Every weekend I have been dressing like a construction worker and this is why.

When Roger and I first surveyed the 2 acres of land that we now reside on, we had stars in our eyes. It may not seem like that much land but to us (coming from the city) it felt like an entire universe could fit in our backyard. Griffin was growing in my belly at the time and as we dreamed of our future family, we made plans for every inch of our forest.

Well, life got in the way and six years and two kids later, the property has sat untouched. One may think that so much land would be a great place for kids to play. It's almost the worst place to set a toddler free. There are chiggers, exposed roots, trenches, holes, poison ivy, yellow jackets, and all kinds of scary things that you can find in a forest in Georgia. Not exactly a relaxing trip outside for mommy. It's been pretty frustrating to not have a place where my wild boys can run around and act crazy. Every boy needs a space to play and explore but not when mommy is having a nervous breakdown every two seconds.

Help is one the way! My mother-in-law is giving the boys an AMAZING swingset for Christmas and we needed a place to put it. So, for the last three weekends my parents have taken the boys so that we could clear out a play space on our property.

{Check out this cornucopia of fun that awaits us!!}

It has been amazing. Roger has cut down trees, chopped them into firewood, and stacked them into a huge pile of wood to be seasoned for next winter. I've helped along the way by strapping on some work gloves and stacking the wood. I've dug up dead pine trees to expose the earth and watched little earthworms burrow in the dirt. I've raked leaves and clipped vines off of trees that have been intertwined for centuries. I've carried bramble and wood over my shoulder. It's felt so good. I've sweated in places that I never even knew that I could sweat. I never knew that dirty sweaty yard work could be so fulfilling.

It's been great on many levels. For one thing, Roger and I make a fantastic team and I love working on projects with him. He's very patient and is a wonderful teacher when it comes to working on the house. I feel more confident when I am near him working. He's one of those men that is capable of doing just about anything. It's sexy to watch him chop down a tree and then for me to hoist it up and carry it off. Have I lost my mind? I just said that yard work was sexy.

It's also been really gratifying to be outside and getting my hands dirty. I love feeling so inherent to the earth. A sense of accomplishment settles in as our old plans for our home start to take shape. The backyard is almost ready for the swing set and we think that we will have it up for a Christmas morning surprise. We are even going to get a little picket fence to wrap around the yard to keep my little ones safe. They can run around like free range chickens while I lay on a hammock and sip on iced tea.

Just me and my chickadees and a picket fence...
sounds like heaven to me!