The Chinking Party: Once Again, A Huge Success

Well, I finally was ready to have another chinking party to chink the interior of the garage. It was a gorgeous weekend once again, as we move into this perfect October weather.

I have to say, I was a bit intimidated about doing the chinking without Stewart here.

Actually ever since I started working on the cabin after his death, there have been many things I was intimidated to do. But the cool thing is, that as I keep the saying, "just eat that elephant one bite at a time" in my mind, I have continued to move forward through those things that have intimidated me, one step at a time, one success at a time.

As I have continued, my confidence is growing & I just keep moving forward. It has been a beautiful growing experience for me to tackle this cabin head on!

It's a good thing I like puzzles, because it was one big puzzle figuring out all the tools & materials I would need to get the chinking going. I got on the log home builders forum to read up on the details of chinking, I talked with Dan at Russell Building Supply, & I was able to blow up some pictures from the last chinking blog I did to make sure I had the right nails & to figure out the nail gun attachment Stewart rigged up. I can't believe I actually found that attachment! But, we had everything we needed to insulate, nail, & chink the interior, and once again, it was a huge success!

The chinking party was a pleasant surprise in that some really neat people I had never met showed up to help. There was an awesome family from Georgia that showed up & even brought a delicious homemade coconut cake! I feel so blessed for the new friends that have come into my life!

A warm & special thanks to all the peeps that came out on Saturday & Sunday to support me & help chink the cabin: My dad, my brothers Jackson & Taylor, Andy, Clete, Ward, David & Karen, Landon, Zack & Danielle, Jerry, Dan, Sherry, Laurel, Ray, Patrick & Kristyn, my mom, David, & Charles.

Thank you all SO much!!!!!

And here we go!! Everyone worked together to cut insulation, stuff the insulation, put nails in the logs, bend the nails back, mix mortar, & put the mortar up.

Danielle cutting insulation into 1" strips to stuff in between the logs

Below, Zack & Landon stuffing insulation

Below, David & Ward (Fellow LHBA member) each using a nail gun to shoot 3" nails into the logs to hold the insulation in place & so the mortar has something to adhere to.

Danielle & Landon stuffing insulation & nailing up the corners

My brother Taylor working that insulation & nailing the corners

Taylor & Landon using the nail gun in a really hard to reach area

Below, Clete & Andy (Fellow LHBA member) nailing nails in the corners & bending them down

Dan (Russell Building Supply) bending down those nails to prepare for the mortar

Well, we were making good time. We got all the insulation cut, stuffed & most of the nails in before we broke for lunch.

After lunch, we began making the mortar. Below, my dad going to town. He is the best mortar maker ever! The mortar is made of a mixture of sand, lime, water & portland cement, all mixed to the perfect consistency.

Danielle did a great job keeping everyone supplied with mortar. She is helping Karen & Laurel get some mortar.

Zack, doing a fantastic job chinking. Way to work that trowel!

Above, Andy (Fellow LHBA member) & Below, Sherry are chinking away!

Above, Landon chinking a corner & Below, Jerry (Fellow LHBA member) working a hard to reach area

Saturday work crew: (From Left to Right)

Zack, Danielle, Landon, Laurel, Ward, Karen, David, Andy & Jim. (Up front) Ava, Rachel, Cody & Sherry

Not pictured: Taylor, Jerry, Dan, Jackson & Clete

Guys, thank you So much for coming out!!!!!

So, at this point my brother Taylor was taking pictures of the crew. He used my camera to take pictures, then set it down. Sunday, I was looking for my camera & it was nowhere to be found. I called Taylor to see if he remembered where it was. He didn't. Of course I was really bummed, I had tons of pictures from Saturday's festivities. He called me back a bit later & said, "this is going to freak you out, but I found your camera." Taylor had driven my truck back home an hour away with the camera sitting on the back bumper the whole time!! Wow.

Well, I am super glad to have my camera back, but I didn't get to take any pictures of the crew on Sunday. But thanks to Charles, I did get some pictures.

Below, Patrick gets the ladder ready to do some chinking, & my beautiful momma chinking the closet!

Charles, doing a great job chinking! Charles wins the prize for this party. He stayed & helped me all day Sunday until 10pm that night. Thanks for your help Charles!

My mom & I chinking the closet

It took a total of 25 hours to do the interior chinking! Wow, what a job. I would say the hardest or most tedious jobs of the whole cabin building project are peeling the logs, stacking the logs, staining the logs, & chinking the logs... It's all about those beautiful logs... But when it's all said & done, it is well worth it. Oh, then there's cleaning the logs after the chinking party is over. It took about 25 hours to clean the excess mortar drips off the logs as well.... Thanks Landon for your help!!

And the finished product...

And on we go... Next we have the Gutters up, HVAC system in, framing finished, gas lines in...

Stayed tuned!

Chinking Party!!

Well, it's finally that time again...

If you are reading this blog, you are more than welcome to stop by!

See the Invitation Below:

You're invited to the Bieber Log Home

Chinking Party!

