Hurry up, no, wait.

There may be a couple of you wondering where I’ve been.  Well, same place as always, working and waiting.  Plans change, life takes you in it's own direction, yet still, life goes on.  Yes, we are still working on the home place.  Yes, we still plan to build a house.  Even though there’s no construction of a “house”, we still have work to do to make a home.  Besides, you may have heard the old saying, “Good things come to those who wait.”  And we are hopeful for many blessings in the future.  We've talked to many people who have built their own home and even though we originally planned on going through a company to help us with construction, (and we may stay with them, just haven't decided yet), we feel we need to re-evaluate our plan and devise a way that best suits us.  After all, this is our forever dream home.  We aren't in a hurry, obviously, and we don't want to jump in with someone we don't feel is best for us then have regrets.  So here we are, still looking, planning, and weighing our options. 

Since it’s been a while since I last blogged, here’s a quick run-down of what’s been happening in our lives this past year:

Drummer Boy's high school graduation party in the new barn turned out great!

 

 

This past summer, Drummer Boy finished out the end of his junior rodeo career with 5 award buckles, several award jackets, and lots of nice prizes and $$.  We are so proud of him. 

 

Both Drummer Boy and Country Boy had a good summer in the roping pen the few times we went.  Best part is getting to rope together, even bringing home some checks.

 

I managed to get in on a little fun as well with my horse, Big C, aka, Cutter.  Now that my health is better, I hope to do more with him next year.

 

 

 



Drummer Boy has since finished his first semester in college.  We are proud to say he is doing great in school and in the University band and does an awesome job.  With that being said, my Country Boy and I are officially empty nesters.  (sad sigh)

 

 

These guys help keep us sane

 

 

"There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of man"

~Sir Winston Churchill

 

Since Drummer Boys graduation we’ve had a busy summer and fall season, to say the least.  But, it has been one to remember.  Good times, and sad.  Some of you may have read about our beloved dogs I’ve posted about in the past.  We lost one of our Corgi’s, our little Annie, this past November 20, 2017. 

So thankful that God gives animals to us, even for just a little while. 

Dogs leave paw prints on your heart

 



 

We just got back from a trip with family to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.  Besides not being a fan of the city or gambling, we did enjoy the sights and had a great time at the Cowboy Christmas trade shows and of course, the super bowl of rodeo!  It was a good time had by all. 

 

Amidst all the fun, we managed to keep plugging along, working on fence, clearing out cedar trees, etc., all the while working on settling in.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures:   

 

 

 

Look closely and you'll see one of our deer

 

 

I never miss an opportunity to find the beauty in our place, even while working.

 

 

Always with the help of our four-legged family members.  This was the last photo of our sweet Annie before a sickness took her.  She will be missed.  I will always remember her being by our side and how she enjoyed her swims in the pond.

 

 

Here is the site where the house will be.  This view will be from our back porch.

 

I'll be back in touch when things get exciting.  Until then, keep looking forward and give thanks for all your blessings.  There's always something to be thankful for.

 

 

"You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go and see what happens."

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Counting Chickens

Count one's chickens before they hatch:

Fig. to plan how to utilize good results of something before those results have occurred. (The same as Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.) You may be disappointed if you count your chickens before they hatch.

I can’t believe it’s been a year since we started clean up on the 80.  I definitely didn’t expect to be in the process this long, but I just remind myself that good things come to those who wait, (and plan).
Below is a link to an awesome blog page that I found.  It has been extremely helpful.  I highly recommend it if you’re thinking of building your own home like we are.  Reminds me that we are on the right track and that it’s ok to take our time.  We knew this would be hard, and we didn’t want to rush things and make it anymore stressful than it will be.  Step by step, we are getting there.  Most people don’t understand that building a house takes a lot of time and planning, long before even preparing to break ground. 

https://www.farmhousefromscratch.com/

It’s February and all our planning of the house, developing the land, and building of the barn has been a fun adventure.  I’m not going to lie, I have days where I get impatient.  After all, we are a small crew, doing this ourselves.  And this is a hard, scary process.  We let go of what was sure, our old home place of 20 years.  Took a leap of faith to go out on our own and try our hand at building our dream home out of nothing but undeveloped land.  We just keep the faith and remember:

January was full of sheetrock mud and dust.  This past week we finished texturing, and when the weekend began, we painted.  The guys also worked more on the fencing.  We had such beautiful weather, drummer boy and his cousin managed to get in some fishing.  We can’t wait until spring.  Here are a few pics from last month to now.

 

 

Country boy made stairs to go up to the storage area on top. 

 

 

We are excited to have a nice place to host barn parties, or even guests, once the house is finished. 

 

Back to the inside:

My dad is the king of mudding

 

 

 

We all got in on the sanding, including my mom and our friends little one.

 

 

 

 

I mentioned this in a post about our old house, but I will brag on my country boy again because he deserves it.  I'm very lucky to have a man who is so handy.  He did the remodel of our old place when we took down the old wood paneling and textured and painted it.  I love his texturing skills so much, but I can't convince him to do it in the new house, yet.  So I hope if we do hire this out, whomever we hire for the house does just as good. 

 

 

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather and working on the fence line.

Here's a photo opportunity I took as Country boy was doing some thinking.

I've captioned it:

Old brush popper shirts and good men...things that last forever


Country boy put in T-posts and stretched wire while Drummer boy and his cousin helped weld more corner braces.

 

 

 

 Here's where I say, "Hey, look here!"  And get the, "Mom, I'm busy", look.

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned for the next go-round!