refinancing the house

Yesterday, The Husband and I met with our financial advisor from Primerica. (If you haven't had a professional create a financial plan for you, get to it!) The purpose of the meeting was to discuss refinancing our 1960 rancher, which has, to my delight, gone up quite a bit in value in the four short years we've owned it (or, in our case, paid a mortgage payment to a bank). Spurred by the interest rate drop that's all over the news, we thought it would be smart to at least take a look at our options. But as we discussed things, it seemed there were a ton (a plethora, if you will) of options out there, besides the basic, refinance-for-a-lower-payment idea. I'm enthusiastic about the prospect of possibly doing some home improvements with our built-up equity, like replacing the 1960s-era windows, repaving the driveway, or (oh, how I wish it were possible) remodeling the kitchen. Suddenly, our little house has so much more potential.