The Barn Sags......
When discussing the scope of the renovation with our Amish builder he pointed out how the south-facing part of the barn had seen the most wear.
The back of our barn pre-renovation.
When discussing the scope of the renovation with our Amish builder he pointed out how the south-facing part of the barn had seen the most wear. My family has lived at "The Farm" for over 44 years and even dating back to before the previous owner they repaired the roof by adding a slate roof on top of the cedar shake roof. The weight of that roof for over potentially 100 years caused the barn to really sag. As a solution he decided to replace the metal columns holding up the backside of the barn with huge wooden beams. Its hard to even capture how big these beams are in the pictures. He also added some wooden angle supports to finish the space and keep consistent with the rest of the barn. What I love is how they used wooden pegs to put the beams together. Their craftsmanship throughout this process and how quickly they work has been really unbelievable. We are about 6 weeks into the renovation and the barn is really close to being completed, or should I say at least the Amish builders portion. There is still a lot of work to be done to complete the project, but we are really excited with how all of the pieces are coming together. So, now the back of the barn has now received a well needed "lift!"
As we approach "Labor Day" weekend I hope you all take some time to rest, spend time with God, and enjoy your families!
Happy Labor Day!
-Becca & Chris
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Matthew 11:28-30
Our "Goliath".....
This past week has surely been a whirlwind at "The Farm." The floors are starting to be laid in the barn and the big front wooden doors have been installed.
Some of the beams in the barn are over 32 feet long, which is unbelievable.
This past week has surely been a whirlwind at "The Farm." The floors are starting to be laid in the barn and the big front wooden doors have been installed. (I have some updated pictures below.) Anyone who has gone through a renovation can probably relate that at times there just seems like an endless list of things that need to get done. This week we have been working on all of the little details that will make a big difference. The final design of the glass doors, what will the stain color be on the exterior and interior. We took some time this weekend to meet with an old friend who will be helping us with the landscape design. We're also beginning to plan the electrical work, do we burry the lines do we upgrade the panel? All of these things need to be decided, while at the same time trying to maintain on track with our budget. In addition to the Barn details, we also are so excited about the bakery. We have been getting more orders for fundraisers and the farmers markets are really starting to take off. All of that being said, Chris and I are both balancing full-time jobs that we love and the bakery/barn renovation are what I would call more of our passion. Sometimes we get into bed and wonder "Are we doing the right thing?"
This morning we had to take a step back and re-set our priorities. The girls came in our room this morning after they woke up and we really felt like we needed to spend some time with God as a family. Of course the first thing they asked is "Can we watch TV?" We told them before doing anything we need to spend some time with God, so go get your bibles and come back to our room. Miss. Charlie our 4 year old, almost 5 year old had her little bible and we asked her what story she wanted to read, she turned to the story of "David and Goliath." So we read the story in her kids bible, then read it in Gracie's bible which is a little older version and then Chris read it in his bible. (1 Samuel 17) I can't tell you how many times I've heard that story and read it, not only as a child, but also an adult. But today, it was like I was hearing it for the first time. As Chris was reading the words, I started thinking about how often we limit God's power, do we really believe we can beat a huge giant like "Goliath?" This little shepherd David was the only one who was brave enough and trusted in God with every piece of his heart that he would beat Goliath. I kept asking myself if I was witnessing this in real-time what would I be thinking? Here you have this tiny shepherd who is going to take down a giant with a single stone and a sling shot. I guess my whole point of this story is that we all face "Goliath's" in our lives, that distract us, defeat us and take our focus of our one and only priority which should be "God." If we keep him our main priority, whenever "Goliath" comes our way, we will no doubt be able to overcome it, not by our own strength, but by the living God who works through us.
So this week as we start another crazy week of to-do's and endless tasks, I pray that we continue to keep God at the forefront. Let him guide our actions, our decisions and plans to make sure we accomplish all what he wants us to do, and not sweat the small stuff. So we are once again giving our "Goliath" over to God and trusting he will guide us every step of the way. We are so excited to see the finished project and are even more excited to host our first Wedding!!!
-Becca & Chris
"You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied."
1 Samuel 17:45-46
A bump in Our journey......
The past couple of weeks at "The Farm" have surely been a whirlwind! Between the Barn renovation and the Bakery orders we have been beyond busy. Its been exciting, tiring and fun all in one. The builders are working tirelessly to restore the barn to its glory and these past couple of weeks they have started adding in the windows and some of the siding.
