One Word

 For some reason the past few months have been odd. I have been busy with out-of-the-ordinary stuff. That throws me off kilter. I'm much better at order and stability than I am at spontaneous and unexpected.

So, it's time to pick a word for 2022. In choosing this year's word, I looked back to see what I've chosen in the past: Steadfast, Resolute, People, Hope, Content, Time, Home, Bold, Freedom, Confident. 

Since I seem to be in a season of instability, my word for this year is Serene. I need to focus on taking care of myself in order to take care of some of the issues facing me. Specifically finding a good living solution for my parents. I need to be calm. I need to rest in the serenity of faith. I need to take very deep breaths. And I need to remind myself of my Source of confidence for the future.

Now, if you know me, you're probably laughing because I am a world-class worrier. So this will indeed be a challenge! I think I can...

se·rene

adjective

calm, peaceful, and untroubled; tranquil.

Happy New Year!

Wow, I really disappeared, didn't I? There have been many distractions this year. My brother and I are trying to find a safe, dignified living situation for our parents. Mom has cognitive issues and Dad's health is poor. I just couldn't really work up the enthusiasm to post. I even started my annual Christmas letter, read it, and then decided to not send one this year. Very unusual for me!

Anyway, here we are, a new year! I have to say that when I watch the news, I am so thankful for where I live. Our lives are not really impacted by the covid restrictions. I do know several people who have contracted the Omicron varient, but they haven't been sick. Hopefully 2022 will be the year the virus drops off of the everyday radar. (Probably will be. I'm cynical, but it's an election year and I don't think the politicians will want to have covid as a priority issue).

2022 should be an exciting year for us. We signed a contract to build a new home in late March 2021. As of November 1, we have plumbing, but no progress since then. Fingers crossed we'll be in our home by late Spring. 

Our family was all together for Family Christmas this year and we took the opportunity to take pictures. 

 Zach and Skye 

 Katie, Gabe, Sunny, Thunder

JD, Janel, Blizzard, Winter

Jessica, Adam, Snow, Storm

Me and Dan

My little family!

As I look forward to 2022, my thoughts are focused on moving into our new home, hopefully sometime in the first half of the year. I'm busy downsizing, trying to get rid of 33% of our stuff, since the new house is 33% smaller than this one. I think I'm doing ok... we'll find out when we get to the other house! 

I enjoy reading your blogs. Some of you I've read for so many years I feel as if I know you! I enjoy hearing how your family is doing, you inspire me with your creativity, and many of you are "sisters in faith". I'm eager to see what this new year brings for all of us!

More Progress!

 

We have a roof!

As you can see our roof trusses were dropped. When we drove by on Friday, there they were! We'll drive by again on Tuesday to see if they've been installed. We're excited!

We've Been Framed!

 On Friday, 10/1 we drove by our house HOPING to find that the framework lumber for our house had been dropped... it had! We were so excited. I texted photos to our kids, posted photos on Instagram and we celebrated. 

We did not expect the framers to work on Saturday, so we decided we wouldn't come back out until Monday (when we were hoping to see the exterior frame up at least). Saturday morning while we were at the Mall with Sunny, Katie called and asked "which house is yours?" We told her and she said "it's been framed!" We finished up at the Mall and drove over to see for ourselves. Sure enough, the exterior frame was up and the framers were working on the interior. Oh my gosh! Six months and four days after signing our contract we had a frame! More texts to kids, more photos on Instagram.

We couldn't get out and walk on it since they were working so we drove back out yesterday evening to walk on it. Remember, we haven't been in a model nor seen our floor plan built. I was most eager to walk though and imagine the rooms.

This morning we returned with our floor plan, laser measure and tape measure to check things out. It's like a dream. We'll go back tomorrow to see if the interior framing is complete. Then we'll start hoping for the roof trusses to be dropped.

As I said the other day, the big hold ups right now are HVAC, Windows, Electric, and of course, Cabinets. Fingers crossed that those bottlenecks will ease in the weeks ahead.

In the meantime, we're thrilled to be framed.

Six Months and Counting...

 We signed the contract on our new home six months ago yesterday. Although I knew how long it was going to take to build the house, knowing and experiencing are two very different things! 

No photos in this post because there's nothing to show that I haven't already shared. There is a little good news... they are framing the houses on our street so we're hoping they'll get to ours soon. As we drive through the community twice a week it appears that the current holdups are electric, windows, stucco, and of course the ubiquitous cabinets. The cabinets are literally sitting on ships in California ports. So close, yet... Appliances are on back order too. Our builder is handling that by providing loaners just so people can move into their homes. 

A lender Dan does appraisals for is one of the preferred lenders for this builder. I've been able to accompany him on two appraisals there and I've enjoyed seeing what others are choosing for finishes in their homes. Of course it's not all fun and games when I accompany him. I have to work! My job is to take the required photos for the appraisal. Street view, Front of house, both front sides of house, garage, each room in the house, back of house, both back sides of house, and back view if there is one. Real tough job, right!?

Still Waiting...

 We're still waiting for our new home to be framed. We know this is going to be a looong drawn out process so we celebrate each and every little sign of progress. 

The latest signs of progress are that the ends of the post tension rods were trimmed on the foundation. After that the name of each room was written on the slab. Yay! Of course I took pictures. Haha.

We had a phone meeting with the hardscape landscape designer. He told us our house is scheduled for frame inspection on 12/29. I actually laughed. Then he said "of course, that could change". I didn't have the heart to say what I was thinking "yep, it could be moved back further".

We did talk to our sales associate a week ago and he said it's possible (fingers crossed) that our lumber could be dropped in the next week or two. We'll see.

In the meantime, Dan's received two appraisal orders for our community. It's exciting to see the progress on some of the other houses.

I keep busy decluttering our stuff. Packing what's not essential for life in this house. And dreaming about what our house may look like... Someday.

Never Forget