Day 2 on the Shed/Garage

The dirt man came out pretty early this morning. Thankfully, Scot took the camera and was able to document for me today.





Scot used Larry's tractor again to help spread it all out.

Starting to build the trenches for the forms.

I know Scot is so thankful to have little machines like this compactor - can you imagine doing it the old fashion way??!

B is loving being out there with his daddy. What a good helper he has been!

E has also enjoyed getting in on the action! She loves to be daddy's helper as much as B does.

Here is how it looked after the compacting work was complete.

Now we are ready for another load of dirt and will have to do it all over again tomorrow!

Breaking Ground

We broke ground on the shed today!

We used the tarp to see a visual for the shed placement.

We drove stakes in the ground at the corners.

Then, Scot borrowed Larry's tractor to scape down the area for the shed.

Scot getting rid of the clumps of roots..there is still a little more to do in the morning before the dirt arrives!

Overall, a very good productive first day of building!

Sad News

We bought a few extra trees to plant around our land. We had plans to plant them this weekend. I guess now they will beautifully decorate someone else's land seeing as someone helped themselves to our trees!!

Thankfully, we only paid $5.00 for them!

Peanuts!

We love peanuts...especially boiled peanuts! You can imagine the excitement that the kids had when they discovered a small patch of peanuts growing on our land!

Of course, they had to crack them open and taste.

They definitely did not taste like the ones they were used too! They still had fun eating them straight from our ground!

The Bones

S found this skeleton out on the land. We are not sure what kind of animal it was, but the kids are fascinated with it.





The funniest thing is that S recently lost her first tooth and she received money because of it. You can read about that here.

She informed us that she was going to pull the teeth out of the skeleton to leave under her pillow so she could get more money! How funny is that?

Picnic with Nana

My Mom came and helped watch the kids while we were planting more trees.

They had a picnic under the big pecan tree, took a walk in the cotton field, and adventure down the dirt road...what special memories are already being made on our land!

More Trees

We were so excited to go to a local nursery and find these trees marked down 75% off. We were able to get them for $5.00 each! How awesome is that!

The Tree

We spent the day planting some trees on our land. Until today, there was basically just a tree line down part of the property. The rest of the 5 acres is just open land.

Where we live now, we have so many nice, mature trees. They provide a lot of shade and the kids love climbing them! We love them so much. have often wondered what we will do without all these beautiful trees!

We decided what we needed to do was to go ahead plant some nice trees so they can have a head start on growing big and strong!

So even though there is no house on the property, we have trees growing so that someday soon they will be big enough to climb and provide some much needed shade.

We planted a maple tree towards the end of the driveway near where the side door of the house will be. It going to be such a beautiful tree that will provide a nice shade. I am also looking forward to the leaves changing colors during the fall months!

It was fun to visualize what this tree will provide for us through the years....I know one day, when the limbs are sturdy enough, the kids will be climbing it.... it may even be the tree they park their cars under!

As you can see, each of the kids took a turn to help dig the hole for this tree. I wanted them to be able to remember that they each had a chance to help plant this beautiful tree...and how fun will it be to one day tell their kids that they planted it!

It won't be long and this tree will be strong enough to climb and big enough to provide shade and a cool breeze!

The kids worked super hard. They needed a cooling off break. There is nothing like popsicles on a hot day!

The Tractor

Scot and B on Larry's tractor

Our friend, Larry, brought his tractor to help us do some work on the land. Scot and Larry worked hard pulling roots and stumps out of the ground. They also used the box blade to level the ground around the ditch. It looks great!

Things that would have taken a whole day were done in just a few hours with the power of the tractor! We are so thankful to have friends willing to help.

Thanks, Larry, for your time and the use of your tractor!

I think Scot really enjoyed driving the tractor! I know it won't be too long before we will "have to have one" too! Of course, B got a chance to drive too. How cute is he standing there steering all by himself?

E and B were such good helpers today.

I love to see him stand like this!

They love going out to the land. I know when we actually start building the house, they will be right there pounding nails, painting and anything else we will allow them to do!

Our first building project

We spent Labor Day out at the land and we started BUILDING!

OK... so it was just a fort, but at least it was something, right??!!

While Scot was mowing at the road, E and B helped me clear some things along the tree line. There were lots of fallen limbs and overgrown weeds that needed to go. As we moved several large limbs, we could tell that there was a large open space that went back to the fence.

