Rebuilding …Nothing New
I have always been of the mindset that the best way to tackle a task is to hit it head-on…immediately. The day after our barn and workshop burned to the ground (and I really mean to the ground…the only thing left was the burnt-up tin, which collapsed over the ash) we began the cleanup. It was time to start rebuilding.
Now, I’ll throw in here that rebuilding is nothing new to us. It’s actually kind of become a way of life. Kris and I bought our place a couple of years ago and it was just a piece of land….that needed a lot of work. We put a house on it and have been working on it all along. The next step was to build our barn, which amongst everything else, took several months to accomplish. Then a few months later, a freak windstorm took half of the roof off.
When that happened, we jumped in and replaced it quickly, thankful that it was only part of the roof. We got it taken care of right away and we were pleased that it hadn’t been worse. I am certainly very thankful that Kris and I can do these things ourselves.
Fast forward a few months and the whole thing burns down. You can read about the fire here.
Devastation Leads to Growth
So…the clean-up ensued. It took us 4 huge trailer loads to get rid of all of the burnt metal scrap that was left behind; including our brand new lawnmowers, the kids’ 4-wheeler and bicycles, and my husband’s motorcycle. Once all of that was cleared and the ash was raked away, we began the rebuilding process.
This time we made a few changes. Our old barn had a dirt floor, which led to a few problems so we decided to put up a stem wall and get everything off the ground. We kept the same footprint and design as our old barn, with just a few more tweaks. We certainly like this one a lot better.
The fact that we had insurance (regardless of how much I hate insurance payments) was a blessing in itself. There is no way that we could have rebuilt otherwise. The insurance didn’t even come close to replacing all that we lost, but it was a good start.
Demand was high for this barn to be rebuilt quickly and that is what we did. From clean up to finish it took us six weeks and not a moment too soon. Business had to go on regardless of the rebuilding process and this left us one week to get an entire store full of merchandise finished…not an easy task–but my husband rocks!
I believe we even surprised ourselves with how quickly we were able to accomplish so much. We split the tasks up and everyone worked….constantly. Even the kids got in on the job, learning how to build the framework for a concrete stem wall (more on that later).
I put all of the electric in, while Kris was working on other building. We framed together, roofed together, put up siding together and the list goes on. It was a well-managed construction project.
All in all, while our losses were significant, we ended up gaining a lot too. Not only did we gain a better barn and workshop, but our kids gained a considerable wealth of knowledge through hands-on experience and we all gained valuable time and memories working together.
There is always a blessing to be found; sometimes you have to look for it past your initial emotion. Sometimes it’s not easy to see around those initial feelings of loss or anger. But it’s there, waiting. We are daily thankful to God for all of life’s blessings.
NEVER MISS A THING!!
MORE WAYS TO CONNECT
We also, as a homesteading family, have three additional blogs that might interest you. A Life on the Farm focuses on the more personal side of the homesteading life. We discuss subjects like family, parenting, relationships, homeschooling, cooking, canning and so much more.
Farm Raised Family is basically a hub for everything under the Two Oaks Farmstead umbrella. You can learn a great deal about all parts of the farmstead there. The Farm Raised Family blog focuses on financial matters such as budgeting, saving, and more and on current events affecting families.
You can also have a more in depth look at all that we do by visiting our Two Oaks Farmstead YouTube Channel and be sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss a thing!
Farm Life and Freedom is the new podcast we are in the process of launching! It is going to be so much fun! You could also check in with our Farm Life and Family Youtube Channel.
Two Oaks Farmstead is the farm store… the one that holds the umbrella! Check us all out and join us, not only on our blogs and Farm Life and Freedom podcast but come join the fun on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter… wherever you get social!
