Monday, August 8, 2011

Tour My Home - part one {the outside}

For those who have been following this blog a long time, you know that we have been building our home on the mission field for two years now.  And what you are about to see through this new series is a HUGE improvement to our first days in our new home.  We made a crazy wise decision to move onto this "construction site" very prematurely in order to start saving on rent money and to keep a better watch on the building progress.  Was it hard?  Yes!  But would I make that decision again?  Yes, I really think I would.
 So even though you are going to see things that are still unfinished, I want you to see our progress.  If I waited to show you our home until we are completely finished, you might have to wait a few more years!

 

 

 
Igor and Lena, a precious young couple in church who was married last year (Nate was their ring bearer and Brianna was their flower girl) decided to buy an empty lot next to us.  Boy, they must love us {and we love them}!  They have fenced in their property, but I'm pretty sure it will be several years before they will be able to build anything livable.
The concrete in our garage is our newest improvement, and the project we are currently working on.  In the next few weeks, we will be adding concrete to make a driveway.... and finish sidewalks.

 

 

So, here is what we have left to do outside:
  • Finish driveway and sidewalks
  • Fence our property in
  • Landscaping
  • Structure and paint the outside of the house
These are some big projects, but the only one we are in a hurry to get to next is the fencing. 
 
Already looking forward to Part 2 of this series, where I will be inviting you to come inside!

21 comments:

  1. Such a blessing, Jolene, to see your house. I can remember you saving money for it when we were on deputation and you on furlough several years ago. Remember being at Bro. Trieber's together out in CA?

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  2. Ah, yes.... we have done everything from selling candles to selling books to doing cartwheels {smile} to get this far in our building.

    I had forgotten we were at North Valley together! Thanks for the reminder.

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  3. Great to see your home Jolene! We are building too as you know so I am always encouraged to take a look at other mission fields and see how things are done. I know it takes a while to get it done on the other side of the globe! Looking forward to your other post of your inside tour! Love ya!

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  4. It is beautiful, Jolene! I love it! Maybe one day we can be guests in your lovely home!

    Much love,
    Anna

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  5. I love it! I can't wait to see the finished product and get an inside tour. Oh, and my kids would love that clubhouse!! How fun!

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  6. Thanks for sharing. I love seeing missionary's homes! We've lived in limbo for nearly 6 years. I can't wait to have a home to call my own! (Can't wait to see the indside!)

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  7. Your Home is beautiful and I am sure much deserve!! what a blessing!

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  8. Your home is beautiful! thank you for sharing!

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  9. Beautiful Jolene! I love all the windows and the big yard! I'm so happy for you all!!

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  10. Wow, what a huge blessing. It's gonna be lovely when it's finished and it's wonderful that you have a "home" of your own.
    Oh how I miss the cherry trees. :0)
    Enjoy!!

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  11. Yay!! So glad to finally catch up with your blog! Can't believe that this month marks two years since we were in Ukraine.

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  12. Your home is beautiful!

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  13. It's nice, Jolene!

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  14. Really enjoyed the pictures! Love it.

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  15. Loved seeing your home!

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  16. Beautiful!!! Love your big yard! :-)

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  17. Thanks for sharing the pictures of your home! I bet you are loving getting things put together. My kids LOVE your backyard and the clubhouse. Here in Korea backyards are few and far between. Lots of apartments and not many individual homes. They enjoyed Grandma and Grandpa's yards while we were in the states this winter.

    I pray you have a good week recuperating from your long week!

    Love,
    Becky

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  18. Thanks for sharing these photos -- your home is lovely, inside and out. May it always be God's house, too.

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  19. What a great yard for the kid to play! The house is beautiful. It will be all the more special when it's done~

    ~Cinnamon

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  20. Your house was really starting to look like a home at this point! All it seemed to need (from the outside anyway) was the paint! Thanks for sharing pictures of the progress of your home. Did you take pictures of the finished product? And, did the family help out to finish the place?

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    1. Basically the outside still looks the same, with the addition of a small driveway and a small sidewalk going around the entire house. We still haven't painted the outside since our focus turned inward once we got the outside to this point. We have actually gone back and forth about the wisdom in finishing the outside or not since it already looks so much nicer than the homes around us (yes, even without paint). We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves and stand out like a sore thumb!

      My husband has been involved with much of the progress of the home, but the bulk of it has been hired out to free him up for ministry.

      Thanks for taking a look!

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Thank you for your encouraging comments! "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Proverbs 25:25