All good things

Hello to all from the sticks

I have blog fever today since we are at the library and the kids are doing school I'm going to endulge.  So many great things have happened since my last blog that I really want to share them.  Unfortunately we have not been able to take any pictures.  The batteries in Tasha's camera died when it got really cold here.

First of all, I feel really happy here.  Natasha said it on Sunday.  She said that Tom and I fit in here really well.  We have found a wonderful church.  Tasha and I got to go to a women's breakfast, which allowed us to get to know the women in the church and connect with them.  It was such a great time and the sharing was incredible.  I shared what I had shared with you last week, and it seemed that everyone was experiencing a similar lesson.  Natasha actually surprised me the most.  She said that she was beginning to like it here.  She loves the church.  The girls (well more like young ladies) seek her out and talk to her and she feels very welcomed by them.

This is not a picture of their house but an example of a timber frame like it

Friday the family was invited to dinner at a couple's house.  The mother and daughter run a horseback riding business together and Heidi, the mom, invited me on a leisurely trail ride.  That was canceled due to a lame horse.  But we went to dinner nevertheless.  Their home is beautiful.  They also built their own home and did the same thing as us, camping out on their land.  The only difference, the house is still not finished.  It took them 10 years to get to this point.  They have no walls in the bed rooms upstairs.  No, it is not going to take us 10 years!!!!  3 at the most (inside included and electricity).  They are also completely off grid, which is our goal too.  We spent a wonderful evening with them.  The kids had a blast, since they already know each other and get along really well.  Sean and the youngest son, Glen, hit it off very well already.  I was really touched when one of the boys (23 and 25) sat on the floor with Logan and played with the kitten together.  That is a total credit to homeschooling.

Our trees are not that big but you get the picture

When I last blogged, I had shared about the lesson in coveting I had learned.  And as always, when we learn lessons and put them into practice, we receive many blessings.  This week has been one big blessing.  To begin the week with, we were cutting the trees at the back end of our property.  There are some beautiful hemlocks up there that are the right thicknesses for our beams in the basement.  Hemlock is a lot stronger than pine and also a lot denser, therefore heavier.  Please keep that in mind.  You will see later why I mentioned the heaviness.  Also let me quantify we; it was Tom.  I was encouraging him with my kind words and wonderful food (for thought).  I am getting quite an expert at cooking on one propane stove!  You should see me heat those pasta noodles!  Julia Fairchild here I come!  So Tom and Sean, actually, had already cut those, I believe 4 trees, down and now Tom was waiting to get them cut into beams.  Our guy with the saw was supposed to come and do it some time this week but Tom thought it would save time and money, and we all know that that is important when building, if he did it himself.  So his chainsaw and him, along with Tasha and Logan, went up there and started shaping.  To all, this is an extremely muscle shaping activity.  Usually Tom can only do one a day, it is that time and energy draining.  That day, my muscle man did 2 or 3 beams, which is quite amazing.  Tasha was really happy since she got to drive the car back there all by herself.  She did very well!

We lifted the beam over the small wall

 So we had these beams which needed to be brought down to the house.  One of them, 10ft long by 10" by 10", was ready.  So my ingenious hubby had the tree of us lift one end and pivot it to get it closer to the car, and pick up the other end and do the same thing.  After huffing and puffing for about 45 minutes give or take, we had the thing on the ROW.  Then came the challenge; how to get it into the Subaru.  Remember, the Subaru now also goes by the name of truck, because it has carried everything from 2by4s to 28 sheets of foam insulation in windy weather (remember Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and tons of cement.  It is due for new shocks really soon!  This is where Logan came in to help.  We managed to wiggle the beam into a position so that when sitting on one end of it the other would go up.  Hence, Logan had a seasaw and he was having a great time with it.  Again, we huffed and puffed and finally shoved the beam into the trunk of the car.  Notice it is still a car!!!  Logan leaned on the end of it to keep it from falling out and Tom lay across it too and off we went down the ROW, very slowly!  Once at the house we decided that there was not way were were going to carry it from the car to the house.  And now the faithful little thing became an off roading vehicle.  I carefully maneuvered it over rocks and stumps as close as I could get.  At this time we needed Sean as well, and he came to help us get the monster out.  That took all of our strength.  We were about 20 ft from the back of the house so again, the maneuvering began.  Physics is really cool when it actually works!  We got it as close as we could and then we had to lift it over the 3 foot wall.  Impossible you say.  Not so, says my Tom!  With levers and lots of huffing we got it into the basement where it rested on cinder blocks awaiting shortening and mitering.  But that was a job for another day.  We were done for the day after that!    

