Final Inspection!

YAY! Our bathroom remodel project passed it's final inspection today. We really couldn't have done it (at least not this cost-effectively) without the many hours my dad put into the project this summer. My parents made the 1-hour drive several times including a few stay-overs to help us with the project, and my dad (with help from Jesse--a family friend) demolished the bathroom, did some framing for the new shower and new closet opening, put up drywall, installed a new fan and light, and much more. We hired out a few phases of the work, such as plumbing, tape and texture for the walls, and the slate floor installation, but the rest was all my dad. I love that the new shower doesn't feel like a claustrophobic cave (like the old one did), and it all just looks great! We still have a few final touches, such as installing closet shelves, putting in the shower door, and painting touch ups, but that's it. YAY!

In the meantime, Shawn continues to settle into his job in the financial industry. Surprisingly, his clients don't seem that worried about the current market decline, and, from what I hear, whole life insurance policies (one of his primary products) are really a good, stable kind of thing in this changing market. Shawn is now past the 6-month mark and is putting in longer hours now than when he first started since his clientele is growing. He often comes home around 8 pm these evenings and goes into the office on most weekends. We're trying to find a balance that still allows us "couple" time in addition to house projects (like a leaky bathtub faucet). It's not easy to fit it all in.

My work project is finally nearing completion. It's has been a long, complex project, involving 4 federal departments (Homeland Security, Defense, Energy, and Health and Human Services) and multiple offices within each of them. We also selected 8 of their combined federally-funded research and development centers for in-depth case studies. The final report will be done in October, but likely won't be made public until early November at the behest of our requesting congressional committee. However, I will be reassigned to a new project starting in October.

It's strange because I was so convinced that I would be on maternity leave by now. However, with no definitive end in sight for our adoption process, we just keep living and working as if it wasn't constantly there just out of reach. So we are striving to enjoy the beautiful fall here in Colorado with deep blue skies, changing trees, and comfortable temperatures. Last Sunday, after the Redskins triumphed over the Saints, I dragged Shawn out for a walk with the dogs, and then our own lovely drive up part of the Peak-to-Peak highway in the mountains. The aspens weren't quite at their peak of color, but the views were beautiful, and we even got to see some bighorn sheep. We enjoyed the time out together, stopping for dinner at one of our favorites--Cracker Barrel. I hope to complete the loop of the highway up to Estes Park sometime in the next few weeks. http://www.byways.org/explore/byways/2114/stories/56078

We continue to enjoy our church family, too, and I am currently serving on the missions committee which is endeavoring to discover our church's true missions philosophy and vision. Once that is in place, we will evaluate how best to apportion our resources to supporting and developing the vision. Our church is actually sort of a "mission outpost" from the Rwandan Anglican church to our part of Colorado, so much of our mission focus is to reach the unchurched population right here. That is quite a shift for me, having grown up in a church denomination where the mission field was all overseas. Anyway, it has been an interesting process that I have enjoyed participating in. We often help with other aspects of our church such as running the slides for the early worship service, doing greeting, serving as a prayer minister, etc.

For Labor Day weekend, we drove down to visit Shawn's mom and stepdad in Santa Fe and may try to get another visit in down there this fall. It's a long drive -- 6 hours each way -- so we don't take the dogs, but my parents have been kind enough to grand-dog sit for them. My dad really enjoys his grand-dogs, who are always delighted to see him. My mom, who is not a huge dog-lover, even got out to throw the ball for them when she was here last weekend and helped me take them for a walk around the park. Right now the dogs are resting after all the excitement of the bathroom inspectors being here this morning, a cat prowling around, a squirrel to chase up the tree in the back yard, and a guy here to replace the car windshield. So many thrills for one day, so now it's their nap time.