Bring your spouse, bring your friends,

bring your kids, even your bibs;

It's FINALLY time to finish the insulation & mortar! All I need is help to put it in order!

I'll provide the tools & the food & a special job for you;

It's a one of kind opportunity, how many people do you know have been to a chinking party??

With music, fun work, new friends & good food,

you'll be sure to leave here in a great mood!

And at the end of the day if it's still hot out here,

I'll have a chest full of ice with cold drinks

& cold beer;

By chinking my logs you'll get your face on the blog,

so bring your boots, bring good cheer,

& get your rump here!

September 24 & 25th

Saturday & Sunday

(Sunrise to Sunset)

Come for a day or your welcome to stay!! Camping welcome

RSVP to Rachel

205-249-5352

Call & let me know if you'll be stopping by so I'll know how much food to prepare.

Look forward to seeing you!!

New Life Emerging...

When Stewart was first killed, the word that resonated in my spirit is this:

"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth & dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:24)

I knew there was much significance in this truth & how it pertained to Stewart's death even though I could only begin to wrap my mind around it. Through death, comes life... It takes death to bring about life, to bear new fruit. I knew instinctually that through Stewart's death, fruit would be borne...

In the past few weeks, I have entered into a new season of this journey. It's interesting to me how something so invisible as a feeling & a sense of a season can be so tangible & so real. Along with the sense of a new season has come the hindsight of where I have come from...

I am able to see & feel so clearly, that just like a grain of wheat that has died, & by it borne much fruit, that not only has Stewart died, but I have died too...

I have walked through a hard season of grief & death. And now, all of a sudden, there is new life emerging.

One of the beautiful blessings I gained from being married to Stewart was how knowing him & being loved by him, made me blossom & grow. I am a stronger person & more alive from knowing him than I ever was without him. He encouraged my strengths & nurtured me where I was weak. The only way I can describe the experience is to say that it allowed me to begin to blossom into the woman God has created me to be.

But in hindsight, looking back on where I have come from as I sense this new season emerging, I see parts of me that I didn't even know existed are growing, getting stronger, & starting to blossom. New facets of me. It feels as though I died, but now am growing stronger & becoming more alive through experiencing Stewart's death & coming face to face with my deepest fear. I'm seeing that God is intricately involved in all that I am, & all that I face. I'm seeing a natural rhythm to life. I believe I am beginning to see the flowers that blossom before the fruit is borne... New parts of me God is strengthening & refining.

As through death, pain touches a level of the spirit that opens us up in a very vulnerable way. It's a deep place that only God can fill. And if we will give it to Him completely yielded, trusting in His purpose, what a beautiful opportunity it becomes to experience the heart of God & become acquainted with the term "intimacy with the Almighty." As I have yielded this pain & this journey, the Spirit of God has come & been faithful to satisfy me with His presence, His grace, His love, and a supernatural joy, peace & trust in His purpose...

I see the beauty of Stewart's life & I am truly beginning to see beauty in his death...

"I CAN do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."

I know you guys have been eagerly anticipating my next blog entry, wondering what in the world Rachel is doing out there at that cabin, if anything!! Well, I agree it has been far too long since my last post, but rest assured, my wheels are turning...

Every time I'm out at the cabin, I realize more & more that this passion I feel to build this thing is so much a part of my heart. It is a strong vision. Not only that, but I feel such a peace out there. When I think of all the awesome memories that have been made while working on this cabin; the blood, sweat, & tears that have been shed out there; well, the emotions attached run deep into my being...

Stewart's spirit has so vibrantly touched my life...

It feels like this cabin, this property, & the passion that I still carry to see this vision fulfilled, is a living honor to Stewart. But also, every time I am out there, there is a quiet sweetness that is left in my soul. There is peace. Sometimes it feels as if Stewart's spirit has intertwined with my own, because this hard working fearless nature comes out of me & propels me forward to do things that I thought I could never do. I am very thankful for the strength I have gained from having to do hard things. Having to feel hard things. Having to see hard things. The things that are growing in me due to this are an eternal gift...

For me, it feels like I am pushing forward into unknown territory as I take steps to finish this cabin. It is quite the elephant of a project & overwhelms me at times. But I HAVE to do this. It is too much a part of my heart not to...

Sometimes I find myself in a situation where I have to make a decision on something that I really don't know a lot about. So, I do a little research, ask some questions, think about it, change my mind a few times & finally come to a decision. It just takes me a little longer than I'd like it to, and can sometimes leave me feeling a bit overwhelmed which tends to slow me down. Then sometimes I start getting a lot done & I feel totally charged up & super encouraged about gettin' er done!!

Just the highs & lows I experience while working on the cabin.... But trying to take it step by step, bite by bite...

I have made some good progress lately!!

Check out those awesome Clopay garage doors! This was a hard decision for me, but I finally did it & am very satisfied with the results.