The kids at the top of neighbor's property 

 Where was Sean, you want to know?  Poor Sean was in his engine.  Last time we were up here, he discovered that his head gasket was about to go on his truck.  Because he now has to be very careful with his cash, trucks cost a lot, he just couldn't afford to bring it to our mechanic friend in Chester.  Also he really didn't want to drive it.  So he took on the huge job of fixing the head gasket himself.  A trained mechanic needs about 12 hours to do the job.  He is not a trained mechanic.  He worked on it for 5 days, straight.  God be praised, because He really helped him out and even provided the weather for him.  We were supposed to get nasty weather yesterday, while he was finishing the job, and after fervent, and I mean fervent, prayer it turned out to be beautiful and cool.  He finished the job yesterday but when he turned the truck on the engine was knocking.  His lesson, I think, is several fold.  First, I think he is again being taught patience.  And then God is teaching him how to rejoice in his trials, because they will come.  He is teaching me that too because it is really hard to watch Sean struggle with this truck.  But it is a great lesson and he is learning it slowly.  He was in a great mood on Monday and Tuesday.  Today, not so much.

Aww, Anne, you must right about now be thinking.  This is nothing.  What is all that excitement about?  I am not done, yet.  Please be patient.  (Is there a lesson in this for you too?) On Sunday after church, the same guy who offered us the house in NH, which we still might take up on again, told Tom that he would be by on Monday to help with the backfill.  That was going to be a huge job because, well we just have a wheel barrow and shovel, so it would have taken us several days and a few bottles of Arnica ( an herbal pain reliever).  We were really thrilled.  At the same time another couple came up to us and offered us their house also to come and crash, if we needed it.  We will take them up on it, because it is getting cold.  They have a prison ministry here in Springfield.  So Monday came around and no Chris.  Later on in the afternoon he came and brought his tractor.  We had to start with making the gravel around the foundation a lot thicker to allow for really good drainage.  We just ordered a dump truck of gravel and I am thrilled to tell you, that gravel is now in its proper place.   Around the footing of the foundation.  It took Chris 3 hours to finish that job.  He didn't want any money for it, so that is a huge, huge blessing.  He was going to come back to backfill with sand but that would take at least a day or so.  He said he was available next week.  After looking at our backfill, he confirmed that we have really great dirt and that there is enough to backfill three times the amount.  God provides again.  The most exciting event about this tractor thing was that in the end, the men grabbed the remaining beams and they are now resting snugly in our basement.  Actually Tom is shaping them as we speak, I think.  The only sad thing I have to report is that while backfilling the gravel, our raised beds got destroyed, run over, demolished,..... or any other such word you want to use here.  It made me really sad because of the hard work that went into them.  But there is always next year! 

And now for the piece de resistance:  the hugest blessing of all!  We were at youth group last night, a wonderful time always, and of course we were the last to leave!  In the course of the evening we told the story of the heavy beam, and Roger, our host and mechanic, offered us his tractor to use for several weeks!  I still don't know what to think about that, I am so thrilled.  Here is the deal.  If we have that thing for a few weeks we will be able to: backfill, scrape the septic mount and prepare it, dig the trench for the septic pipes, dig the holes for the septic pipes, and put up the beams and rafters without killing our backs or trying to figure out how to lift them up.


I want to say that all these things didn't happen by circumstance or luck.  There is someone looking out for us, and He cares how we live our lives and wants to be part of that life.  Tom and I could not have put the huge amount of sand at the back of the property.  We could not have moved people's hearts to offer us their services or their equipment.  When we humble our hearts to the greatness of our Father, He is faithful to help us out.  That is one of the blessings I have in my life.  Have an awesome week.  Stay warm and don't think of  cold, white fluffy things.  It is in the forecast for tomorrow.  Think warm thoughts, think warm thoughts.


