This is it. The home we fell in love with when Jerry and I decided to build our next house. After months and months of searching for a plan that had all of the key features we wanted we found this plan on Southern Living.  Tideland Haven features a gorgeous wraparound porch, fireplaces inside and out and a huge great room with kitchen set inside. As challenging as this first decision was, turns out this was only the beginning. 

Where to build became our first major decision  Luckily, that decision was narrowed down quite a bit by my more than generous parents who offered us space on their property. 

With Dad's help we picked a beautiful location on a hill with the most incredible views.

View from master bathroom

view from screened in porch toward back of house

view from porch on dining room side of house

Of course we are making some changes to the house (it seems everyone I have found who also built this house has done so).

A few of the changes that we know we are making now are
1.  change laundry room to half safe room (above ground tornado shelter) and half pantry / storage
2.  laundry will be in master bath instead of shelves that face the tub
3.  changes to master closet and shower / toilet area to make larger closet, shower and hide the toilet from the shower

Breaking ground and laying out the house was our first major step.....

The work began with lots of big equipment and rock moving.  Here is Riley (our 15 year old son) helping haul rock with his Papa's front end loader.

Jerry and Papa spent a lot of time leveling, measuring, leveling, measuring.....

At last - the stakes went in.  The stakes came out and went back in as we worked to get the house in exactly the right position on the hill for the best views, wind control, and layout.

Finally, the rock haulers started bringing in small, fine rock called screenings.  This is used to lay the base of the foundation.  It took a LOT of screenings.
 

YES - the sky is real and not photo shopped.