Monday, June 24, 2013

Work Week 50

We had a busy week at the house site.  The plumber, electrician, a/c subcontractors  were out.  We got tubs installed in a few homes and plumbing done (lots 6, 7, 8, 9,10).  Lots 6,7, and 8 was worked on by the electrician.  The duct work was done in lots 6, 7.  

Saturday morning, we started with our safety meeting.  Facio then went over were we are in the building process. We have power in most of the houses now. He told us the doors and windows have been ordered.  They will be out in about two weeks.  Then Toby and Facio assigned jobs.  Debbie, Deena, and I were given the jobs to measure all openings (doors, windows, pantry, linen) to make sure they were the correct width. Then we had to write down okay or how to fix. John, Lupe, and Patricia were to continue working on hot water heater stands.  Paul and Brandon were to continue working on the furnace stands in the attics.  Leticia and Maria were to continue with blocking and soffit building.  Luisa and Jackie were to go behind us and start fixing the openings. Pat, Steve, Robert, Andres, Andy, Tony, and a volunteer were to work on building the boxes around the post on the front porch for the craftsman houses. Alfredo and Michael worked on fixing Lupe's truss. Naty worked on clean up. Carlos and Jacob worked on the utilities. 

Bath tub lot 10

master bath lot 10

Deena's lot 7 with plumbing and wiring in

a/c ducts
Lupe's house (lot 8) with lights and tubs in.





Brandon and Paul building the  platform for the furnace in my house (lot 10)

David cutting green boards.
 Lot 6 getting the boxes build on the posts.


I am adding a board to the front door of lot 6.


Jessenya adding a wall in lot 7.

Jacob and Alfredo adding the fascia board to lot 8.

Robert and Steve building the boxes on lot 8.
 Sunday, we started where we left off on Saturday.

Deena's garage.

Carlos and Andy working on lot 6's boxes.

Boxes at the end of the day.


Lot 8 at end of the day.
After finishing work on Sunday night, we had a quick meeting.  Toby and Facio said we all did good work this week with lots of energy.  We are getting closer to have inspection on the first houses.  We are waiting for paperwork from a few companies.  We then discussed who was coming out this week.

It is very exciting to see all the subcontractor work done and to know that inspection is coming.  I know we have a long way to go, but it is great to see progress.  We were blessed to have friends stop by on Sunday during lunch to see at all the work we have accomplished.   Ian stopped by to visit on his way to work, also.  The hardest thing for me is all the time we are missing with our kids.  We are blessed with many friends who take our kids for the weekend and do fun things with them, but I can't wait to be able to enjoy our new home with the kids.  And invite all of our friends and family over to celebrate this beautiful home that God has given us.



Prayer Requests:

1) Wisdom for Facio and Toby on how to teach and direct us.
2) Health and safety for us and all of our children.
3) Endurance: it has been almost one year since we started and we could have more than 6 months left. John is working 50 hours a week right now plus working on the house on the weekends.  I know he is not the only one putting lots of hours in at work then coming out on the weekend.
4) The subcontractors are available when we need them and they do their work quickly.

This week we were able to go to church for about 40 minutes.  It was wonderful to see everyone and listen to worship music.  We miss being there so much.  I am so thankful for all the prayers and word of encouragement we get from everyone.  God has blessed us.


Psalm 100

A Psalm for Thanksgiving.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before Him with joyful singing.
Know that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter His gates with thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Give thanks to Him, bless His name.
For the Lord is good;
His lovingkindness is everlasting
And His faithfulness to all generations.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Work Week 49

This was a very busy week for our family.  Our oldest son graduated from high school. So I spent most of my time preparing for his graduation.
 John and I did manage to go out one evening to work for a few hours to nail off shear on lot 11 and check the nail off on lot 12.

Saturday, was a cool day.  We all continued working where we left off except for the crew that was working on blocking they went back to lot 6 to complete some work.


 John adding blocking in our shower/tub area.


 David and Jacob filling in the trench on lot 7.
 Jackie, Maria, Naty, Luisa, Leticia, and Jackie's sister working on lot 6.




Robert, Paul, Brandon, Lupe, and Patricia working on lot 8 (Lupe's house).




 Debbie adding a 3X3 post in her house.


 The framers worked on Saturday adding shear and blocking on lots 7, 9, and 10.
This is my house.


The electrician was out on Saturday and worked on lot 6.




 Debbie, Deena, Linda, and I nailing off the shear on lot 13.

Sunday was a lot warm.  We all continued with what we were working on.  Our friends, John and Carrie, came out to bring ice bars to the fathers for Father's Day.  We had enough to share with the fathers in group 2.

Debbie and I did were not able to get as many photos as we have in the past, because we are at the opposite end as everyone else.

Prayer Requests:

1) The sub contractor we hire come out and complete their work quickly.  We are currently waiting for the framers we hired to do our trusses to finish their work, so we can get inspection and start roofing the house. The plumber, electrician, a/c guy all have work to be done before we get our framing inspection.

