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| Spotless windows, thanks to my father-in-law! |
Once securely set on its new foundation, the Patriot Homes "set-up" team went to work finishing the siding and drywall, installing doors, and completing the trim work both outside and inside.
Meanwhile, Don, along with our chosen professionals (one, a close friend of ours, literally, sent by God during our hour of need!), set about hooking up the electric, plumbing and such.
On day 2 of this process, we had a mini-catastrophe which many of you heard about...our girls' camper had an electrical short that fried all the power in it, nearly catching it on fire! Thankfully, Don was close by when it happened and was able to contain the disaster. The girls didn't lose any of their belongings, but, now, where do we all sleep? Oye!!
Ultimately, Rosie stayed with our good friends for three days, Don stayed in our camper, and I took Grace, who had just come down with a terrible cold virus, to a hotel nearby. Keep in mind, the three of us still had to go to work each day, and of course, I had taken evening hours thinking we'd be moving our things into the house during the day. Who knew?
The set up took about 5 days altogether. Only a day longer than our GC at Patriot Homes estimated.
Determined to be together, again, on Day 5 we managed to get a few important things, like our kitchen table and beds, some clothing and toiletries, into the house so we could all stay there.
Next day, some friend came up from Lancaster County to help me get somewhat organized since our new living room furniture was to be delivered...
...And delivered it was, but not without more shenanigans!
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| My helpers this week. Love you guys! |
First, the furniture store sends Don a text that our purchase will be delivered at approximately 9am.
9am came and went. Forty-five minutes later he gets a call from their dispatcher, "Well, our drivers say that they can't deliver because a power line is down across your driveway."
What?? (We've had all kinds of large trucks and equipment come down the lane the last few days with nary a problem.)
"Nothing was down when I went out the lane at 8:30 this morning", I told Don.
What we finally learned, thanks to our neighbor who witnessed the whole thing, is that they tore her cable line down when they came barreling down our narrow lane at 9am. Then, they backed out quickly, waited until they arrived at their next delivery, then lied to their dispatcher that the line was down when they got there!
Don, now very angry, told the store manager and dispatcher, "If my furniture isn't delivered by noon, I am canceling the whole order and will buy my furniture elsewhere!"
Forty minutes later, Rosie and I directed the furniture truck down a "back" entrance to our property. But, instead of parking their truck up on the firm ground and carrying the furniture an extra five yards, they decided to pull right up to our back door...where the ground was beginning to get soft and shmeary from the warm sunshine. DUH.
After slipping and sliding, throwing mud everywhere while their tires spun furiously unable to get a grip, almost sliding sideways into the corner of our new house - Rosie, with the help of our siding guy, Titus, awoke our tractor with a jumpstart and pulled the furniture truck back onto the solid ground, so they could get out. What a day!
Rosie's friend, Sarah, summed it up perfectly. "This is a day I'll never forget!"
To top it off, after her heroic feat outside, Rosie was sorting through some boxes of kitchenware inside when she dropped a cookie sheet on her foot! We are pretty sure her big toe is broken. She's staying off of it as much as she can, and we're watching it carefully. To go to Convenient Care or not, that is the question???
The mud was already slippery, hampering our moving process, but then....RAIN. Lots of rain.
Now, the mud is ATROCIOUS. So, moving the rest of our furniture into the house right now is out of the question. We have the essentials. Don and William are hooking up the washer and dryer as I write.
We can live quite comfortably without the rest of our material possessions for another week if necessary...
...Actually, I'm thinking we have more furniture than we really need, so some might be on Craig's List very soon. We opted to build a more modest-sized house, instead of over-indulging, spreading ourselves too thin, financially. Besides, in a few short years, our girls will probably move out as well, bittersweet as that is!
I'm excited to see our artwork and family portrait on these naked walls, though! Don's parents have them all safely stored at their mountain home. Hoping they can bring everything down here very soon!
Nate is in the process of moving in, too. He and Don are modifying the camper to make it "winter-proof", so that Nate can have his own space, while saving money and searching for a new apartment for himself. God-willing, he will have his own place in just a few months.
We have each other and all four kids are here this weekend.
My heart is happy.
I have Christmas gifts wrapped and ready for tomorrow morning, and I am trying to get my heart and mind focused on the true reason for our celebration tomorrow: the birth of my Savior, my Redeemer. Everything else pales in comparison to that. Without Christ I am nothing. In Him and through Him, I am whole...I am daughter of the Most High, and I can rest, finding peace in that understanding.
So, Merry Christmas to all of you! Thanks for following our adventure! Check in next weekend to see our progress in making this house our home...
It was a day none of us will ever forget!
ReplyDeleteSo happy your in your beautiful home!
Merry Christmas!