Construction Zone

The pole barn shell was in place and it was time to build out the inside for a home. It will have 2 levels and our job was to help frame up the inside and do the rough in for electrical. The framing took place prior to our trip to Montana and now it was ready for electrical. It was hot, hard work, but we enjoyed it until about 2:30 each day when the heat inside was just unbearable. It’s interesting how heat can zap your strength. We staggered our working areas due to the heat, but even still, by mid afternoon, we were done and ready for a cool shower and a nap!

One day, someone snuck away and was caught in the pool with the kids… dirty rat!

One of our favorite memories was recruiting the two oldest nephews, CJ, age 11 and Noah, age 12, to help. They were great and helped do the layout, pulled wires, stapled, cleaned up, and learned how to use power tools. At one point, I had showed Noah the layout for a run he was working on with Keith. When Keith asked me what it was, I told him to check with Noah. Apparently, that wasn’t the right answer, so I got down off my ladder, went to their work area, and asked Noah what the run was. He knew it exactly and Keith was a little embarrassed, but wow, how that built Noah’s confidence. It was awesome.

One of the perks to helping was they were allowed in the house anytime but the younger kids were not. It was a construction zone and the younger kids weren’t safe. They thought that was cool and took great pleasure in telling their stories to their siblings and parents. It was a great time.

A great blessing was the arrival of Keith’s brother Chuck and wife Carey. They spent 2 days helping us wrap up the last parts of the build so we could head west. We were ready to go on time but wouldn’t have made it without their help. It truly takes a village (or family).