Gruhn's Garage Takes Shape

Mark Scheibe and his team of 7 volunteers continued transforming the Gruhn's garage this morning before the moving van arrived and demanded their attention. The crew got the most out of its 3 hours on the carport, siding most of the back and two sides, as well as putting up new plywood on the front.

Mark plans on using the next two weeks to finish up the siding. I've got one lead on a group that does roofing. If you'd like to help finish off the garage with a new roof or know someone who does, please contact me! It would be great to have it all done before the Gruhn's house blessing and open house on Aug. 30th!

Boardman's Bedrooms Begin to Sparkle

Ira Way lead a team of 4 volunteers as they continued to add more color to the Boardman's bedrooms. Both Darla and the boys' rooms are fully painted and work has started in the upstairs hallway. Next Saturday we will return to give all the upstairs rooms a second coat.

The grand plan is to focus a lot of our efforts on the Boardman's now that the Gruhn's are back home. I spoke to the contractor and he is very much on board with this. If we can get all the painting done inside the house over the next two weekends, the contractor says his finish carpenters can complete the job in 3 weeks after that. That gives us a move in date of Saturday, Sept. 19th. Please mark your calendars for another joyous celebration!!

Steps to Completion

I stopped by Darla Boardman's today, our second flood family, to drop off some stuff a church member donated and SURPRISE - she has steps into the house! Yea! Prior to today, we were walking into the raised first floor by balancing ourselves on piled up cinder blocks. Yikes. Today I was pleased to see a pair of carpenters building a small deck off the side door and three steps. I think the hope is United Way will come and build a wheelchair ramp alongside the deck for free.

Meanwhile, Ira Way, our paint coordinator continues to make great headway with the orange and blue boys' room upstairs and Darla's green room. We'll be back in there painting this Saturday morning from 7:30-11:30. Please drop by for an hour or two if you can. With your help, we could have her family in before the end of September!

Countdown to Completion at Gruhn's

Above: Sarah & Sam Janke clean the Gruhn's refrigerator. Below: Our crew residing the garage.

I looked Robert Gruhn in the eyes and mouthed, "Just seven more days until we move you in!" "Six!" he smiled and shot back at me in his hearing impaired voice. Okay, six, I conceded after seeing his ear-to-ear grin. The Gruhn's are no doubt exciting to finally be going home after a 14 month exodus into the wilderness of FEMA trailer 15 miles away in Marion.

Today we prepped the home for the arrival party next Saturday. The entire Janke clan joined Judy Johnson's "clean team" that windexed windows, vacuumed, and spruced up everything. Marvin Quaas made the bathroom sparkle. Dixie and Sarah Olmstead scrubbed and swept. Kris Cleveland touched up the paint. Julie Banker, Kia Gruhn, and Alex McDaniel tidied up here and there.

Meanwhile Lou Banker, Tom Olmstead, Mark Scheumann, Scott Gerhold, Larry Johnson, Jim Janke, and Robert Gruhn went to work on the garage. Mark Scheibe led the way as the team cleaned out the garage to use it as a staging area. They began by moving the furniture from the garage into the house and tossing a bunch of stuff to the curb. Menard's delivered the materials and our guys went to work. They replaced three of the walls' existing siding and spongeboard with brand new plywood. Next step will be to replace the fourth wall and begin putting up new siding. Mark wants to have the prep work done this week so siding can go up on Saturday. We figure some guys can work on the garage Saturday while they are waiting for the moving truck to arrive. Hopefully we have enough people to help to get it all done!

This week I'll be supervising some odds and ends to get the house ready for the big move. On Monday, the installer comes back to finish carpeting Kia's room (he was rained out on Friday). The plumber will call for his final inspection on Monday, which is our last hurdle before the overall inspection. We expect to pass. TV and phone arrive Friday to hook up the cable. The big move is on Saturday! Hope to see you there!

Boardman's Bedrooms Brighten Up

Above: Larry Lundgren tapes out a game plan. Below: Haley Wesbrook rolls on fresh paint.

Our small, but mighty crew of 6 led by Ira Way began to transform white walls to green and buttercream today. Ira began the day by prying all the old baseboards off the walls and prepping the two bedrooms and hallway for paint. Haley and Scott Wesbrook painted the angled ceiling walls in the boys' bedroom while Haley, Karolyn Smith, and her husband primed the ceiling and the walls in the stairway. Larry Lundgren finished off an entire wall and several cabinet doors in Darla's bedroom in green. Scott also pulled up all the tack strips and padding on the stairs, making our trips up and down much easier.

The hallway is ready for the first coat of buttercream next week and the bedrooms are ready for their "accent" colors. I'm going to talk to the contractor this week about getting some mudding done in the closet so we can paint in there as well.

Smiles Contageous at Boardman's

Emily & Elissa Musil and Ira Way transform a bedroom from pink to white.

Perfectly cool weather blessed our volunteers today as we converted the attic of Darla Boardman's house into future bedrooms for the mom and her two boys. Darla joined Greg Young, Judy Johnson, Sarah Fershdal, Nancy Hendricks, Iray Way, Dixie & Sarah Olmstead, and Emily & Elissa Musil in the morning paint party. The group started the day by boxing up and cleaning out the last few items we didn't get moved out last week. Old railings and curtains were removed and our happy crew went to work. Pat Steglitz provided a yummy treat for our break. Our time with Darla stimulated some good conversations about how God loves us and spiritually walks with us from the time of our baptism throughout our entire lives. And the people of the church certainly play a role in that walk!

Next week we will add a little color to the rooms upstairs. We'd love to have you join us even for an hour or two!

Gruhn's Approach Finish Line

Scott and Shane Wesbrook put the finishing touches on the Gruhn's home.

The countdown clock to completion is running full speed ahead at the Gruhn house as the days left until we move them in reaches the single digits this week. Today 10 volunteers worked vigorously to close up all the loopholes that make a house a home. Tom Olmstead fired away with his hammer on the basement steps, closing in the back of each step to make a beautiful staircase. Jim Janke painted a boxed in pipe in the bathroom. One of the contractor's men, Joe Roling and his partner, Amy, even volunteered today helping Shane Wesbrook and Kia Gruhn clear out Kia's room upstairs so that it could be carpeted this Friday. John Hall, Shane and Scott Wesbrook cauked in the crown molding. Marvin Quaas, Jim, Shane, and Scott painted the basement walls. Tom finished out the hallway closet with a cedar wood lining.

Next Saturday will we need people to come in and give the house a thorough cleaning (especially the windows). We will also be residing the garage and clearing it out to make room for the Gruhn's vehicles. Move in day is the following Saturday, Aug. 15th. Please consider lending a hand the next two weeks to help us get this monumental task complete!