An update: PRAISE THE LORD, SEAN'S TRUCK IS FIXED!!!!!  And he did it on his own (mostly and of course with God's help) and with the encouragement of us.  They are going home.  We are staying here, and that is another story!     

Choices

I know you are shocked, two blogs in one week.  I have to say that I have been looking forward to writing this blog.  It has been on my heart for a while.  Every day we have choices to make and for me the choice is always, is this honoring to my Lord and Savior or is this something that me, myself and I want.  There have been many a times when I have made the wrong choices, and God in His wisdom has to spank me a little and redirect me.  The spankings are usually very loving and after I have gone through the ordeal, many times I will tell myself, Duuuh.  Well, God has just shown me something and it is on my heart to share it with you.


God promises to take care of us and supply our needs.  He showed me that when my little bird flew away in the fall and came back.  He took care of this little creature and me as we had asked Him.  Just to make sure I got that lesson, He repeated it, when Little Boy was swept out the door one stormy winter morning.  Sure enough, the little guy came back after an hour.  I had thought he was toast, or crow food.  So I have had a lot of experience with God's provision and I really shouldn't worry anymore.  The kids and I have been studying James and we just read something interesting.  Temptations are not from God.  Any temptations we are experiencing are because we want what we want and not what God has given us.  Very simple.  All  good things come from above.  Stay with me here, I am getting to the point. 

Our little haven

I have to take stock of what God has given me.  I have a dry place to put my head while we are here.  He has also provided a place for me to make simple meals for the family, and a place where we can sit at night.  He has provided a pretty nice shelter, I have to say.  One that we built as a family.   I have places to use the rest room as well as go swimming, which Logan loves.  He has provided that for us very nicely.  No, it is  not the Ritz Carlton, nor is it something that people look at and would like to stay at.  They are impressed with it, because we built it, but they would never spend a night in it, let alone a few nights.  Again, this is something we have been provided for by our Father.  It is not for everyone, and that's quite all right. 

On Sunday I thought God was answering one of my prayers.  A couple from church approached us and offered us their place to stay at.  They are in the process of selling it and they wanted us to be able to use it because they thought it would help us while we were up here.  I was so thankful.  Here we were going to have a kitchen, I was going to be able to make more nutritional meals than the ones I had been making.  A shower every day, what a luxury.  Not to mention a fire place to get nice and toasty and enjoy some fun with the kids.  We left the property rather late.  This place is in NH, just over the border about 45-50 minutes away.  When we finally got there, in the middle of nowhere, it was dark and cold and wet and I was really praising God.  We entered and I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  This was not a little place.  It was an old colonial house with 3 stories.  The kids took an hour to explore their surroundings.  Wow, the kitchen alone is as big as my home in Bristol.  As Tom was stoking the fire, making the place nice and warm I was finding room after room with the kids.  There were games, a TV with DVD and VCR, and movies to go along with it.  The beds looked heavenly and there were enough for each of us to choose one for one day and a different one the next.  The whole place was well decorated.  We got ourselves ready and as the downstairs heated up, we decided to sleep in the family room, because the heat was not really getting upstairs.  So we got blankets and pulled out the couch for Tom, Logan and myself.  The older kids grabbed the recliners.  As the night settled over us, we heard: click, click, click click, whimper, click....  The dog was not comfy.  He couldn't find a good spot.  Him being a short haired pointer meant that he gets cold quickly.  He was a little cold and wanted to sleep with Sean.  No chance.  Also the heat was, well, let's just say it wasn't really cutting it.  We were cold, the dog kept us up and well it was just kind of uncomfortable.  At 2 in the morning Tom got up and shivered his way to the stove which was now out.  He started the fire again and the dog wanted to rest with him in front of the warmth.  By three Tom was struggling to have a warm fire so  I took over and actually got the thing going well.  Chet settled down very nicely, finally.  By five I was bone tired and went back to bed, getting up every half hour to stoke the fire.  Tom came out and slept in front of the fire.  That was the night and as we all roused ourselves in the morning, the sun was already up.  It was a windy but nice day.  We were getting things in order, washing up and things like that, when I decided to call my friend Sharon and tell her about this really cool house.  Tom was busy talking to Tasha and asked me to go into the other room.  So I went, leaving the hall door open.  The hall leads to the rest of the house and we had kept it shut to keep the heat downstairs as well as the dog.  With the door open, Chet was free to sniff around upstairs.  As I was talking I was assaulted by a pungent, and not very welcome smell.  Yup, my lovely dog had left a package on the upstairs carpet.  I was mortified and cleaned it up right away. 

