Trees, trees, and more trees....

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated! Time goes so fast - and I'm having trouble keeping up!

Family is awesome! I had planned a work day to start really clearing the spot where the house will sit for April 12. EVERYONE showed up! It was so awesome! My whole family, and lots of friends came out to help me get a good start on clearing. Praise God for men and their chainsaws! Webster, Larry, Andy, Dan, and Dave were awesome!

Even all of my nieces and nephews came to help haul logs! Caleb and Westin were a huge help also. I am blessed to have such an awesome family!

Then the last 2 Saturday's a good friend of the family Doug - brought his saw out and finished it up! WOO HOO

I'm hoping that we'll be digging soon and pouring concrete!

I promise to keep you posted more often!

Big trucks, tractors, and blueprints!

So Pam and I, along with Dave Marks, went out to see how they were doing on the trees. We came around the corner onto the bluff to see trucks and tractors everywhere! It was AWESOME! The Logging Company was there to finish up taking the trees that they had taken down. It was cool to see them loading them on a big ole' truck. He left me a big piece of a hickory tree to make my fireplace mantel. It's gorgeous!

I had an email from the guy I'm getting my logs from on Friday. It had an electronic copy of my blueprints attached. I was so crazy busy getting ready for our Good Friday service and Easter weekend services that when I opened them I said "they're wrong" and promply closed the email. It didn't even faze me... (that's a sure sign that my brain is overloaded!) I connected with Dominic later that afternoon, and he explained how they had gotten confused - and he had already spoke to them to get them corrected. Whew! It was still cool to get the chance to see the front and back elevations of the house, even though they aren't totally right. Hopefully, I'll get a fresh set of prints this week!

They're Coming Down!

I'm a tree hugger. I never knew that about myself. I mean, I'm all about nature and trees and leaving it all alone and stuff. But, I REALLY didn't like seeing my trees come down. The process was way more violent than I thought. The whole earth shook when those 80ft trees came toppling down. I had 9 that were marked to come down to open up my view of the river, and now that they're down it looks really great and all - I could only watch him do 2. It made very sad....

The cool thing is - I can't believe it's started! YAY! So, I hired the guy to take down the hard ones, and family and friends are going to help me take down the little ones on top of the hill where the house will go. We're going to do that the weekend after Easter.

Last night was Friday night house planning at Shannon and JoLynn's. Let me just say for the record "I suck at all things electrical!" My job last night was to take the blown up floor plan and add all of the electrical stuff to it. Then I had to make a list for Shannon of how many of each thing I'll need. I must have asked him the same questions 10 times - "so if there is a switch on the other side of the room that controls the same light - that single switch is considered a 2-switch?" "What!!" I finally gave up asking him and started bugging JoLynn cause I felt like she was feeling sorry for me. Hey, the girls gotta stick together!

To top this all off - I called Ameren on Monday to find out about the temporary pole. The lady said they would come out on next Monday. Okay - cool. Pam calls me on Wednesday to say the Cilco guy just called and he's out at the land! Wait! He's not supposed to come until next week. Anyway, it all turned out okay in the end. We found out that there is no transformer there - so they're going to have to install one. Now I'm working with a lady named Susan who is a customer rep for Ameren. She's super nice, but I feel like I'm always saying, huh, uhhh, okay, ah huh, well...I think so... I'm mean it's ridiculous! I have no clue what I'm talking about!

I'm meeting with the log guy on Monday - that'll be more fun I'm sure!!

Panic Phone Calls....

I was scheduled to leave for Washington DC on Wednesday afternoon at 1:00. We had a very sad funeral at the church that morning. One of our volunteers lost her 16 year old to cancer. It was so sad.... so after a very hard morning, as I was getting ready to leave for Indy I get an email from Kevin the Survey guy. He wanted to head out to the land Thursday morning to begin some preliminary work on the survey. So I send a panic email/phone call to Shannon, JoLynn, and Rick. HELP! We arranged that Shannon and Rick would meet Kevin out at the land on Thursday morning in my absence. Whew! So in the car I went - got to Indy, BARELY made our flight and headed to DC. I was finally able to check in via email about 11:00pm Wednesday night and found out that after all of my freak out, Kevin didn't need anyone for this initial visit. SHEESH. Totally taught me a lesson! NO MORE FREAK OUTS!! (yah right!) Thanks friends for being so patient with me!

Landscaping = Awesome

I met with Ryan (Owner of Designer Concepts) today to see the initial design for my landscaping. I just gotta say - WOO HOO! I love it! Seriously guys, he did an amazing job. It's everything I have ever dreamed! He totally honored my desire to keep the natural woodland feel of the property and just added what I needed to enhance it! I can't wait for you to see it!! It's so great! I'm happy dancing about my landscaping. YAY!!!

Overwhelmed!

