Saturday, June 27, 2009

Summertime Vacation

Highlights from our Camping Trip to Millen, GA:

The trip there:


First sight:


Kids looking tough "We aren't scared of no stinkin alligators"


The beautiful Spring:


Two alligators harrassing us while we were fishing:













Huge roots of a fallen tree:


Lion or tiger or bear print? Oh my...


Family bike rides. This was my favorite part of each day. The temp was about 20 degrees cooler in the woods and the breeze from the bike ride was heavenly.


Sophie trying to recover from the family bike ride. I think she pulled Steve along the whole trip.


Beautiful swamp:


Turtle soup anyone?



This is for you... Daniel!

My Nephew, Daniel has been requesting photos of the house. These are especially for him!

Roof with Trusses:



Finished Roof:



Back of house:



Shingled Roof:




Master Bathroom tub:




Fireplace:




Duct Work:


Plumbing:



After a hot day at the property, picking blackberries!



Thursday, June 18, 2009

Now you see it... now you don't or NOW YOU DON"T SEE IT... NOW YOU DO!

So, we went to the property Wednesday afternoon and we had a floor. We were amazed that in a couple of hours they had done the floor to the entire house. I thought I had my camera with me, but I had left it at home... "no problem", I thought "I'll just stop by tomorrow with my camera". When we stopped by "tomorrow (today)" this is what we found...










A WHOLE HOUSE!

A few hours after we left the property today, Grammy and Grandpa sent us these pictures of...














A ROOF! These guys are super fast. Yesterday we had only a floor. This evening we have a whole house. We were able to walk through each room and Steve and I had our official first kiss in our new house (Don't get too excited... we had kids in tow :)


The view out of our kitchen window. It will be beautiful (minus the pile of concrete)



Inside the house...


The Garage...



We'll be moving in tomorrow... (Don't we Wish).








Saturday, June 13, 2009

Foundation Block

The foundation has been done and approved. Our builder was out yesterday measuring for the wood and the trusses have been delivered. The framing SHOULD start on Tuesday.











Sadness

I'm very sad today. On Thursday evening my Best Friend, Shana Meredith passed away after complications from Primary Pulmonary Hypertension. I knew the end was coming, just still so shocked she's gone. I've felt extreme comfort from the Spirit and know that this is the only way I can make it through this time. Shana was so concerned that I wouldn't be able to handle her death and I feel her support even now. This is all I can write at the moment...

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Ground Breaking

Please, Please forgive me! I'm very conscious of the fact that my "peeps" read my Blog, but that isn't the main purpose of it for me. I started this Blog as an exercise in journal writing that I want to pass down to my kids. Because of this main purpose, it may be full of insignificant rants and tidbits but I know my kids will be so enthralled with the smallest details that I persevere. If you choose to persevere with me... I'm thrilled just be patient.

I specifically ask your patience as we go through this Home Building phase. Each piece of earth that is turned, each glop of concrete that is poured and each piece of yummy smelling pine wood that is cut is almost like a member of the family and so must be documented with great detail and love.

We had our official ground-breaking on June 1st. This puts our finishing deadline no later than Nov. 1st. This is quite a bit later than we had anticipated (since the paper work took FOREVER), but we know that we must just sit back and enjoy the process. I say enjoy "loosely". I truly am enjoying every aspect thus far, but Steve is more of a Devil's Advocate kind of guy. I told him the other day that he is a Kill Joy. He stresses about the details that have already been decided. He worries that we may not have chosen the proper place to put the outlets. I on the other hand am so relieved to have all of the little details decided on - that I wouldn't move an outlet now if my life depended on it. We've always been a great balance to each other.




The sign that made our property an official building site.



The first grating of our land.

Footers and string for the foundation. (Footers are what the house will rest on)


My favorite feature in the background... a port-a-potty!!



Pre-plumbing lines.