Are you that person who drives by a beautiful home and says, “one day, I’m going to build my dream home?” Well I’m about to build my dream home and I’m going to open up every aspect of it to show you how it all goes down. The good, bad and the ugly. The fun and not so fun parts, and then there is the changing your mind umpteen times just to go back to your original thought. It is going to be a wild journey so come on in and experience what my life is like for the next 6-9 months. Right now I’m in Indiana for Thanksgiving and had this bright idea to do a blog about my upcoming build. Quick background, my name is Tina Sumpter soon to be Tina Hall. I work for Bob Cook Homes here in Derby, Kansas. Where you have the most captivating sunrises and sunsets, wind is utterly stupid. Trees have a permanent lean because of the vicious winds. Anyway, back to me, I have been with BCH for about 4 years, I dabble in everything to phones, permits, billing, change orders, electrical and trim walk throughs, too much to list, in my days it was called “Girl Friday” (Google it😉). My passion is painting furniture but I put that aside temporarily because honestly that doesn’t pay the bills, it’s just a passion. I was married 32 years, then suddenly I became a widow, now 8 years later, I am going to remarry a lovely young 😉man, Lonny. We both have homes with pasts. But our future together needed to start off on the right path, our path. We looked and looked at homes to buy but it is krazee hard for both of us to find what each other likes. So we decided to build a home. Nothing fancy, but new beginnings. So come along with me on this journey and I hope I do BCH justice, I promise to be honest and show you all the “WTHeck” moments, “for Pete’s-sake, what were you thinking” moments, to “that makes no sense” moments. Going to be an experience to say the least. Ready, set, Go….. Episode #2 "Love Under Construction" By Tina Sumpter Well I made it back from Indiana, after a 6 hour layover at Chicago. How did we get to December already? Saturday was our Thanksgiving with Lonny's kids, he has 3, 2 of which are married and live nearby, his third child, Jacob, is in the Air Force. Both local wives are pregnant, one with twins. I tell you this because, now when we make decisions about the house, we have to keep 3 New grandbabies in mind during selections, because at my age, I drop things.😂 It's now Tuesday, December 2nd, and our first big day of selections. Fisher Lumber, in Wichita, is our supplier for a majority of the build. Obviously, the framing supplier, but they also supply cabinets, fireplace, windows and doors. We started with the fireplace because I knew it was going to prove to be the most challenging. This is the first of many difference of opinions, Lonny and I will have.😬 He wants a beautiful crackling, build your own real wood fireplace, I wanted the instant flip a switch gas fireplace. Winner Winner chicken dinner! Nanna T won! (My new grandma name🤩) This really was the best option, BCH homes are so energy efficient, didn't seem logical to add a hole in the house. On to the windows, pretty simple, we stayed within standard, nothing exciting except they are black on exterior and white interior, that's sorta BOUGIE for common folks. Cabinets! Wahoo, let's play with color! All of my past homes have had white cabinets, not anymore! Every room has a different color scheme, but my favorite, is the Kitchen. Evergreen and Expresso! Love Love Love! (See picture) 2 hours later, Mark Fisher, was tired of our bantering, we were released for the day, I'm sure we will return. A new PLOT TWIST came at the end of the week. Cha-Ching, 🤑 Change Order, something I know so well! Remember, we are in Kansas, Wizard of Oz, Tornado Alley.....since we will have no basement, our plan, originally was to have a concrete safe room in the Master closet, now Bob has talked us into an ICF home. (Insulated Concrete Form). A "Safe Tornado Home" that will withstand up to 250 mph winds. A design that Bob is well known for in this area, but it was never in our budget. Our Budget just got STRETCHY Pants! Episode #3 Love Under Construction" By Tina Sumpter Woke up bright ‘n early this Monday morning, but I can't say I'm excited for today. At 9:00 a.m., Lonny and I are walking into our lender, to close on a loan to build our home. This size of a loan makes us both anxious and honestly a bit nauseated, and remember, we aren't married yet Bwahaha, if your a betting person, sit this one out 😉 It's selection week or two: I know the process; I deal with it every day, but we are in the fast lane, speeding to make our selections, and finalize them before the year ends. Wait! What! We don't even have electricity to the land yet.