![Picture](/uploads/4/4/9/8/44987767/4768689_orig.jpg)
This Memorial Day weekend could have been the most exciting one Brad and I have ever had.
We walked into the Spencer County, Ind., courthouse with a lot of anticipation and trepidation on Friday, May 22. I was expecting that our end goal of obtaining a house permit would probably hit a snag somewhere – as in, some paperwork we hadn’t completed and were going to learn about on Friday. It’s not like we are experts in the process of building a home. However, after climbing the beautiful staircase of that 1920-built limestone building a time or two and meeting with the health department, the auditor’s office, and the planning commission, we left with a septic permit, a new home address, and our building permit! It was surreal. Our building project is under way! We left with one burden lifted and a whole lot of work about to begin.
From the courthouse, we drove to our property, which now is officially located on Owl Town Sand Cut Road in Grandview. I wondered how long it would take us to see the new barn as we slinked up the gravel road. It actually takes quite a while, and you almost have to reach our drive. When you see the barn, though, it is unmistakenly red. I absolutely love the outside colors. We inspected the building and picked up our keys. Brad stored the first official bench inside the barn so that there’s somewhere to sit. We also celebrated that electricity has been run to our land. Later in the day, we drove up to Dale and signed the insurance papers, thanks to Lincoln Hills Insurance, which found the right policy for us.
My dad and Brad worked in the barn on Saturday morning, making sure the floor was as clean as possible, while my mom, my eldest niece, Lexe, and I got the building permits laminated. (A Starbucks stop was in store for the girls, of course.) My dad and Brad traveled later in the afternoon to Hardinsburg, Ky., to look at a 4x4 truck that will soon be part of the Maisto road crew. Brad got to bargain with a real Kentucky Baptist preacher on that deal, and the new-to-us GMC truck should be available for pickup in June, which my dad will handle for us. We have my brother, Eric, to thank for this deal. He scouted it out for us. A 4x4 truck will be a real blessing when that little gravel road is muddy and icy and we need to get out.
On Saturday afternoon, my brother Keith and his family arrived and drove out to see the barn. I rode with them. His girls are ages 4 and 2, and I got to see the countryside through the eyes of a child once again. As we pulled into our property, my youngest niece exclaimed with all the enthusiasm you’ve ever heard, “Look, Mama, a swimming pool!” Wow, am I a cool aunt or what? Unfortunately, it’s just a pond. Later as we walked the premises of the barn, you would have thought Santa had arrived because the dirt was such an amazing playground for the girls. As we passed the drainage pipes that my husband had worked hard to match up with the gutters of the barn, bury, and point down the slope to the ditch, my youngest niece once again exclaims, “Look! A slide!” She’s such an optimist. The eldest niece was quite concerned with where we would sleep. That took some explaining, but I think she finally understood that I have a home that is far away for now, and we won’t be sleeping in the barn. It was so fun to see Maisto Mountain through the eyes of my youngest nieces, though. You sometimes forget how big things look to children.
We posted our permits on Sunday afternoon before we left southern Indiana, and our builder has been contacted. So we will see how quickly we can get on the busy summer schedule. We are very excited to start seeing a new home go up! We’d also like to thank B&A Construction in Huntingburg, Ind., once again for a fantastic job on the barn.
Meanwhile, today we spent the afternoon in our garage packing boxes, sweeping, throwing out trash, and making a pile for Goodwill. I reflected a lot on what Jesus taught about not storing up in barns where “moth & rust destroy.” Because please believe me: Moth & rust and other varmints truly do destroy, in addition to making things just plain disgusting and gross. I also am thinking that Jesus had better plans for my life than moving a bunch of junk around an attached garage. Brad and I have sworn to each other to be better organized and less inclined to be pack rats at the new home. I also remind him that I don’t want our grandchildren moving our junk around an attached garage after we’re gone. They have better things to do, and Jesus had bigger plans for their lives, too, than moving my boxes of junk.
Until next time …
We walked into the Spencer County, Ind., courthouse with a lot of anticipation and trepidation on Friday, May 22. I was expecting that our end goal of obtaining a house permit would probably hit a snag somewhere – as in, some paperwork we hadn’t completed and were going to learn about on Friday. It’s not like we are experts in the process of building a home. However, after climbing the beautiful staircase of that 1920-built limestone building a time or two and meeting with the health department, the auditor’s office, and the planning commission, we left with a septic permit, a new home address, and our building permit! It was surreal. Our building project is under way! We left with one burden lifted and a whole lot of work about to begin.
From the courthouse, we drove to our property, which now is officially located on Owl Town Sand Cut Road in Grandview. I wondered how long it would take us to see the new barn as we slinked up the gravel road. It actually takes quite a while, and you almost have to reach our drive. When you see the barn, though, it is unmistakenly red. I absolutely love the outside colors. We inspected the building and picked up our keys. Brad stored the first official bench inside the barn so that there’s somewhere to sit. We also celebrated that electricity has been run to our land. Later in the day, we drove up to Dale and signed the insurance papers, thanks to Lincoln Hills Insurance, which found the right policy for us.
My dad and Brad worked in the barn on Saturday morning, making sure the floor was as clean as possible, while my mom, my eldest niece, Lexe, and I got the building permits laminated. (A Starbucks stop was in store for the girls, of course.) My dad and Brad traveled later in the afternoon to Hardinsburg, Ky., to look at a 4x4 truck that will soon be part of the Maisto road crew. Brad got to bargain with a real Kentucky Baptist preacher on that deal, and the new-to-us GMC truck should be available for pickup in June, which my dad will handle for us. We have my brother, Eric, to thank for this deal. He scouted it out for us. A 4x4 truck will be a real blessing when that little gravel road is muddy and icy and we need to get out.
On Saturday afternoon, my brother Keith and his family arrived and drove out to see the barn. I rode with them. His girls are ages 4 and 2, and I got to see the countryside through the eyes of a child once again. As we pulled into our property, my youngest niece exclaimed with all the enthusiasm you’ve ever heard, “Look, Mama, a swimming pool!” Wow, am I a cool aunt or what? Unfortunately, it’s just a pond. Later as we walked the premises of the barn, you would have thought Santa had arrived because the dirt was such an amazing playground for the girls. As we passed the drainage pipes that my husband had worked hard to match up with the gutters of the barn, bury, and point down the slope to the ditch, my youngest niece once again exclaims, “Look! A slide!” She’s such an optimist. The eldest niece was quite concerned with where we would sleep. That took some explaining, but I think she finally understood that I have a home that is far away for now, and we won’t be sleeping in the barn. It was so fun to see Maisto Mountain through the eyes of my youngest nieces, though. You sometimes forget how big things look to children.
We posted our permits on Sunday afternoon before we left southern Indiana, and our builder has been contacted. So we will see how quickly we can get on the busy summer schedule. We are very excited to start seeing a new home go up! We’d also like to thank B&A Construction in Huntingburg, Ind., once again for a fantastic job on the barn.
Meanwhile, today we spent the afternoon in our garage packing boxes, sweeping, throwing out trash, and making a pile for Goodwill. I reflected a lot on what Jesus taught about not storing up in barns where “moth & rust destroy.” Because please believe me: Moth & rust and other varmints truly do destroy, in addition to making things just plain disgusting and gross. I also am thinking that Jesus had better plans for my life than moving a bunch of junk around an attached garage. Brad and I have sworn to each other to be better organized and less inclined to be pack rats at the new home. I also remind him that I don’t want our grandchildren moving our junk around an attached garage after we’re gone. They have better things to do, and Jesus had bigger plans for their lives, too, than moving my boxes of junk.
Until next time …