We Did It.

Well, we did it.

One of the things we came to Montana to do, is done.

We have officially purchased our first piece of land -- "1.456 acres more or less" -- just outside of Whitefish.  Not only is this the first plot of land we've bought, it will contain (Lord willing) the first house we will have ever built...  which will also be the first home we will have ever bought.  Yes, this piece of wooded bliss will come to represent the end of 20+ years of paying rent.

Hallelujah.

Here's a picture, courtesy of Gogle Maps (boundaries are approximate):

"The Calvi Homestead"

As of today, our names are on the title.  Now it's our turn to "fill the Earth and subdue it."  :-)

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
    but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
-- Proverbs 19:21 (ESV) 

Winter Plowing

(Little Miss makes a snow angel...)

Dear friends:

I have received word that our land tract of 1.5 acres has now been parsed off of Uncle Dave's land, and that we now have our own physical address!  One giant step forward.

Here are a few pics that our oldest daughter snapped, while we were getting ready to plow all-Winter's snow from the homestead driveway...

 

This is the driveway to Dave's pad... covered in 1-2' of snow.

 Around here, giant piles of snow means endless opportunities...

...to build Quinzhees!

Meanwhile, Dave and I got busy, putting chains on his tractor for the winter.

...And off he went, to plow a ton of snow off the driveway...

And then (as if the Google+ image enhancer knew what was going to happen :) it started snowing again, just as he was near the end of the driveway:

__________________________

Please pray for us, as we organize the myriad of details involved in building the "Little House in the Big (Mountain) Woods."

--Ric

The View from the Living Room window...

What in the world is a "Frolic"?

 Photo from AmishAmerica.com

I was talking with a couple of my brothers in Christ recently, when the subject turned (OK, I turned it :-) to the building plans for our home in the woods, beginning in the Spring/Summer/Fall of this year.  I told them that it became clear to me LONG ago that there was no way I could accomplish this endeavor with my pea-sized knowledge of construction (or lack thereof).  I then asked them, if I put a date on the calendar (say, over the course of some upcoming three-day weekend), would they come out and help us "raise the roof" and eat a bunch of food?  One of them, who's had extensive interaction with the Amish in both Montana and Maine, said, "Absolutely!  The Amish call it a 'frolic' or a 'work-bee' ".  They were both quite enthusiastic about the possibility of helping building our home, which came as no surprise to me, given the reality of the love and Spirit of Christ operating in their families' lives.  (Not to mention that they both have some serious labor forces in their families!  :-)

Then I got to thinking.

God has blessed me with such dear family-in-Christ in other locales as well, several hours' drive away, but reachable nonetheless.  I suspect there may be many who would like to visit Montana in the Summer (a gorgeous time to visit here; isn't it always?), and perhaps swing a hammer or heft a saw in productive fellowship on the outskirts of beautiful Whitefish, Montana.

So, here it is:

If you're interested in being a part of our family's biggest project to date, a labor of love that will represent the culmination of a lifetime of prayers and dreams, please consider joining our "Frolic" this Summer.  If you are seriously considering making the trip to join the effort and fellowship, please leave a comment on this post, or send me an email, letting me know when you might be available.  If you are unable to attend, please pray for the Lord's protection, provision and wisdom as we build.  This will undoubtedly be a very long project, overall, but we would be honored to enjoy your company for even a small part of it.

Thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you soon!

Spring is looming...

Photo from JDPayne.org

...Yes, Spring is looming in the near future, and today I am feeling like a deer in the headlights.  For starters, I have a monstrous head-/chest-cold, that makes my head feel like it's in a vise, and my torso is tired from cough spasms.

But more notably, there are a LOT of things heading my way this Spring:

• The home birth of our 6th child.  All of our other children were born in hospitals, so this is a bit of a leap out of our comfort zone.
• The beginning of construction of our home in the woods near Whitefish, MT.  I know virtually nothing about house-building.  I'm very nervous.
• Both of my jobs really tend to ramp up in the Spring, Summer and early Autumn months.

I know I should be extremely excited about all these things, and I truly am, but it does feel a bit overwhelming at times.  Your prayers for health, wisdom, provision and protection would be greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year!

Truth & Fiction

Photo courtesy www.authenticfx.com
 

Disclaimer:  This post is unapologetically aimed strictly at fully-devoted Christ followers.

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I saw a video recently, whose producers went to great lengths to make something false appear very real.  All of the bystanders (caught on multi-angled candid camera, of course) were visibly and understandably freaked out about the staged "outburst" of telekenesis.  However, having been made privy to the actual and elaborate staging procedure beforehand, we YouTube viewers were nothing more than amused and entertained.  It's all in fun, right?