At this time it was 11 in the morning.  We had had no breakfast because I thought we were going back very early but with the cleaning up and Chet's present, we just didn't make it.  We had a 50 min drive back.  Tom made an executive decision that we were not going to stay at the house any more.  I seconded it, very reluctantly.  I kept telling Tom that it would get better the next day.  I began to wonder why God would give us this beautiful place and then take it away.  I got my answer that night, as we were sitting snugly in our 10 by10, reading together and hanging out, having fun.  I had all I needed and wanted.  I didn't need a big house, and my tribulation came when I coveted after what I really didn't need.  That is when that verse out of James struck me.  So often we overlook what is right in front of us and want bigger and better things.  That is when things go wrong for us.  I am really glad I am beginning to understand this.  I hope that in the future I will be happy with what I have been given, and not strive for bigger and better things.  The kids and I are studying what it means to be grateful.  It is so much more than being thankful.  It is making known to God and others in how they have benefited me.  I am grateful to God for giving me a family, and a shed.  I am thankful to the wonderful brother and sister in the Lord who provided this lesson for me.  It is very dear and precious and I hope that when I am put into this kind of situation again, I will be able to stand up before a righteous God with the correct actions.

Have a great day, and thank God for what He has given you right now.
Anne 
 

 

Aniversary

Hello everyone, I see you guys very well.

I apologize for the length of time between blogs.  We have been a little busy and it was really hard for me to get some pictures together to put onto the library computer.  But I took some of Tasha's well taken pictures and will try to explain what has been going on here. 

Looking good!

First of all, there have been some celebrations.  At the end of September we were able to celebrate my father-in-laws birthday, gathering with the whole family at my in-laws house.  That was really special because both he and my mother-in-law mean a lot to me.  We have also celebrated the year anniversary of our land ownership.  Boy, it has been a great year. 

The cinder block basement in progress.

Tasha loves, loves cement mixing.  She is an expert!

The house is progressing quite nicely.  We are more than two fifth of the way done!?!?!  If you look at it that first we had to clear the land, level the land, then build the basement, then the upstairs, then do the outside, and then the rest that is needed.  So that is really great news for us.  The basement is finished as far as cinder blocks are concerned!  That is a real accomplishment, since 99% was done by hand, without the use of power tools.  We started with the bottom layer of the cinder blocks, mortaring the whole shebang.  That was a long and hot process.  It was not fun.  Next we put in steel rods to make sure that when someone pushes on the walls, they don't collapse.  Next, we had to mix cement, and rocks and sand to pour into the cinder block holes.  That was a long, arduous process.  We don't have running water yet and so for us to use a cement mixer would have meant to use a lot more water than we had available.  So we mixed tub after tub by hand.  I am thankful for the kids.  They did most of the mixing and Tom, of course.  I tried to mix one tub, and poor Tom had to use a lot of muscles to undo what I had messed up.  Tasha has developed some nice muscles, that weren't there before.  I don't know how many tubs she mixed, but what a trouper.  As you can see, we have progressed quite a bit from the previous picture and where the rods are sticking out, that is where we poured in the cement.  At this time we were using a ladder on the back walls.  That was my job, and I loved being able to look over the wall at the rest of the land.

Yes the air is very sweet up here.  You should try it.

