We have running water!

There it is!!! Perched a top our grape vine trelace (an Austin original idea) and plumbing water, by way of a pump, to our house!

These are the 2 guys that helped Austin make it happen! They have come out from the capitol to help fix up 3 (possibly 4) of our houses and the new office. They worked at our house a total of 3 1/2 days. I cooked all of their meals, exhausting my national menus. (Thanks Aunt Marj for the Taco Soup recipe. They loved it and it came as a nice break halfway through.) They slept 3 nights at our house and even joined us for pancake breakfast on our anniversary morning!

Ethan loved every minute of having the guys with us. He loved to help them and they graciously let him. Here he's helping mix the concrete. Behind him is the cistern where the water comes into our yard. A pump now pumps that into the tank which then is plumbed to bring water into our house.

It is funny how each kid clicked with a different guy. This was Elli's favorite. She knows him by name and is quick to run to him to great him whenever she sees him. A father of 3 sons, I think Elli's convinced him that a daughter is worth having!

This is when you realize your house is really just mud with a nice coat of paint over top! They pounded a hole through the wall to bring in the water pipe. So even though it looks like a nice western home on the outside . . . it's just a good paint job! :)

Look at those cabinets!!! We found them in a furniture store here and were doubtful they would all fit in my little kitchen (if you don't remember how small my kitchen is see previous post:http://amersheks.blogspot.com/2009/06/we-have-home.html ). They all fit and actually make the kitchen feel so much bigger. It is so wonderful to have a place for things. I've put off buying dishes (plates/bowls/silverware) until I had somewhere to put them. So I'm excited to go shopping for my own.

A double sink, can you believe it!!!! Friends found it at a random furniture store in the capitol. It is so wonderful and makes me feel like I'm washing dishes in America! And I love my dish drainer. So as not to take up counter space, it is hung on the wall. I didn't think I'd like it as much as a similar style I had in Ancient City, but it is proving to work better than I expected.

Austin built this step stool to make passage in and out of our veranda (through the kitchen window) a little easier. He designed it to be wide enough for Ethan and Elli to sit on for snack time and it works great. Underneath you see a second pump we had to install to get the water pressure strong enough to use a hot water heater. Unfortunately that means our bathroom water usage is dependent on the electricity being on (which in the winter is only 2-3 hours/day) but we are loving the showers right now!