Habitat for Humanity Build #16: Fredericksburg, Texas

We were excited ... a Habitat for Humanity Care-a-Vanner build in the beautiful and still unexplored Hill Country of Texas in early November!

It will be sunny and warm!

... or not!

A series of frosty mornings and rainy days slowed the build schedule slightly, but it could not put a damper on the smiles of Chris, Veronica, and their four children as they watched the walls of their future home go up.

And their smiles were contagious.

Taking advantage of the few sunny days, we were able to ...

study plans,

assemble,

and raise walls.

It was once again a learning experience for me, but I was happy to be able to apply a lot of the ''framing skills'' that I picked up in Las Cruces. 

Like operating the chop saw,

handling the nail gun,

and making ''works of art'' out of
insulating foam.

But my greatest feat was organizing the local affiliate's tool trailer.
Look how pretty it is!

Living in a small van, I have gotten pretty good at ... ''a place for everything and everything in its place''!

But quite a few of my ''jobs'' didn't actually require all that much skill ... I was pretty awesome at holding up the walls until they got nailed into place,

... and being Doug's personal assistant who kept track of the pieces of wood after he cut them.

We made great progress in between the rain showers and the freezing temps. For despite the harsh temps, the sharing of building skills and smiles amongst all the Care-a-Vanners warmed us all.

Once again, a talented group of Care-a-Vanners was able to work together to raise walls and raise hope for a brighter future for another deserving family.

Caleb (14 months), me, future homeowners Chris and Veronica,
Ian (12), Lexi (7),  and Gabriel (4)

At our final get-together, we were each presented with a beautiful granite cross like the one I am holding. It was handmade by future homeowner Chris and given to each of us as a ''thank you''.

It will be cherished as a beautiful reminder of the warm blessing of friendship that welcomes us during each of our Habitat for Humanity builds.

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