September 26, 2005

Oh my aching back. But woohoo! The beams are screwed into placed (man those are some big dfeck screws! and the floor joists are nailed togeher waiting for placement. A long day but thoroughly satisfying. I had a moment of panic last night in bed. I was tired and achy but generally optimistic when suddenly I was beset with a genuine fear of the hosue falling down around our heads.
Yikes. Shawn's dad made a comment about the way we set the posts in the groun - something to the effect of the hosue falling down in5 years and that we might as well light a mtch to the lumber now... and my dad has made a few comments along the same lines and though he said it a bit mroe subtely than
that I'm sure he fears the same thing.

So last night in bed I had those words thrown back at me - such discouragement, such FEAR. Oh I wanted to just quit and hire someone to come in and do the rest of the flooring./foundation. I was so sure we had done something wrong! BUt Shawn comforted me as only he can, reminding me why we are doing this, we went back over all the decision, why we made them, who we consulted with before making them, the prayers for wisdom and leading,e tc. I was relieved of most of the panicky feelings. Still this morning I can't believe we ever had the nerve to try something like this! IT's sort of that same feeling as the first time I jumped from the high dive into the swimming pool. I was completely convinced of my ability up until the point that my feet hit the bottom of the pool. I was completely struggling for the surface, afraid of breathing water... this whole process has been aleap of faith, just like that.

Not faith in myself or in Shawn, though I have more faith in him than I do myself, but faith in God that he would indeed be true to his word, that, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all me liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." ~ James 1:5

And He has been SO true. Shawn woke up this morning with a solution to a particular part of the foundation building that had us both stumped. That's just SO like GOD! :)
So to back-track a little bit, we started this out more than willing to do the whole 9 yards ourselves but my brothers Adam and Ben are bringing their
construction crew and tools on Saturday to do the actual building of the walls and roof. I don't remember if I had told that part or not. So all we have to do (HA!) is to get the foundation built and ready for walls, have it perfectly square, level, etc. by the time they get there.

I knew it would be hard but I had no idea it would be THIS hard.
Physically yeah, this old mare ain't what she used to be,
but spiritually it has been very trying. Everything we are doing we are doing we are doing unlike everyone else around us does it. There ae plenty of people that have built houses like this mindy ou, but not around here, and we have taken a considerable amount of flack for it. Being in the land of "Show Me" it has been anuphill battle to get anyone to understand what we are doing and WHY we are doing it that way. U g h . . . .

I have some of the cutest pictures of the kids working to post... they are just priceless. Yesterday Joshua asked me if he could get started building his chicken house. He is not quite yet 8 years old mind you, but he had been watching intently so I figured it would give him something to do while we worked on the decking (something he couldn't help with). So I look over and he has the level on the post he is putting into the hole he dug in the ground. He nails the prop boards onto the post then proceeds to tamp it in just like we did. :) And then he comes over and says he need sto know how to figure out where to put the 2nd hole! I was shocked! He had it perfectly tamped in and level when I checked it! So I showed him how to stake out for the 2nd corner post and he had it put in before we finished for the night. WOW.

And Abby, while we were working, she found a small mullein plant and dug it up and planted it in the corner of the garden, giving it a drink from the coolor, etc. and prouldy went of searching for more "wild weed medicine plants". WOW!

Luke was buys busy BUSY in the dirt pile, alternately picking up sticks for the bon fire we're having on Saturday night... and Austin. Well, we simply couldn't have done this without his help.

Not even close. He is SO strong and capable it amazes me. Even with fibromyalgia, he never gives up or wants to quit. He was picking up 2x10x12 ft. floor joists running them over to where they needed to be!
D o u b l e W O W ! : )

We have such great kids... thank God for His many blessings...