Footings

July 10, 2011

Do you know what "footings" are? Well, I didn't but I do now. They are heavy-duty concrete that a house is built upon. The Bible says to " build one's house upon a rock"...I would guess concrete will sufice. So the day after the steam shovel and the bulldozer dug a big hole the cement mixer was there to pour the concrete footings. It is now possible to actually see where the house will stand. It may not look like much yet but it is exciting. This week, Lord willing, the walls of the basement will be poured. After that we will need to wait for a couple of weeks for the concrete to dry completely.

In meantime we have been looking at siding, roofs, windows, flooring and stone. The best way for us to choose is to drive by other houses looking for something we like. We decided we should probably do our slow drive-bys in other neighborhoods so our future neighbors don't think we are of weirdos casing their neighborhood. We'd hate to alienate them before we even move in!

We have decided that building this house will be fun and a new experience...but we are keeping our perspective. It is just a house...it is not our life...

So, the important things in our life take precedence. My sister (JoAnna) and brother-in-law (Darrell) came into town last Friday. They brought with them our cousin Rachel Anderson who attended Lake Ann camp with Nina and Kati. We dropped the girls at camp Monday morning then the four adults wandered along the coast of Lake Michigan. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. We stayed in an 1800s era bed and breakfast where we truly felt transported back to a by-gone time and place. For anyone coming this way I would recommend a stay at the Petosky Terrace Inn. Wonderful pizza too.

Yesterday Mike and I and Mike's son headed back up north to pick up Nina and Kati at camp. They had a great time and are already talking about going back next summer. What a great feeling to know your kids loved spending a week getting closer to the Lord while playing games and sharing experiences with dozens of other kids their age.

The weather was great again yesterday, so on our way back from camp we took a 2 hour tubing trip down the Platt River enjoying the beauty and wonder of God's creation!

Today we continued our quest to find a home church in Byron Center. We visited Woodward Baptist this morning for their Sunday morning service then returned at 5 PM for Sunday evening Bible study. Someone once told me that finding a new church is like choosing a new family...it must be done thoughtfully and carefully. So, pray for us...that God will direct us to where He wants us to be.

Moving a little dirt...

Well, I guess you can say the building of our house has finally begun. We stopped by the property on Tuesday morning (June 28). Our hearts gave a little flutter when we saw a bulldozer sitting there beside a huge pile of dirt. This is stage one and what they call "scraping the surface". We figured things would really be rolling along now.

But, later in the day we discovered...there had been a delay. It seems the inspector who has to sign off on the building permit neglected to tell our builder, when he talked to him on Thursday, that he would be leaving on vacation Monday morning. So until the inspector is back, no hole can be dug. They were able to stake out the house....that means putting little stakes all over the property showing where the house begins and ends...but the real digging cannot begin until next week. So, we wait.

In the meantime life goes on. We had a nice, but short visit with Sange and her family on Sunday as they came thru on their way home from northern MI. That is one of the cool things about MI...it is on the way to other places. Because of that we fully expect to have frequent guests stopping by on their way somewhere or other. (HINT)

Today I woke up thinking it was Friday, the day that my sister and brother-in-law were coming to visit....I stripped Nina's bed and threw the sheets into the washing machine before I realized I was a day ahead...it is only Thursday. So we piled into the car and headed to the girls swim meet.

I'm hoping this blog will get more exciting...don't give up on us yet. I mean, how exciting can digging a hole in the ground...even a big hole....be?

Life on a Lesser Slant

Hello to all of you who care about what is going on in our life. It has been nearly a year since I last blogged. During that time we returned to Illinois, which I guess we should call "Life on the Level". (Any of you who have been to corn and bean country know what I mean). We were surprised to find that being back in Charleston, Illinois required some adjustment. We were surprised because we were returning home and thought we would automatically just feel "at home". After the initial feelings of being a bit at a loss faded in a few weeks, we did get back into the swing of things.

The start of the school year helped to bring a sense of normalcy back to our life. Nina opted to try a year at Charleston High School where she enjoyed being on swim team, doing some shot putting for the track team, joined the marching and pep band and participated in the school musical "Oklahoma!" This along with taking Drivers Ed made for a busy and exciting year... she also managed to keep a straight A average in all of her subjects the entire year.

Kati returned to Charleston Christian Academy for sixth grade. She participated in basketball
and soccer and got very involved in Olympic style weight-lifting, even going to meets in Columbus, St Louis, and Chicago to compete. Kati had begun taking guitar lessons while in Portugal and asked to continue with that instrument instead of returning to piano lessons as Nina chose to do.

Mike was asked to return to EIU in his capacity of Student Teacher Coordinator and also taught a high school history class at CCA for the first sememster of the year. This kept him very busy...a little too busy.

All of us were actively involved in our church (CCC) Mike and I helping with AWANA and hosting a home group Bible study. The girls were busy with AWANA and youth group.

Then...one day last fall...I happened to look around at our life and realized that while our days were busy and our lives were full, there was something missing. I think it really started when my great niece, Lauren, was born. I realized that all my sisters had grandchildren right there in Charleston and were enjoying being a part of their lives. All of our "grands" were somewhere else and we saw them only a couple times a year. Mike and I started to discuss this aspect of our life and a seed was planted.

We began to discuss our feelings with our adult kids, exploring different alternatives. After some debate, we came to the conclusion that the most practical thing to do would be for us to move to MI (where the majority of the adult kids and grands live) with the goal being to eventually get all or most of them living there too.

The first of the year we put our house on the market. It sold May 1 and by May 31, we were on our way to MI.

We are at present living in a two bedroom apartment in Kentwood, MI. We have a house plan and a builder and a wooded lot. Our builder tells us they should be able to break ground next week and the hope is that our new home will be done in 3-4 months.

I'm inviting anyone who is interested in following our progress to check into our blog periodically as I plan to update it as the building process moves along. Nina has promised to post pictures for me and Mike wants all the imput he can get on what "doorknobs to pick."

The only picture I have at the moment is an empty lot...but hey...you have to start somewhere.