Our House

I am glad to report that I was able to reconcile the checkbook to perfection in a record amount of time! It had to be the latte. That will have to be a tradition! We are staying in town this weekend and plan to get our backyard flower beds planted. That is the last of our landscaping to complete- we moved into this house in April 2005. Chad has been in the building industry on and off since 1998. He has been a framer, was an assistant in an office of a local builder, and for 5 years, design trusses. He is currently a job superintendent for a builder, which means he is in charge of making sure the houses got built. He is also designing some trusses still and is also drawing homes. Chad has a passion for homes and design. He drew the first home we built and also drew the home we live in now. (The first one he drew by hand-he has since learned a computer program.) He is very talented, and with his attention to detail, creates great layouts. He likes to do his own projects and decided that he would like to build a house. So, in September of 2004, he began building this house. He framed the house with the help from several friends. He would work on the house in the evenings, after getting off work, and on weekends. He worked out in the winter weather, wind, snow and dark nights. Chad's dad is an electrician, and he came to wire the house. Chad did all he knew how to do on the house, and scheduled sub-contractors to do the rest. I was impressed that he knew so much and knew how to get things done. I knew that this was a huge challenge for him, and he carried himself so well and did what needed to be done to finish the task. Chad learned so much in the process, and has voiced how well things went for him, this first time building a home. He also talks about it being the hardest things he has ever done. Our home is beautiful, but it is so much more than that to me. It is a tangible reminder of God's faithfulness and presence in our lives, and more specifically in Chad's life. This house is part of a dream that Chad had, that has now been fulfilled. It is also a reminder that God is not done with Chad. God has even greater things for Chad in the future. We will sell this house next spring, and Chad will build another for us. God has given Chad a great talent that he has chosen to use as a way to take care of his family. I am thankful for a husband who seeks his dreams and for a God who instills those dreams-with the desire to bless them.