Poured Blessings

I am going to preface this post by saying that I am in no way trying to brag or show off what we've done.  We have recently been blessed with a huge accomplishment for our family and I'm sharing in hopes that our families and friends will find joy in sharing it with us.

Blessings come in many forms:  sometimes it's in the form of a soft, cuddly baby (no, I'm not pregnant... that I know of, at least); sometimes it's in the form of a new job or home (I'm still a stay at home mom/farm wife and we're not going anywhere.... that I know of, at least); most of the time, it's the simple things in life that we often overlook and take for granted, like waking up in the morning in overall good health (or simply waking up at all!), having transportation and having a home to return to at the end of the day.  You get the idea.

But the blessing this post is about is not your typical everyday type and is something we've been working towards for a long time with great anticipation!  In 2010, we built our machine shed/shop.  It is a simple structure, just perfect for keeping machinery out of the elements and with just enough space for the fellas to work on equipment.  Up until now (*hint hint*), it had a base (floor) of a material called C-stone, a by-product of coal that packs and settles into a terrifically solid foundation.  It is, however, very dusty and with even the smallest hint of wind, the stuff flies around and leaves a layer of filmy, tacky dust everywhere.  Which is rather unpleasant!  We knew that someday down the road, we would eventually concrete the shop and take care of that problem but until then, we would just have to cope the best we could.

Well, guess what?!?!  With a lot of saving, strategic planning and most of all, sowing and reaping(that's a Biblical reference, by the way!), we were recently able to accomplish Josh's dream of concreting his shop!  No more dust!  No more soggy floor after a rain!  No more of Sarah's itchies anytime she got the dust on her!  We've got concrete, Baby, and enjoying every level, solid, smooth, clean inch of it!

Here's the story:  First, like I said, we saved.  We, like everyone else I know, has a list of things that we would like to do and get done, but we prioritized.  When we would think of a project, we would pro and con it... we could do this and this, OR we could put it towards the shop.  Or we go here and here, OR we could put it towards the shop.  Most of the time, it was an easy decision.  When we thought we were getting close, Josh called around and got several bids.  What a sweet moment it was when, after visiting with several companies, Josh chose who he thought was best for the job and realized we could get the job done! 

*This is where, should I have sound effects on my blog, you would hear glorious angelic voices.  I think we heard them that night.  Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhh!  You CAN hear them, too... right?!

Because of the rainy spell and the job being mostly under a roof, the company was able to start pretty well right away once we agreed to the bid.  Which was a bit of a shock to us.  We thought for sure we would be on a waiting list.  We had to scurry to get ready, but with eight hands doing the prepping work (yep, we put the kids to work!), the job went as fast as could be expected and before we knew it and to the great delight of a certain little boy (and Caleb, too!) we were watching concrete trucks rolling in!

Here's the process:

First, we had to completely clean out the shop.  "Completely" as in EVERYTHING.  The men moved out all the equipment and the kids and I helped with all of little things....from the saw horses, tools, and wood scraps to the table, microwave and jar after jar of nails, screws, bolts, etc. and the hundreds (literally) of things in between until the shop was completely empty.

Then the concrete crew came in to level the floor and to lay the first of the forms.  They did the job in thirds, starting with the back half of the shop.

 

The rerod you see crisscrossed in there strengthens the concrete and keeps it from cracking and breaking into chunks.

The next day, the cement trucks started rolling in.  The kids and I missed the first day of pouring.  But after the back half was poured and given a day to cure, the crew laid the forms and rerod for the front half.  And that's what the kids and I were able to watch being poured.  We stood at the man door and were able to watch all the action up close.

 

The kids were fascinated.
The crew started so early on this morning that we hadn't had time to rebraid Sarah's hair from her sleeping in it that night before we went out to watch.  I'll admit, I love showing off Sarah's perfectly braided pigtails, but this time I'll have to just overlook the frizzled braids.  Once the kids saw that truck roll in, there was no holding them back just to redo a couple of braids!

Pouring concrete is hard work.  One section has to be  poured in a continuous flow to set right, so there is no break-taking once the mix starts coming.  And it takes alot of muscle and back work.  Here, the men are working on the second third, the front half of the inside of the shed.

 

The last third to be done was the porch area and outside approach.

The porch is all done!

 

Hard work!

The kids loved seeing the cement truck so close, though Sarah was not at all fond of the loudness of it.

 

And of course, we had to put our name on it.  We each did our handprint with the year in the middle.

It turned out great.  Josh's is on the left, followed by mine, the date, Caleb's and then Sarah's on the far right.  What I especially liked on my print was that my rings showed up, too!  Purely by accident, but you can see both my engagement ring and wedding very clearly on the actual handprint (not in the picture).  And my engagement ring just happened to be flipped so that the diamond was under my finger, so you can see the diamond imprint, too.  When my hand was in the concrete and I realized I hadn't taken my rings off, I panicked at first.  But once I washed my hands and realized that both rings were fine, I thought how neat it was that the print turned out exactly like it did!

 

The kids were really excited to be able to go up and ride their bikes before any equipment got moved back in.  They did an excellent job of being patient for several days until everything cured.  I think it was worth the wait!

It's Sarah-approved.

And Caleb-approved!

We are very grateful to have accomplished this much sooner than we thought we would.  It's a good feeling to have when you've worked hard for something day after day and you finally see it come to be.  And I have had so much fun watching Josh throughout the process.  It's just pure rewarding encouraging and then watching someone (especially someone you love) accomplish their goal.  It makes every sacrifice completely worth it!

 

Great.  Now I'm all teary-eyed.  I love you, Honey :-)