a baby, a journal, a little life . . .

 I have written only two or three times in the last year; a year that has been filled with change and trial.

But we have also been abundantly blessed, in many ways. I have not felt the desire to blog. In fact I wondered if I ever would again. But so much is happening and I fear it will all be forgotten unless I record it. How do I recap a years worth of life? There is so much I want to remember.  

Violet is almost 12 weeks old. 

As I stood at the lot, watching them work, I realized that my house will be built by the blue-collared. much life my life was shaped by them. I was raised by one and married another. These people as artists and craftsman. They are skilled and precise. I watch them work and I'm grateful. My house will be strong and safe, beautiful and comfortable. It is in good hands that work hard.so much of what they do we take for granted. They build our houses, they beautify our spaces, the keep us sanitary and lit and plumbed and going places. I was filled with gratitude for these people. I was raised by one and married another. My life has been shared by these "Blue-collared' workers.

footings

September 22 the forms for the footings were built in the hole. 

They then sat empty while we waited, and waited, and waited for the building permit.

Because you can't pour until you have that permit.

Today, October 6, our builder got the permit and poured the footings! 

This means we are (finally) out of the gate and on our way! 

I've never been so happy about concrete.

footings

September 22 the forms for the footings were built in the hole. 

They then sat empty while we waited, and waited, and waited for the building permit.

Because you can't pour until you have that permit.

Today, October 6, our builder got the permit and poured the footings! 

This means we are (finally) out of the gate and on our way! 

I've never been so happy about concrete.

luckiest girl

Tuesday evening just after dinner Darren surprised me with saying that he thought I needed an evening out with the girls. He would be taking over at home and we were free to go to the movies! So off we went to see Storks. The next morning Nya awoke tired from the late night and asked if she could stay home and go back to bed. Stay home she did, but she never made it back to bed. I had things to do and she came along for the ride. Nanaimo was my first stop. I had to go to Lowe's to pick up a pedestal sink for the new house. As we walked around the store, her little hand in mine, she blissfully declared, "All my friends are at school, and I'm here with you. I'm the luckiest girl in the world!" The luckiest girl in the world? My heart was filled to bursting. It doesn't take anything grand to show our children love. They really do, for the most part, just want us. Such was the theme of the movie we'd just watched the evening before. Time. With us. The rest of the day went the same, no matter what we did, she thought she was so lucky just to be with me! This morning she crawled out of bed and got herself ready for school as usual and routine took over. I'm so grateful I listened to the needs of her little heart yesterday and kept her home with me. She felt loved in the simplest of ways and I will have those memories forever. No regrets, not a single one. I can't think of a anything she could have learned at school yesterday that would have been more important than the way her sweet soul was filled with the knowledge that she is mine and I am hers and she is loved. As for myself, I was left with the reaffirmation that I am so blessed. And she doesn't even understand that the luckiest girl in the whole wide world isn't her . . . it's me!

we have a hole

Tuesday September 20, 2016 we broke ground! It almost feels surreal. I wasn't sure this day would ever come. 

I arrived at the lot at 8:30 to a bunch of men standing in front of the first scoop of earth and a quiet machine. I jokingly asked if that was it for the day, to which my builder (who is also a dear friend) informs me that he had to shut down operations because they found bones. I ask with trepidation, "Animal or human?" "Human", he replies, "someone is on their way from Victoria right now." This is not unheard of where we live, as our valley is ancient first nations land. I am thinking this is going to cause a few hours delay, but no, he says we could be at a standstill for months! I was just about to turn around and walk back to my vehicle so that I could go home and cry in private, when four grown men analyze my face, my husband being one of then, and quickly realize that I absolutely and completely swallowed the pack of lies they had just served me on an already delicate string of hope that this house would ever get started. It was, in fact a joke, and I could NOT have been more relieved. I'm not sure that any other possible delay will phase me now! After the relief settled in and the laughing ended, we waited for the excavator operator to return with a hose for his machine, which was the real cause for the standstill. 15 minutes later we were back in business! 