After being in Texas for 5 days and coming home to ALOT going on in ministry I arrived at Shannon & JoLynn's for our Friday night house meeting with red rimmed, puffy eyes. I'm exhausted! I just keep reminding myself to take a deep breath and not allow the "stuff" to steal my joy. Though I must admit that I'm not finding too much joy in shopping for ceiling fans. They're all dumb. I mean, lighting fixtures in general aren't easy to pick - shape, glass, color, to dim or not to dim, does that match that....the list goes on. I know, I know - don't let it steal my joy! Sorry for the rant!

Shannon had a good meeting with the log guy. He got lots of our questions answered, and in general it seems like he's more comfortable. We found out that Kuhn's Brothers will be having a log raising in Macomb, Il in March. We'll actually get a chance to participate in a log home going up. That's awesome! I'm really excited about that.

I think the tree saga is coming to an end! Remember the first guy who stood me up? Well, his brother (who actually owns the company) called me while I was in Dallas. He was asking if I would give him a chance to make it right... so we scheduled a meeting at the land for late this afternoon. I told him he better not stand me up! He showed up, and was awesome! He is interested in "selective harvesting" some trees, including harvesting the ones I need taken down for my view. Only 9 trees total - woo hoo! He's thinking he'll do it in 2 weeks - and he'll be able to do them all on 1 day. He'll actually take them down and winch them to the top of the hill. Crazy! I can't wait to get pictures of that happening! So they're forgiven! :)

So I think Shannon's list is bigger than mine this week... honestly, at the end I was having such a hard time staying focused I have to follow-up and make sure I didn't miss anything! I think my job this week is to follow-up with a friend (Doug) who I'm hoping can help us with some plumbing questions, and continue pricing out the rest of my flooring and light fixtures. My list is way more fun than Shannon's... although he does seem to light up when he's talking about big tractor thingees that we will rent to haul the heavy stuff around....

Mud & Frost Walls?

So Shannon and I met the excavator and concrete guys at the land on Thursday. We got there a few minutes early and took a little walk down the ridge. Guess what? My new work boots look like they're about 20 years old!! It was super muddy!! I have to admit it made me feel pretty cool to have mucked up boots... :-)

So the guys got here - talked about all kinds of things I know nothing about, including 13' basement walls. 9' floor to ceiling and 4' underground for frost. What?! I just nod my head like I totally know what they're talking about and wonder how much that's going to cost! They were both really nice and I enjoyed the experience. I can't wait for the day they start to dig!!

By the way - I got my quote back from Pella, and at this point I'm pretty sure I'll go with them. I loved all of the windows I picked out, and its a better deal than the log home company can give me.

I'm off to Dallas for work the next 5 days. Shannon's going to meet with Dominic (the log home guy) this week to talk through some questions....

I can't wait! I can't wait!

Windows and what's outside of them!

On Monday morning I met Ryan & Amy Palm out at my propery. Ryan is the owner of the company Designer Concepts, Landscape Architecture, Inc. Amy and Ryan are good friends of mine and Amy I served together in ministry for many years. It was awesome for me to stand on my land with Amy and Ryan and dream out loud about my plans for the property. Ryan is super supportive and encouraging and I'm very excited to see my master plan! One of the things I have said from the very beginning of this journey is that I don't ever want to have to mow the grass! Everyone looks at me like I'm crazy - but it's part of the reason why I wanted to live in the woods. I have a very busy life with family and friends, and in ministry that I didn't want to to spend time mowing if I didn't want to. Thankfully, Ryan assured me that I made the right decision. Because of all of the trees it would be very hard for me to grow grass. YAY! So for all of you thinking "then what the heck is your yard going to look like?" - it will be landscaped around the house with small pebbles and stone. Oh, and lots of YELLOW flowers! (That's my favorite, ya know!) Anyway, Ryan had me bring lots of pictures of the things that I love - and he'll put together a master plan for me. I can't wait! Check out their website at www.designerconcepts.biz

I left Amy and Ryan and went to the Pella store for an appointment with the window guy. That's been a huge unknown piece for me, and I've been really worried about it. Shane (the window guy) was great! Super helpful, and full of really great suggestions. He talked me through all of my options and had good solid advise for me concerning the bathroom windows. I have windows around the corner tub and wanted to make sure I had an easy way to close them up! ;) We also had the chance to really talk through the wall of windows in the great room. It's all about the view from the great room and I want to make sure I get it right! That's been challenging the whole way - knowing with a log home you can't go in later and make changes! What I do now, is how it will always be!

Shannon and I are meeting with excavator and concrete guys tomorrow afernoon. How exciting! This is something I know NOTHING about and I'm so glad that Shannon is helping me. I feel like I'm learning a whole new vocabulary...words I've never even heard of before!

I have to tell you that I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I have days that I'm totally freaked and think I'm crazy - but mostly, everyday I am blessed and I'm really finding joy in the process. I'm trying to treasure every moment of the journey, and I'm looking forward to the road ahead of me.

Friday Night Planning

Spent the evening with Shannon and JoLynn (and the twins of course) working through the budget worksheet (yuck) and windows! The budget worksheet - well, it's easy to use - just scary watching it all add up!

