Trusses are Going Up!

So Jeremy gets a call from his friend who lives literally down the road from our new homesite and he tells Jeremy that all the walls are up and they'll be doing the trusses soon. Don't you know that prompted him to want to make an immediate trip out to the homesite to see? Obviously we went, or I wouldn't be posting this now. And I have to admit, when we drove up and saw the workers putting up the trusses it was just a *tad* bit exciting!! We got to see that cherry picker in action, too! They used it to pick up the last truss and get it up to the house and in place- talk about amazing to watch! All the workers there are Amish, so I didn't get any pictures until they had left for the day- I just didn't feel comfortable taking pictures when I know they don't like being in photographs. Jeremy asked if it was okay as long as we didn't get their faces in any of the pictures and they were fine with that- so Jeremy took all the pictures that are being posted here today (and they aren't in any particular order...).


This picture is inside the house- actually looking into the master bedroom. Jeremy didn't remember that the window in our room was going to be so large! And there is a beautiful view of the back yard from it, too!

This picture is one looking into the study (I believe). It's one of the front rooms facing the driveway coming in, and the view from that window will be nice, too!

Here's a view from the back of the house. At this point the end truss on the left side of the picture hadn't been put into place yet. The house sure looks a lot larger now than it did when it was staked out on the ground!!

Jeremy got a few pictures of me with the kids when we were on site yesterday. This one is in front of the house. Megan didn't want to be in it, so she turned her face away!

This view is from the front of the house. You can see the porch at the very front of the house in this one, too!

It doesn't look like it right now, but this picture is of me and the kids in what will be the kids' bathroom- in the tub, to be exact! The kids were thrilled to "stand in the tub" with mommy while daddy took a picture- too funny!

Here's a picture taken from the hallway entrance looking out into the living room and dining room. The fireplace is on the left side and next to that are the french doors that will open to the back porch. Next to that is the dining room.

Here's another view of the fireplace and french door area in the living room. There is a nice window on the left side of the fireplace, too. It'll be such a nice view to the back yard!

The kids are so fond of giving each other hugs when we are at the homesite, and Jeremy got this great picture of me with them- standing in what will be our living room- probably where our couch will sit in a few months. Aren't the little ones cute? We think so!!

This view is the dining room. We love the little "bump out" portion with the windows there- and just look at that view!!

WooHoo!! Here is the house as you approach it on the driveway!!

A view from the back of the house. It's definitely coming together now!

This view is along the side of the house, or what will be the back of the garage. That opening is part of the door that will lead out of the garage to the side of the house. The entire door opening hasn't been completely cut out yet.

Yes, this space is the fireplace. And yes, the kids are dancing in it. This will most likely be the ONLY time they are IN the fireplace... It'll be a lot smaller than that by the time it's finished, so I doubt they would even fit in there when the house is done!

I just love this view from inside the house. Jeremy took this picture while standing in what will be the kitchen looking toward the kids' bedrooms. The way the sun is shining in through the framing and trusses is glorious, isn't it? God is blessing this house for us!

Now, we were told the roof MIGHT be complete by this Friday, so we'll see when I head back up there with my sister to show her what has been done. As of yesterday when we left, the peak of the trusses along the main part of the house and the trusses above the garage need to be put up. Then they can deck it and proceed with getting the roof installed. After that I'm not sure what happens, but it'll be exciting to find out! So keep checking back... we'll keep you posted!

Let the Framing Begin!!

We took a drive up to the homesite on Thursday of last week (9/25/08) to see what had been done since our last visit. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the house has started to take even more shape since the builders have begun framing it out! Here are a few of the MANY pictures we got while we were there:

Here's a view of the front of the house. The one wall that is up and covered in wrap is where the guest bedroom will be. To the right of that will be Megan's room.

Here's a view of the garage in the beginning stages of being framed. There's a nice big window in there that faces the driveway coming up to the house.

Here Jeremy got a great picture looking out the future window in the garage. Nice view, huh? We love it!

This view is looking into the house from the garage. In a few days all these frames will be up and there will even be a roof on the structure!

