Teaching Taylor

It was April 15th when we drove over to our land and met our builder for the first time. I was nervous because I couldn’t even believe we were about to meet the guy who was about to build our home.

I wasn’t prepared whatsoever.. I didn’t have a jacket on and I’m almost certain I was wearing Crocs. Thankfully my husband had an extra jacket in his truck that I threw on.

Our builder pulled up the driveway and I instantly panicked. I remember thinking “What is this life I get to live?” I walked up to introduce myself.

After a few hours visiting and sharing our plans and discussing so many things, we were sold on having Curt build our home. You know when you get that good vibe feeling and you just know? Yeah, that’s what we felt leaving our land that day. He shared ideas, answered our questions and gave us confidence as homeowners. We just knew leaving that day that we had made the right decision in picking him to build our home.

It seemed to take forever for the official process to begin, the paperwork, the planning and just making sure everything was in order. Looking back it really didn’t take that long, I was just being dramatic.

I remember the day concrete was poured. A-N-A Concrete arrived and just like that we had a foundation. It was that surreal feeling that the house process was actually happening. This surreal feeling didn’t fade.

Shortly after, the framing process started and our excitement was at a whole new level. Curt and his crew with AS-Construction started throwing up the walls and with each stud being placed, we became more and more grateful that we hired him for the process. Our dream home was slowly being built and so was our friendship with our builder. Talk about a blessing.

Each day we stopped over at the house, some days I was lucky enough to make multiple stops to check things out. I always joked that the poor construction crew probably got sick of me because I was there as much as I possibly could without being in the way (truth is, I was probably in the way most days). Good thing I would bring treats on occasion to make up for the nuisance I was causing. It was like each day and each stop brought something new and exciting.

When the trusses were set, things really started to feel real. For me, this made things really feel like a house. I’m a visual learner so it really helped me picture how things would look once complete. This is when I really had that surreal feeling and just couldn’t believe this was real life. I remember driving up our driveway that day and just being in awe. Watching our contractors build our home piece by piece was just an amazing thing to witness. I think Devon and I are still just in awe of the gifts and abilities that God has gifted others.

After that stage, the interior walls quickly went up and shortly after that Northern Pines arrived to do their rough in. This crew was great to work with. They covered all of the plumbing, heating and electric all at once. Talk about convenient and easy to manage as a homeowner.

So many things happened from the truss setting stage to get us to where we are now, so many things that I can’t even recall each step of the way and quite honestly, I can’t even believe we’re already to this point. Things just flew right by.

The house building process is daunting. Regardless how much or how little you do on your own, it’s a task to build a home. A task and a blessing we don’t take lightly. We often asked ourselves during this process “Why us, God? Why did you trust us with this blessing?” We don’t think we will ever know for sure, but we do know we are not going to take it for granted. There has been so many amazing things that have happened throughout this building journey and truly showed us time and time again that God is so good.

I’m sure you’re wondering how the inside of our house turned out. You’re probably curious what the exterior looks like, too. Before I show that I want to share a few things we learned throughout the process. I’m sure if you’re reading this, you’re curious on a few things. How long did it take to build your home? How long did you wait to start building? What did it cost you? How did you pick your home design? Maybe the list goes on and on. The truth is, what worked for us, might not work for you and you have to do what you think is best for yourself in this process, but here a few things to keep in mind if building is in your future.

Be overly prepared. I thought I was organized and had everything in order, I didn’t. Thank goodness we had Curt with AS-Construction to help us, because if not, things wouldn’t have moved as smoothly as they did. He literally helped us every step of the way, even when he didn’t need to. He had our back and literally made this process as easy as it could be as home owners.

Pick your design elements early and know what vibe you want for your whole house. It makes decisions easier when that time comes. For example, I knew I wanted black accents, so when someone asked what color I wanted of certain things they knew chances were black would be it.

Take time to relax throughout the process. It is so important to take time to breathe, relax, and just soak in the moment. Grab a chair and sit at your new home regardless what stage it is in and just soak in the blessing of a home. It can get stressful and it’s so important to take care of yourself throughout the process.

Have patience. This is something I struggle with sometimes. Building a house requires patience. Some things seem to change over night. Other things seem as if nothing has happened, but trust the process.

Trust your contractors. If you get good vibes from them and you decide to hire them, trust them and their knowledge. It’s okay to ask questions, but they are going to do everything that they can to make things just as you want them. We’re lucky that all of our contractors were fantastic to work with.

Communicate clearly and over communicate what you want. It’s better to be sure they know your expectations than to have them redo something or you having to wait for materials. Communication is key.

Ultimately— do what makes your heart happy. It’s your home and you need to be happy with all the elements. You’re going to hear opinions galore, but what you want in your home is what is going to be best for you.

At the end of the day, we still can’t believe this is real life and we still can’t believe this place is actually ours. We truly have been blessed through this journey and we truly believe God placed the amazing contractors like, Curt, in our lives for a reason. His work ethic, his ability to bring our dream to life, and just how awesome he is has just been an amazing blessing to us. Throughout the process, our builder became our friend and for that we will forever be grateful. Our home is beautiful and it’s a blessing, but sometimes throughout life’s journey, you gain so much more than what you were looking for and it blesses you with something far greater than you ever expected.

It’s good to be home and I’m excited for you to see the space we get to call ours. Take a peek below at a few pictures. We couldn’t have done it without all our amazing contractors. God is so good and we are so blessed to have this place as ours.