There you are, God!!

Since we started this project, Keith has worked so hard to clear the brush out of our front yard and to begin his vision of what this property is going to become. The lot is looking beautiful and even though he grumbles a bit, I know that he is loving getting to escape "apartment life" and soak up some fresh air. He finally talked me into coming out for the day on Saturday to help him burn the final (we hope) pile of trees and branches that have been cleared. Not surprisingly to anyone, I got overheated working with the fire and had to go lay down.
I found a shady spot, (which was at least 20 degrees cooler than out in the sun), threw some mats on the ground and plopped down. I lay there with my eyes closed thinking about how crazy I was to suggest that I go with Keith today, but a bonfire sounded like so much fun. hmmmm
After a while, though, I opened my eyes. Looking up , I was was greeting with the most beautiful sight. The light through the canopy of trees above made the most perfect picture. The camera, unfortunately couldn't capture the cool breeze, or the complete peacefulness of the scene. Absolutely breathtaking! I lay there for about half an hour just soaking it in. After a while, I realized that I was so blessed to have come out here today just to see this sight and to get a taste of the serenity that we have been dreaming about with this project.
So now, I have found the perfect home our hammock - that I will buy as soon as possible - so that Keith and I can enjoy the peace of our new home and be reminded constantly that God is certainly present in Magnolia, TX!!

Patience, Patience...

After spending the day at the Woodlands Art Festival and dreaming about what we will need to decorate our new home, Keith and I got the bug and drove out to see what progress had been made with the dirt. (Who knew we could get so excited about moving dirt around??!!)

Yes, there was a new pad started which was very exciting, but the best was yet to come. As we were standing on the "front porch" the sun had almost disappeared. There were several deer walking around and the sounds (or lack thereof) were amazing! Lo and behold, we looked up and saw the beginning of a sky full of stars! This is a real treat for both of us. Brief and rare vacations at Mom's house in Bandera have been the only chance that we have had to hunt for constellations in forever. We haven't had everyday star-watching capabilities since Keith built his first house in Midland while we were dating 26 years ago!

The dream of sitting on a front porch made of concrete (instead of dirt) and finding Taurus fighting O'Ryan over the 7 sisters makes us both very happy. This will be worth the wait!

Can it be actually happening??

Two years ago, Keith and I started looking for some land to "someday" build our dream retirement home. We both thought we'd look and dream for a couple of years, save some money and finally choose the perfect spot to settle down and relax. Well, the first day we went driving around, we pulled into High Meadow Ranch and fell in love at first sight! The neighborhood was so peaceful and beautiful and we knew we were home. Within two weeks we signed the deed, sold our house, moved into an apartment and all thoughts of dreaming for a couple of years flew out the window.
We were ready right now to start building and enjoy this beautiful neighborhood. But when you are starting from scratch, we found that things take longer than we could believe possible. Andy has worked so hard to get millions of bids (you think I'm exaggerating?) Getting plans made, permits in place and vendors picked out has taken forever and now God has shown us his sense of humor in giving us the highest amount of rain in the Magnolia area in years!
Our fingers are crossed, but I actually think we might be ready to move forward. The land has finally been cleared and the dump trucks are bringing in dirt this week to get us ready. Andy, Beth and Kylie are headed to Disney World, which is a good thing because when he gets back we are going to be BUSY!!