Jeremy got this picture from the very back corner of the house- in Michael's room- and you can see Megan and I standing in the garage area.

Here's a view from the back of the house. You can see the wall that is up on the left side of the house- that's Michael's room. To the left of that there is a small section of wall that is up and covered in wrap- that will be the fireplace in the living room.

Here's a basement view. I thought the floors would be poured before they started framing, but I apparently thought wrong! Oh well. I know they know what they're doing, so when the floors get poured, they get poured... But I like the way Jeremy got this picture of the steel support beams all in a row.

Here's another view of the basement from the outside. It looks a lot darker than it really is from this vantage point. I'd like to see that cherry picker that's in the picture in action one day!

I got this picture from inside the basement looking out what will be the walk-out doors and the two windows on either side of it. There are two more windows, but they are not able to be seen from this angle. It's really coming together!!

This is the last one from this batch that I thought I would share. I took this picture looking up from the basement into the house. I like the way you can just see a little bit of the framing on that exterior wall up there, and the ladder going up to the main part of the house. As Michael so profoundly pointed out while we were down there, "Soon there will be stairs going up and down here!" He's just as excited as his daddy and I are about this. It is SO neat to see this happening! We'll share some more pictures of the next visit very soon, so check back!

Still More Progress!

There has been some progress in the past couple of weeks since our last post. Before the progress was seen, though, the area suffered a severe windstorm stemming from Hurricane Ike. There were 75 mph wind gusts and lots of trees came down. Thousands of people were without power- some for more than a week- but we were thanking God that nothing happened to the homesite other than a rotten tree falling over and needing to be cleaned up. A little work from Jeremy and his best friend Chuck and the tree is no longer a problem. And while they were there, a few pictures were taken to show what had been done since the last time we were there. Woo Hoo- isn't progress wonderful?!?!

More gravel has been brought in to help fill in the grade up to and around the house...

Another view of the gravel on the driveway in front of the house.

The gravel has been poured in to be level with the entrance to the garage. The floors will be poured soon!

Here's a view of the gravel that fills the space at the front of the house where the porch will be placed- you can see the basement brick has been tarred, too for further waterproofing.

And here is a view of the gravel that fills the drainage around the house near the walkout in the basement. More gravel was also put into the basement to help finish it out before the floor is poured. So there you have it! The next step involves putting in the steel support beams, pouring the floors, and then framing out the actual structure! We just got a call today telling us that they are starting that this week and the digging for the septic tanks will begin this week as well. I'm excited to see what has been done by the next time we go out there! Until then, take care!

Nothing New at the Homesite...

Well, this week's trip proved to show nothing new at the homesite, but with the recent rain we've had and other jobs it's not really disappointing. They've been out, because we noticed that there are bright orange lines spray-painted on the block- maybe to mark where the dirt will be moved up to against the foundation?? Not sure, but we were told later in the day that the framing will start very soon! We got a couple of pictures while we were there, so here they are:

Jeremy decided to see how tall he could stretch against the basement block- he almost reaches the top!

Yep- my mom was actually there with us. Hi, Mom!!

Our update for the next week may actually be two weeks away- not sure yet, but it's possible. So, check back in a week or so and see what's new- we're excited to see it, too!

We have basement walls!!!

WooHoo!! There are walls up for the basement! Jeremy made a trip out to the homesite last Thursday (9/4/08) to meet with the engineer from the electric company that services the area and planned on getting some pictures while he was there, but he couldn't because his camera batteries died. On Thursday the walls were nearly done, so he was just as excited as I was (after he told me about the progress) to see if they were done like they told him they probably would be. So, since there were no pictures on Thursday, we got some pictures of the finished basement walls when we went up as a family on Saturday (9/6/08). Talk about excited! At first I was a bit puzzled when I looked at the portion that will eventually become the walk-out as there is no brick there for the walls, but then I remembered being told that that particular wall is going to be finished like the other walls in the house, so that one won't be bricked. The brick that goes around the base of the garage and front of the house is also finished, so now the drainage gravel that goes around the grade of the house will be poured in, followed by basement floor and garage floor (I think!). We are going up again this Thursday to see more progress on our way up to meet with the plumber, builder and cabinet people and choose items for the interior. I'm beginning to get the sense that it REALLY isn't going to be long before it looks like a HOUSE and not just a set of walls coming up out of a hole in the ground... I can "see" more and more of it with each passing week! And just to share, here are a few more pictures that we got this past Saturday:

Here's a really good shot of a footer "at work"- as Jeremy explained to me. This is actually right where our garage and main part of the house meet.

