THE CHRISTMAS DAYS 2009

Holidays this year were a little different. Different can be good as we hope to share. Ours began on Wednesday morning Dec 23rd.,with Phil rising early to feed the squirrels, ducks, birds, geese, and the occasional mink.

Of course, Phil could never do it all without Lucy's constant help Enlarge pic to see her determination.


Later on that day John and his family and Annie and her family came to celebrate. This year is special because Jess is ready to deliver any day, and Tiffany is 36 weeks and unable to travel.


We had a great meal and enjoyed two of the four children very much. Ashley and Jordan were missed.
Ashley and Chris spent Christmas with Chris's mother this year, in Key West, FL. (who could blame them) and Tiffany and Jordan are in Albuquerque awaiting the arrival of their second child. See their blog for their Christmas excitement.

On Christmas Eve we went to Mildred's for a nice dinner.
Lauren and Seth got all dressed up for the occasion. We thought they were very good looking.

Christmas Day was just the two of us. We awoke to a beautiful sunny day. We hurried and filled our thermos with coffee and headed for the construction site.


There we saw our house in a different light. We saw our home. We placed furniture in all the rooms. We decorated the "Man Cave". We celebrated the DAY.
The sun danced on the water. We were in awe. We were happy and at peace.

The gifts we gave our children were because we love them. The same is true with God. He gave us this most awesome gift, a part of himself, Jesus. What makes this so amazing to us is the fact that He did it for the same reasons that we gave to our children. HE LOVED US SO MUCH THAT HE WAS MOTIVATED TO GIVE A GIFT.

Later in the day we visited my brother Gene and his wife Marijane and their precious family.





Thanks to everyone for reading our blog. The upcoming year may hold uncertainties for some. May God and His peace bless you all in the NEW YEAR 2010.

LIVING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND

We woke this morning to the most beautiful snow. It wasn't over an inch back in the cove on Boulder and elsewhere 2-3 inches. Yet, the snow was wet, sparkling and hanging from all the limbs around us. The view from the front porch was breath-taking. We got out early and took pictures.



The picture from the back deck wasn't too bad either.


Phil and Lucy put rock salt on the driveway so we could get up the hill. Lucy loved the snow, she jumped and took bites of it.

I wish I could make the pictures and the adjoining text line up. Anyone who could share a few ideas to help, would be greatly appreciated.

After getting up the driveway, we drove over to the building site. The drive was absolutely beautiful.



We thought the house looked good nestled under the hill by the water.



There are a few more pictures to enjoy.





Hope you enjoyed our excursion today. We love you all.

WE HAVE ROOF TRUSSES

Yes, the roof trusses are going up. It was very interesting to watch as the big crane lifted them into place. The 1st pic is of the side door going into the garage, and the 2nd is standing in the kitchen looking out at the lake. The short window in the 2nd picture is the window over the sink. Won't that be a beautiful view. The final picture is a view of the whole house from atop the hill near the road.
I think it is a good representation of the way the house lays on the site as well as the size. The garage is about as big as the living area. (All men like their garages, you know.)
They have given us late March as a tentative date for completion. That would be great, but it is weather permitting, of course.

INTERIOR WALLS

This is a fair picture of the interior walls. It was taken with the cell phone so not as good as camera. The right side is the Master Suite Area. The left area is the Kitchen/Great Room Area. The small rooms on the left side are the laundry room and a 1/2 bath. That is all there is.

WE'RE 'MOVIN' ON UP

Although they only worked 2 days last week due to rain, wood is going up. This is a picture of the front entrance. Look everybody, you can park right up at the door and roll those strollers with grandbabies right on in. I am really getting excited now. I am anxious about all the work it will be but hope that all you kids that can, will come and help us. We actually don't have a lot of furniture. I think we kept only what we could use.
This next picture is a start to the interior walls. I am able to see each room, it's size, and how the house will flow. So far,I have made no changes to our original plan. Our builder says that is unheard of just and just wait.HAHA.

WE HAVE WALLS

Yes, we are so excited. The big hole is becoming a house. These are the outer walls that overlook the lake. My kitchen and the dining area will be the windows on the left side. The front windows and double door is the open great room. The part that has no walls yet is our bedroom. There is a laundry room and 1-1/2 baths. That is the main living area. We think it will be very manageable and just right for Phil and I. Of course, we have the same amount of space in the lower level. This level will be suited for guest and grandchildren. It will be very private with its own kitchen (in the future) and deck out to the lake.

This next picture is the garage floor, filled with 160 tons of gravel. It is now ready for concrete. It is our goal to have a good road down to the house that any car can travel and parking and a turn-a-round that is comfortable for everyone. We appreciate the baby strollers and treacherous walks to the bottom to visit us at Boulder Drive. Hopefully, those things will be a thing of the past. This house is built to last and Phil and I hope that our friends, family, children and grandchildren will enjoy it for many years to come. With Love.

