On We Go...

Moving poles to get ready for the logs

Spray foam insulation & caulk around the bird blocks

Well, I'm pretty satisfied with everything I have gotten done on the cabin in the last couple of weeks...

I'm shooting to get the cypress logs for the house here in March, so I have been getting ready for that. The logs have not been cut yet and it's been raining a lot lately, so I'm praying it will stop raining enough for them to get in there & cut them down!! I rented a forklift to move the telephone poles around that I will use as sacrificial logs to set the cypress on to keep them off the ground. I've also been looking at the house plans, counting exactly how many logs I will need & trying to figure out what I want to rent to unload those trucks! I'll probably be getting 4 truck loads of logs.

In the meantime, I've had a couple of guys who are going to help me build the house that have come on the scene & they are now helping me finish the garage apartment so when the house logs come, we can get to peeling & get prepared to start building the house. A lot of exciting things happening here!

As far as what we have gotten done in the last couple of weeks, we got all of the bird blocks insulated with spray foam & the edges caulked.

Trimming up the bird blocks    

Then we started adding the trim. I have lots of cypress scraps stored from our original load of logs for the garage that Stewart had cut for trim, so I got them stained & Tom put them up.












We got the windows insulated with spray foam & the trim put on and stained. They are looking really good.

Drywall finished, stain glass in

The drywall is finally finished as well & is ready for the earth plaster finish we are about to apply. A HUGE thanks goes out to David & Karen Boswell, who came & spent the weekend with me finishing up the sanding & final coat of mud. One thing about building this cabin, I have met some really special people that I never would have met if I wasn't pursuing this adventure. The drywall looks great!

We also put the stained glass in the bathroom wall & are in the process of getting the mud finished around it. I think it will be a nice touch.

Close up of stain glass in bathroom wall

Lance Boswell did a fantastic job of scribing the drywall to the Ridge pole support log. Thanks Lance!

Just a few pictures of the drywall completed. It's really starting to feel like a cabin. Won't be long now until it's finished. It's so awesome to see the end in sight!

Check out the tile in the shower. I'm pretty stoked about this. I was thinking it was time to pick out some tile for the shower one day & as I was walking up the driveway I remembered that 4 or 5 years ago Stewart got a big thing of used travertine tile off Craig's List for free. It had been sitting in the woods on the property that whole time. I went over to check it out & I love it! I think it's going to work perfect. One of my guys Glean started setting the tiles & showed me how to do it. It's my first tile job ever! And, I have enough travertine tile sitting in the woods to do several more bathrooms.









I'm loving this tile. It has a nice rustic feel to it. I went to Lowes & got some bronze accent tiles to throw in with it.

Another huge thanks to David & Karen Boswell. David built my awesome entrance door for me out of some cypress I had cut. The door is absolutely amazing & I actually got the idea for the door off the Log Home Builders Association website.

This is me hammering nails in the door stops. I actually have 5 layers of clothes on, as the high that day was 35 degrees. We spent about 12 hours working on the door that day, hanging it, sanding it down to make it fit properly, bolting the hinges in it, then routing out holes for the lock & handle. What a job it was & man does it look amazing!! We actually didn't get it completely finished, so once it is done I will put more pictures of the final product. Very pumped about this door!

David did a fine job building that door.

Below is the door with the door stops stained. The deadbolt lock is in, but we still need to put the handle on. More pictures to come! Up next, it's finally time for Earth Clay!! I've been looking forward to this for a while. I love to play in mud. It's the final finish for the interior walls. Stay tuned...

Passing the Torch & the Flame Continues

I've been thinking for quite some time about the name of the blog, and have known there would come a day when it would be time to change it, though I didn't know when or what it would be. 

I believe that time has now come...

As I continue forward in life, I am finding there is a process & natural rhythm to things, just as there has been a process to grief. I've learned to lay down parts of my heart that I thought were my future, but instead were for a moment & a part of history. In the unfolding of the rhythm I have gained a strength to be able to accept reality as it is. In accepting this new reality, I've learned to step back & view my life as well as the dreams Stewart & I were pursuing with a new perspective, leading me to ask questions about where to go from here.

I am reminded of one of the first few phone conversations I ever had with Stewart when we first met. We were talking about different dreams & desires we had. I told Stewart I had a desire to build a log cabin. He said, "I do too!" I said, "But I want to build it. With my own two hands. I want to hand peel the logs & everything." He said, "Oh! That would be awesome."

