Renovation of Tobias Nebraska Community Church into Holy Cross Cottage

06/17/2026

May 6, 2026 Here’s a video I made of our cottage project last month in the midst of drywall!😊 At the time we were one month out from hosting my 50th class reunion in this space.😬

06/16/2026

May 1 -13, 2026 Drywall guys arrived to get the first floor and loft done. They also textured the ceilings in the master bedroom, bath, and closet. What a Godsend to turn that job over to someone else. Our 17 1/2 foot ceilings would have made it difficult for us to even attempt it!😬

06/02/2026

06/02/2026

April 8, 2026 - May 1, 2026 I haven’t updated this page in awhile as we had to complete a variety of cottage projects in order to be ready to hire out the upstairs drywall to be done. The insulation had to be finished, and at the same time Sam completed pulling the electric wires through walls and then had to work on the upstairs plumbing. The plumbing had to be put in the two bathrooms, the space where the stackable washer/dryer will go, the kitchen refrigerator area for the ice maker, and the kitchen sink space. My cousin W***y helped and another day good friend Russ arrived to assist Sam in doing the wiring for two ceiling fans/lights (one in the loft and one between the kitchen and living room area), and two light fixtures (one above the kitchen island and one that will be above the dining table). This involved climbing into the bell tower and walking/crawling through the space between the tin ceiling and the actual roof. Not easy! One person was inside the crawl space and one on the outside trying to direct where the other needed to go. They also discovered they had to communicate by phone to be able to hear each other! Genius!🤪

05/04/2026

March 30-April 3, 2026 Brian and I started working on installing the insulation, then gradually Brian took over and just did it!😊 Sam worked on continuing to do the wiring. Fortunately my cousin’s husband Joel W came several days to assist with that job. Remember there was only the original k**b and tube on the main floor and the only lighting was with wall sconces. So it all needed updating!

04/25/2026

In a round about way this sort of applies to the cottage renovation.😊 Yesterday 4/24/2026 grandson Braxton’s 4th grade class at Meridian held their Wax Museum. Each student researched and became a notable Nebraskan. Braxton was Tobias Castor the founder of our town Tobias.😃 Braxton wanted some props for his presentation so we came up with a cane, an old coffee pot that we found in the church basement, and some square nails and a railroad spike also from the church! The Wax Museum was a wonderful event! The kids were still as statues until you came up to their space and you stepped on a “button” on the floor, when they came to life and told about themselves as their character. It was such a fun experience for the kids and for their audience.😁

04/20/2026

Mar 2 - 29, 2026 Sam and Brian built the frame for the first floor kitchen island. My brother Todd and two of his sons, Cade and Shea, spent an afternoon scooping out the plaster and lathe debris that had fallen from the walls and landed in the spaces between the cottage’s outer walls and floor. Sam began working on the electric wiring of the main floor and loft. Lots to figure out such as placement of electric plug-in’s, light switches, and actual wires between the studs in the walls.

03/30/2026

Feb 24 - 28, 2026 Sam and Brian put the base flooring in the new loft. What a huge addition of space this created in our cottage! It will become a multiple use area. Sam will likely have a small computer desk space and it will also be a fun spare bedroom. Maybe an area for bean bag chairs so grandkids can hang out up there for games, TV, and sleepovers.😊