Cleaning the Grounds

This past weekend, Phil and I burned all the scrap lumber and cleaned the area around our house. It took two days and 4 different fires going full steam ahead for at least 6 hrs. each. The time spent was in picking up all the scrap lumber and piling it on the fires. It was hard work , but we enjoyed every minute. In between work, we had a wiener roast for our supper. We sat on a gravel pile and enjoyed it immensely. I am just so grateful to be able to work hard again. This kind of work helps me to get my strength back after being in a cast with a broken leg for so long(Feb15-August). Yes, it was a long,hard,slow healing process.

Phil loves to do manual labor and really enjoyed working. We miss having all the yard work that we had on Court Road. But if I know Phil, he will have this hillside looking fabulous by next year.


As most of you know, we are really cramped in this 1300 sq. ft. cabin. Christmas decor had to be at a minimum. I put up one tree this year instead of five or six. Of course, it is a woodland tree with hunting ornaments. Hope to see all of our friends and family at some point over the holidays.

GRAVEL, GRAVEL EVERYWHERE

Yes, we are in the process of bringing nearly 1000 ton of gravel to put around the foundation, under the garage floors and along the road. Somerset gravel pit is very thankful this Thanksgiving Season. Here is a couple of progress pics.


Phil and I are looking forward to having three of our four children and their families in for the holiday. We will miss Tiffany, Jordan and Titus very much but understand why they can't come. We hope Tiffany is feeling better and know that Titus will enjoy Vickie and all his friends at church for the holidays.
We are looking forward to two new grandbabies at the first of the new year. What a wonderful gift to look forward to.
God Bless and Be thankful for every day and everything.
Love, Moma and Phil

VERY NICE WEEKEND

We had a very nice weekend. The weather was absolutely beautiful. We gave a nice baby shower for John and Jessica, and Ashley came for a visit. We rose early on Saturday and took the boat to our new house site. Fog was still on the water, the air was crisp and sounds of the lake were everywhere.




I love this photo of Ashley. It was early in the morning, no makeup, just fresh for the day. It reminds me when she was about Lauren's age. Of course, she is now Dr. Tynan and has been practicing dentistry for nearly four years. Where do the years go!!

We enjoyed showing her the building site. So of course, here is a couple of progress pictures.

WE'RE 'MOVIN' ON UP

We're moving on up, in wood anyway. The basement floor is finished with all the wood and they are getting ready to 'put the lid on it' and move on up to the main level. I can really tell a lot about it now and I am loving what I see.

As you can see, Lauren has already picked out "Her Room" and laid stake to it.

FAILED BATTERY

Phil and I took a sunset cruise tonight to take pictures of the first floor. ALL THE WOOD IS UP. But, alas, my camera battery was dead. It's the first time since last Christmas that it has completed went down. We will try to take pictures tomorrow, but I could not help but let everyone know how excited we are. We have paid out a lot of money and just now is it beginning to take shape. The rooms are defined and all the studs are up. I can walk through rooms and visualize where my furniture will sit.

By the way, the sunset was magnificent from our property. I want everyone we love to witness this with us. Since I feel like I must post a picture.....Here is one of my most wonderful times while visiting New Mexico.

ROCK

This is an example of the rock we plan to use on about 1/2 of the house. The rest will be wood. This is not a great example in that the installation is not as we would expect but just look at the rock sample.

HERE COMES THE WOOD

Finally, the foundation is settled, all the concrete is poured and we are ready to build from a very very solid foundation. We are going up with the wood.

The WILD CHILD

"Lucy" our WILD CHILD looks as if she has already took up residence at the new house. Actually, this very lot is the lot that Lucy lived, alone and begging the neighbors for food, for the first 4 months of her life. She started jumping in the lake to follow Phil's boat when he was clearing the land. And , the rest is history. She is the most hard-headed, independant, dog that we have ever seen, yet we love her and Lucy loves us.

A Look at Fall From our Future Back Yard

This is the views we will have when our house is finished and we look out the windows or step on the back decks. I am so excited and so thankful that the good Lord has blessed us with this opportunity. I hope all our family and friends will find that this home is well worth the drive. Our new home will be exactly 8 miles from the state police barracks just off Exit 41.

Fall Day on the Lake

Now that we officially live on the lake , I thought it fitting to show some of the scenes of the beautiful Fall season that we are having.

IT"S ABOUT TIME FOR AN UPDATE

Yes, I have been getting nasty calls about my negligence in added new material. I truly have a good excuse. When I returned from visiting Tiffany, Jordan and Titus (which is an entry in itself), I was getting my window updates and the thing froze up. It has been in the shop since. Just got it back today. PRETTY SOLID EXCUSE,
don't you think?

Progress on the house is slowing progressing. They are working overtime on the rain-free days. We have poured 385 tons of gravel in the basement floor.

Rainy rainy few weeks

Not a lot to report on the construction of the house. A few more walls of concrete are up and really too muddy to get too close. However Phil, battled the elements and took a few pics of the progression. Yes, you can say, 'This house is being built on a firm foundation'. These are pics of the foundation walls. There is one of the guest bedroom. It is on the ground level(for grandchildren, of course,)and is the one that shows a bay window in the sitting area of the bedroom.

For a little entertainment for those who are interested. This is an update of Lucy. She is a smart dog, but strong willed, "Just like most "GOOD WOMEN". She will be 7 months old on October 4Th. (give or take a month or two,the Vet said. ha ha).