What do bulldozers, concrete trucks, and chainsaws have in common?
They have all made a very noisy appearance here on our lovely and usually peaceful property, this week. We had 8-10 trees removed via bulldozer and backhoe--quite an amazing sight to see. Then the grading for the footer and new addition began. We have lots of red clay that was used to build up the pad for the garage and is being used to grade the driveway. A big hole will be dug at the back of the property and all of the VERY big tree stumps will be buried there.
It is actually starting to feel like we are going to see some construction soon.
Oh, the concrete truck. It is here pouring the footers.
So now we just pray it doesn't rain until the concrete cures and that we can find someone to lay the block for the foundation. Tracy has hinted at us doing it ourselves.
I really, really don't want to.
And of course the chainsaws have been going cutting up the trees that were removed. A log guy (I don't know what to call him) came and got the really big oaks and maples. He took them to a sawmill and we get half of what they pay him. He got one load and was really weighed down--some of those trees were enormous. Then he came back the next day and got another half load. That is when the chainsaws started and they have been going off and on ever since. There were several smaller trees left behind (smaller than 10in in diameter, and bases too awkward to cut neatly for lumber) so it will take awhile to get them cut up. Thankfully we can burn the brush and small twigs and limbs.
While we were waiting for the digging to be completed, Sarah and I pressure washed the front of the house and porch. I hope to get the staining done this weekend. I bought a airless paint sprayer and I am anxious about using it. It looks fun and easy but I know better than that.
So, other than our living room being turned into a storage room for Tracy's tools and other things that can't get wet and can't be on the porch because I will be staining, life is practically normal.
Okay, not really, but I can pretend. And honestly, I have to accept this chaos as normal for a season.
The monsoon season.
Yep-it's raining.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Learning to be patient
Since my trip to Colorado to accompany my dear husband on the drive back to Virginia our life has been topsey-turvey.
We drove for two very long days, rested a day, and then drove to the beach for a much needed vacation with our daughters.
While we were there my mom called to tell us that the graders had arrived to remove the trees that were in the way of the building project.
So we came home to a mess in the back yard, two happy dogs and clean house-thanks momma.
Noah drove up from Nashville for the 4th of July and we coerced him into helping build steps off the front porch. My sister Heather came down with her two kids to visit and we had a nice weekend.
Now we are settled and Tracy is waiting for the graders to finish removing trees and get the pad ready for concrete so he can get busy with the building.
But while he is waiting he is quickly making his way through the honey-do list.
And I am selecting new countertops, new kitchen appliances, paint samples, and making decisions about flooring in the new addition.
Fun, but extremely frustrating and, occasionally, overwhelming. There have been times when I have gone to the store to look at samples and after standing there and looking for awhile leaving more undecided than when I went in.
We are all very anxious to get this building project going-we definitely need a garage. Currently we have tools and all manner of 'stuff' on our front porch to keep them out of the weather.
And at the rate I have been going barefoot in the rain and working on creating a new front flower garden--I guess we are falling into the 'hillbilly' stereotype.
It is just so hard to wait when you want something so badly. Waiting for inspectors, for graders, for the weather........
You would think we would know how to wait well after so many years in the military where the unofficial motto is 'hurry up and wait'.
I read this devotional this morning and I realized that I am so anxious because I trying to make my own little heaven here on earth.
It's human nature to want to control our own space and to create and glory in our own work. When there is so much to do it is really hard to slow down and pace yourself so that you enjoy the work as much as the end product.
We live in a farming community now and it really seems that no one gets in a hurry.
Patience.
That word is peaceful and hateful at the same time. If the fruit of the spirit were in a garden, patience and self-control would be the most difficult to cultivate.
So, if you are driving along and see a log cabin with a bunch of stuff on the front porch, a barefoot woman in a flower garden out front, and a huge pile of dirt in the back yard with trees lying all around be careful before you make a judgement.
She may be learning to walk by the Spirit in her barefeet.
We drove for two very long days, rested a day, and then drove to the beach for a much needed vacation with our daughters.
While we were there my mom called to tell us that the graders had arrived to remove the trees that were in the way of the building project.
So we came home to a mess in the back yard, two happy dogs and clean house-thanks momma.
Noah drove up from Nashville for the 4th of July and we coerced him into helping build steps off the front porch. My sister Heather came down with her two kids to visit and we had a nice weekend.
Now we are settled and Tracy is waiting for the graders to finish removing trees and get the pad ready for concrete so he can get busy with the building.
But while he is waiting he is quickly making his way through the honey-do list.
And I am selecting new countertops, new kitchen appliances, paint samples, and making decisions about flooring in the new addition.
Fun, but extremely frustrating and, occasionally, overwhelming. There have been times when I have gone to the store to look at samples and after standing there and looking for awhile leaving more undecided than when I went in.
We are all very anxious to get this building project going-we definitely need a garage. Currently we have tools and all manner of 'stuff' on our front porch to keep them out of the weather.
And at the rate I have been going barefoot in the rain and working on creating a new front flower garden--I guess we are falling into the 'hillbilly' stereotype.
It is just so hard to wait when you want something so badly. Waiting for inspectors, for graders, for the weather........
You would think we would know how to wait well after so many years in the military where the unofficial motto is 'hurry up and wait'.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
I read this devotional this morning and I realized that I am so anxious because I trying to make my own little heaven here on earth.
It's human nature to want to control our own space and to create and glory in our own work. When there is so much to do it is really hard to slow down and pace yourself so that you enjoy the work as much as the end product.
We live in a farming community now and it really seems that no one gets in a hurry.
Patience.
