The Next 2 Steps. . . Kind Of

The last couple of times that we have been to Springville we didn't think that there was going to be any progress for us to see.  But boy were we wrong.

Last Tuesday we went to see the footings, but they had already put up the supports to start pouring our foundation.  We didn't get to see the footings, but that is okay.  I will take progress over seeing every step happen.

The supports are up.

We had heard from our neighbor Julie that there wouldn't be any progress for about a week because the foundation had to cure.  Which is great news because that meant they could start framing soon.  Well, soonish. 

On Saturday my mom came to Provo so she could see where our new house was and the progress that was being made on it.  As a side note, thanks mom for coming down.  It really meant a lot to us.   Again, we didn't expect anything new to have happened.  Although I did expect the supports to still be up setting the foundation.  They were not.

We have a foundation and window wells.

I know that there is not really any added progress to it, but the supports are down and I was so excited to see that.  That means that they are getting close to starting the next step.  I can't wait to see what they accomplish this week.

Progress. . . And So Soon

Yesterday as I was leaving work. . .  Well maybe I should explain first.  My sweet neighbor in Springville, Julie, is watching over our house progress for us.  When I met her on Saturday she got my phone number from me and said that she would watch over our house for us.  She is going to let me know if there is any major progress.  If so, she would take a picture and send it to me so I know that I need to get down there and see everything that has been done.  Thank you Julie.  Anyway back to the original post. . .  As I was leaving work I got a text from her with a wonderful picture.

Here are the wonderful footings.

At first I didn't know what I was looking at.  I was just excited to see that something had happened in such a short period of time.  Our friend Matt pointed out that they were the footings of the house.  Which then prompted me to ask Chris what footings are and what is their purpose.  For those of you that have no idea what the footings are, like me, let me educate you.  They are the support for the more structural areas of the house.  In the picture, everywhere there is cement there will be a wall of some kind.  Maybe you are all smarter than me though and you already knew what footings were, but it was interesting for me to find out.  I know that I am going to learn a lot throughout this process too.  The picture also shows our floor plan kind of.  Our front door is at the bottom of the picture.

We are really excited about the progress so soon, and I can't wait to go down and stare at it today.  Thanks again Julie for the update!

The Start of Our New Life

On Saturday I went to Springville to check the progress of our house.  I was so happy to see that we have our hole dug.  I know that it doesn't look like much, but I am still very excited about it.  Building our home is now a thing that is really going to happen.  It isn't just an idea that we have talked about, which is what it has kind of felt like the last couple of months.  It is now a thing that we have happening in our life.  Over the next 85 days it is going to get more realistic and more fantastic too.  Awesome!

Our amazing start. . .

While I was there looking and taking pictures one of our new neighbors came over and introduced herself.  She was really nice and welcoming.  It made me feel very comforted and excited to have neighbors that we can finally relate to and become friends with.  One thing that we talked about was our new ward. . .  Don't you worry, I found out that our new ward has 96 primary children.  3 nursery's and 4 sunbeam classes.  So there are only a few children in our ward.  96!!  She also said that they have parties and a lot of social gatherings.  I think that it is going to be an amazing ward and neighborhood for us to be in.  We needed to live somewhere that we can meet new friends and feel like we are apart of the community.

Hooray for a new life!!

Dig Date!

Quick and short update.  Yesterday we got some fantastic news!  They are going to start construction on October 31. . .  As in Halloween. . .  As in 5 days from right now. . .  How great is that?  The estimated completion date is January 29.  So not mid February like we had originally thought.  Chris and I are really ecstatic.  (Me a little bit more than him).  He doesn't consider it under construction until they start framing the house.  That is okay though, I have enough happiness to supply us both. 

I will make sure to keep you updated on the progress over the next 95 days.  More information on progress to come. . .

It's None of Your F-ing Business

Chris and I have been married for 3 1/2 years and have not children yet.  In local LDS circles, that make us pariahs.  In another year or so, we half expect the villagers to storm our gates wielding torches and pitchforks.  Attending social gatherings is a constant worry for us.  Because we are inevitably asked, "So when are you guys going to start having kids?"  If we had a nickel for every time we were asked that question we'd have our own jet.  What is the obsession with married couple having kids in our religion?  I know that some people want to have children immediately.  And if having children quickly is their joint decision, good for them.  A couple should be able to decide those things prayerfully and thoughtfully.  They should also be able to decide to wait.  And no matter what their decision is, it is no third party's business (including family),

Chris has mentioned that some people probably ask about kids because they have nothing else to talk to us about.  That makes a lot of sense.  I think there are some people that fit into that category.  For those people, there is a list of topics that I would rather you ask about.

• Work/Career
• Travel
• Colon Health
• Polka Music
• ANYTHING ELSE

Why wouldn't we want to be ready before having a child?  How could being established financially before kids be a bad thing?  I think that being in a house and my husband having a steady career will make our future children's lives easier.  We will be able to devote more time and energy to them because we won't have to focus on as many external forces.

I want to write this post so that people know a few things.

1. We have a life plan, and that doesn't include children for a while longer.
2. Whether you agree with our plan or not, it is solely our decision.
3. Please stop beating a dead horse.  (We'd hat to have to get PETA involved).

This post isn't meant to offend anyone.  We've been asked by a TON of people, so don't feel singled out.  This is merely a way for me to vent.

Newest Home Update

Yesterday we met with our builder Wade.  He is really nice and also a lot younger than I expected him to be.  Anyway, we went over all of our house plans and double checked all or our options to make sure he had the same information that we figured out a couple of weeks ago.  Everything went smoothly and it was a really good step for us.  Wade told us that he is on site every day making sure that things are going to plan and that there are no mistakes being made.  At the end of the meeting I asked if he knew a rough time line of when construction would start.  He said that they are still waiting on permits from the city, but the plans were with the city right now and he expected to get those back later this week or next week.  Wade is going to start digging the hole in about 3 weeks and 95 days later we will have a completed house and be ready to move in!  We will for sure be in our house the middle of February.  That is only 4 months away.  I am glad that it is happening around the holidays too.  We have Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years (which I am sure you all know about).  There is something to count down to every month.  That way time will fly by and I before we know it we will be moving in.

Grateful That I Have Eternity

Yesterday (10/11/12) my brother Jake got married.  It was an amazingly beautiful day full of love and family.  He was married in the Salt Lake temple to his sweetheart for time and eternity.  I am glad that I was able to be there for his sealing and witness the blessings that come from getting married in the temple.  As the sealing was happening I couldn't help but be reminded of my wedding day 3 years ago.  It also made Chris think about that day as well.  It was almost as if we got married again that day as well.  Our relationship grew a little bit yesterday.  The love we feel for each other was the strongest it has ever been.  Knowing that we get to spend the rest of eternity together got me really emotional, and I realized that I am the luckiest girl in the world.  I am really grateful that I am married to my best friend forever.