We made our way through the trees and stickers to check it out. It reminded me of adventures I had with my Uncle when I was little. Doug is 9 years older than me and was more like a big brother. Every Sunday afternoon, we went to my great-grandmother's house out in the country. We had lots of adventures in the fields and the woods...building tunnels and forts, solving mysteries..doing all those fun things that kids do when they use their imaginations! Seeing this area in our own woods (tree line), took me right back to those care-free days.

As I shared some stories of these adventures, my kids decided they wanted to build a fort too! I was more than happy to help!

After doing a little more clearing by hand, we decided we needed some more tools. E ran to get some rakes and told her daddy what we were planning. I think he was just as excited as they were.... he jumped right in and started clearing a path for the entrance.

Then, he had the best idea ever....

Talk about clearing an area for the fort!

The smile on their faces says it all!

Oh, and after the kids and I left, Scot made a little tunnel for ONE of the entrances...yes, this is a big fort...two whole rooms! I will have to take some pictures of that when we go back out there.

We may not have started building our house yet, but we are definitely building special memories .... and honestly, we had as much fun as they did!

Labor Day

Monday was such a fun, productive day! We worried that our plans to work at the land would have to be put on hold because of the hurricane in the Gulf. But in our neck of the woods, it was a hot, summer day. It was also Labor Day....and labor we did! We worked so hard that I am still sore two days later! It was well worth it though.

We spent the day doing yard work at the land! Most people would think we were crazy to say we had fun doing yard work. To us though, it is preparing the land for the yard to come..and that is exciting! We know that one day soon, we will have beautiful trees, flower beds and even a garden on this beautiful land.




I think Scot secretly could not wait to start mowing his own land. Here he is mowing around the perimeter of the yard. It think he was having way too much fun on that mower..can you just imagine when (if) he gets a tractor!

Although he did not mow all 5 acres, he was able to get the overgrown ditch cleaned out and the grass cut out by the road. It looks so good! I am so thankful to have such a hard working husband!


Oh, and for the most exciting part of our day! We started building.....how is that for a teaser! Check back tomorrow and I will tell you all about it!

Bathroom Mirrors!

I went to the mall by myself the other night. This is something that very rarely happens! I realized on this trip that I really need to do it more often. I am so much more productive when I don't have to take little ones to the bathroom a hundred times!

Well, since I did not have 4 extra sets of hands with me, I decided to go into Kirkland's. This is a store I love to go into, but I usually avoid because my little ones love to touch and pick up all the beautiful, breakable things! It makes me so nervous I just can't "enjoy" the store.

Anyway, I am so glad that I was able to go in and dream.... Honestly, I believe God lead me into the store that night. They were having a sale on their green tagged items. I have found many things in their scratch and dent sale. It is usually something that a can of spray paint or hot glue can fix and make as good as new!

I looked around a little and then made my way to area where they had all the damaged items. There leaning against the counter were 3 large mirrors. The mirrors were in tact and the frames had just a few scratches on them! I looked for the price tag expecting to see this beautiful framed mirror to be marked at least $50.00 (the original tag said $79.00). Boy, was I wrong! It was only $15.00 and so were the other 2...I was excited beyond belief! (Still am!)



These mirrors will be perfect over the vanities in the kids bathrooms! All I will need to do is prime and paint them! How awesome is that!

I couldn't help but compare prices. I went online and saw that at the local home improvement store, bathroom mirrors this size would easily cost us $100.00 each. What a blessing to get all 3 of them for $45.00!

I am so thankful that God takes care of us...even in little things like bathroom mirrors!

Starting the Journey

We are starting a new phase of our life. We are planning our dream home! In June, we purchased 5 acres of land. This is something that we have been wanting to do for several years. The Lord has closed the door many times, but now He has made our dream a reality.

I am having so much fun looking through thousands of house plans and decorating ideas! It is amazing how much you can do from the comfort of your own home... and with four small children, this is a must!

I thought it would be fun to share with you the process we are going through in building our new home. I also want to share decorating ideas, mistreatments, and thrifty finds. I have been so inspired by all you in the blogging world. I just can't wait to get started on my own!!!!

I know I need to learn patience. It could still be a little while. We need to sell our house before we start building, but until then, I will continue to gather ideas and try them in our current home!

THEN when the time comes..hopefully everything will go smoothly... and quickly!

(Did I mention that I need to learn patience!)

The day the land was officially ours, we went and took pictures. The kids loved having so much room to run and play!

This is the beautiful view we will enjoy each night!