We decided even before moving that our first house renovation would be scraping off the popcorn ceilings. Before moving day, we took a Saturday and scraped it all off. Because of asbestos, we bought all the safety gear we needed to wear....the good news is, we can wear these again when we travel to the moon. 
Finishing the ceilings is messy work...so our house has felt a bit like a construction zone. Between mudding, sanding, and painting, all I can say is...it's a dang good thing I don't care about the carpets. Here are Marc and my cousin Chris showing how dirty you get from sanding. It's a great look on them.
I insisted on having the ceilings be smooth (rather than textured) much to Marc's dismay. Doing them smooth takes a lot more time since you are trying to not have any imperfections. But I think it was worth it. They turned out great. I am SO HAPPY that this project is done!! I want to thank Marc, Chris, Kenneth for helping us work on it...and my grandparents, and Trina and Tim and Shannon for watching Jake when we needed it. Now, onto the next project! We'll be taking a sledgehammer to some walls...I'll keep you posted:)
