Roof and Walls

As much as I hate driving 30 minutes to football every day, sports have helped us keep busy this summer. Warren did break his arm last week, so he's on rest for a little while. The basement is feeling more crowded each week, especially after starting school.

The first day was rough, but the rest of the week was good. We started getting up earlier, which was rough on some kids. They drag their blankets and slouchy pre-teen bodies onto the couch for reading time and scriptures at 7am. 

Stop Growing Up Kids!

The house has a roof! The next few weeks will be exciting. We decided James is more useful working, so the crew is going to sheet rock for us. It's a busy time of year. On top of his own business, James is also helping with harvest and greenhouses. 

From the dining room through the kitchen into the living room

The mudroom and down the hall to the pocket room

Front door

Back door

This house design was EIGHT YEARS in the making. It started as a hobby on floorplanner.com, then it became a dream to build our own house on land. Three years ago it became an option. Two years ago it became a goal, and in the last six months it became a reality. 

It's amazing to see something you've worked so hard on, come to life. It was HARD work. We sacrificed financially for many years to get to this point. Three years ago, there was no way we could have done this. We actually tried to move and build a bigger house in a nearby neighborhood and the lender all but laughed at us. I was so embarrassed! I took my folder with our financial information to find out what kind of loan we could qualify for (I even dressed in my power suit...yes I have ONE) and I had my tail between my legs when I left! But it was a great learning experience for us. I took a lot of mental notes on what we needed to do to get to this point. 

We used Dave Ramsey's advice (You finance people, laugh if you will, but it worked for us!) The closing process this time, with no debt, an emergency fund, and a large chunk of savings for a downpayment and a great credit score, was much more fun! It took us all of 1 hour to close on the loan and we stayed under our mortgage/income budget. 

My friend who just moved into her dream home, warned me that it's not all fun and games. We learned that with the surveying, three weeks of rain, and a 600 foot well. But, kind of like waiting for your baby to be born, it does happen eventually, even with some bad labor pains. 

There will be more pains, I'm sure of that...there are any number of things that can go wrong, but isn't that just how life works. Always waiting for the next crisis and enjoying the process when you can.