2) Wisdom for Facio and Toby on how to get the work done quickly. We need to pick up the pace, so we can get in our homes sooner.  Right now we are being told anywhere from January of 2014 until a year from now is our completion date.

3) Volunteers will come forward to help us with roofing, siding, painting, installing flooring, and landscaping. We need more people to help us get in our homes quicker.


A common conversation at when working on the house is how much longer we will it take for us to complete the homes.  This is a conversation I have had many times.  Some days I feel like how can we do this for 6 more months or even a year.  I know that God will provide for us and sustain us through this house building process.

Psalm 40

God Sustains His Servant.

40 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.
How blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood.
Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders which You have done,
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count.
Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired;
My ears You have opened;
Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.”
I have proclaimed glad tidings of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will not restrain my lips,
O Lord, You know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great congregation.
11 You, O Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
Your lovingkindness and Your truth will continually preserve me.
12 For evils beyond number have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my heart has failed me.
13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
Make haste, O Lord, to help me.
14 Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”
16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”
17 Since I am afflicted and needy,
Let the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Work Week 48

Saturday we started at 8 am with our morning meeting.  We were joined by Phil (our supervisor's supervisor).  We started with our safety meeting.  Then Phil talked to us about our progress and speed we are currently working at.  He stated that we would be luck to have the homes done by April of next year. We are not making enough progress each week.  We need to work more hours each week. Each family needs to put more hours in each week or bring more helpers out.  Facio then showed us where we are on the schedule and how much more we need to complete.  We then discussed ways we could speed up.  After the meeting we started working on our different jobs.  John, Steve, David, Carlos, and Jacob worked on getting the pipes in for our utilities.  Ken (Debbie's volunteer), Pat, Alfredo, Michael, and  Robert worked on the fascia board on Alfredo and Naty's house (lot 6).  Brandon and Paul worked on being clips on Lupe's house (lot 8).  Patricia and Lupe worked on fascia board on Lupe's house (lot 8). Jackie, Maria, Leticia, Evelyn, and Delilah worked on blocking and bracing    starting on lot 8 and working down the street. Debbie, Deena, and I worked on shear wall nail off starting on lot 8 and working down the street.  Naty and Luisa worked on painting the starter board. Deena's parents (Dave and Linda) and her brother (Steve) came out to help during the day. 


During the week, the plumber came out and added plumbing to some of the homes.  The electrician came out and added the electrical panels to all the homes.   The sub contractors are starting to work. YEAH!!!  Facio bent the utility pipes that kept Debbie, Deena, and I from putting the final shear piece on my house. Also, on Saturday the framers finished putting the final sheeting on the roofs.
 
David and Jacob filling in the utility hole on our home (lot 10)

Carlos

Paul and Brandon adding clips

Utility pipes

Lupe, Patricia, and Delilah 

Alfredo

Robert, Pat, Ken, Michael

Evelyn

Jackie and Maria

Lupe's house
 Sunday we started at 8 am.  The men started with filling in the trenches

Deena and Steve working on Steve and Maria's house (lot 11).

Leticia's family came out to help Sunday (her sister, daughter, brother-n-law)
 Debbie and I had to add more shear board in Steve and Maria's garage.  We called Toby over to ask him a question and he noticed that one of the walls was not plumb.  So he told us how to check  to see if it was plumb and how to plumb up the wall.
I am nailing in a channel we had to move.

Dave

Maria

Lupe's house busing with work

Toby helping with the fascia board

John working on our home (lot 10)



To sum up the weekend,  it was okay. We made some progress, but we have a long way to go.   It was hot on Saturday and a lot cooler on Sunday. The cooler weather made working easier.  Sheryl (Vice President) came out to talk to us and see our progress. She walked around to all the different houses to be able to talk to everyone. We discussed that our next Home Owner Association meeting is coming up this month and our upcoming property taxes.

Hopefully, everyone will think about what was said during the meeting and start looking for people that will come out and help us.  If you live locally and want to help, we would love to have your help.  If you want to help, we need you to volunteer for a minimum of 4 hours.  This way we have time to teach you and have you do the task given. 

Thank you to everyone that came out and helped this weekend.


Prayer Requests:

1) Volunteers
2) Weather
3) Wisdom for Facio and Toby on instruction and giving out jobs.
4)  Health and Safety

It was hard to hear that we might not even get done by April.  Many thoughts run through my head when I think of working until April and beyond. I am blessed by many friends that can watch our children, but that is a lot longer than they agreed to help us out.  Will they need to stop?  How are we going to physically keep doing this hard work?  Is there anyone I know that can help us get done faster? Deep breath.   My mind is flooded by Bible verses and I have peace. I am so thankful for God's sovereignty over this project.

Philippians 4:4-8

 
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.


Philippians 4:13

 
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.


Philippians 4:19

 
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.