The past couple of weeks at "The Farm" have surely been a whirlwind! Between the Barn renovation and the Bakery orders we have been beyond busy. Its been exciting, tiring, and fun all in one. The builders are working tirelessly to restore the barn to its glory. The past couple of weeks they have started installing in the windows and some of the siding. However, after the first windows were added we realized that they were too big for the spots in between the beams and they ended up cutting some of the beams to make the windows fit. YIKES!!! After taking a look at the end result, we knew we had to go back and fix them. We are very passionate about restoring the Barn, but we also want to keep the integrity of The Barn, including the BIG Beams that make it so fantastic. Its hard to imagine that these beams and the structure of the Barn were built almost 200 years ago. The good news is they have now fixed the beams and we have come up with a solution to ensure the rest of the other beams stay in tact.
The builders were also able to replace one of the big corner beams that had started to rot because of the previous holes in the roof. Its huge and its amazing to see how they can take out the old and replace it with a new huge beam that will provide the support and structure to hopefully keep this barn standing for another 200 years.
We continue to be excited and continue to put all of our faith and trust in God every step of the way. When you go through a renovation of this size there will always be bumps in the road that can cause stress and worry. On Wednesday morning this past week around 7am, my father, Chris and I all joined hands in the Barn and prayed for peace and comfort as well as guidance to get us through the rest of this project. Only God can take all of those fears and worries away and give you a peace that surpasses all understanding. We are trusting God with every bump that may arise.
Until next time,
Chris & Becca
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:4-7
The "New" Roof is on......
It is truly amazing to watch these hard-working Amish gentlemen take the barn down piece by piece and then re-build it. They started with the roof. Their goal is to remove the old roof, reinforce the rafters and then put the new roof back on as quickly as possible to protect the structure and wood on the interior of the barn. We have been praying daily over all of these men to keep them safe, especially with how high the barn roof is, its actually kind of scary to watch. The project was started a little over a week ago and the roof is completely finished! It really looks amazing and had we not started this renovation I'm not quite sure how much longer that old roof would have lasted. There were actually two layers that needed to be removed, the old first shingle layer and then someone years ago must of repaired the roof by just placing slate shingles over top. The weight of the roof was so heavy that some of the rafters and beams had started to bend. They were able fix all of the issues and the roof looks amazing.
We still have a long way to go, but it's really exciting to see the progress!! I cannot wait to see the new windows and big barn doors that will go in to add some light on the inside and make "The Barn" a really special place to host a wedding or event! Here are some of the pictures so far! Make sure to sign up for our Newsletter for our weekly updates on "The Barn" renovation!! Check out this sneak peak on what the future holds.
One last thing, my Dad heard that every barn has a coin that is put in when it was originally built. We are still looking for the coin in hopes to find the exact year that the barn was built. Has anyone else heard this? When we asked our Amish builders they had not heard of it before, but we are still hopeful.
We continue to trust God every step of the way!!!
-Chris & Becca
"We live by faith, not by sight."
2 Corinthians 5:7
We are not looking back.....
Today is filled with so many emotions. The past couple of months have surely been a whirlwind with bringing back our little family bakery, to today as the barn renovations begin.
Today is filled with so many emotions. The past couple of months have surely been a whirlwind with bringing back our little family bakery, to today as the barn renovations begin. I came back from the gym and just walked around the barn, looking at all of the little details. It is truly amazing that this barn is still standing since it was built in the early 1800's. I wish the walls could share all of the history with us. We actually have a piece of old barn wood in our bedroom that has the date on it 98', with a bunch of initials carved in. It must be 1898, because if it was 1998 it would have been my brother and I.
I have so many memories of playing in the barn as a child. All the laughter, the exploration of all of the junk in there always hoping to find a hidden treasure. I cannot tell you how many times I climbed up this ladder as a child when we were playing hide-n-seek or just chasing kittens in the barn.
Chris and I have been asking ourselves over the past couple of weeks, are we crazy for doing all of this? But somehow I keep hearing Gods voice of peace and comfort to keep taking that next step. So today, its official, we have our permit and the renovation begins. I cannot wait to watch the transformation and see how Chris our Amish friend, will work throughout this project. His timeline is 4-6 weeks, WOW!!!
We hope you will join us in our journey of the transformation of The Barn. Our hope is it will be ready by the Spring of 2017 for Weddings and Special Events. Be sure to join us for our Blog updates and let your friends know to join too. We will be hosting a contest in the very near future to win a "Free" Wedding at The Barn!
Warmly,
Chris & Becca
