When I first told a friend that we were going to have to build a house because we couldn’t find one to which Pat didn’t react, he said, “You have no idea what you’re taking on.” That may seem like a simple statement, but, believe me, it is taking on a profundity that I scarcely could have imagined – and we haven’t turned over the first shovel full of dirt for the driveway!

We began looking for land toward the end of last August. When we saw the first piece of property, I promptly dubbed it “The Promised Land”. It seemed to have everything we wanted: whole bunches of hardwood trees, good view, lots and lots of space between neighbors. However, it turned out that it was going to cost an additional $15,000 to $20,000 just to put in a retaining wall and level the ground for a house (in addition to the land cost).

So, we began the search again. We found a neat site across from a lake. It seemed to have everything we wanted: more and more hardwood trees, a place where Pat could paddle a canoe (which she doesn’t have, but would like), etc. The problem with “The Promised Land II” was that the homeowner’s association was possibly going to be engaged in a lawsuit which would cost all the homeowners a lot of money. Back to the search process.

Pat knows how to Google really well. She searched and searched and finally found what I dubbed “The Promising Land”. After two near misses, I didn’t want to assume that this was it. A few weeks ago, we made the trip to northern Georgia. We looked and looked at land for the better part of two days. There was one piece at Teaberry Ridge that we just couldn’t find. We tried and tried, but failed every time. The last day, Kathleen and William went with us. Thanks to their help, we found it. It was at the end of the day. We were worn out. And there it was, “The True Promised Land”!

Lots and lots of hardwood trees cover the land. At the back of the property, our land goes down to a creek at the bottom of a beautiful canyon. A neighbor described for us how he sits on the porch in the late afternoon and watches the raptors hovering on wind currents above the canyon. There is a black bear in the neighborhood, a huge turkey, many deer and other assorted critters. Just my kind of place! (g)

Well, you might think that now we’re home free. Wrong! There’s the floor plan to finalize, the building loan to negotiate, the selection of a builder, etc. Ah,yes, let me explain more about the builder.

Our first choice to build our home was an expert in building safe, healthy houses. However, as time went by, the land we finally settled on was quite far for his work crews. Because of Pat’s health needs, time became of the essence in getting on with the project. Our “second” builder had done a lot of work for our daughter and son-in-law. Excellent builder. However, he was in a motorcycle accident and broke several ribs. A few days later, he had emergency surgery to remove his spleen. The real estate lady who handled the sale of the property called a friend who’d built a home for her. Even though he has semiretired, he agreed to build our home. He is the premiere builder in his area. His name is Bob. Our grandson, nearly three year old Eric RAY, loves the t.v. cartoon show, “Bob the Builder”, so you know the nickname I’ve assigned our builder! (g)

We recently spent quite a bit of time with him discussing where to place the house on our property and what we could do about finishing the design plans. Part of the need for speed is that building materials are going up almost daily (kinda like gasoline). We don’t want to end up with a tepee because we were unable to build! (g)

Well, that’s the current status of our dream to move to a much more friendly climate. We’d appreciate your prayers about all facets of what’s happening. If you have experiences of a similar nature, please use the “Leave a Reply” box below and share with me. If you have a prayer request or praise report, please share that, too.

The words of one of my favorite songs by “The Carpenters” echoes in my ears: “We’ve only just begun…”

SOME RESPONSES TO “THE BRACELETS”

– I took a peek-a-boo and relished reading your piece. Frankly, I was surprised you added my comments to your page, Jerry.

Your granddaughter’s face comes across a bit fuzzy but it is amusing watching her with all that food around her. Anyway, I was “handcuffed” by trying to figure what to say (LOL) but this reminded me when I was 12 (not a Christian then, but with some values) when I consistently stole candy bars from a grocery store near the junior high school I attended. I got away with it for a while but was soon nabbed by store security, taken to a back room, had the candy bar in my possession removed and sent out of the store with a warning (no cuffs, whew!). I sobered up right away and came to Christ in my late teens.

– Glad you get to spend time with Jessica, but I am so sorry that she is still dealing with health issues from that accident. Those things are hard to recover from.

As for the lady in bracelets. lol I have worked in retail several times and know first hand that employees steal much more than the common thief in the stores. It is difficult to even turn in a fellow employee without repercussions, but have had to do it. I have seen employees pick the “cream of the crop” of new shipments and hide them till they can either steal them or until they go on sale. Not right, that’s for sure, but much of the time they get away with it. When you are trained at an establishment, security is one of the things covered and employee thefts are at the top of their list.

We caught one of our sons, when he was very small, sticking some toy or candy or whatever in his pocket——-I snuck up behind him and whapped his behind which raised him off the floor and then marched him up to the manager to tell him what he had done. Not sure if it did any good, but at least I knew I had tried. lol You are so right about the example that parents make. The smorgasbord “all you can eat” that really doesn’t mean for a week – that is a huge problem. I have seen many take food home with them. But, what bothers me just as much is the people who go fill their plate with a variety of stuff, take a few bites, set it aside and go get more. Wasting is just as bad as stealing in my book. That is why it is so expensive to eat out these days.

– Been there, done that. When I was about 8 or 9, we lived in Milwaukee, WI. One of my chores was to run to the local store and pick up whatever my mom needed, and bring it home. I saw another kid slip up to the candy counter and slide a candy bar into his pocket. Looked pretty easy, so I tried. Got away with it. Went around several times and nicked something else. Unbeknown to me, one of the asst. managers saw me, and he walked up behind me and asked, “How much candy can a pocket hold?” He took me back into the rear area of the store and made me empty my pockets, and asked if I would like to have my parents brought down to the store.

Needless to say, I said “no”. He gave me a chance, and told me to do the shopping and go home, and not to steal again. I learned my lesson, and never stole again, from anywhere. Some lessons are learned only the hard way. (g)

– I love mexican food and can no longer eat it . Enjoy for me Jessica. PapaJRay, we recycle to save resources not to save money! I, too, stole a notebook in my youth! sighhhhhhhh It is with us to the end so we don’t do worse.