The She Shed

Our new shed is officially named "Hitchcock's Folly" because our friend who built it, Nathan Hitchcock, named it so.  But it's also being affectionately called "The She Shed" because I'm the one who begged and pleaded for any kind of outside storage to free up space in our house from all the outdoor kid toys and gardening tools, etc.  After being in Chogoria for a year, we finally have a shed!

After trying and failing two times to get a shed built via local channels, we gave up and asked Nathan to do it.  He's a nurse by day and handyman at all times.  And he literally built this beauty from the ground up.  He concocted a plan with whatever local materials were available (or could be ordered in), and bit by bit he built us a shed.  Oh, and he also let our kids "help" him almost all the time.  Clearly this man is full of dedication and patience!

The main benefactor of Nathan's kindness and patience with our children was our Kai Guy.  Kai is a builder at heart and he was in heaven, let me tell you!  He may have skipped a decent amount of homeschooling to participate in this project :)

Even Eli got to help sometimes!  And he learned some new handyman skills like mixing cement and welding.

Asa liked to "help" too and made his best contribution by painting.  He actually painted a bit, believe it or not!

Once the mabati was on, we all signed the back before it was installed on the concrete slab.  Psalm 127 has been a theme for me this past year, and it seemed fitting to reference that psalm on the shed:

Unless the Lord builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

In vain you rise early and stay up late,

toiling for food to eat --

for he grants sleep to those he loves.

Sons are a heritage from the Lord,

children a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

are sons born in one's youth.

Blessed is the man 

whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

when they contend with their enemies in the gate.

Now the shed is done!  And we've put the soccer balls and sidewalk chalk and diggers and dump trucks in there, along with the hose and the machete and other things for the shamba. 

We are so excited this project is complete!  And so thankful for the kind of friend who would willingly gave days of his life to undertake this project.  What a gift and tremendous blessing to the House of Horn!