This Is The House That David Built

August 1991, we spent our savings on 9 3/4 acres of land

and a building permit.

David dug the trench for the foundation with a shovel.

We spent most of his [government elementary school teacher] income

on construction materials for seven years.

Herb Emkee gave us three days, helping David frame the exterior walls.

When I drove out and saw this, I feared we were creating a monster!

Lance loved his "rog dirt" [frog shirt] so much that

after he could no longer wear it,

his Daddy made it into a flag.

We drew the house plan with crayon on the floor.

David built the interior walls.
Friends came to help raise them.

David is standing outside.

Randy Masters, Joe Clark & Phillip Hampton are inside.

Fama holding a stray dog, David, Regina holding Victor, Lance behind Dinah

Victor was born the year we started.

We had no electricity for the first three years.

David cut many boards by hand.

We bought a Honda generator. That helped!

Fama brought 10' studs to Regina to mark the 9' measurement,
then brought them to me [Mom] to cut with a rickety $5 yard sale "table saw"

Lance carried the studs to his father.

Only David could nail those 16d nails straight.

We hired a few men to help raise trusses.

Attic Trusses

1992

As he worked, David prayed, "God, give me this mountain."

And God did.

For Christmas 1993,

we purchased and nailed siding across the front of the house

David came in for supper after sanding skylight and closet drywall seams.

Melody, Dinah, Victor, Fama, Lance

I feared the curse of building a house,

but not being able to live there.

One day while we were out,

David raised the staircase alone using ropes from the attic.

Edison required a well and water coolers to be guaranteed working within six months before they would erect the poles and bring electricity out to the constructions site. As you can see in the photo, there was no electricity yet. That had to wait along with the luxury of flush toilets for a time.

We now know the blessing, of living in the house David built.

We moved in ten years ago after seven construction years.

God gave us three "construction babies" during that time.

Some said, "Wait till you finish building to have more children!"

God didn't share their opinion.

After we moved in, menopause came.