Welcome to the adventure

I want to welcome you to my attempt to communicate what adventures we are having in our building process and how we are being challenged spiritually (not to mention physically).  I have had a couple of people tell me that they would love to see a blog on the whole process and so here I go.

I think that it is safe to say that it has been an interesting year.  Last year this time we were still happily dreaming on how the house would look, on what we were going to be doing with the land, and how God was going to use us up in Vermont.  Wow, did we get an awakening.  First of all, I know more about cutting down trees than I have ever wanted to know.  I have learned about tractors, backhoes and other heavy equipment, but I still have a lot to learn in that department.  As far as the house is concerned it sure changed design and form and size so many times that I was ready to throw something heavy at Tom the last time we changed the size and design.  Sean joked with us and said that every time we change the house plans he was going to charge us a dollar.  He would have made out pretty good with that!  I am glad to say that Sean will not be getting any more dollars from us as far as the house plan is concerned.  

  We are now approaching the year mark.  Cutting down the first 50 foot tree was an awesome adventure.  Having it get stuck in another tree was frustrating, but great things came out of it.  We met our neighbors and got our first taste of the Vermont way of life.  It was such a blessing for us to have help from our neighbors, both offering great, but different advise.  It showed me that even when I am frustrated God has worked it out already for my good.  I laugh because we were up in the middle of the night trying to move that tree with our own strength.  How ridiculous to try!  Isn't that what we are always doing in our own lives?  Trying to do things in our own strengths and then wondering why it doesn't work.  That tree didn't budge!  It wasn't until someone who was an experienced logger came and took the tree down the rest of the way in less than 5 minutes.  Tom learned so much from that that the next time he got a tree stuck, both Sean and him were able to take it down quickly.  When we have the right advise and are willing to listen to a master craftsman, things turn out so much better.  I am always reminded of that when I get frustrated that things aren't going my way.  It is a good lesson to learn.

  Last year this time we were still planning on building a massive 2000 sq ft house.  Then we found out that there are still taxes.  Vermont is of course cheaper than CT but, still, someone has to pay for the lousy roads that make me shutter every time my poor car hits a huge crater as we are bumping along on our little road.  So reality set in and Tom decided to go and try to beat the system!  Right, sure.  We went to designing outhouses, wet houses(for kitchen and bathroom), and individual houses for living and sleeping.  That design got shot into the wind when Logan came downstairs in the middle of the night, while we were entertaining the individual houses, crying because he wasn't feeling well.  God was so kind to show us that we were not to go that way.  So one house it was.  But would it be log, post and beam or just ordinary stick?  Ordinary stick was out.  I mean, come on, we were going to be doing this only once so we needed to go all out.  For the longest time we entertained a log home.  Our neighbor built this beautiful log home and I love log homes, so I was really sticking to that.  Tom was flexible on it.  In the end, the post and beam and stick design has ruled.  I personally would like to be living in this house by next spring if not earlier.

  Now it came to the decision on the size of house.  I really wanted a little bigger than I have here and of course was pushing for that.  Tom was praying and thinking on it as was I but my prayer was more I want this size house so please let me have it.  God is so good in His mercy to us that He doesn't just slam the door on us and say, bad, no down girl.  Through our trials we see how ridiculous we are sometimes and that He does know what is best.  In the end He grants you your wishes, sometimes.  My sister-in-law, Nichole, will confirm how devastated I was when we came up with the final size of the house of 600 sq ft.  I had to let go of my dream log home, my dream size and rely on what God had for me.  Boy that was so hard!  I struggled with that for a long time until one night, I was given the plans for the house.  We had been struggling to fit all into this small house.  We researched on the internet and came up with some really cute plans and houses.  I was inspired to plan the whole house and it came to a total sq footage of 590 or so.  I was so happy and so was Tom.  Reality is that God is so much better that that.  After giving up my own expectations I was given them right back.  That was a huge blessing, one that is hitting me just now as I write this.

  Next was the actual digging of the land to see if we could have a basement.  We were told that we are sitting on ledge.  So Tom and I planned for various ways to build the house foundation, from pillars to basement.  We were resolved to have pillars until the day we dug.  The huge equipment was brought in (very impressive) and our excavator went to work.  Boy, we had stumps and rocks of amazing size and as he dug and probed it became clear that we were able to have a walk out basement.  No ledge.  And of course the drainage around the house is quite spectacular.  There is no standing water where the house is going to go!  How great is that?  So the fact that we could have a basement meant that the house size has increased quite a lot.  As Tom was planning the foundation he kept adding on a foot here and a few inches there and now we have a house that is a nice size for our little family. The house is small enough and manageable enough for my cleaning expertise!

  Were are we at now?  Waiting on God to sell the house here in Bristol.  A few nights ago something happened that blew me away.  A couple had called and wanted to see the house.  They sounded really interested and on Thursday they came and saw it.  They liked it.  Tom and I had been praying for the right people and if possible Christians.  They walked in and we started talking and found out that the husband is a youth pastor here in Bristol and the wife works for Women of Faith.  We walked around the house in fellowship and in the end actually prayed together for 15 minutes.  They were coming back to see the house but unfortunately they were not able to afford the house after all.  It was not wasted time at all!  It had been a blessing.  After all we don't have running water on the property, nor any facilities.  So God is watching out for us here too, even though I would rather be up there permanently.

  We will be pouring our foundation this week.  Rain is causing some delay so we have had to wait patiently.  But Tom has been talking to our consultant and I think we are ready to go Tuesday.  We are blessed to have this man alongside of us during the pouring of the cement, because as the cement company stated rightly, we don't know what we are doing in this process!  So this guy has the workers and the equipment and will help along.  Next are the walls and we are hoping that he can offer us a good price on pouring the walls.  It is easier and quicker than the way we have it planned.  It has been a journey I am glad I am taking.  I have learned that I have one strong son (Sean), who can bend steel bars with his bare hands (all right not quite bare hands, he was wearing gloves).  I have a brave daughter, who has overcome her dislike and discomfort, not to mention having to do really hard work, which does not enter into her vocabulary, and a young boy, who will help when it suits him and if the work is not too hard.  God has to work on him a little more, but he has had his victories as well. He has to deal with new people and that is not easy for him.  He has to make decisions on when to say no to people and some of us are still learning that today (including myself).
  
  We still don't know what God has planned for us up there, or what we will do with our property.  But my perspective is changing all the time.  We are so blessed and I know that I can trust God personally in my future.  'Cause He has made everything, including me and my future.  I love this verse, Jer 29:11- "For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope...".  When I looked up the word thoughts in Greek it is actually an intricate weaving, a plan but so intricately weaved for my peace (which comes from Him).  So I will keep it shorter next time, I hope.  I am looking forward to this adventure and what lays down the road.  I know that it will be all right.


  Until next time, Anne