The House We Built: Part II

 Building a house is an all-consuming project.  Everything, and I mean everything else gets put on hold in deference to the ever-growing to-do list for the house.  My kids have been really good sports about putting their needs on hold.  They all pitch in and do their part (except Titus) and we are having a lot of fun along the way...

 ...like this night that the kids were helping Jeff with some trenches and ended up mud bathing instead.

 Jeff taught me how to drive the bobcat, so the kids each got a turn too.

 I spend most of my days in greasy, dirty, jeans with holes and I rarely wear make-up anymore.  I don't shower to start the day, I shower so I can climb into bed.  And I haven't been cooking much lately either.

 Levi is dad's right-hand man on this project.  He is always willing to go with dad and do whatever needs doing.

 We got the foundation tarred and then got the window wells put on (be glad you didn't see me jump the fence and traipse around the stock yard with my tape measure trying to measure and find the right window wells.)

 It was a laaate night getting the rough plumbing in.  I think our neighbors were about ready to kill us when we were still using the jackhammer to get through the footings at 11:00 at night.  So sorry.

 I spent the next day backfilling trenches and prepping the floor for concrete.

 After another late night of setting grade stakes, the basement floor was on it's way early in the morning.

 Then it was time to start framing.  The subfloor was a big step.

 This part makes it start to seem like a real house!

 There is so much unseen work to be done.  Tying in the sewer line...

 ...and the gas line.  After laying the bedding sand, I only got this trench halfway backfilled before I was off to soccer games.

 Throughout the whole process, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to lay a sure foundation.  So much of what we have done will be unseen, but is essential in making sure we have a safe, reliable home.  When we poured this slab inside the garage, I sketched "Helaman 5:12" into the concrete as a reminder of the importance of sure foundations in our lives.

 Right before school started, we had a family sleepover in the camp trailer at the construction site.

And when we woke up this crew was back to work on our house.

Every step is exciting.  We are getting closer each day.