Well, think about it, for a moment.

If something genuinely disturbing and unprecedented were to be caught on camera -- say, the "stoning"/persecution of Christians on American soil in Dearborn MI, for example -- wouldn't the public have a similar reaction?  That is, being virtually unaffected, lulled into complacency by all things two-dimensional?  In other words...

...is YouTube (and its ilk) a benefit or a detriment to our pursuit of dwelling on "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute"? (Philippians 4:8)

Think before you watch:  Is that video clip before you, something about which you'd want have an uplifting spiritual conversation with Jesus -- if He were sitting in the seat next you?  Could you assert to Him, as King David did, "I will set no worthless thing before mine eyes"?  If I seem to be throwing stones here, just know that I'm aiming at my own glass house, first.

Have a fruitful day.

Ransacked!

Yesterday, I used the word "ransacked", and my 4-year-old daughter ("Little Miss") asked me,

"What's ram-sapped?"

I explained to her that it's when someone breaks into your house, and leaves a big mess, while looking for something to steal from you.  (One of my favorite little mental games is trying to break down complex words or ideas into a sentence that even a 4-year-old could accurately understand.  What can I say, it keeps me occupied.  ;-)

Well, that same afternoon, it became obvious that our garden had been "ram-sapped"!  You see, yesterday was, in the words of Winnie the Pooh, a "very blustery day".  Apparently our deer netting had blown down at some point in the last 24 hours, and our all of our kale, carrot tops and some of the outer leaves of our red cabbage were stripped bare by some wild and reckless herbivore. Even some of the parsely was gone... I guessed that devious creature wanted to have sweet breath after such a bountiful feast.  So, we pulled the carrots -- a fine lot of orange, yellow and purple specimens -- pulled the worst-hit cabbage and prayed that the kale plant, with its stalks intact, would continue to grow more leaves.  Yes, it is the end of the growing season, and the nights here are dropping below freezing, consistently, but the kale has been thriving in spite of the cold, and was producing some very dark, sweet leaves that we were thoroughly enjoying.  We'll see what comes of it all.

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Saturday, November 9th will be "hunting day" with my 14-year-old son (the "Man Cub").  I've read that the cattle on a thousand hills belong to our Great God... I'm hoping he'll bring one or two near to our muzzles, for a harvest.  Should we be blessed in such a way, I'll post pictures here.

Have a blessed day, and remember, "my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Well Update

A couple of weeks ago, we had nothing but a 360' pipe in the ground.  As of last week, we have...  (drumroll, please):

Water!

Granted, we still need electricity to get it out of the ground, but we'll be working at that issue from all sides, as well...

Just thought you'd like an update.  Thank God for progress!

"Excuse Me."

"In the multitude of words sin is not lacking,
But he who restrains his lips is wise."
(Proverbs 10:19, NKJV)

You know, interrupting someone -- especially a peer -- in the middle of a sentence is, generally speaking, very rude.  A few days ago, listening to a gaggle of self-informed college students discuss the finer points of mobile hotspot (WiFi) connectivity, it occurred to me how often they would cut each other off with remarks like "I know, but...".  As a matter of fact, I've become irritatingly aware of how often I have been inclined to interrupt someone before they pause in their speech, even when my intentions are deemed (by me) to be noble.  So today, as though providentially reminded by the omniscient Spirit of God, I will endeavor to not interrupt anyone**.  I hope you will be challenged to do so, as well.

**(This does not include using parental authority to interrupt the occasional foolish/disrespectful talk exhibited by my children... Sorry, kids.)

"WELL" UPDATE

After drilling down deeper-than-a-football-field (!), U.D. was able to obtain a flow rate of 30gpm!  Woohoo!

Here are some pics of the process (Click the photos for full-screen):

The drilling begins...

Me & Little Miss, checking things out.

The view from Uncle Dave's house site

Looking Southwest

Looking Southeast

Checking out Uncle's site, ready for building the crawlspace

Standing "in" our future home!

 

Breaking Ground

Here are some photos I promised.  These were taken when we were first digging into our house building site, checking to see how far down we might be able to dig for a basement.  So far, what we were seeing looks promising.  Time, and a professional excavator, will tell how much earth we can move.

(Click any of the photos to see them full-screen.)

Enjoy!

 Taking down a tree inside the building site.  We decided not to build around it.

 Moving trees, the modern way.

 Levitating chains with my mind-powers...

...Levitating trees proved a little more difficult, so I called Uncle Dave for help.

 Everybody's diggin'!

 Little Miss "crosses the line"

 Building the fort...

Attack of the Killer BackHoe!!  AAaaaaggghh!!

Stay tuned!  The next photo album will feature pics of the water well digging.

See you then!