The Ray Workman Family

 " LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:"

Psalm 10:17

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Last week, for the first time since the off-roading experience in June, our family took a few days to work on our land.

 Hauling a trailer load of materials

 Packing up

The Lord always directs our paths.  We know that, no matter what happens.  This trip out to our land had been planned for a few weeks, but Monday (2/14), before we were able to pack and prepare, the ladyfolk in our family (plus some friends) were involved in an accident.  That left us spending Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday in Charlotte for evaluations and doctor's appointments.  It seemed like everything was going against us, but we were determined that we were going.  Thursday, we packed up and headed out ~ a little later than planned, but, hey, we made it!

Friday, Dad, Ray, and Sara went out to the land to haul brush from the piles to the clearing.  It seems that those piles are never-ending!

A monster of a pile....

And to think we have several more just like this one!

Playin' "King of the Brush Pile" : )

The rest of us, on the other hand, spent our day running errands ~ from one government office to another to the hardware store to pick up some supplies to.....well, I guess you get the gist. : )  That morning they found out we had to have a 911 address to get the burn permit (something that had not been required before).  So that was our first stop.  When we got to the courthouse, we found out that we had to pay for permission to build (NOT a building permit) before they could release the address.  (SIGH....)  They had told us before that we only needed the perk test.  As we deal more and more with the government out there, we have found that no one really knows the process for getting land ready to build.  Thus the many hours of traveling from office to office only to be told that something else (they don't know what) is needed.  It seems as if everything is tied in knots!  Thankfully this time we only needed to go to the Health Dept., pay for our permission to build, go back to the courthouse and get our official address!  We are OFFICIAL!!!! : ) : )  On our way back to the property, we stopped by the forestry office to fill out the rest of the burn permit.  YAY!!!  What a relief!

Chillin' out : )

We did spend some time around the campground, and enjoyed it when we weren't rushing around getting things ready to cart out to the land.

Snackin'....

And goofing, I might add. : )

*Camping Buddies*

Ray shot a squirrel, so Sara decided she would try her hand at gourmet cooking. : )

Chester roasting on the open fire....

But Jack Frost definitely wasn't nipping at our nose!  It was up in the 70's during the day!

The poor thing was a granpappy squirrel.....which translates -- VERY tough!

Sara tried to eat him, but he wasn't chewable. : )

Saturday, some of us went to Singletary Lake to check out a camp there.  We needed a place where a group could stay, and this seemed to be just the place.  Too bad the dates we needed it were already booked!  We did enjoy taking a peek around, though!

The lake was beautiful!  We took a walk out on the pier and "enjoyed" the fierce wind that had sprung up. : )

It was nice and refreshing.

Ladybugs are such pretty little creatures!....OUTSIDE, that is. ; )  God created them with such perfect markings!

On our way back to camp, we saw a man burning some bushes only his fire had gotten out of control and burnt his whole front yard!  When we got back, there was a sign up that notified us that there was a burn ban in effect.  No wonder!  The wind was blowing hard!  But that hindered progress on burning the piles.  No matter.  When we arrived at the land with their lunch, we were pleasantly surprised. The gate was up!

Welcome home! : )

Lunch time!  Come and get it before we throw it out to the......pigs! : )

Putting up the gate required a few tools....

Ooooops!  Somebody made a mess! : )

Now, some of you may be wondering why on earth do you have a gate on your driveway?!?!?  The easiest explanation is....out there, if you see a driveway and no house, there's a gate on it.  If there's a driveway and you do see a house, there might be a gate, but usually there isn't.  That's just the way things are done out there, and we assume there is plenty good reason for it. : )

All this doesn't sound like much, but we sure feel like we accomplished a great deal!  The Lord opened the way for everything to go fairly smoothly and kept us all safe as we worked and traveled.  What a blessing!

"Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand that I cannot see him: But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

Job 23:8-10