The Beginning

The car is parked about where our front porch will be. You'll be looking at the back corner of the house or garage from this point of view.

Saturday we got the call we've been waiting for. Our builder would be coming through Huntsville around lunch time and wanted to know if we could we meet him in a few hours at the property to walk around. For the first time, I would gain a real sense of appreciation for the location of this rental house: about 2.5 minutes after clicking the kids in their car seats, we pulled up at the gate on Dug Hill Road. With one phone call, proximity had gone from being meaningless to priceless.

But first:

After hearing from the builder, the next hour flew by and we found ourselves rushing to get the kids fed. Everyone was dressed warmly and in the hustle, I remembered to grab the kids' boots as the five of us rushed out the door. The brush is pretty thick even though it's winter, and besides that we haven't had the clearing bush-hogged since last summer, so boots for everyone. As we backed down the driveway, I took a deep breath and tried my best to steady my nerves.

In addition to already meeting this guy, Jeff has been this whole road before. He's built a house, reviewed plans, worked with contractors, picked out all the millions of little things that are necessary when you start from scratch. And unfortunately for me, this happened when he was a bachelor so he's accustomed to doing it on his own, without the pesky opinions another brain brings to the table. We're figuring it out, but when two strong-minded people set out on one common project there's bound to be bumps in the road. On the bright side, we are two strong minded people that love each other very much and most our disagreements have been easily settled. So far. ;)

I was mulling all this over in my mind Saturday when a big red truck pulled in and wound slowly through the trees and parked. A man with salt and pepper hair and what I suppose is meant by "kind eyes" got out. I was still nervous but he was more humble looking than I had expected, if looks count for anything. His soft spoken manner and thick Southern drawl helped calm me even more, and the three of us began to walk around the property. After a few minutes, I quietly slipped away to get the kids out of the car, I knew they were excited and restless like me. I was reluctant to walk away........wanting desperately to stay within earshot of Jeff and the builder, afraid to miss anything, especially this early in the game.

As I opened the door to the Yukon, a familiar yet repulsive odor knocked me down. Uh-Oh. "Mommy, I hah poo-poo in my dy-puh," Benjamin announced proudly. Several minutes and a stink bomb later, I had the older two out, situated playing with sticks, and I tried to look casual, strolling back over to where the two men were standing.

"MOM!! I have to tee tee!" Grrrrreat.

..........................you can imagine how the rest of the meeting went. With the 40 degree wind, three tired children, and no porta-potty, I ended up feeding the kids Cheese Nips in the car while Jeff finished answering questions, showed him around the property and helped stake out the perimeter of the house.

I've realized pretty quickly that to survive this, keep my sanity and not completely and totally neglect my children, I'm going to have to develop an arsenal of trust. Trust in the Lord, trust in my husband, trust in his choice of a builder, trust in the decisions that are made that I'm not even aware of and ones that I won't be able to make because of other commitments......and on and on and on. I've been wondering if I'm up for it.

However, in spite of some reluctance, I will say this, it was pretty great to see the stakes marking where the corners of the porches would be, marking the garage, seeing where the driveway would be laid. My stomach still feels rumbly but I hope it's excitement and less nerves.

Here's a sneak peek of what we want the kitchen to look like: