chasing joy | a cabin story: the yurt

it took us 3 years to get the foundation mostly finished. i say mostly, because it is a cinder-block foundation. cinder blocks are strong, but hollow, and so they needed to be filled with concrete. we were stumped at the best way to go about this. since business was booming in town, local concrete companies and their needed pumper trucks were unwilling to make the drive for just our one job . some sort of bucket system would need to be figured out.

meanwhile, working only weekends was becoming discouraging. not only did it make the process extremely slow, but our lives thus consisted of nothing else. we been the recipients of a very gracious rental arrangement all this time, but that was nearing its end.

so…. we began to pray and ponder how to live up on our property while finishing the cabin. we investigated the cost and process involved for drilling a well for water, installing a septic system, and various power options. we went back to the bank and re-financed our mortgage to cover the costs of these utilities.

with the well and septic system installed, and the beginnings of a solar system purchased, we still needed to figure out what we would live in. our pop-up was not practical for winter, so we looked into what would be.

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it was i who first discovered this thing called a yurt. they are widely used in Mongolia, but there are also many used throughout Colorado along cross country ski trails and the like. i did my research and we formulated plans. after building a deck and obtaining the necessary permits, the yurt could be put together in just one day. at least that’s what everyone said.we knew how slowly building went, and this seemed like a good and inexpensive option for us to finally be up on our land. we didn’t know yet how to live simply and small, even in this mountain context, our logs would build us a 3000 square ft. cabin. but we were willing to learn.

in the spring, pregnant with our third child and anticipating the changes ahead i wrote:

I have thought a lot about the changes you will bring to our lives-the exact changes God has picked out for us and provided through you. There are a lot of changes in our family going on at the onset of your arrival-the main one is our move up to our property-i think of Abraham and Sarah, leaving behind family and familiarity and even convenience and wealth in living. We are taking on a journey too-to a lifestyle we aren’t familiar with-much simpler and less convenient (more work for me!) i know not what He has for us ahead-but here we go-stepping out in Faith, following where He leads and bringing you along. i pray you will be blessed by this journey, and grow in faith as you join us.

we were pursuing this dream because we believed we were following the lead of our Guide. we believed it would bring us a joy-filled life. that’s what spurred us on as we got creative with how to make it happen and the sacrifices needed to be made along the way.