Catherine and Kaitlin has to leave about a week ago, and Dave had to head back as well this weekend, so it's just me here now. I've got what seems like a short time to get a lot done :) The circus that is called purchasing land is complete now, so we now turn our attention to the building. Michael showed us the final blueprint and we spent several hours pouring over it. Michael is a man of few words-I'm not sure if it's a language barrier thing or he's just a quiet guy. He takes great pride in his work-that much is evident, and he's a perfectionist. I feel like we are in good hands. That being said, the estimate was higher than I wanted, and it only got higher when we realized a ceiling wasn't included in the cost. (Before you go thinking he's a shoddy contractor, know that not all houses have ceilings here, only a roof is really necessary). We did some negotiating. We did some trimming. We ended up taking off a few square feet and rearranging to keep things within the budget. Which means poor Michael has to redraw the blueprints again. We got it to a cost that I think we can manage. I signed the contract this week, so it's now official and legally binding. Gulp. The house will be around 2,600 square feet, and compared to building in the US it's an amazingly cheap. But it's still thousands of dollars I have committed to be paid upfront, and I walked away equal parts excited and terrified. From my life experience thus far, I think that is how most great things start though, so I will forge on until the excited outweighs the terrified.
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| A quick trip to the equator before Dave got on his plane! |
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| Off to the airport in style :) |
The kids and I had a movie night on Saturday-which is always a treat from them. I brought my little projector and we made a theater out of the living room with a sheet for a screen. It's not easy to pick a movie that appeals to an age range of 5 years to 18 years, but I think they all appreciated Ella Enchanted. It's a fairy tale story with song singing and slapstick humor that Arnold particularly appreciated. It had just enough action for the boys to forgive the fairy tale theme and romantic ending. Selah fell asleep half way through, per the usual, but we left her in her spot on the couch as she does not like to miss the movie, even if she is not watching it.
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Teddy was in charge of hanging the sheet screen.....which lasted about 3 minutes before
reinforcements were needed. Thank goodness for my first aid kit-medical tape has many uses :)
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| The patient audience, waiting for their movie. |
I am planning on taking the kids to see the land soon, as they haven't seen it yet, or really heard much about it. My staff knows, but i didn't want to get their hopes up and then dash them if the purchase fell through. I think they'll be pretty excited :)
Jessie
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