The remodeling project has begun !

Hi all,
I had mentioned before in an earlier post that there was going to be some changes to the Winters household.  They have now begun and for a few months we are living in a very unorganized household.  We had to get EVERYTHING out of the lower level rec room, so most of it went out to the garage.  Yes, I had to give up my garage this winter, but it's better that paying $400 to rent a Pod.  The rest of the stuff has been distributed around the house temporarily until it's all said and done.  I want to say a big THANK YOU to Dawn, Jim & Andy for helping us get our TV and couch up from the lower level.  Those 2 things were so heavy and to get them up those darn stairs was a real struggle.  John and I really appreciate your help.  We owe you one big time.
We have decided to add a 1/2 bath to be a located down in our rec room.  Isn't this a little late to be doing this we asked ourselves?  After living here for 26 years, I guess it's better late than never.  It would have been great to have a additional bathroom when the kids were still living in the house.  It would have prevented the "are you done yet?" question.   In addition to the new bathroom, we are putting in a gas fireplace.  We picked out a very nice one that will be able to take the chill out of the air.  With the rec room being under the ground level, it cooler that the rest of the house.  We are also adding 2 more windows to the West side of the room.  It will bring in more light then so we don't have to constantly turn on a light in the middle of the afternoon.  In the dining room upstairs we are removing about a 4' x 4' size of wall so we have more walking/sitting room in that area.  By switching the water heater over to a power vented one that vents out the side of the house, that will eliminate the chimney stack that goes up through the dining room area that takes up alot of needed space.  We are very seriously thinking about removing the wood burning fireplace in our livingroom.  It cannot be switched over to gas and the company has since gone out of business. We haven't used it in years, and with it gone, we will have more furniture arrangement opportunity.    New carpeting will finalize the remodel. 
Kurt Raymond, owner of Crestwood Homes is doing the remodel and I can't tell you how very pleased we are so far as to how he has helped us figure out the best way to do all of this.  He knows this business very well and his crew has done a wonderful job so far.  Here are a few pictures of the demo and some of the framing in of the bathroom and the fireplace.
This is looking towards the basement and the stairs going up to the kitchen. The new bathroom is going to be on the left.

This one is looking to the north where the "old" computer room was.

Here is the frame for the fireplace.  There will be stone on the bottom and drywall on the top

Bailey is not very happy with all of the changes in her comfort zone right now but she's doing ok.  I stayed home with her on Wed. when they first came to start the demo so she could meet the crew and try to get used to the different noises.  There was alot of banging, sawing & pounding, but she took it like a trooper.  I went to work today and put her upstairs with a gate across the hallway so she could at least see who was coming into the house when the guys came over today.  According to the guys, she did very good, no barking or carrying on.
That's it so far, I will keep you updated on the progress.
Keep warm and GO PACKERS!!!!!