Having a Good Foundation

Wow.  We have been busy. We closed on the house two weeks ago and since then there has only been one day where we haven't gone up to work on it.  And when I say "we," I really mean Nate.  The days that Nate works, we can only work on the house for a couple hours, so I stay home with the children.  It's interesting working on a house with three kids in tow.  Usually one parent can work without being interrupted, but the other parent works in 15 minute or less increments because some crisis arises.  But, we are making it work and progress is getting made.

Monday the foundation company came.  It is the norm down here to have foundation problems.  I didn't know what to expect as far as how they go about fixing our foundation, but I was amazed.  This crew worked hard, and they seriously did an awesome job.  Here are some pictures.

Nate joked about how we went all out for Halloween by digging grave sites.

Apparently, we live on a lot of rock!  But they came prepared with jack hammers of every kind.  They also hauled off the rock and replaced it with soil.

 

 

 

 Here they have already leveled half of the house and are starting to fill the holes back up.  

 Yay, our house is level!

Holes are filled back up.  They left our yard looking better than it was before they came!

They cleared out brush/bushes that we were planning on getting rid of to get access to the foundation.

Here they are working on mortaring the cracks in the brick.  They also re-cemented the porch, chalked the windows, and make sure all doors opened and shut properly!

In raising the house we discovered we had a fourth step!

Here is Callie digging a hole like the workers.  

Hanging out in the new front yard.

She's very good about holding his head.

 

It's tiring work watching other people work :)

He's happy about having a good foundation.

Now that the foundation is good, we can really start the cosmetic work of the house.  Before, it was pointless to start fixing cracks or painting, because the house would have moved and the work would have been ruined.  It's been fun to ponder on that and compare it to having a good foundation in Christ.  We will never be thwarted if we have a good foundation in Christ!  I love The Message's version of Luke 6:48, "If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake it; it was built to last. But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation. When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It was a total loss."  Great words!

It took three days for the foundation people to finish.  We were very pleased with the work they did.  Now if only the plumbers we hired would show the same quality work....

 There will be another post for the plumbers, but they did not pass the city inspection on Wednesday.  They are up there again today.  $$$$$.  We'll see.