10/15/2025

I've come to learn that the beginning of everything means you have to tear things apart first. Rip things open. It's something I've been doing for years or, maybe, a lifetime. I'm still not okay with it. Like many people, I've been comfortable sitting in the uncomfortable. It's scary to move past a story that was already written for us. It's hard to reshape things that are already accepted by many, but without ripping things apart nothing can change. When you get rid of the old you make room for the new.

Every time, and I mean every time, my husband and I renovate, or change a structure, I have a little bit of panic inside of me. Here was this perfectly sound and functional structure that already had life breathed into it. And, because of a new thought or a new idea, that's going to be done. I admit that the final vision is always so beautiful and one that I look forward to, but the in between always messes with me. The mess is always the hardest part.

But don't worry because Cory seems perfectly comfortable with this step. Tearing stuff up is his specialty and I love it. He's a beautiful example of this. I tell him, “This is how it looks now, but this is how it could be” and he jumps right in there stirs things up. So that's why we're here with a sanctuary that's been stripped and two previously perfect and functioning bathrooms that sit bare. Two will become one. And a previous office will become another.

We needed the room. If you know me personally you know we (or I) needed the baths. More to come on that later. So right now, I present to you my panic state. The space reflecting things that have been torn apart, but have a beautiful vision coming. Believe me when I say I cannot wait to show you the finished product of these two bathrooms.

And in case you're wondering, Cory is the perfect person to rebuild with! It's going to be awesome.

~Arica Thompson

Making Room for the New

A Beginning