JoLynn and I spent time measuring windows and drawing on the floor plan. I feel confident in all of the window sizes and am ready to get some bids. I'm excited to have that piece figured out!

I'm meeting with Ryan the landscape guy Monday morning (we had to cancel last week because of the weather.) I'll keep you posted!

Cool Boots, A New Tree Guy, Survey, and Front Doors!

So my very cool sister Molly took me shopping for some "big girl boots." Let me just say that this does NOT involve shopping at the mall, or any other frequently visited store by girls and their credit cards! Farm & Fleet (for you girls - this is like a FARM STORE) in Morton, Illinois is the place for sturdy work boots. I was starting to get a belly ache over paying $80 bucks for ugly boots, but Molly assured me we would find some cute work boots for me! Sure enough - I found some very comfortable, brown CAT boots with steel toes and everything. I wonder if my voice is deeper when I wear them... just kidding. They are actually really great, and look a bit like my Doc Martins...

I called a new tree guy this week, and let me tell you it was so refreshing! I called and told them about my project, where the land was and that the trees I need taken down are all marked. Rick (the new tree guy) told me he would run out there that very day and call me back. Sure enough, he called me that night and gave me a bid! I always thought Rick was a good trustworthy name! I'm still on a hunt for someone to actually buy the trees once they come down, but I'm not giving up hope! I have alot of really great leads and am hopeful to make some good contacts this week.

Why didn't someone tell me how expensive it is to have land surveyed? YIKES! I feel like it's really important to have it done, I was just shocked at how much it cost. I guess I didn't realize there was so much more to it than the guys in the cute orange vests and there tripod thingees... So, suck it up and get it done. Okay, okay....

A fun project this week - picking out a front door! Pam (another cool sister) and I took a little trip to Lowes this week. I picked up some brochures and started researching entryway doors. So fun! I knew the one the minute I saw it! I love it when that happens! So one more thing off the list....check!

I'm meeting a highly recommended landscape design guy tomorrow morning. I have lots of pictures of what I like - hopefully I won't overwhelm him! I'll keep you posted how that meeting goes!

Stood up!

So I drug myself out of bed at 6:00am in the morning to meet Shannon out at the land to mark the trees that have to come down for the house and the view. I had set up a meeting with the logging guy for 4:00pm in the afternoon. Well guess what? He didn't show up! He called me at 3:55 to say he was in Chicago. Man! I was not happy! I was really excited to start the process, and was really disappointed that he didn't show up. Needless to say, he was really sorry - and asked to reschedule for the next morning at 11:30. Ok, I'll try again. So out I go the next day, take a walk, sit in the car and make a few notes, try to stay warm as I count down the minutes to 11:30. 11:15 - I'm wishing I had some coffee, 11:20 - turn on the radio to distract myself, 11:25 - I'm already thinking bad thoughts about this guy - thinking he better not be late! 11:30 - No guy. Grrrrrrrr....

I'm calling a new guy tomorrow...

PS - As we stood on the road and looked at all the trees X'd out - I made the comment "look at all my X's!" Of course what ran through my mind all day long... "All My Ex's live in Texas..." :o) I'm a dork!

My first post

I've been dreaming about building a log home for a really long time, and as I draw closer to making this dream a reality I want to share my journey with you.

I began praying and searching for land about 2 years ago. I would go for long Sunday afternoon drives through the country, eat lunch at tiny diners in towns I'd never heard of, and look for the perfect spot to build a log cabin. By the way - promise me you'll pack your kids in the car on a Sunday afternoon and go for a long drive. See all the big red barns, fields, and farms. Eat at a place where everyone knows each others names....get lost. It's good for your soul.

There were 2 things that I was looking for in the land. The first - I wanted 1 to 2 acres and second - I wanted it to be a completely wooded lot. It's harder that you think to find a piece of land that's all woods in the middle of central Illinois. Seriously, it's all corn fields....

After almost giving up - God blessed me with the perfect spot! I still get a secret smile on my face when I think about how I ended up with the land I have and how ONLY GOD could have made that happen. Okay, enough with drama....

Septemeber of 2009 I bought 6.5 acres of all woods, on a bluff overlooking the Illinois River. Unbelievable! It's beyond anything I could have ever dreamed for myself and I'm so excited!

I've been working on my own custom floor plan (with help of course from family and friends) and am ready to move to the blueprint process. Shannon (General Contractor, good friend, and father of the cutest twins ever) and I met Friday night to begin our list. It's a scary spreadsheet and I'm so thankful for his help! I'm an artist you know, so I had moments of feeling like my eyes were crossing and wondering "can't we just stack logs?" He's incredibly patient with me...but I'm sure he has his moments of laughing at my questions!

I drove out there this morning and took a little walk. The sun was shining through the trees and the frozen river was sparkling like a million stars were resting there waiting for it to get dark. I could hear a bird calling, and a bald eagle came soaring up and around. Home. I feel settled there already. I can here my heart beat, and my soul is at rest. Thank you, God. I am blessed.