Our New Patio

This springtime weather has gotten my man and me excited to be working in and on our yard. I have many rose bushes still up at my parents’ place that I would like to bring to my house, so we have been thinking of where the right place for a rose garden would be. We have also been thinking about putting a retaining wall up along the hill north of our garage so that we could use that space and perhaps have it be a nice place for our picnic table and chairs. So we were thinking about these ideas and it occurred to us…why not incorporate both into a sort of patio area at the base of the retaining wall with a rose garden along the outside of it! We were thinking that we would probably leave the “patio” area as grass for now (since we were getting the brick for the wall already) but the Lord provided an opportunity to get the brick in a very inexpensive manner, so we were able to start working on it right away!

My man was able to have the use of a skidloader yesterday afternoon, so he was going to see if he could get some of the hill cut out in preparation for the retaining wall and maybe even get the ground dug out for our pavers that we wanted to put in. His dad and brother came over to help after a little while and with their help the measuring and leveling of the dirt went quickly. I called my man’s sister Ana and told her that she should come and see the big hole in our yard :), so she came with Leah and Mom S. and they started to help us get the leveling finished and the landscaping fabric laid down well. Then came the gravel and leveling that out, and, before we knew it, we were all set to put down brick! Everyone worked hard to get the bricks handed down to the men who were laying, leveling, measuring, leveling, straightening, leveling, and gluing the retaining brick (did I mention leveling?). It was a little chilly outside, yet none of us wanted to miss the excitement of the project, so Ana drove Leah and me down to the gas station to buy cappuccinos to keep us warm! Evening was coming as the retaining wall was being finished. We looked around and thought... hmmm, supposing we just put down some of the pavers so we could at least get a start and see how they look? With three people hauling and three people laying the brick in its pattern the patio grew rapidly. My man and his dad helped us to get the edges straight and made sure we were keeping it inside the determined size. The sky was finally getting dark as we worked into the late evening. Finally all but three of the pavers were put in. They saved them out, and my man and I got to put the last bricks in our very first patio! We all cheered. There was the cleanup work to do, and celebration pizza from Casey’s to eat late. I am so thankful that we have wonderful family to work together with on a project like this.

We were all so pleased with how quickly it went and how beautiful it looks. We still will need to put sand between the bricks with a packer and plant grass along the hill that my man sculpted beyond the patio area, but we have a good start. I am very much looking forward to having it as a place to have picnics with lots of family and friends on, or tea with a girlfriend or sister or two. I am praying that we would not be unmindful of the fact that our beautiful patio is a gift from Him, and that we would use it to the honor of the name of Christ and the furthering of His work.

I took many pictures as the work progressed. The sampling below should give you an idea of how it went! I'll be sure to post more when it's all the way finished and the garden is in. :)