Okay, so a few of the pictures are back from November when we finished the floor & did the framing. Check out John's amazing job of cutting the floor around that cypress ridge pole support log (RPSL). Thanks John!

A picture of the pine floor finished.

Kennon & John framing up the bathroom wall.

Kennon & Charles adding a supportive beam above the door.

Kennon framing up the closet & the left loft wall. Thanks Kennon!

So all of the major things I have gotten done recently: I had the rough electrical done, the underground power lines put in, the septic & water lines put in & connected to the garage, & all the rough plumbing done. I found a bush hog, got the property all cleaned up nice, & moved a big pile of logs that were next to the garage & getting on my nerves... Thanks Dad, for helping me with that!

This may not look like much to you, but I am very excited about this outdoor plumbing. This is the future site of one amazing outdoor shower!

Below are pictures of the rough plumbing & the rough electrical done. Definately a learning experience for me. I had never even seen wires to this degree before. Pretty neat. Even neater is the fact that I know every detail of this cabin inside & out!

Another picture of the great room floor finished.

The framing for the stain glass window going in

A side view of the garage doors.

Up next, getting ready to complete the backfill around the garage & put in a retaining wall, fixing the water drainage for the property, installing HVAC, gas lines in, spray foam insulation, then the chinking party you have all been waiting for...

"He will be the stability of your times, abundant in salvation, wisdom & knowledge." Isaiah 33:6

A Great Pearl: Lessons told from a beautiful perspective...

I suppose along this journey of cabin blogging, there will be times such as this when my heart is so full of "Life," that I must pour it out to you...

A heart full of Life...
"Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth & dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it bears much fruit..." John 12:24

It is absolutely amazing to me, how death brings life... That is truth. In order for there to be new life, there must be death... We can see this in nature all around us. Leaves falling now, new life to come in Spring.

How can it possibly be, that the very death of the one I held more dear than any other, my husband, is bringing forth MUCH life in me??? How can it be? That is truth...

It is only by the grace & power of the one true God that I can be thriving, growing, blossoming, learning, loving during a time of such tremendous loss, pain, suffering, & affliction... It is God's grace that is sustaining me. But not just sustaining me, Strengthening me. Making me stronger than I was before. Empowering me with boldness & understanding that I did not know before. It really has nothing to do with me at all. It is His power flowing through this vessel that is filling me with LIFE... What a powerful pearl.....

This is the message of this season of my life.
This season...
Seasons change, always. But there are always seasons. If there were not seasons, there would be no new life. Each season has it's purpose, & with it comes new life...

There are many stories about the man I loved & the relationship we shared that need to be told, but the one the Spirit of God has laid heavy upon my heart is this....

Stewart & I had a crazy love adventure. One that after 2 years of friendship & secretly in love with eachother, but never saying a word about it or acting upon, only praying for God's guidance, Stewart decided it was time to make a move.

It was our first "date." We spent a day at the lake, waterskiing of course, & it was amazing... Our first time really "alone" together on a planned outing. I was thinking, "he must really like me."

I had gotten back in the boat after an endurance slalom run & Stewart asked me to drive the boat. I sat in the driver's seat happy to do it. He put a blindfold over my eyes & said, "I want to see how much you trust me..."
I never flinched. I let him blindfold me, & I drove that boat down the lake, 40 mph, completely blindfolded, trusting him, listening for his guidance, for his every word telling me which way to turn, to steer... I trusted him 100%...
I never asked him why he did that. I wish I had. I would love to know what compelled Stewart to do such a thing. Then again, I know why he did it...

He told me we were going to eat at a friend's house for lunch. When we got to our destination, (by me blindly driving us), he helped me out of the boat & led me up to a beautiful waterfall.
When we got up to the top, Stewart removed the blindfold from my eyes, & with a dozen roses in 1 hand & my hand upon his wildly beating heart, with tears in his eyes, he told me for the first time that he was in love with me, & that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me...
He then asked me to join him in a period of courtship. A time of dating & getting to know eachother much better with the intention that we were getting married. Of course, I said heck yes...

This event is so vivid in my mind right now, because the Spirit of God is showing me that this is exactly where I am at right now with the Lord. I am at a place of blindly trusting God with my life, my future. It's a scary place to be. I feel as if the Lord has a blindfold on me & is leading me as I am driving the course of my life. He is wanting to court me, to whisper in my ear, "turn this way, turn that way," as I blindly trust Him... All the while He is wanting to be my husband.
What that truly means is not understandable to me at this point. But then, that is the blind journey of discovery I am on...

The blind journey of trust with Stewart to our destination led to the beautiful climax of love unfolding, love revealed & manifested fully.

I am on the blind journey now & the Lord has placed himself as head over me, leading me to the destination. What that will look like no one knows. But God is the God of HOPE, & the God of RESTORATION, so I know & fully expect there to be a beautiful climax that unfolds...

"These light & momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes on what is UNSEEN & not on what is seen. For what is seen is temporary, & what is UNSEEN is ETERNAL..." 2 Cor 4:17-18 NIV

Psalm 34...