Time is Moving Forward - Ryan Homes Build

We stopped by the farmhouse this past Saturday and had a great time talking with our SR about the progress, fireplace stone selections, and lo-and-behold.. a time to break ground! :)

August had felt SO far away and when it appeared, I didn't put much thought to it. From what we had been seeing, we knew that the roads would be poured in the development this month, but I had gotten so used to waiting and watching that it didn't click that once the roads were in, our home would soon be built! :)

Our options for the fireplace stone selection are different then what I had seen in other Ryan communities and I'm really stuck at what to choose. We want something that has some color and depth to it and we were looking forward to choosing stones that were round - not liked stacked brick. We want some color because we have a lot of grey/black/brown/white colors and we need something to warm the place up.

This is literally the only thing that we have had trouble deciding on because it was different than what we were expecting. We are taking the week to think it over and will go back tomorrow to place our decision. I am thinking the left of the first row. I could even entertain the idea of the left one on the third row mostly because of the shapes and change in colors. I love the colors of the one on the right in the third row, but not the stacked brick look. I think hands down, especially after posting here, that we will choose the top left selection.

Anyway, onto BIGGER news.. we set our pre-construction meeting for Friday, August 22. And, the BIGGEST and BEST news.. we are set to break ground on Monday, September 1st! I went to the farmhouse on Saturday not expecting any kind of news like this, and I left BEAMING and almost hugging our SR I was so excited! :) It is finally starting to feel more REAL after waiting these past couple months. I can barely wait for those days to come, but I know they will be here before I know it. We are having our pre-construction meeting earlier than the typical week beforehand because we are going out of the country for two weeks. So unfortunately, we won't be here to see them break ground, but from what I'm expecting is just some excavating so it's not too much of a bummer. We will be back in the country on the 11th, so I plan on racing over and scoping the area out. My family is also right down the street from the development so I am hoping they will keep us updated! The biggest reality check of this whole thing is that we have been pretty lax on our savings for closing and December/January will be here before we know it. I would love to be in the house before Christmas, but I am not sure if that will happen or not. I know we will find out more during the pre-construction meeting in relation to the planning phase. But January does give us further time to save those pretty pennies! :)

There is no logical progression to these pictures, just some that I took while we were scoping out the area with our SR the other day. He took us to see different areas than what we had previously seen. I just love everything about the serenity of the area and, in a way, am sort of sad about the significant changes that will overtake this land in the future. I was able to scope out the proposed plans online yesterday that gave me a LOT of insight into what to expect from the community. They are definitely retaining the sense of small-town feel, but it is also going to be extravagant in and of itself as well.

These trees are part of the "greenway corridor" and will separate the different neighborhoods. 

Hard to tell because it is such a BIG panorama, but this serves as the entrance to our section and will someday house a roundabout. Straight ahead will be 1.2 acres with sidewalks lined with street lamps and benches all leading up to a gazebo in the center. If you click on the picture to zoom in, you can see a pile of dead trees in the middle. Hypothetically, this is where our house may be as it is not staked out.