What's Next?

(View from the top of The Homestead)

Yesterday, my dear bride and I celebrated our 19th year of marriage.  I don't have to tell you what an incredible person she must be to put up with yours truly for nearly two decades (longer, if you count our entire relationship)... if you'd like details on the kind of woman she is, look up Proverbs 31:10-31.

When we first began our life together, we both had the seeds of desire for "Wide Open Spaces".  And as long as we lived in the city, dog-gone-it, those seeds just would not stop sprouting, in our minds.  So, while still living in Metropolis, we dreamed about our Homestead:  40 acres of half-timbered, half-pastured land, with a year-round creek running right next to our home site.  We'd build our log-home from the trees on the property (without so much as making a dent in the forest's aesthetic appeal), and live happily ever after.

Well, it seems our Provider has revealed His own set of details.  Like, "Move to the country FIRST, by faith, and watch for Me to unfold the remaining details."

After nine months of getting our footing in NW Montana (the first 3 months, we lived in a tent — no joke), and after much prayer and consideration, we have resolved ourselves to purchase (from a dear relative) three+ acres of gently-sloped, well-timbered land in Whitefish.  Not "pasture land", in the purest sense.  No creek.  No electricity yet.  However, with the provisos offered in the deal (no interest on the loan and free rent in an adjacent home for the duration of our construction, among other providential features), it woud be foolish and discontented to pass it up.  We'll be planning and building our home as frugally as possible, with an eye toward warmth and dryness.  :-)  Though we have not yet entered into the official (legal) agreement, we have begun, by faith (and with the land-owner's permission) to clean up the deadwood around the property, cutting it and sorting it into either "firewood" or "construction material".  All the kids are excited to help, and we have had many a picnic there, building up sweat equity.  Here are some pictures of our work, thus far.  Enjoy!