My MIL's Yard.....

[DianaB]

A few more pictures of the clean up and the neices, nephew, and grandchildren that helped.

You can see the tile floor that was left.

[DianaB]

The first picture is of a play house with a sandbox and a wading pool in front of it. It's never had a roof or a floor in it that I've ever seen but must have really been something in it's day!!! The man that built this owned a brick yard and it shows!!! There are brick paths all through the yard and some of them are getting the dirt cleaned off for the wedding!!

Isn't this a beautiful place? I forgot to mention that there is a brick wall that surrounds the whole yard with iron gates at both of the driveway exits. I'm just praying that it's a nice day with cool temperatures and no rain!!!! Otherwise it will be at the church and that would be a real shame!

[gja1000]

Oh Diana! It is absolutely gorgeous. There is nothing I like more than old houses and gorgeous backyards like that. The setting is perfect for a wedding!!! I can hardly wait to see the pictures!!!

I wish I'd know you were taking down an old log cabin. There is a business in central Texas that travels all over the country taking down old log cabins. They transport them back to their location, repair/replace all the broken or missing parts of the cabin, sell them and then take them to the new location and set them up again. You'd be surprised at the number of people who buy old restored log cabins! Gary and I love to go to the yard and look at some of the cabins. Some of the ones that are in good shape, they reassemble on the yard so you can see them. When someone buys it, they take them apart again and set them up for the new owner. I don't even want to think how much it costs!

I just know the wedding is going to be beautiful! I'm glad your MIL is cooperating, so far!

[DianaB]

When my in-laws bought this place 33 years ago it was just beautiful!! The log cabin was built about 1930 or so. In fact some pictures have been found that show the yard as it used to be back then......very interesting!! Since my MIL didn't keep the inside of the house clean....my FIL didn't do any thing to the outside out of rebellion to her. The roof needed to be replaced years ago but no one ever did anything about it.....until it got so bad that it finally collapsed. Everything was so rotten that there really wasn't much worth saving on it. It was very sad to see it go........My MIL will not turn the house over to someone who will fix it up and take care of it because that's what she's always planned on doing and she can't bear the thought of someone else doing it.......Trust me.....we tried to buy this place before we built our house.

Above the garage is an apartment.....the previous owner's children tore out the sheet rock but the studs are still there. The original owners had servants that cooked and cleaned. We know some of the people who worked and lived there.

My MIL has so much stuff and can't hardly get around and she only lives in two rooms of the house now. The porch area with all of the windows is where her washer and dryer are at, then there's the kitchen, a walk through room with cabinets in it (a pantry/hallway), then there's a back room--like a family room with an attached bathroom, where my MIL has her bed. It's so sad that the rest of the house isn't lived in.

[gja1000]

That really is sad, Diana. Old houses like that can just be so beautiful with the proper care and maintenance. What will happen to the house when your MIL no longer lives there? I hope someone will fix it up and care for it properly!

[DianaB]

I don't know what will happen to it. The house and all of the "stuff" is going to her two daughters........the three boys are getting the tools and equipment. She has it set up that way on purpose........it's to make sure that things only go to HER children.....not their spouses. We've already had our problems over this. There's absolutely nothing that I want....if there is I'll buy it at an auction....if there is one....like everyone else. My MIL and her family all have problems accepting anyone that's not a blood relative.

Get this......one day my son, Feyn, and his wife and kids were eating at a restaurant when they ran into one of my MIL's sisters......She made a comment about how thinned down the Lambert blood was getting with all of the many generations that are coming!!!! However, she let my son and his family know that THEY are Lamberts!!!! Do they want to just in-breed?! My son just laughed at the comment!!

MY family is NOT like this at ALL and I have a hard time accepting it. My DIL and SIL's are loved and accepted as much as my own children. When I think of leaving things to my kids....Tammy is included in getting stuff.

I just try to stay away from them because I always do something wrong or I come home upset with them.

[gja1000]

Bitterness and pettiness eats away at the soul - it will catch up with those that espouse it.

I know you've had your difficulties - I try to avoid such toxic people and I know you do too!