This view is looking into the basement from outside. The open space with no wall is where the "stick" construction portion for the finished wall will be in the basement. It's like that because it will be a walk-out and will be more appealing both inside and out.

Here's another view of the basement. Looking more and more like the real thing, huh?

And another, closer view of the basement...

This view is from the side of the house looking toward what will be the garage (straight ahead). I am standing outside of the house next to where Megan's bedroom will be located.

This view is looking directly into the garage... Can you tell that it's going to house two cars???

It's hard to see, but off in the distance toward the trees, there is a deer. I was trying to get a picture of it- zooming in with my camera- and I missed. Jeremy got two pictures, but you REALLY have to look for that deer. It was staring straight at us- so beautiful! Deer in our back yard!!!

And yet another view into the basement. Pretty soon it won't look like this anymore!

So, there you have it. Another week of construction and progress! I tried to post this last night, but for some reason couldn't get the pictures to load, so it's a day late... but not a dollar short!!! Check back later this week for more updates!

Let the construction begin!

Honestly, it's about time. We bought our acreage with full intentions of beginning the building process this March or April, but for many reasons that only God Himself knows, it didn't happen. That's okay, though. We were able to close on our construction loan and get the process rolling this past month, so we're now on our way to having our house built and early next year we'll be able to move in and call it HOME. We won't have to say "our property" or "our homesite" or "our future home" anymore.

The actual ground-breaking was supposed to take place August 18, but an unfortunate set of circumstances (that I won't go into) pushed it back to August 20. Jeremy was out of town that week, so when I drove up there the day after they started digging to see what had been done I was amazed. The kids and I took Jeremy up that weekend and the footers had been poured by then. We all went back up on Thursday (8/28) and the block for the basement walls was on site and gravel was in what will be the basement. Then it rained a little for a couple of days, so we weren't sure if anything else would be able to be done until after Labor Day. Much to our surprise, they have started putting up the basement walls! We couldn't resist the urge to drive up there this morning and check it out- even if nothing else had been done! So, here it is- Labor Day- and it's gorgeous outside and we were pleasantly surprised to see the beginnings of basement walls! Here are a few pictures of the progress so far:

This was the day the ground was staked out for the house. It's hard to see, but the stakes are there! I promise!

See, there really are stakes... these just happened to be left over from what was used to stake out the corners of the house.

And here we have a view of our car parked in our garage... well- it will be in a few moths!

Here is a view of the future garage... notice the indentions for the footers around it and below

Here is a view of where the basement will be. The "trenches" are for the footers- although Michael thought it was going to be a river!

Here's another view. Jeremy took this picture from the top of one of the piles of dirt surrounding the site.

This view is from the basement. It'll be a walk-out. Yes, that's me waaaaay up there and Megan is standing next to me.

Look! Footers are in!!

Here's another view of the footers- they're all in the basement...

So here's another view of the block for the basement. Do you think there's enough? I'm not sure!!

Can you see 'em? There are walls going up!!! WooHoo!! It'll be looking like a house soon!

Another view. This one is from outside where the walk-out will be. You can see that there will be a window there. It's the first of four that will be in the basement.

This view is looking into the basement area. The boards lead right into where the doors will eventually be for our walk-out. Jeremy has a hard time visualizing it, but I can "see" it!

Hi Ant Barb and Unlce John!

Okay, so there you have it. I know this was a bit long, but at least it's now caught up... We'll post here when we put updates (i.e. more pictures!) on the construction process... most likely o a weekly basis. We hope you'll check back and join us on our journey to our new home! It'll be a thrill ride, that's for sure!