End of July

Front Entry

Steve's study & balcony (West Indies front yard)

Backyard from the bulkhead

July 11

Do not build, do not build!
At this moment I am so very sorry I agreed to do this! We are so far off schedule and no one seems to be concerned.
Contractors have to actually show up in order for a house to be built!
God, I know you hear my prayers!
I don't think I can do this, and I am not talking about picking things out for the house. That I can do.
I can not make workers show up, do the work they agreed and were paid for!
I am past freaking right now!

July 4th

Dinner served in our entry, hey you go where the breezes are until there is electricity and air conditioning! The fireworks from our boat on the water was priceless.

Jack and Beth waving to the crowds!

June 29th

It's been one week and I am exhausted and totally overwhelmed!!
I have days that I really struggle with all this "building a house" stuff!! Some days, it just really wants to overtake me. I ride 10-12 miles each morning, trying to work off some of the stress, some days it helps, others...

After the rain, we started having issues with the framers, not showing, disagreements, hiring, firing, rehiring, death in the family, etc. It has just been one delay after another. So after my ride, I take a break at the prop and watch all the other workers drive past to their jobs, and not one shows for hours at our house. (see how the riding, sometimes is not very helpful)

Anyhow, after much prayer, I felt God's answer was for me to do what I do best, clean and serve. So, this week I have packed an ice chest with cold drinks and delivered fruit, donuts, granola bars, etc, each day trying to make it different and special. Then spend a few hours cleaning up boards, trash, etc. It usually takes everything out of me, but this is the answer for now.

Picking faucets, sinks, front door, etc has just been overwhelming. I have begun to have nightmares of having to move and crying because I don't want to! Shheesshhh!

Breathe in, breathe out, breath in, breath out!
More prayer!

Steve has his hands so very full at work, then has to oversee the engineer's plans on the house. He is the one that has found several things that the builders, framers, whoever overlook. I have been praying for him thru this entire process. He doesn't complain, but I see it is hard for him right now, too!

God help us thru this, we believe you brought us to this point, please keep us strong and unwavering throughout the project.

Rain Day - June 22

I know everyone was thrilled to finally have some rain, but if you don't have a roof yet... it's not so good!

After my daily 11 mile ride, I went back to the property mid day to oversee that the framers were there and that the plumber showed. Well, this is what I found, silly me! We have sub floors on each floor, it never dawned on me without a roof, the rain still seeps thru.

My great room and kitchen were flooded!
I swept and swept for about an hour.
Then after totally drenching my shoes, socks, clothes, and hair I got an idea and headed to Academy and found exactly what I needed. Cute boots and a cheap poncho!

After about 5 hours of hard labor each room on the main floor looked liked this. Luckily one of the builders (Angel) and he is, went to the 3rd floor and swept the water from there that kept leaking onto this floor. I thought about climbing the ladder (no stairs to that floor yet), but the little voice in my head said, "If you get hurt, Steve will kill you."

The rain stopped, the subflooors were "less wet", the plumber did show. The framers were a no show, man are they gonna hear about it tomorrow! Actually I am hoping that all the hard work I did today will make them alittle humble.
God is good! We needed rain and we got it. It made a mess, but He helped me to manage it.

June 19th - Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to every Daddy here on Earth and in Heaven!

God Bless my 2 favorite guys!!

(PaPa what where you boys watching?)

June 10th

Steve greeting neighbors from our front door. (If you know Steve, then you know I am telling the truth.)

2nd floor walls have started in early June

Ground Floor Walls finished

Ground floor walls finished a month later.
Just before walls started.

Late May

Very disappointing, the cinder block work has gone over the expected time frame. Only saw 2 men working today when they are already behind schedule.
Very, very disappointed.
Lord, please give me patience and a kind spirit.
Amen

Mid May - Cinder Blocks for Ground Floor

Garage Views (single & double) - Upper Bay Drive

Garage View from inside garage

Backyard from the water

Marvelous May 2011

We celebrated many blessed events!!

May 1 - Jared, Manda & Mason moved into their new home. It's just perfect! (forgot to get gas turned on, but they managed)
May 2 - Jared celebrated his 27th B Day!
May 5 - Pam celebrated her "50th" B Day!!
May 11 - Mother's Day - Manda's very 1st M Day, Beth's 2nd M Day w/ us in Houston, Mom's 2nd M Day in Heaven, and another very special day w/ all my loved ones under our roof. Plus Jim (Pam's dad) celebrated his "78th" B Day!!!

God is good, so very good!
Thank you Lord for everything!

First floor

Foundation - Aerial View

Thanks to Bryan & Amanda (our new neighbors) for letting us take the pic from their patio.
The aerial view makes a big difference. Plus the work crew cleaned up the lot. Note: The front entry is between the two front palms. It faces the corner of the lot. The Upper Bay Road side is the 3 garages.

Mason & MeMe under the Palm Tree

Mason at 5 weeks! The last time he was at the property there was no foundation and he was still in Mommy's tummy! How time flies.
My prayer is take years worth of pics of the 2 of us under this tree.
FYI: PaPa (Steve) and Mommy (Manda) were there, too!

Good Foundation - Matthew 7:24-25

That's a lot of work with a shovel!










All that rebar.
I wonder if they charge by the mile?








Now where was that trench?










It took 16 cement trucks!





Finished foundation.


Jesus said: “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock." Matthew 7:24-25
**These verses are buried into the foundation at the entrance to our home and in our hearts.

Before & After Pics - Bulkhead & Palm Trees

From a jungle with alligators...

to cool breezes under the shade!

April 7th

See me by "my" palm tree!!

The framing for the foundation goes in.

April 9, 2011 - Another Celebration

Happy Anniversary Jared and Amanda!

They have been married for 6 years.

They enjoyed a quite meal at Perry's Steakhouse, while Mason had fun with PaPa & MeMe.

Here is a pic we sent to them during their dinner. Mason waving and saying "HI".

April 5, 2011 - Moving the Palm Trees

What an exciting & nerve racking day.

It took everyone looking at the plans and the wood framing for the foundation to find the best placement. The palm I most cared about is the most expensive (valued at $12,000 according to the builder). It wasn't really the value (although I would NEVER pay that for a tree), it was the prettiest and I wanted it set just off the bulkhead so I could sit under it in the summer and enjoy the water and the breeze! We had to be super careful that the big machine that digs the hole did not hit the cables that hold the "brand new" bulkhead.

Our prayers were heard and my palm was placed safely into it's new spot.