It's beginning to look a lot like a house!

Our house as of yesterday afternoon:

It's really coming along! Every time we stop by we are amazed at how quickly this is happening. It's so exciting and we're loving the process. We can walk through the rooms now and imagine what will happen in each of the spaces. We've even had some pretend tea parties in the play room.

Truth is, we did not want to build a house. We wanted to buy something a little bigger than our current home with a yard already out the back door and paint on the walls. You know, move in when we signed on the dotted line. But that wasn't meant to be, despite two years of looking and making offers and negotiating and looking some more. We knew what we wanted, and in the end, we were going to have the right house for our family and the way we operate if we just buckled down, bought the lot in the right location, designed where every wall was going to stand, and built it. So we took our time, saved, and dove in. 

There were plenty of people who said things like, "I built a house and I'll never do it again." Or "You'll go WAY over budget." (Which made us NOT want to build even more!) One lady even suggested that building a home would ruin her marriage - which in all reality is absurd. Surely picking out lights together or deciding whether to have an island wouldn't break a lifelong commitment. We have to disagree with all these statements.

Sure, unforeseen things come up when you're building and they could cost extra. That's pretty much how the rest of life goes, though, right? You're sailing along and someone gets sick and there are medical bills or the sink starts leaking and you have to call the plumber or your oldest child grows two sizes in one year and all the sudden you're buying yet another wardrobe so she's not wearing high waters and midriffs in public as a 5 year old.

There are lot of decisions that go into building a home. In general, we're people who like to make decisions. We gave ourselves a good six months to research and make those decisions before we broke ground. We're working with a great builder who we trust. We weren't rushed and we agreed that we just wanted to enjoy the process. While we have similar taste, but there are times we don't agree or the budget just isn't giving us the wiggle room to have it all. It's not a bad thing to compromise or give in or say no. Marriage (life) has that. And in the end, it's a pocket door. Or a window. Or a darker shade of stain on the trim. Perspective and not having to get "my way" all the time has helped us a lot. Plus, we get to do this with the person God gave (best gift ever) us as a spouse til death do us part.

So our two cents: building a home is fun!