We're Selling Our House! Want To Buy It?

Well, folks, our crumbsnatchers have literally ate us out of house and home... just kidding. But we really are selling our house. We're going to be building an addition onto the new studio later in the year, and before we can do that, we need YOU, or someone you know :), to buy our house.
Here's the link to the site. Enjoy, have a cold drink... buy our house. Or tell someone about it.

Standing on the Word

We finished the floors late in the afternoon on Sunday, just in time. Kari and I had the mops, Logan had the steam cleaner, and Abby had a squeejee. We had the doors wide open to let the breeze air dry the rest of the mop water, and the wind was just gushing through the studio.
My boy thought it was something special that the whole Elliott family came together to get the floors ready.
Then all day Sunday and into Monday, friends and family came to visit.
They all got Sharpie Markers and there were extra bibles scattered throughout the building, in all sorts of translations. One by one, everyone who wanted to got to write their favorite scripture onto the concrete, and since we are staining the floors, the hope is that the words will still show through on the finished coat.
The rest of those two days are a mixture of emotions for me. What a blessing to read and see so much of God's word, spilled into every nook and cranny. To see what verses people chose, to see the creativity, and even the penmanship of the little ones that came to write, was really something I hope to never forget.
The fellowship was amazing, and from the bottom of our hearts, thanks to everyone who took a moment to share those verses that have made such a difference in your lives.
The pictures will tell the rest of the story. :)

Standing on the Word, Part II

Here are more images from the day.

Standing on the Word, Part III

Here are a few more images from Sunday and Monday, when friends and family dropped by the new studio to write scripture on the floors.

It's the first time the concrete stainers have ever had a request for something like this. They didn't really know if the words would stick or if they would just be blurry blobs after the stain and acid were applied, but this morning I talked with the foreman in charge and it looks like the words are still going to be able to show through, just barely. They won't be as obvious as they are in these pictures, but they will still be legible if anyone takes the time to look down and get a word or two of encouragement in their day :)

Standing on the Word, Part IV

Here is a collection of all of Logan's verses that he wrote. Notice, he numbered them. :)


























And here is Abby's... :)

Floors & More at the New Studio

We've been very busy the last few days at the new studio, and between the scraping and the scrubbing and the mopping and the painting I made sure to snap a few pictures. I wanted to share them here, in part to show you the heart that is going into this project, and also to remind me of the character and spirit of some of the people that are involved in making this dream come true.

Christina, our Boss in the Painting & Interior Design Department, has been very hard at work. She and Kari have picked out some amazing tones and finishes, and they are bringing this mass of magazine cutouts and samples to life in their painting. Both of them could hardly walk after this weekend.










Kara has been giving extra time to the cause, scraping away at the drywall, texture and paint that got through to the floor, and even her soon-to-be husband Aaron helped out with the painting. I still can't figure out how Aaron can roll an entire wall and not spill any drops of paint. I also learned that it can be very interesting watching an engaged couple as they work together to accomplish a simple task, such as putting down plastic on the floors. "This way Kara....No Aaron, you're doing it all wrong....Hold it tight....I am holding it tight, quit mov-ING " :) Just kidding, of course.







I am admittedly NOT a painter, and when I got done with my wall, there was paint on me, on my shoes, on the plastic, on the floor, in my hair, and a little bit on the actual walls.

Our puppy also helped by holding the floor down. She did a very good job and I was very proud of her.

Logan helped me prep the floors so we could write on them. He got up early in the morning and even missed church because he knew how important it was that we finish with the floors.




Abby even chipped in with a mop and a broom from time to time, between breaks to go slide on the dirt hill outside. she fell down a few times...and got soaked in the water...and then she sprained her ankle...and had to go potty very badly...but she still gave it her best, and besides her smile makes me smile, so she's well worth having in the crew. :)






There's more pictures than I'll ever be able to post here, but I'll break them up into a few different blogs. Thanks to everyone who has helped, including my mother-in-law, Renee, for helping to watch the kids and for providing some awesome food for some hungry workers. It's been a tremendous blessing to see all the hands and feet working together to make this happen.