Our New Coop -17 Bedwell St, Cranley

17 Bedwell Street, Cranley.

The Barnes' NEW Coop 😄

In the first 2 weeks after settlement, Mum and Dad Barnes graciously gave of their time to come and 'camp' at our new place in their caravan.
They worked hard doing so many helpful, little and large jobs behind the scenes to help get the house and land ready for what is to come.
First step was to remove all of the trees which were in the way of fences, extensions, or were generally dead or not wanted for our use of the land.

The before and afters on this alone are pretty impressive! Dad slept many a night by a huge bonfire in the back paddock, getting all the trees burnt down to ashes.

 Now there is a barely a hint that they were there...just a few stumps left as features in some of the gardens.

This is the front of the house before tree felling started.

Joshy & Isaac loved driving around in the Cruiser, chaining up trees to drag down the back to the fire. Grandad also bought them a beloved tipper wagon, perfect for picking up sticks and taking a load to the fire. Joshy would work at this job for hours and is very thorough. He so enjoyed his days helping with the tree clearing and watching it all happen!

We will miss having Grandma & Grandad's caravan and cups of tea/lunches and dinners with them at our new house. 

We've also made a start on removing exterior cladding for the back verandah extension... (thanks Dad!)

That's the back of the house taken from the fence adjoining the house backyard, and the business parking area. 

Pier posts have been cut out and drilled for the garage extension, and the entire house has been levelled (not too much to show for that, but huge obvious benefits! Like, a level floor! 😜)

Preparation has also begun on the business side of things, with 33 loads of soil levelled and compacted ready for a shed slab to be poured very soon. 

A load of road base was needed in the drizzly weather for the trucks to get down to the shed area, so the beginnings of a driveway and carpark are underway as well. Very exciting times!

A few last snaps of the boys, enjoying all the benefits of a new house, and plenty to do and places to roam!

Hello again!

Well hello there! 👋
It's been quite a while...and my oh my, how things have changed!
But we are about to embark on our next big adventure house-wise...so thought it timely to get back into the blog & do some documenting/sharing.

I'll basically fast forward the last 2 years in the rental...from Jan 2013 to June 2015, we have had some tough and trying years with the business really getting on it's own two feet.
Shem works full time AAA now, and we have around 8-10 staff, many vehicles and a big shed full of gear here at our rental home/business premises.
On the family front, our family has grown with the addition of 2 more little boys...Mr I in Feb 2013 and Mr C in July 2014. All 17/18 months apart, and very fond of one another. Mr C will celebrate his 1st birthday next month, and Mr J (our eldest) will be 4 in August.
So things have definitely changed.

The latest blessing for our family has been the provision of a family home. Combined with a business premises. On a stunning 5 acres at the very edge of town, in an area we have been keen on for a long time...we had waited patiently for a property like this for many months. Well, not exactly like this, truth is we had looked at many 'completed', larger houses to suit our sized family and family visiting, but they never had the right amount of land or layout of land to suit our smaller budget. So, we were waiting for an open door into something that would suit us, but we had no idea what. So we waited.
And it did.
We stepped through gingerly, and the door was flung wide open. How very grateful we are!!

Now we need to do our bit, getting our hands (and hearts) a bit dirty, robustly renovating and creating a family home! It needs to fit 3 bustling, busy boys after all!
As well as be a retreat for Mum, Dad and family and friends who visit.

So the task ahead is a rewarding and busy one.
Hang on, if you will...for the ride! 😊