Also the air up there was much easier to breathe.  That is what you tall people must feel like all the time.  After pouring all that cement, I think Sean's comment was that if he sees another bag of cement he is going to scream, we had to go around and make sure all the holes were without water.  There has been a huge amount of rainfall here and so at the bottom of our cinder blocks the water gathers and it takes time for it to get out.  So the kids and I went fishing.  I quit very quickly because the action of ringing out a soaking wet wash cloth was not fun and it was causing pain to my wrists (hmmm, good excuse).  Sean was a trouper and continued.   At the end it was Sean who covered all the walls with plastic so he wouldn't have to continue fishing.

I can hold it up if I really use my new muscles!

The big question is if this is flour or mortar?

Next Tom had done a lot of research and found that when you dry stack the walls you have to have some sort of adhesive on the inside and outside to weather proof it as well as to add strength to the whole wall.  I don't know who was more thrilled when we found out that mixing was involved.  Tom or the kids.  In the end Natasha was replaced as mixer with Sean and myself.  Tom woke up early one morning, and when I mean early I mean early (4 AM), and drove to Home Depot to pick up another mixing tub for us to mix the stuff.  At this time, the weather was getting iffy and cooler.  The boys applied the outside layer in pretty good weather.  We were told you couldn't apply this stuff if it got cooler than 40degrees.  Well, it stayed above 40 just!

Keep it nice and thick

The outside was finished and now it was time for the inside.  That was going to be Tasha and my job, since the boys really weren't very careful with their application of the stuff.  It was pretty uneven and we wanted to have it more even on the inside.  Of course, now it started pouring rain, so Tash and I did the long back wall in the rain, with the stuff slipping off our trowels and the glue separating out of it.  That was great!  Finally the inside was done!!!  That completed the cement work on the basement.

We are doing well, almost done!!!

This is the new school room with studious kids.

The biggest challenge I have right now is doing school.  The driving back and forth is quite a challenge since our school time is so chopped up.  But we manage, and really love the library here.  We have been doing school in the basement, which is really quite a blast.

I will get you for that!

Logan loves the property.  Whenever he is done with school, he is up at the house site, playing with his stick and running around. 

Now we are at the wood stage and I am so glad to say that people are offering their help left and right.  It is nice to live in a state where everyone has built their own house.  There are a lot of people willing to help you when you are doing your house.  The men in the church we have been going to have offered their help and it is up to us to get the material orderly and then in a flash people will come out and smack the whole thing together. I am so humbled by the heart of the people here.  Sunday a couple came up to us and offered us their house to stay in.  It is huge!!!  Also it is 45 minutes away and we just can't do that on a daily basis.  The dog is also a problem, since he kept us up last night and then had an accident on their carpet.  The house is for sale so we really don't want to mess up their nice house.  We are going to stay in our nice and cozy shed again, because it is much easier to get to work.  But it was a real blessing and I wish we didn't have the dog with us.  Now you are kept up.  We were driving with 28 sheets of foam insulation on the Subaru today, which was quite an adventure, since it was very windy.  Chitty Chitty Bang Bang here we come. 

Naw, I didn't do that!

Speaking of celebrations, we have one more major one coming up, Sean is going to be 21.  Yes, it is true, I was there, so don't argue with me about it.  I have proof.  I know it shouldn't happen, but it does happen.

One side done.  A lot more to go.

Enjoy your week.

Tom is taking a well deserved break.

      

It's all about me

Building is going along well.  We have the walls all up!  No more cinder blocks for a while.  It looks really great.  Most of the anchor bolts are in place.  We are missing three which will be put in soon.  The anchor bolts anchor the sill wood to the cinder blocks.  They are kind of important.  Yesterday I  kept Tom company.  He was putting the outside coating on the cinder blocks.  I forgot what that was called just now, but it is used when you dry stack your cinder blocks.  It gives the structure support, bonds the blocks together, and makes them a little more water proof, which is really good, since we don't want a leaky basement.  We have had a lot of rain, and in fact right now it is raining too.  But that is all very well, since if it weren't raining right now, Tasha and I would have to fill up our trash cans with water from the inlet pipe and that is kind of messy and a pain.  The good news on that one, at least for Tasha, is that she can practice driving up and down the road.  She is doing all right.  The car is still together and she has not run off the road.  She did a very nice turn around at the top of the ROW and that was great too.  Today we are supposed to finish the outside coating on the walls.  Tom has enough supplies to get the job done.  I am soooo thrilled!!!!!  I'm sorry but I have no pictures to add at this time.  I forgot the thumb drive at home and our computer is malfunctioning again.  I can't load up any pictures on this computer from Tasha's camera.  So you will have to wait until next time.

