work..

I've always heard that saying "anything worth having, is worth working for." I'm thinking it's true when it comes to our recent vacation project. I know that it seems like an oxymoron, right? Vacation project? Really? But, yes! In the Berry household it's amazing what gets done when JBerry is home on vacation. We did go away & seek some rest in Boone, but who really sleeps well away from home? And the Berry's, what can I say? We LOVE sleep! So we headed home Wednesday, spent most of Thursday chillaxin' while it rained & tornado watches loomed over us. But once the sun came out in the afternoon, we started on an unfinished project.

Last summer we had created this....

After one summer, we decided it still was enough room. You barely have room for a table & a space to hang out. It still just wasn't the space we wanted. So after much thought, we decided to uncover the cement slab & use the almost 80 stones to create a larger space to enjoy.

So for the past few weekends we had done different parts. Making a design, cleaning out the grass from the space, removing the sand we had brought in to build up the extra part of the patio & then leveling it all out with leveling sand to create the new groundwork for our new game plan.

After days of planning, work & use of our muscles, we now have this:

We are so excited! We have eaten all of our meals out here & even enjoyed a little movie on the laptop one night after Channing went to bed. We are constantly thanking God for our outdoor space. It's a sweet blessing. The greatest part is that we were blessed with every part & it really didn't cost us anything. We decided to spend a small portion of our tax check on the new large table that we found at a closeout store for a really good deal & will probably sell the small table in a community yardsale that's coming up! I just love the small things that bless our lives! After almost 8 years of marriage we have figured out the things that bring us both joy & rest and  are worth an investment.

Even if it means using our vacation time to get them done.