see from the first picture.
Kerry then built a frame for the fireplace, routed a gas line to a tank below our back deck, and attached the mantle. This was a slow process which we pieced together over the next year. I wish I had thought to have Jason save a picture of our plywood box, but we didn't so I have nothing to show...
Finally, this November we got the rock ordered and hired a guy to come and rock in the fireplace. We LOVE the end result. It completely changed the look of the whole house. Suddenly this is the focal point of our living area. It really warms up the house, in more ways than one! Now with the push of a button (on a remote, of course) we have an instant fire! Below is the after picture.
We had a busy, but wonderful Christmas! We went to Harrison for our niece's (Allie) one year birthday and stayed to have Christmas with Jason's side of the family the next day. Then we had Christmas with my side of the family here on Christmas Eve. My brother and his wife even got to come for the week from Arizona. We had a wonderful time getting to visit with our families over the holiday.
We wish everyone a very Happy 2009. Jason and I can't wait to find out what God has in store for us this year!
