A Space of Their Own

We bought our house a few years ago and moved in knowing it was not quite adequate to our needs. We have 2 young children, a boy and a girl, but the house only has 2 real bedrooms. We bought it though because we loved it, and still do, and because it has a huge attic and we knew that it could be converted to living space. Here we are 4 years later and our kids are getting older and anxious to have their own bedrooms. My daughter likes a nightlight on, my son doesn't. They don't have much room for books and toys. So we got started. We drew up our plans, got a building permit, but we were turned down twice now for the loan we would need. We're doing much of the work ourselves, and only hiring someone to do the things we can't, but it still isn't enough. The last 4 years have been rough - illness, medical bills, a death in the family, a job loss, a flood, and a fire (not kidding), have left us as you might expect after that much crap, financially iffy. But we're determined to stick it out here. The economy is barren in this area, but we love our life in this house and in this town. Something has to happen soon. I can't see my daughter having friends over from school when she's 12 and having to explain that she shares a bedroom with her little brother. While in other places in the world that would be common, it isn't done here. Any help you can offer offsetting our recent bad luck would be well-spent on two of the most wonderful kids I know.