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.