Two weeks ago, my mom and her best friend Gayle came down for a visit to help me continue some landscaping improvements. Then, Gavin’s mom, DeDe, came this past weekend for Mother’s Day, and between the two weekends, WE ACCOMPLISHED A LOT! But before posting pictures of our newly improved landscaping, let me post a picture of the “semi-final product” of the barn shed….
Isn’t she a beauty? Thank you Gavin, Bennett, Butch, and DeDe for helping!!
Gavin even went out and bought a rustic cowboy sign to hang and a dinner bell too!!
Now for the before and after landscaping…. here we start with the backyard…
Now for the front….
And finally….here are some pictures of our old shed being taken away! We donated it to a local ministry…..
BIG SMILES! We are so glad to see it gone!
And then….I did the Happy Dance because the old shed was finally gone and we could finish up some landscaping!!!
Woo-hoo!
After working hard Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, we grilled out for Mother’s Day
and got to sit back, relax, and “enjoy the fruits of our labor!”
Well, about a month before spring break, I stepped on a nail in the garage while taking my bike out for a ride. (I WAS wearing shoes!) That was “the last straw” for Gavin – he decided the building of our new shed now became a top priority so that we could clear out the garage. Thus began the search for blueprints and helping friends. The Friday before spring break, Gavin and Butch (guy from church) picked up the lumber and some other misc. hardware items from the hardware store, and then began this monumental project on Saturday. Another friend from church, Bennett, came out and helped. One of my Chinese students, John, came by for a little bit to check things out, too!
After laying the foundation, we built and raised two walls. Gavin’s mom, DeDe, came in for the weekend at the last minute. She and Butch’s wife, also named DeDe, helped me fix up our front flowerbed while the men were out back working on the “barn shed!”
We had LOTS of help throughout the week on the barn shed, in spite of it still being another “work week” for many others (who aren’t in the education field and don’t get a spring break!) Gavin’s dad came by a few times and helped out some, and Uncle Wayne came out one afternoon and helped. Throughout the week, our friends Bennett and Butch came out a few more times and ultimately, we got ‘er done!
Also, during the spring break week, I managed to break away from the barn raising long enough to put together a corner flowerbed in the backyard. It was the perfect place to put my “Lindy’s Garden” sign that Gavin made me!! Altogether, we are EXTREMELY pleased with how the outside of the house is starting to look. The grass will take another year or two of watering and fertilizing to start looking more “up to par.” Nonetheless, we feel that we have a “sacred haven” in our backyard to sit back, relax, sip a glass of tea, and chat while the sun goes down. 
