house update

It's crazy to think that (hopefully) this time next month we will be in our new house! Our first house! How awesome is God that our first home is one we built? How awesome is God that we have been able to live rent-free for the first year of our marriage. I should thank Him more often...

A little over two years ago I bought 2 acres of wooded land. I always dreamed of building my own house and having acreage. I bought it while Hunter and I first started dating, hoping that it would end up being OUR home. I remember closing on the property loan thinking, I sure hope I don't get stuck with this bill for the rest of my life, HA!

Before Hunter and I got engaged we talked about how long it would take for us to afford to build a house, and where in the heck would we live in the mean time? We figured it would be a good 2-3 years before we could afford to build. And luckily, my grandparents had an apartment/studio at their house that they let us live in for the first couple of months of marriage. It wasn't long after we got married that I started playing with numbers and budgets and realized we could very easily afford to build a house, NOW! God just played his part by having the mortgage rates drop drastically, which helped me convince the hubby that we should build NOW NOW NOW!

So earlier this year we started meeting with builders and got a house plan drawn. It just so happens that the builder we chose was a friend of mine's husband. We started by getting the land cleared off, getting a culvert installed, and spending what seems like years trying to burn all the trees that were piled up in the yard. A couple of months later, in April, we finally closed on a construction loan and they started working on our house.

Also in April, God opened up another opportunity for us. We were able to move into a house, rent-free, that was closer to where we are building. It's great to have good friends in good places!

It seemed like it took forever just to get the slab poured. Stupid rain, every day! But, here it is, September, and we are soooo close to being done. I love seeing how all the little details I imagined in my head are coming to fruition! I can't wait to spend the rest of my life in this house! I can't wait to fill it up with family, friends, future children... grandchildren! Wow! Ok, take it slow... I'm just excited about getting to have more than 4 people over at one time ;)

Here's a "collage" from the beginning til now....



More house updates coming soon! And, I promise I'll be posting that chili recipe!