Drenched and drained

It was the kickoff of the Hammer's and Heels build, or the women's build, and the first house I'm getting to co-lead this summer.   We started the build with another blitz build.  Five days to get as close to siding as we could.  But to get there, we have to stand the walls, sheath, set trusses, blue board, sheet and shingle the roof and get the windows and doors installed. 

Start of day 1

Start of day 3

End of day 4

The build started great...good weather, great volunteers, daily progress on the house, and then we had Friday.  The forecast was for rain but I remained hopeful.  I picked up coffee and donuts for the crew and mother nature actually let the weather man get it right.  I drove out of the down pour in West Des Moines and we waited for it to arrive at the build site.

Waiting for the storm

It arrived all right.  We got drenched...twice.  Once in the morning and then again in the afternoon.  The women who volunteered on Friday were some real troopers.  We tried to get on the roof, but the rain and mud kept us on the ground.  We did what we could on ladders without losing our footing until we called it a day, two hours earlier than normal.  The longer the day went, the slower we kept moving.  Not because we wanted to, but every step tested our balance and agility.  

Drenched...

It was hard leaving the build site Friday without having the things done that I was hoping to accomplish.  But I'm quickly learning that it's all part of the process.  Some days go much better than others and mother nature controls way more than I ever dreamed.  Let's hope she is more cooperative this next week and we can catch up.

Even though I ended the work week a day early, drenched and muddy, the weekend made up for it.  It was time to open the racing season at the Iowa Speedway.  Woo-hoo!!  I spent my weekend in Newton with my nephew who was so excited about his first NASCAR Nationwide race...he was just giddy.  It was awesome!  

Between checking out all the merchandise, throwing the football, grilling burgers and watching the races...I was left drained by my week and weekend but in a very good way. I got to catch up with a good friend I haven't seen since last summer and my nephew is ready for another weekend at the races.  But the next time, he wants to see the "big dogs" of the Sprint Cup.  It might be a while before they ever make it to Newton, but we'll keep hoping.  

First NASCAR Nationwide race...John Deere 250

Thanks for a great weekend, Lil' Buddy!!

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Highlight of the week...

1.  Kicking off the women's build.
2.  Seeing the excitement on my nephew's face at his first NASCAR race.
3.  Winning a coupon for a free Casey's donut!  Sprinkle donut, here I come.  

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Scripture...

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me."

John 14:1