The Live Oak Tree

I will unashamedly admit, that Doug & I are tree huggers lovers. Unless it's in the way of course.  Doug Vincent will cut down a gum tree in a skinny minute. In our search for this property, I had asked God to please let there be one live oak tree. Kind of as a sign. I love oak trees. They are just so southern. So relaxing. They invite you to come sit under them with a glass of sweet tea. 

 We would drive around for hours just looking. And then we saw it. This place had  a huge live oak right on the front of the property line. It was our sign. Surely.

This property was so dense with underbrush that you could not see
these other other trees. Only the large oak up front.

 We had looked at this piece of property many times. It felt right. It felt like home. This is the one we wanted. And then, our hopes were deeply dashed when the owner said she did not want to sell. We felt so depressed. I personally felt  homeless homesick. So we continued our search. We looked at 15-20 other properties for sale. None of them felt right, so we looked & waited. For months. Seven to be exact.

We could not lose the grip of this place on our hearts. One day, Doug decided to go back to this property and walk it. Remember, it's dense. You cannot see through to the back. I wish I had a video of Doug describing this place to me. His face lit up. "Vic, you gotta see this view. There are oak trees all along the back." IT JUST FELT RIGHT. Doug asked our realtor to try one more time with this owner. And lo and behold, she not only said that she was ready to sell, but dropped her original asking price. WHAT?  

What's impossible with God?? 

"The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!"                                                                  Psalms 16:6 

Here is the tree on the front. My sign.

Now, let me knock your socks off! We only asked God for one oak tree. This property had 15 live oak trees!!!! God always love surprising us. He's a good and loving Father who loves to watch His children wake up on Christmas morning and see their eyes sparkle.

This is our gift. Our inheritance.

Take a look at this bizarre beauty of an old oak. It's the most quirky tree I've ever seen. It hangs right over the creek bank just waiting for a grandchild or two to come explore it's treasures. 

January 2013

 

July 2013

  

 I hope you are encouraged to DREAM BIG. Permission granted. Thanks again for reading along and sharing in our excitement. If I feel this passionate about the trees, just wait till the house is built. Too excited to care!

The Promised Land

Welcome to A Clear View! Literally. We are building our dream house on Clearview Drive. Is that not just the best street name?!  It has taken us quite a few years to get to this point. Seven to be exact, but here we are. God, undoubtedly, brought us to this piece of property.  The house plans are complete and we have the permits in our possession.  It’s so exciting for us. There really is something to ‘dreaming bigger’ and believing that  ”God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! (Ephesians 3:20 Message)

We have been calling it 'our promised land'

The back of the property looks out onto the marsh which leads to the Ashley River.

There are lots of trees. Mostly live oaks. We are in LOVE with them.

While we were waiting to break ground, we brought out 4 Adirondack chairs
so we could watch the sunsets.

The sunsets are stunning through the oaks.

The only thing better than sunsets is our 1st granddaughter, Zoe Grace.
She says she is gonna help Papa build that new house. She wants a hammer.

Since these pictures, we have already broke ground and I will be back soon to post them. Did I say how excited we are? We are 'Dreaming Big' because 'permission was granted' (another blog for another day)

Thank you for reading and I really do hope you will enjoy the view!