The cabin (VRBO) will be their abode and our second guests!

Welcome to the cabin – a cozy 1 bedroom retreat in the country.

My husband built the barn doors and installed them. There are two barn doors. Both openings into the bedroom can be closed off with the sliding doors.

The kitchen sink, counter and bottom cabinets still need to be built and installed. (I think that will be next week.)

It’s such a nice comfortable place! (Click on this link to see more interior pictures.)

We’re having an Arizona wedding reception for them tomorrow so plenty of preparation has been happening. I was so grateful for the help of some of my church family this week.  What a blessing they were to come out to the ranch and assist in whatever I needed.

There are times when you’re just so blessed by the kindness of others and this was one of those times. They took their day and gave it to me and you know what? I think they thought it was fun. haha Isn’t that the sweetest?

I have an Uncle (not really my uncle but we call him that) who is always doing things for others and he even organizes groups of men  to go help others in need (with their roof, etc). He calls it “washing feet”.  That thought comes from Jesus washing his disciples feet in the Scriptures, and His telling us to wash one another’s feet.  Not only are we to wash each others feet in deed but in our daily actions by serving others.

And that’s what these lovely ladies did for me.

God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). I know this is referring to money but I think it can apply to this, too.

And I realize, as I serve His people, I’m serving God. –William Branham

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. –Matthew 25:40

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Recently, my 21 year old son, Wesley purchased his very first fixer upper.

What a Really Bad Fixer Upper Can Look Like

The pictures I am going to show you are horrible, disgusting and totally uninspiring to those who might think they want to get into the rental market. I am not over exaggerating the case but this is probably just about the worst fixer upper we have ever bought.

Sometimes your children can make a really good point.

When I asked Wesley, “Why? Why did you buy this one?”, his reply was “That’s all I can afford, Mom.”

He was speaking truth.

One weekend Wesley was able to get a work crew of friends and family to come and help him get the roof fixed, walls that were falling down built up again and some windows enlarged and replaced.

Warning! Prepare yourself for the following pictures.

The beginning of the morning the roof looked like this.

But with the work crew things moved along quite nicely.

And now things have greatly improved on the outside after a few weekends of work. Where once the trailer had a few different colors of paint going on, it is now 1 solid color…

…and a new roof. No more roof leaks!

A Unsightly Mess Awaited on the Inside of the Fixer Upper

I have no idea how the inside (besides the water damage to the ceiling) became so awful… but the rest? That’s a question we will never know the answer to.

When Wesley first viewed the mobile home it had this to offer.

In this picture you can see there is a big window on the right. That window replaced the bay window that was broken and sagging that you saw in the very first picture at the top of this post.

The Kitchen

I didn’t do much walking around. I just didn’t have the courage.

Construction skills is such valuable knowledge. Mom’s, if it’s at all possible, let your kids learn some of these skills while they’re still at home. Find a mentor and even have your kids volunteer if need be. The things they learn will always be useful. Even small woodworking projects would be a help in developing construction skills and thought processes.

It fell mine and Serenity’s lot to prepare and deliver a lunch to the work crew. So we had a little fun with it and turned it into a cute little tailgate party.

Grilled ham and cheese croissants, chips, grapes, a Clementine and a few apple slices was the fare.

This little monkey Oh, that’s my nephew!

Working on his birthday! But it paid off because he was made his favorite pie – coconut cream.

The crew.

(and I spy that little monkey again!)

Follow along and see how this place gets its makeover.

Don’t worry. I won’t leave you hanging. As progress is made, I’ll keep you updated on this little beauty.

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The cabin will be livable but not complete finished when everyone is here. But it’s lookin’ good!

The bathroom wall is now up.

The bathroom wall behind the tub looks so pretty but unfortunately that will be covered once the tub sides go in.

A loft that can be used for storage.

Windows and doors are some of the big things that need to be done this week.

And that’s the update for now.

]]> https://treasuringthemoments.net/2016/12/19/making-progress-on-the-cabin-vrbo/feed/ 7 https://treasuringthemoments.net/2016/12/07/my-young-entrepreneurs/ https://treasuringthemoments.net/2016/12/07/my-young-entrepreneurs/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2016 18:33:37 +0000 http://treasuringthemoments.net/?p=703170 I mentioned on my Thanksgiving post of a little cabin we are building. Here is the story.

Several months ago Audrey was inspired to have her own vacation rental by owner. She had been to see her cousins and one of them had taken a rental that they rented monthly and turned it into a vacation rental. Audrey mentioned it to her daddy and he thought it was a good idea, so the brain started spinning with possibilities and the idea was born.

We live away from town and neighbors. As a matter-of-fact our nearest neighbor is 3 miles away. A cabin could be built next door, capitalizing on the gorgeous view and the seclusion – a place where people could come and decompress, getting away from city life and coming to the country where they could enjoy nature or hiking.

The place we decided would be in front of the tree there at the top of the picture.

A place was cleared…

It would be a small one-bedroom cabin – 400sq’.

The owners would be our three youngest children who would scrape together every bit of money they’ve saved over the years and having a dad and brother who knows this type of work, it helps a lot in keeping costs low!

The lumber was purchased.

The electrical line and water line was put in.

The wood foundation was built and the framing began.

The ridge beam for the trusses was put in place.

And on Thanksgiving day, this is what the cabin looked like.

The 3 musketeers oh, excuse me, I meant owners.

Compare this picture to the very first one above.

It’s an exciting endeavor and so fun to see it all come together.

The exterior walls were finished…

A spray in insulation was done.

The interior is getting wood on all the walls… even the ceiling.

I love this wall.

Justus is getting a lot of hands-on learning.

And Audrey is the little gopher taking the workers food and drink.

I’ll be posting much more frequently about the cabin now, so stay tuned for its progress!