Work update, and why I like the word "impinges"

As usual, I have all sorts of thoughts of things I want to share on the blog, but not the time to do it. So instead of something thoughtful, here's a quick summary of the last few days...

Last Wednesday we finally rented the lift! Actually, the one we wanted was gone, so we took the next bigger one, and Matt used it to get the rest of the foam on the front of the house, and Mike (our framer) used it to get his last bit of framing at the roof edge up on that side, then moved it to the back where he did the same, and then Matt finished the foam on the back.

Matt took this photo of me from the lift. I'm eating an apple (currently works to keep my pregnant tummy settled) and waiting for him to pass over the first piece of siding that he and I were putting up. It was on the second piece that the nailer jammed...)

 On Thursday we had to take the lift back because they had promised that one to someone else, but Matt had decided by then that the greater articulation of the larger lift was really necessary given the constraints of our project. So no lift on Thursday.

BUT, Thursday was the start of the Big Run of people coming to help Matt work! Between homeschooling and napping and cooking I really am not much help for Matt - maybe half an hour a day - not enough to accomplish anything significant. But on Thursday, Eric, the structural engineer Matt works for (who also, by the way, did the structural engineering for our house free of charge!) came over around 4 and worked straight through until dark. They were able to finish putting the large flat panels on the fireplace bump and also on the north side of Matt's office.

Matt and Eric grabbing another panel

Friday, Matt and Ray (I must have mentioned Ray at some point - Ray is Matt's Dad's cousin who grew up in the house next door. Both Ray and Matt's dad had three sisters, so in many ways they were more like brothers than cousins. There is no way to substitute for your real dad, but Ray has been able to fill part of the gap that Matt feels with his dad gone - he's over here all the time checking out the work and talking about stuff related to it with Matt, and has given us the use of his truck for picking up and moving the lift as needed) ... wow. That was a long parenthetical comment. I think I'd better start my original sentence over again. ;) Matt and Ray picked up the larger lift again today, and we're able to keep it until we're done this time. Chad came over after lunch and worked until he had to pick up his kids from school, at which time Eric came back for a second day of working until dark. They were able to get siding up on the back of the house from the point where it had been up to starting to get around the upper level windows. Late Friday night my cousin Bobby and his wife who came down for Labor Day to work came down again to put in another long day working.

Matt, Chad, and Eric working on Friday afternoon

So, bright and early Saturday morning, Matt and Bobby were out working on the back of the house. Krista, like last time, floated between helping with the work on the house, watching kids, and cooking amazing meals depending on what was most helpful at the moment. This, combined with the fact that Saturday is not a school day, meant that not only did a lot of work get done on the house, but I was also able to put in nearly two hours of work on the large sewing project I'm trying to finish up by next Friday so it's off my plate before Krassi comes home! (When you realize that nearly doubles the amount of time I've put in over the last six weeks, you realize what a tremendous benefit that was to me!) On the house, Bobby and Matt were able to finish all the siding on the back, then came in and ate lunch while the rain fell hard, then called Ray to come help move the lift to the front of the house where they were able, with Krista's help, to get the siding to within four rows from the top!!! [oops - from the top of the upper level windows - I missed that detail. But it still doesn't change my assessment of the day's work.] An amazing amount of work got done!

Krista and Owen pounding plugs into the PVC trim to cover the screw locations

Bobby and Matt in the rain finishing up the siding on the back of the house

The back face, completely sided!!! First side done.

Krista on the front, and a view of how they're starting to get siding up on the front of the addition.

Tomorrow we take the day off. ;)

Then, on Monday, Reuben's physical therapist is planning on putting in a day of work with Matt - I can't wait to see what they'll be able to accomplish with another day with two men working - it's starting to seem like we might get the exterior done in the next 14 days after all!! And I still am kind of blown away that he's taking one of his days off to come and help us. AND, Reuben's new occupational therapist who was given an in into what our family has before us this year via Reu's PT, also volunteered to come over Monday morning to help watch the kids so I could help work, too, but I had to turn her down since I'm spending most of the morning with Reu at his routine neurology appointment. But I have to say that even her willingness to come be part of what we're doing was a huge encouragement. Reuben's got some neat people working with him. ;) (By the way, Reu's speech therapist is wonderful, too, but she is pregnant and has her own small children - I just don't want to minimize her significance to our family just because she's not going out of her way to help us build a house - after all, who would expect ANY of those people to offer to help!!!)

Also next week, Matt *might* be getting some help with the shingles (may also end up being the week after next), Eric said he may be able to do another 4-dark shift, and my parents are coming up, getting in late Thursday (at which time I will hopefully get my real computer back!!!), working all day Friday and a half day Saturday.

I don't know if I can convey with words how exhilarating these last few days have been. (And trying, too. Especially Wednesday - maybe I'll get a chance to share that at some point.) Our pastor has just started preaching through the book of Ephesians. On either the first or second week he came to the third verse:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in  Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places...

And he talked briefly about the blessings with which those who believe have been blessed - "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!" And as he spoke, he reminded us that "heaven" is not simply some place "out there" but is rather, for those who believe, something that is right here, within us. Then he said something that has really stuck with me - the spiritual world impinges on this very physical world. I know that's not exactly how he said it (sorry, Dave!) but the word impinge really gripped me. It reminded me of how very present and physical and of-the-stuff-of-this-everyday-life the work of God is. One big part of learning to walk by faith through this year is being aware that every moment is a chance I have to either trust that he is in charge of everything, and thus I don't need to worry (even when the siding nailer jams and becomes a big deal, either financially or time-wise, or both, to replace, and we do not have an abundance of either right now! There. That was a hint of Wednesday for you) or I don't trust, and fear and worry threaten to break in. But remembering that every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in not just pie in the "sky" but is real, tangible, messy, right here stuff, both helps me to keep my eyes on him when everything seems to be wrong, and also I believe is part of the thrill when a stretch of days like this happens. This is real. I am living it. HE is real. And I tell you, there's no place like the kind of place where there is no security from our end to rely on to really get to see that.