'Tis the Season

Hello Everyone! What a busy week we've had! 'Tis the season for music recitals and it seems like they've all happened in the same week here. We've had two have their piano recitals, one cello recital, one violin recital. This weekend, we have a cello Christmas party, another performance and the beginning of the choir performances for a Christmas Contata the older children are involved in. Combine all that with all of our regular activities, school and a building project and well, let's just say, we've been busy. :-)

Speaking of building projects..... It seems to be feast or famine here with updates. Probably because it seems to be feast or famine with activity involving the house. We are currently preparing for our first inspection so this week we have been concentrating on getting the footings finished. (You do know who I mean when I say "we", right?)  The footings are taking up more time than planned because the ground is not even after the blasting and it has to be level.  (Does that really need to be said?) This involves lots of compacting and digging to get it just right.  We are also hindered by the fact it gets dark so early, which we knew would be an issue building in the winter. And as much as I think these guys are "super men" (pun intended), they work during the day at physically demanding jobs. They are tired at the end of the day. We knew this would be the case but because we want to do most of the work ourselves, it is impossible to avoid.  So they come home from work cold and wet and then head out to the house site to work for a few more hours. What's not crazy about that? It's only for a season, right? Of course, that season has to be winter.

Ben and Phil slugging away at it after dark in the mud.

Ben after a 14 hour day.

We really can't (read shouldn't) complain about the weather though. It has been unseasonably warm this last week giving us a welcome break from the extreme cold and snow. It has been very mild, albeit, a bit wet but that is much better for pouring concrete. Well for everything, really. 

The tool in the background can either cut rebar or bend it to a 90 degree angle. Having it bent this way will hold the wall and the footing together. Who knew?

These rebar grids are for the patio footing boxes.

Here are the footing forms for the foundation.  That's going to be our house? It doesn't look very big, does it?  It's not.  1,064 square feet. There will be 3 floors so the finished floor space will be 3,192 square feet. But I don't see it.  Not from that little rectangle. Did I ever tell you I have trouble picturing things?  Well, I do.

Here the rebar is cut and placed inside the form to hold the concrete together.  Phil looked at me incredulously when I said I didn't know this was necessary. Now I know. And so do you, if you didn't already. I've just saved you some embarrasment if you are ever discussing construction with someone who has been in the industry for over a decade. You're welcome.

This form is down lower than the rest because there will be a basement entry door here and the footing must be a minimum of 2 feet below the surface to protect it from the frost. How did I make it this far in life and not know all of this is necessary to build a house? I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before but we are incorporating this whole building project into school this year. Thankfully, our children will not have to suffer as I have in this bubble of ignorance. Yay homeschool! 

I have a feeling there will be many more of these 'aha' moments throughout this process. I am glad that we are doing this together as a family. It might be more work this way but I think the benefits for all of us are much greater. Not only do the children (and I) get to see how a house is built but they also get to see how we cope with the stress and concerns of building said house. (In case you were wondering, it is stressful and there are many concerns.) It's what makes this different from just watching an episode of "How It's Made". They get to see real people with real emotions, working together, sometimes at their best and other times, their worst. They get to see how valuable communication is and how important it is to be able to say "I'm sorry". That "I love you" isn't just something we say to each other. It's something we do for each other. And that we don't have to be perfect.  Just forgiven.

And above all things, have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.

1 Peter 4:8