WEEK SIX UPDATE - $1,000 worth of yard work

Everyone loves a good before and after pic! To see more be sure to visit our gallery.

Here we are at the halfway point and it is hard to see a hope of making the deadline before we have to move out on January 1. The greatest challenge seems to be finding someone willing to advise us on how to proceed. We have friends that have been giving us advice gained from their own home projects but we have some questions that even they can't answer.

With no money for materials and being stuck on what to do with the house itself we decided to take on the back yard. Chris' best friend, John, offered to pay to have a yard crew come out to clear out (no landscaping just clear out) the back yard but when they looked at the yard they said it would $1,000! I nearly swallowed my tongue. So the great news is with the help of a couple of friends (THANK YOU Flying Eagle and Flo!) we accomplished almost $1,000 dollars worth of work this weekend by tackling the yard ourselves.

GIFTS FROM GOOD FRIENDS
This weekend we received wonderful gifts from two sets of good friends: a couple of cabinets in wonderful shape that we can use in the kitchen, bathroom or even the laundry room (if we ever get that rebuilt) and many very specific home remodeling tools that we never would have been able to afford on our own. Now we have a clean out, stripped out house and tools to work, even a decent amount of folks to help us but we are stymied by a lack of materials. 

Flo takes on a $1,000 project.

WEEK SIX HEROES
Flying Eagle and Flo. You both show up over and over again and throw yourselves into the dirtiest, hardest, most back-breaking work. All the while you are both smiling and telling us that we can do this. You are both true warriors with great spirits.

Folks from the Sacramento Bee came out to hear our story and were very kind (and brave! LOL). To Chris (the reporter) and Randall (the photographer) and the Sacramento Bee we wanted to say thanks. (My husband just ran out in his pajamas to buy several copies.)  ;-)  Please go out and buy a Bee today. I know you can view stuff online but just this once, do it Old School. Grab a Bee and a warm beverage and take a minute to really read something.

Bill & Danielle. These two have been very wonderful and brave friends through so many years. They have helped me through some very tough times even when it was risky for them personally and are here yet again lending a hand (complete with tools!)

Shannon & Roger. Two amazingly giving and funny people who look me in the eye and tell me that we can do this and stare me down until I have to smile and agree. Thank you for the cabinets, the advice and most of all the offers of driving me places to take the pressure off of Chris having to be my driver all the time. (And the food at our wedding so many years ago was AWESOME Shannon!)

My daughter Cassie & my mother Daisy
For support, love and taking care of Jax this weekend so I could go jump into piles of berry vines with Chris! They also gave a break to Leah & Becky who have been welcoming our children into their home weekend after weekend even though they are two beautiful ladies with lives.

Groves vs Blackberries, Round One

So this weekend has left me exhausted and covered in scratches, punctures and insect bites that I wonder if I should have looked at but the wild jungle is being tamed and I am seeing the beautiful yard of my youth re-emerge and I am in love all over again. What a beautiful place this will be someday. What a wonderful home for our children, we can't give up no matter the obstacles. This is our dream.

Tomorrow's Blog - Frugal Tip #4 Clearing Out Blackberry Vines Yourself. (No, seriously!)

LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING AND SEE MORE PICTURES OF THE PROJECT AT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.GROVETRIBE.COM

We have also added a new THANK YOU page to the website this week! Take a look!