When it Rains...It Pours

Sunday was demolition day. The walls and cabinets were out in just a few hours leaving the lad work and the soffet above the sink. Chris had received information that the soffet was hollow, so he and Josh proceeded to chip away at it just as they had with the cabinets. (We probably should have known better than to actually believe this. Of course the soffet wasn't hollow! It was being used to support the ceiling! But I digress...) During one particularly big swing a deafening crack was heard. Looking up the guys saw the ceiling giving way. Josh threw himself up against it as best he could while Chris ran outside and up into the attic to try and save all of the brand new wiring that was run for our new lights. Just as he finished cutting the wires, the entire ceiling collapsed, revealing this:
Who doesn't want a pink plaster ceiling with a giant white diamond in the middle?! I mean really. This kitchen must have been remodeled during the seventies... Thankfully, no one was hurt and the demolition continued.

Monday was cleanup day. Mom, Alex, Chris and I spent the afternoon and well into the night working on the kitchen. Alex handled the lad work at the very top of the ceiling, Chris the electrical work, Mom the shop vac, and I (yes, platinum) found my inner carpenter and attacked the lower lad and insulation with a vegenance. (That's what a few difficult patient's parents will do for you.) Chris and I are so thankful for all the help and are proud that our kitchen now looks like this:
The last task on Monday was to draw out the island on the kitchen floor so the contractor could rough out the location for our lights. We attacked this task eagerly only to find out the end of the island cleared the door by a mere two inches!!! So this morning I headed into to see our kitchen designer at Lowes with words in my head taught me by my grandma, "I am a Kirchoff woman, hear me roar!" After many designs and breakdowns with both Mom and Chris, we have the design we want! The tile is being laid tomorrow and the drywall put in Friday. If all goes well, our goal this weekend is to paint.

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming! Goodness knows we are!