That word is peaceful and hateful at the same time. If the fruit of the spirit were in a garden, patience and self-control would be the most difficult to cultivate.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:25
So, if you are driving along and see a log cabin with a bunch of stuff on the front porch, a barefoot woman in a flower garden out front, and a huge pile of dirt in the back yard with trees lying all around be careful before you make a judgement.
She may be learning to walk by the Spirit in her barefeet.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Building project update:
Last week Tracy's brother Les got started on our project. He installed a new power conduit and wired it to a new breaker box inside the house. He also arranged for the heating and air conditioning units to be moved about six feet to get them out of the way of the new addition.
The men who will be doing the grading at the back of the house also paid us a visit.
And we found out they will be able to remove all the trees and the stumps.
On Thursday the building inspector came, stuck a sticker on the work and we were moving ahead.....or so we thought.
Tracy called to have the power company come move their line from the old conduit to the new one and found out the inspector hadn't yet sent the information and approval to the company.
So the waiting continues...........
I fly to Colorado tomorrow to meet up with my beloved husband and accompany him on the drive from Colorado to Virginia-again. I am hoping that while I am gone the power will be moved and the trees cleared.
One can always hope.........
The original plan was to put another breaker box beside the existing one but there are pipes all through the wall. So, the new box is behind the door--I kind of like that better because it can be hidden when the door is open.And while I'm hoping, I also hope to keep the blog up to date with details and pictures as we go.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Retirement Move
On the road again......sights on the way from Colorado to Virginia. Hopefully this is our last move ever.
Everything that we think necessary to life is in that truck and trailer. A lot? or not much? I guess it depends on whether you are packing it or trying to fit in a trailer.
We weren't sure all of it would fit. In the end we were able to take more than we planned. Tracy is such a great mover! And amazingly, nothing was broken, scratched or damaged.
Everyone had such great attitudes the entire time! Working can be so much fun with happy hearts.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Reflections
A year ago we were living in Colorado desperately seeking God's guidance for our future.
Tracy's flight bonus would end in 2011 and we knew a promotion would mean moving and a commitment to stay a few more years.
We decided for him to stay, pin on his next rank and move, commitment and all.
But.....
We also visited our home in Virginia last summer. We sat on the porch and drank coffee and iced tea, had barbeques on the deck, watched the sheep on the lot next to us, and had a fun independence day bash.
Tracy and I had never been able to agree about when he would retire or where he would retire. Then last summer we both got a vision for living in our home town, in the log house we built there and having a slower and quieter life.
And that is when the prayer that God would close doors and change our hearts about staying in or retiring in 2011 began.
It will be hard, and we have already encountered a couple of obstacles, but we know that this is what God wants. And it will be worth it. Investing in relationships and people always is.
Yesterday when I came home I sat on the porch swing and watched all the rabbits that had come out to feed, two of them were chasing each other in circles. The sheep were grazing quietly, and occasionally, the babies would run to their mothers. There was a hush over the countryside as dusk fell and as the fireflies came out I could still see the blue mountain range in the distance.
My heart began to sing along with creation and I felt closer to the Creator than I had in a very long time.
It is, and will be, good.
Tracy's flight bonus would end in 2011 and we knew a promotion would mean moving and a commitment to stay a few more years.
We decided for him to stay, pin on his next rank and move, commitment and all.
But.....
We also visited our home in Virginia last summer. We sat on the porch and drank coffee and iced tea, had barbeques on the deck, watched the sheep on the lot next to us, and had a fun independence day bash.
Tracy and I had never been able to agree about when he would retire or where he would retire. Then last summer we both got a vision for living in our home town, in the log house we built there and having a slower and quieter life.
And that is when the prayer that God would close doors and change our hearts about staying in or retiring in 2011 began.
It will be hard, and we have already encountered a couple of obstacles, but we know that this is what God wants. And it will be worth it. Investing in relationships and people always is.
Yesterday when I came home I sat on the porch swing and watched all the rabbits that had come out to feed, two of them were chasing each other in circles. The sheep were grazing quietly, and occasionally, the babies would run to their mothers. There was a hush over the countryside as dusk fell and as the fireflies came out I could still see the blue mountain range in the distance.
My heart began to sing along with creation and I felt closer to the Creator than I had in a very long time.
It is, and will be, good.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi
I read A Slice of Infinity yesterday and I just can't stop thinking about this statement:
There is a phrase in Latin that summarizes the idea that the way our minds and souls are oriented is the way our lives are oriented. Lex orandi, lex credendi, lex vivendi is an axiom of ancient Christianity, meaning: the rule of worship is the rule of belief is the rule of life. That is, the way we are oriented in worship (whatever it might be that we focus on most devotedly) orients the way we believe and, in turn, the way we live.*
*emphasis mine
Sola Deo Gloria!
All Things New
Home.
The place where Tracy and I grew up.
Our home.
Different yet always the same.
Life in the country is, and will continue to be, an adjustment for sometime. It is just not easy to go from one way of life to another. Especially when SO many things are different.
But we are finding familiarity in the blogs and websites we have enjoyed and frequented.
And amid our unpacking, cleaning and painting we have found a bit of time to play with new phones, visit facebook and watch a favorite tv show on Netflix.
The place where Tracy and I grew up.
Our home.
Different yet always the same.
Life in the country is, and will continue to be, an adjustment for sometime. It is just not easy to go from one way of life to another. Especially when SO many things are different.
But we are finding familiarity in the blogs and websites we have enjoyed and frequented.
And amid our unpacking, cleaning and painting we have found a bit of time to play with new phones, visit facebook and watch a favorite tv show on Netflix.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)