New Deck and Pool Area
Hey guys! Sorry I was a little MIA last week. My oldest son, who is normally a huge help to me, went away to church camp leaving me outnumbered 4 to 1 with my younger kids. And with 3 of them being 5 or younger, I didn't have much time for extra things like breathing, no, I mean, blogging.
But, now I'm back and excited to show you some things we have been working on around here! I hinted back in this post that we added a new pool from Walmart. And, as most of you know, one thing always leads to another, so we added a new deck as well.
When we first moved into this home, there was no door from the kitchen to the back yard. So, my husband took out the 3 windows that were here and added a sliding door. Then we built a small deck/landing so it was usable. It was supposed to be a temporary deck because we wanted to add on to the back of our house to make a bigger kitchen. But a few years have gone by and life happens and we are still waiting on that new kitchen addition.
I have to admit, that I have struggled with contentment, especially when it comes to my home. I have big dreams and want those dreams to be fulfilled (ASAP if possible!). But life doesn't always work my way. I am not in control and sometimes I have to simplify my expectations and live within my limitations. We didn't want to just waste this area and not use it fully just because "someday" we are going to add on to the house.
"Contentedness is learned in the process of daily accepting life as God gives it to you, and adjusting your expectations to life's limitations." ~Sally Clarkson
So we moved forward, making the most of this space, and we are happy we did! It is so wonderful and has been a huge blessing already! We have had tons of rain around here lately, but we've still been able to squeeze in a swim or two from time to time as the sun peaks through.
It all started with the pool set up. I tried to talk my husband into getting a bigger pool, but I happened to call from the store as I was looking at the larger pool and he happened to be in the process of hand digging the spot to level it. Needless to say, he wasn't interested in making it larger. (Note to self - don't call to change the plans when your husband is in the middle of working on a huge project for the last two days - lesson learned.)
Of course, once the pool was up the kids couldn't wait to start using it!
Next it was on to the deck. As as side note, I just have to say that I love hard working men! I think construction is my love language!! I so appreciate all the hard work that went into this!
Since the electric is buried right here and comes right through where we would need to dig (and secretly because I believe this deck is temporary), we built the deck on pylons rather than cement the support posts into the ground. The smaller landing that we had built previously was cemented into the ground and attached to the house so we also attached the new deck to the old one. We started out framing the new deck by leveling the pylons and building the deck support.
Then started adding the deck boards.
Finally this part of the deck was finished! Yay! We built a bench on one side of the deck to act as a railing and give more seating at the same time.
Also we upgraded our pool pump and filter from the one that came with the pool to a sand filter we bought off Amazon (plus we had to buy some new fittings). And we were gifted a new set of stairs and ladder from our dear friends (they weren't using their's anymore), to help with our daughter Elizabeth. She has cerebral palsy and has a really hard time with ladders, but she loves to swim!
And here it is so far!
We still have plans to add on to the deck from here. We hope to build a platform (next to the pool) with stairs that come up from the deck so the kids can jump in and Elizabeth can have an easier time getting in and out of the pool. We also have to finish off around the sides of the deck and I hope to do some plantings around there too. We've added some mulch and I've planted some grass seed (we had our yard dug up last year when we put in a new well), so I hope that helps pretty things up around here! I also hope to add a patio set, and pick up a deck box so we can get some organization and more use of the new deck for the summer. But we will see how far we get! It's all a little at a time!
This deck and pool area has already been a huge blessing and has extended our house quite a bit! We are out here constantly and are using it as much as we can. I'm so thankful to my hard working husband, our son, and our dear friend who helped us so much on this project!
Thanks for following us along on this journey! Even when life doesn't always go your way, it can still be wonderful!
