11/23/2024 - Throughout the week the weather forecast for today called for low 40's and a 50% or greater chance of rain every hour of the day.  But we woke up today and enjoyed a beautiful drive to Arch St. with sunshine bursting through and breaking up the dark swirling cloud cover!  The sun, while it didn't stay around too long, pushed the high temperature for the day up past the mid-40's and limited any "rain" to a few slight mistings!  The continued brief sun bursts that shone throughout the day reflected our joy.  We thank God for the beauty of this day!

Today was the first day that we, the Kimbles, could volunteer at the Brian Kimble Friends and Family home!  We were sooo excited about the first volunteer opportunity - the first chance to work at the physical location on the house!  This day, while it was about advancing the progress of the house, it was also about getting it in a ready state for the annual Brian Kimble Build Day, two weeks from today!  Habitat themselves will continue further progress and preparations for our build day!  The second volunteer opportunity for the house will be the Brian Kimble Build Day on December 7th!  We are so excited that we can all share in that day together with all of you, who through your witness of love and friendship and generous living and giving have created the possibility of home sponsorship!

Today, the first opportunity to be on site working on the house, was shared with Nyasia, the owner of the Brian Kimble Friends and Family home!   

Nyasia has already accumulated the 200 hours of sweat equity that is part of becoming a Habitat homeowner by working on other peoples' homes throughout the Beechwood Neighborhood.  Today she got to work on her own home!  And today, Nyasia and our family stood in her/the Brian Kimble Friends and Family home for the very first time!  

11/20/2024 - Three shiny red and white candy cane striped cement mixers pulled up to the site today!  Collectively they poured out 27 yards, equivalent to approximately 105,300 pounds, of wet cement into the styrofoam Lego brick forms, thus creating the basement walls!  The cement walls will take 21 days to fully cure, but thankfully we do not have to wait and watch wet cement dry because within 24 hours it will be set enough to begin the next steps of progress!    

11/15/2024 - Rebar has been tied and set in place to give strength to the concrete that will hold the house up for generations to come!  The Lego blocks that create the form for the basement walls have been assembled!

Wait, what?!?, you ask!

For those of you who have served at any of the Brian Kimble Build Days you have likely experienced the challenging, and often dreaded, task of removing, stacking, transporting, and/or storing the tremendously heavy metal forms that Habitat used for many years to frame basement walls.  If you have been involved in that job in any way, thank you sooo much!  Habitat often saved that job for the Brian Kimble Build Day - it's a nasty job, but they knew that the day would bring the manpower, enthusiasm, and willing hands and hearts!

11/9/2024 - Excavation of the Brian Kimble Friends and Family Habitat house at 42 Arch Street has been fully completed!

Arrived Friday afternoon, November 8th to see the bulldozer loading back onto the trailer!

Expected to look down and see a completed and empty hole … but instead saw the outline of the foundation laid out and stone already delivered!  Rebar was being tied and the first formal steps were underway toward getting ready to pour the basement walls!