Can you tell we are very happy to have a hole?

we have a hole

Tuesday September 20, 2016 we broke ground! It almost feels surreal. I wasn't sure this day would ever come. 

I arrived at the lot at 8:30 to a bunch of men standing in front of the first scoop of earth and a quiet machine. I jokingly asked if that was it for the day, to which my builder (who is also a dear friend) informs me that he had to shut down operations because they found bones. I ask with trepidation, "Animal or human?" "Human", he replies, "someone is on their way from Victoria right now." This is not unheard of where we live, as our valley is ancient first nations land. I am thinking this is going to cause a few hours delay, but no, he says we could be at a standstill for months! I was just about to turn around and walk back to my vehicle so that I could go home and cry in private, when four grown men analyze my face, my husband being one of then, and quickly realize that I absolutely and completely swallowed the pack of lies they had just served me on an already delicate string of hope that this house would ever get started. It was, in fact a joke, and I could NOT have been more relieved. I'm not sure that any other possible delay will phase me now! After the relief settled in and the laughing ended, we waited for the excavator operator to return with a hose for his machine, which was the real cause for the standstill. 15 minutes later we were back in business! 

Can you tell we are very happy to have a hole?

tree trimming

I feel as though nothing has happened and much has happened at the lot. We have been clearing and cleaning and hauling for months now, but it never seems to look very different, until you look back at how it began.

The lot was pretty heavily treed, which is one of the reasons I feel in love with it. Even though most of them would be coming down, some would remain and remind me of that enchanted feeling I had from the first moment I walked that property and knew without a doubt that somehow, someway it was meant for us and that we would indeed build a house there.

The trees that were left needed a good trim. 

There was a lot of old, dead growth.

before

after

And this maple! We wanted to save this maple. But after years of being surrounded by bigger trees, it grew long and lean to get that sun. At the advice of our tree guy we cut it down to what is now referred to by our builder as "the flagpole". 

We were promised a full tree in a few years. We'll see if we can wait that long. If not, it too will go, but for now it stays and we wait.

Tate then took over the documentation, 

I watched,

and Violet made dirt pies at my feet.

Apart from the fact that we actually get to build a house, what I love the very most is that we get to do this as a family. All of us pulling and sweating and building together. Faces do not always adorn a smile, but at the end of a long, dirty day we leave our lot reluctantly, knowing we have all had a hand in our future and (hopefully) forever home. I imagine my kids returning here in the years to come, to this very house, built with love by all of us. From the big boys who run the equipment to the little girls picking up sticks and playing in the dirt, this house is a labour of love.

tree trimming

I feel as though nothing has happened and much has happened at the lot. We have been clearing and cleaning and hauling for months now, but it never seems to look very different, until you look back at how it began.

The lot was pretty heavily treed, which is one of the reasons I feel in love with it. Even though most of them would be coming down, some would remain and remind me of that enchanted feeling I had from the first moment I walked that property and knew without a doubt that somehow, someway it was meant for us and that we would indeed build a house there.

The trees that were left needed a good trim. 

There was a lot of old, dead growth.

before

after

And this maple! We wanted to save this maple. But after years of being surrounded by bigger trees, it grew long and lean to get that sun. At the advice of our tree guy we cut it down to what is now referred to by our builder as "the flagpole". 

We were promised a full tree in a few years. We'll see if we can wait that long. If not, it too will go, but for now it stays and we wait.

Tate then took over the documentation, 

I watched,

and Violet made dirt pies at my feet.

Apart from the fact that we actually get to build a house, what I love the very most is that we get to do this as a family. All of us pulling and sweating and building together. Faces do not always adorn a smile, but at the end of a long, dirty day we leave our lot reluctantly, knowing we have all had a hand in our future and (hopefully) forever home. I imagine my kids returning here in the years to come, to this very house, built with love by all of us. From the big boys who run the equipment to the little girls picking up sticks and playing in the dirt, this house is a labour of love.