Tag Archives: cabin

Sabbath Rest – It is well with my soul

August 20, 2023 steph 1 Comment

Today we arrived at our family cabin in Vermont.Â Oh, the peace that I find here. And although I do not depend on this place to give me the peace that I find in Christ, it is here that I find a resting place for my heart. It is here that I can say (in an earthly sense) – It is well with my soul!

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

It is well (it is well)
with my soul (with my soul)
It is well, it is well with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Words: HoÂraÂtio G. SpafÂford, 1873.
Tune: Ville du Havre, PhilÂip P. Bliss
Artist – Audrey Assad

Family and Friends, The Adventure, The Cabin

In the middle of the in-between

August 3, 2023 steph Leave a comment

When we realized that our week with Joe and Kim overlapped with the time a sweet niece and her family (whom we hadn’t seen in over two years) were at The Cabin (a mere four hours away!), we couldn’t resist sneaking over for a quick visit.

Seeing the cabin, pond, and treehouse full of kids was so wonderful!
We hung out at the pond for hours in the afternoon

and they even got me into the rowboat to check out the cattails!

I got to snuggle with the two littles which always does this Gramma’s heart good.

I taught a traditional cabin card game to the bigger kids

while one of the littles was instructing Gary on her very own version of War.

Pops was very confused.

I think everyone but momma and the baby had spent at least one night in the treehouse, and with the addition of a couple of hammocks – I’m pretty sure many more hours will be spent in that new space.

It might have been just barely 24 hours – but so worth the drive!

Time at The Cabin is always about making memories – and what lovely memories we made during that visit!

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, The Adventure, The Cabin

Back Home

June 29, 2023 steph Leave a comment

It’s always hard to leave The Cabin and this morning was no exception.

As we loaded up the car and did one final sweep to leave it spic and span for the next family (arriving tomorrow!), I couldn’t resist one last picture of the interior of our little slice of heaven.

(Taken on the wide angle setting of my iPhone so it looks much larger than it actually is!)
Man – I miss it already!

But back to real life it was! We arrived safely home this afternoon, after a lovely non-eventful drive. The best kind! Aside from the smoke drifting down from Canada and the fact that we couldn’t get into the Vermont Welcome Center due to road construction (and I REALLY needed to stop, if you get my drift!),it was smooth sailing all the way. Tonight, after going out for pizza with friends, it was last-minute laundry and packing up the outside as we get ready to move the house tomorrow to our July SOWER project at Longview Camp in Arcade, NY. I should probably tackle more of the inside, but even an uneventful drive can still wear you out!
Sweet dreams, friends!

Family and Friends, Pictures of the Adventure, The Adventure, The Cabin

From vision to reality

June 28, 2023 steph 6 Comments

It might’ve been in late summer 2021 that Gary first said, “I think the kids would really like a treehouse up here at the cabin.” It was a new thought to me, but I’m pretty sure that he had been mulling it over for a while. In late April of 2022, he started scoping out different groups of trees that might work for what he had in mind. By early May we had settled on this group of trees

that was just the right distance from the cabin, in a different direction than the pond, and had enough different trees to support his design. (Not that any of us actually knew what his design was. But we have learned to trust him!)
And so it began! We came up for two weeks at the end of July and he started in.

By the end of July he had the basic frame up, the deck part down, and the ship’s ladder built.

We returned for most of September, and by the time we left to head south the deck railing was up and the building all framed in.

Thankfully she wintered well, and Gary was able to resume construction in early May.

He worked pretty steadily throughout May (with the exception of a long weekend with our Ohio families) –
roof –

windows

walls

and siding.

When we left for our June SOWER project the outside was complete, and it was certainly usable!

But Gary wasn’t done yet. We returned last week to finish up one final detail – the flooring! We had been collecting lots of odds and ends of plank laminate flooring to use and while it took a try or two to actually come up with a design that worked with the different options, I think it has a nice eclectic vibe!

Today was our last day. Gary mowed and finished up with any outside clean-up. I took care of the “inside” chores as we worked to pack up for an early morning departure tomorrow.Â It’s been a quick week, but I know that the chief architect and builder of the Cabin Treehouse is feeling like it’s ready and open for business!

Good thing, too – the families start arriving on Saturday!