It is a vision God had placed in us both. A vision I believe God wants me to continue to pursue. One that did not die just because Stewart died, but instead continues to live on in me. It's interesting to me that even though Stewart & I were building the log garage that I have been working so hard to finish ever since his death, Stewart had already laid the foundation for the house; the house that hasn't been built yet. Stewart has laid the foundation for the house, just as he helped to lay a foundation in me & as he also laid the foundation for this vision to become reality. I NEVER would have started this project if it hadn't been for Stewart. He had the courage needed to start the project. And now I believe it's my turn to have the courage to finish it.

It's a journey for me through unknown territory. There are risks & many things I will learn along the way. I believe God has spoken to my spirit that this journey of building the log cabin is a picture of learning to walk with Him through the unknowns of this life, while completely trusting in His goodness & His Sovereign plan over it all. It's about learning to let God lead me through the building process, while growing my faith & trust in Him. As I am building this cabin, God is building things in me.

As I pray through the process of walking this out, I am asking God to direct the steps of my path; believing He WILL lead & guide me every step of the way.

"I will instruct you & teach you in the way that you should go, I will counsel you with my eye upon you..."

Psalm 32:8

Even though Stewart is no longer with me to see this adventure through, I will own it & continue walking it out as God leads. Stewart's spirit will forever hold a special place inside my heart, but I will always remember that he was the igniter of this flame...   

Seasons of Pain become our Opportunity…

Seasons…

Seasons come & seasons go. And seasons also return. There are always lessons in every season of life that we face if we are open & aware. And with their return, it’s as if there is an opportunity to put to practice what we have learned. To put to the test the truth we have been given.

Sometimes, a season is composed of the difficulties & the trials of life, when hard things come upon us; pain & lack of comfort, as well as a lack of understanding in the matter. It’s a refining process, a season that purges us by the fire of affliction...

As I enter a returning season, I am reminded of the truth that God has given me on the issue of pain…

Rather than focusing on the discomfort & how to get out of it, instead changing my perspective to view it as an opportunity to go deeper with God. An opportunity to experience things with God that could not be experienced otherwise.

With trials & the pain of life, it opens us up to the depths of our being, revealing parts of our hearts & ourselves that we cannot always see & that may be hard to bear. But if we will yield to the process & let God do what He wants to do, letting pain produce fruit in our lives, it becomes a beautiful opportunity to experience a depth & an intimacy with God, that only comes from trusting God with the pain…

By trusting God, that He is Sovereign & that He has allowed the hard circumstances to enter our lives, we are trusting that there are things He wants to accomplish through it.

By trusting God with our trials & hard circumstances, we choose to stand. We choose to believe in the character of God & who He says He is, instead of choosing to believe what we are feeling or even what the world around us may be saying…

As I walk through the journey of my life, I see seasons come & go. And I see the seasons return again… It’s as if the roots of truth that were birthed through the lessons & trials are getting another chance to grow deeper; to go deeper…

God wants our roots to go deep, reaching into the depths of His Love & His purpose in our lives…

I’ve taken notice that it’s not when times are good & comfortable that we grow or gain the most understanding; it’s when times are hard & there is pain. It’s then, when pain becomes our opportunity…

An opportunity to stand firm on what we know to be true of God’s character, no matter what kind of turmoil surrounds us. An opportunity to see what we are really made of & how much we truly believe what God says in His word. An opportunity to let God reach into the deepest corners of our hearts & purge us of anything that doesn’t reflect His image. An opportunity to press into God, going deeper in intimacy with Him, letting Him speak to our hearts & teach us, giving us His perspective on the trials & hard circumstances we are facing…

There is always a choice of how we will let the pains of this life affect us. Will we let them destroy us? Make us bitter? Make us run from it or numb it with denial & earthly pleasures?

Or will we trust God & stand & yield?

Thanking Him that He has a purpose for allowing the pain to touch our life & it is GOOD.

Will we open up & let God take us deeper into our own hearts & let Him touch those places? Will we use the trials we are facing as an opportunity to grow, to change & to heal?

I am challenged by the opportunity to let a returning season take me deeper. I am challenged in the midst of turmoil & pain to stand firm on what God has spoken to my heart, instead of believing the many emotions I may be struggling with.

What does God’s word say? What do I know to be true of my God? What do I really believe about His character?

It’s in the season of trials & pain that we ask these questions; that we go deeper into the core of our faith. That we press into God & gain a deeper intimacy with Him.

So in reality, not only do seasons of pain & hard circumstances become our opportunity, but they also become our blessing…

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Weeping,

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength..."