I wanted to share what I am going through with you.  The process of building a house is quite stressful as it is and that is if you have a builder doing it.  I could sit here and tell you that this is a piece of cake and you would know that there is something wrong with me.  This whole process from getting the land, clearing the land, making plans of the house (oh man), and starting building is really refining me.  God is teaching me things about myself, I thought I would not have to deal with.  I love it and am challenged by having to rise to the occasion.  This last week was a little bit of a challenge and showed me some things that really need to be fixed in my heart.  I don't know if I have shared with y'all, but the first thing the Lord cleared up when I became a Christian was my filthy language.  I swore, used God's name and the Lord's name in vain like crazy.  With His help, I was moved to really clean that up and really, it hasn't been a challenge.  There are other ways, however, to misuse your mouth and the words that come out of you.  I am really good at being sarcastic, picking on the kids, and just causing strive with my words.  I really struggle with that, because James tells us that our tongue steers the whole ship.  This week, I really saw how the tongue steers the whole ship.  Logan and I were reading a book together called "Little Sir Gallahad" by the Lamplighter publishers.  As I was reading this book and another called "The Giant Killer", I started seeing things I had let slip away and get back into my life.  Thursday evening, a rainy day, we were heading for dinner when Tom decided that it would be best not to eat out again, but eat in the shed.  I thought I was going to loose it.  I didn't have anything ready, since we can't really store food up at the property and I shop every day.  It was 7:30 and everyone was hungry.  Tom was coughing and looking rather lousy, and I just almost lost it.  But then that still small voice reminded me that I had stepped out without my armor.  All the fiery darts of the evil one were hitting their mark.  As I stood shivering in the store, telling myself that this could not possibly be God's plan for me and wanting just to go home and forget about the whole house building process, I reminded myself that Christ fought the battle for me already and that I just had to put on His whole armor.  I slowly put on my shield of faith, but boy it was hard to know that God was going to take care of me.  Then by the time we were driving up the road to the property, I was trying to put on my breastplate but I just couldn't fasten it.  Didn't have the strength.  The shoes of peace, they were just tossed in the trunk and I just couldn't reach them.  The helmet of salvation was barely on my head, all crooked and untied.  The belt of truth, well, I kind of tossed that to the side for the moment.  As we walked toward the shed (and we were totally watching the dog, since it was late, rainy and dark, and we didn't want a repeat of the porcupine incident), I remembered to grab the armor and drag it down with me.  Making dinner was interesting, but slowly and unbeknown to me, Christ was helping me dress myself.  He fixed by shield and helped me hold it up, patted me on the head and fastened the helmet properly.  Gently put on the breastplate and had to hold me down to tie on the belt of truth (I was throwing it at Tom at the time), and firmly put on the shoes of peace, which were cold and wet.  At last he gave me the sword, making me remember to cast my cares onto Him because He careth for me!!!!  How in the world did I let it get so far?  I don't know, but I know that the more trials He puts me through, the more refining I need.

It is amazing how grace and mercy work.  The whole next day was such a blessing.  After the storm comes a clear day, and storms don't last forever.  The kids got to play manhunt with Tom for a while and we got a lot done, everyone was in harmony with each other, and I was watching what came out of my mouth.  I had defeated the giants of self pity, pride, contemptuousness, anger, and doubt.  It had been a battle but Christ was right there with me, helping me hold up that shield, making sure I was wielding the sword just right, and making sure I didn't step into something nasty with my shoes.  Even today, it is rainy again, His armor is in place and I am sure that there will be many attacks on me because I am sharing this with you.  That is just the way things always go.  I hope that you will allow Christ to put His whole armor on you today and every day.  Have a great day in the Lord.

Anne