A few more house pics

The carpenters are still working on the siding. It is coming along slowly. They've finished three sides, and are working on the tall side where there are lots of windows and doors and 3 stories. I think these pictures do not show the trim being done on a couple of sides, but it is now. I'll get new pics this week.
A note about the siding, and me... since the roof had to be raised and re-pitched, there is now a wide beam at the top of the house just below the roof. This beam runs all the way around the house even on the gable ends, so we decided to put accent siding above the beam on the gables. I am not a big fan of different colored trim around windows and doors, in the first place, but I was persuaded to go with a separate trim color, mostly because I wasn't sure how my "no trim" look would work with vinyl siding instead of paint. Well, I ordered the accent siding to match the regular siding, but when it came in, it was the trim color. No one knew there was a problem (and they still don't) because by the time I realized it was wrong, the siding was already up. Now, a curious thing happened...very curious. My reaction? I shrugged my shoulders and said, "Oh, well, it's fine." I was not hung up on having the house match my "vision" for it.
A few short years ago, I believe my reaction would have been quite different. I struggled with my attachment to my house to the point where my house was almost a "statement" or a reflection of me. We did not have a big brand new house, either. It was a 200 year old dilapidated farm house which we renovated (although the renovations were never "done"). Perhaps I took inordinate pride in the renovations, or perhaps I was trying to romanticize our lifestyle to the world (farmhouse, big yard, goats, chickens, homeschooling...). Whatever it was, I was inordinately attached to my house.

So, I am hoping that my "laissez-faire" reaction to the wrong color siding on this new house is not an indication that I am getting lazy or that I just don't care. I am hoping that Our Lord has taken these three years of haitus in this rental home to re-order my heart and my priorities. He is so good. Thank you, Jesus.

The "big side" (there will be a deck on that second floor where the sliders are)

The back, with the new mudroom attached

The new mudroom

See? It's fine. Actually, it looks good, except for that dumpster;)