Psalm 84: 5-7

Boswell Family Drywall Party!!

And so the drywall begins...

It seems every time I mentioned to someone that I was about to start the drywall, people would say, "oh. I hate drywall."

All the more reason why it is totally awesome that the Boswell Family has come out to help me complete it!! Thank you so much to all of you Boswell's who have bent over backwards to help me with the cabin. We thought it might take 3 days to complete the drywall in the garage, but instead it has taken 3 weekends so far with more to do!!

It doesn't look like much, but cutting around curvy logs has made it a bit more time consuming.Even so, we have had a blast & I have certainly enjoyed the company & the new friendships! This fall weather has been amazing & the cool temps have been perfect for the first ever bonfire that we had!!

This blog entry is comprised of several different weekends of the Boswell's coming out to work on the drywall.

Adam & Zack hanging drywall

Landon, putting insulation in the walls for sound proofing

Adam is cutting out the hole for the stain glass in the bathroom wall

Connor with his oxygen mask on

Adam doing a fine job cutting drywall

Zack smiling big for the camera (I think he likes having his picture taken)

Wayne & Landon, who have both helped me out so much!! Thanks guys!

David spraying foam around the windows & at the base of the gable

Cutting drywall

David & Karen Boswell

David, doing a great job hanging drywall around the Ridgepole

Karen, who is the best "mudder" ever! Thanks Karen for all you have done to help

Landon hanging drywall & Karen sanding the first coat of mud she has applied

A great brotherly photo

Lance cutting drywall

David taping up the logs along the edges.

Part of the reason it has taken so long to do the drywall is because it is being fitted against a curvy log wall. David & Lance did a fine job scribing a pattern from the logs to transpose onto a piece of drywall, then cut it to fit the wall. It's going to look great!

A picture of the drywall coming along & the RPSL log we had to scribe to make it flow together

Landon up high putting a coat of mud in the gable

Me taping up the logs before we mud it with a little mud on my face...

Another thing we are working on is the entry door to the cabin. David built this really cool barbaric door for me out of some left over cypress logs I had cut into boards.

I'm putting a coat of stain on the door.

Lance hanging drywall by the loft. It's coming along!!

Another great brotherly photo (Lance & Landon)

Some of the Boswell boys mudding the entry way up the stairs to the apartment

Me & Lance; of course when you're mudding you gotta put a little mud on your face!

Well we are just one step closer to completion on the drywall. One more coat of mud & we'll be finished with this portion. Stay tuned!!

Eating the Elephant...

I'll never forget the times just after Stewart's death when I was thinking about this cabin project & contemplating what I was going to do & how in the world I was going to make it happen with Stewart gone. As I have said before, a great friend told me, "Rachel, How do you eat an elephant?... You can't look at the big picture, but you have to eat that thing one bite at a time..."

It has been 19 months since my new journey began. It feels quick & it feels long all at the same time, but it feels really amazing that I am actually really eating this elephant!!

I have learned so much in the last 19 months. Not only about building a log cabin, but about life! It's as if the journey I am walking through of tackling this project is a reflection of what God is doing in my life as I continue to move forward, face hard things & tackle the unknown territories... It has been so good for me to push though the intimidation I have felt to keep going, all the while chipping away, learning all kinds of new things & every week getting one step closer to completing the creation that began as just a dream... What a cool experience this has been... Difficult & challenging at times, but cool.

I have been getting so much done on the cabin lately, it feels pretty fantastic. I feel so blessed for the awesome new people I am meeting along the way who have been helping me. God has brought some new friends into my life that have helped me so much! I am humbled by how God is blessing me in this adventure!

And now on to the work I've completed since the last blog:

After the chinking was complete, I got gutters installed.

Then I had spray foam insulation installed in the gables using the company AIT Foam.

Loving the spray foam!

Then Kennon came out & helped me finish framing the closet & the loft wall.

Loft Framing complete

Will & Jamie out to help for a day

Will & Jamie installing the exterior portion of the LG mini-split system

Will running the interior pieces to the mini-split system

Haley, Will & Helen working together to run the tubing for the mini-split

Work crew for the day to install the mini-split system from Left: Sandra (Stewart's sister), Helen, Will, Haley

I also just got the gas lines run in the garage & the tankless hot water heater installed. I got the propane tank out here & the gas lines run to the cabin. Then I had a bunch of inspections!

We are definitely moving along!!!

Up next, dry wall!!! Stay tuned....