Sweet Jordan... this is the paper he asked me to type up for him.

Jordan Nelson
Dr. Nicholson
English 10 A
December 4, 2009

My New House

We are building our house from the ground up. At first it went by slowly and it seemed like we would never get started. Since then the pace has picked up and it is flying by. Every day new things are happening.
This all started on March 11, 2009. My mom was on her way in the soft light of the setting sun. When she pulled up to the house she saw a burley police officer kicking in our front door and a column of smoke billowing out of our roof. That was the end of the beginning.
For four months not much was happening. Our house stood as a blackened scar on our neighborhood. My parents finally finished our list of everything that we had owned and it was time for the dirty job of demolition. I can remember how it smelled while they were tearing it down. It smelled like a very large camp fire. The big tractor dozed through our house, ripping that smoky scent through the air. I helped with the hard work. The soot got everywhere. It got into our clothes, our hair, in our mouths, our ears, and even between our toes. It tasted like a hotdog that had been incinerated. The taste would linger in our mouths for days, until there was nothing left but an empty lot of land.
After the lot was graded, footings were dug and plumbing was placed. Concrete was poured and the complex job of framing began. The walls went up and one day a roof appeared. My parents chose to get a tile roof, which will last longer than the house. I was excited to see what was beginning to look like a house again.
Once the roof was done, the wiring began. The house turned into a spider web of white, yellow, and grey wires. Soon fluffy insulation was stuffed into the walls.
The rough, grey, dusty, and hard drywall came next. The weird plaster and texture guy put tape and mud over the gaps in the drywall and over the nail holes. He smoked in our brand new living room and took off his sweaty shirt. He made the biggest mess all over the floors even though we told him to be extra careful.
Soon the walls will be colored with paints that were painstakingly chosen. The stucco will be finished, and the exterior will be painted. The cold concrete floors will get stained and the final inspection will be just around the corner. We will finally get to start the long awaited process of moving into our dream home.
I am so thankful that my family was safe from the fire and that we had good insurance. I love my family so much and we are so excited for the great day when we get to live in our own home again.