🤔 Note: Suppliers adjust their pricing on the 1st of a New Year! They say it's tariffs, but honestly, they go up on the 1st of January every year! Our mission is to outsmart the smarties, so we know the assignment. Pulling together the selections in your mind is like a puzzle. Let me set the scene: Exterior, we went with a variation off-white stone for the lower 1/3 of the home with the upper 2/3rds a Timeless Pewter Green Sherwin Williams Paint. Columns, Shutters and Claws in the Gables, Beautiful Natural CEDAR. In our mind, it’s Beautiful. We will see.... The boring selections include HVAC , Plumbing (Black), carpet (Neutral), flooring (Wood). I saved the best for last: 316 Wholesaler; This is the door that leads from our living room onto the screened in back porch. We both fell in LOVE with the Tri-fold door, with a clear single hung door for practical purposes. I have attached a picture of this bad boy! It was like going to the grocery store hungry; You want it, you crave it, you buy it! So satisfying! Next week: We revisit our selections, where we are over budget! GRRRRR, that is 3 out of 5 we visited!!! We definitely have: Caviar taste on a tuna budget! Episode #4 Welcome back to another episode of "Love Under Construction" Well, we are rocking in the New Year! Blessings upon Blessings, 2026 is for New Beginnings, New Adventures! So, the wedding is behind us, but our future is in front of us. Just a quick reflection from the wedding....Our Unity ceremony......Lonny took some dirt from his family home, just under a Cottonwood Tree, where his kids, tree swing hung and where his oldest said his wedding vows.....I took dirt from my luscious flower garden, where every year more and more unexpected blooms reproduce the biggest and best flowers. We purchased a Magnolia Tree (Mississippi State Tree, where my old heart is). We both added our dirt from our past lives to the pot of our new tree to begin our new life ahead of us. In the Spring our new tree will be planted at our new house, for all to see❣ Back to the house......floors are poured! It is Block Stacking Time. Due to our lovely winds, temperatures, and holidays, this will be a 2-3 week process. The insulated blocks are precisely stacked and locked into place. (See pics.) Meet Bob, the builder! Bob is the man behind Bob Cook Homes. He is 72 years YOUNG! He is Humble and Kind, and his dad jokes are always a BIG Hoot!! I must also give a shout out to our trades! Cory at Fenix Heat & Air, Joe Berning at Plumbing, Cheryl at Rays Electric and of course Mark Fisher @ Fisher lumber are the 4 most incredible people you will ever meet. They have worked with Bob 20, 30, and 50+ years, never a misstep. Last but not least is Ben, (Bob's son), our foreman and energy efficiency nerd. He makes sure the houses are sealed airtight, so you never hear or feel the Kansas Winds! Some will say, you will not have to dust again either, hmmmm, you know I will test that theory, for sure! Enjoy the pics. Next week's episode will include a video securing the blocks with concrete. If you are not familiar with an ICF house, stick with me over the next few weeks. Subject: "Love under Construction" Episode 5 This episode is all about Patience and Timing .......Be Patient, because you are NOT getting a video this week! This phase of the build is a direct Owner, Operator, and Official Sweat Producer! Bob is building the blocks, and Ben is doing the rough openings for windows and doors. We are currently at 9'6" walls and will top off at 10' walls. I added pictures to show the day by day progress. The pour date for the walls has been set for this Wednesday, therefore, expect a video next week! Every day I learn something new about ICF. The biggest takeaway was Bob told us our gas fireplace we picked out produces TOO much heat for an ICF home! Is that even possible in Kansas? Why yes, it is and this is how it was explained to me via Ben, our Energy Efficient Super. In an ICF house, it takes 5 days to penetrate the concrete walls. I am not smarter than a 5th grader, so Ben explained it at my grade level. If the temperatures outside your home are below freezing, it will take 5 days for the inside of your home to become below freezing temperatures without any resistance. MY CURRENT HOUSE, takes 30 minutes, tops! But the same applies from the inside/out. If we run a high-powered gas fireplace with 40,000BTU , it will turn the concrete walls into a pizza oven. I Love Pizza but I don't want to be the main course! Therefore, we lowered to a 20,000BTU and saved $2,500 on the fireplace! Winning! I'm calling this God's Timing! NANA-T, that's me! Never in my lifetime did I think I would get this chance! Lonny's oldest son and daughter-in-law delivered a 7lb 11 oz., prettiest baby boy into the world! Of course, there are pics! (Notice, I am sitting, holding that tiny Nugget!) And just in Time, Evergy electrifies us with their presence. We are now powered up for the framers to start the detached garage on Monday. Short and sweet this week, but lessons learned. May you have a Productive and Blessed Week! "From ICF Walls to Peak Perfection" - Welcome to episode 6 The beginning of the week was consumed with prepping the walls for the concrete fill. Additional wood is attached to the exterior blocks provides much needed support and to prevent blowouts during the actual pour. They will be removed once the concrete sets up. During the actual pour, your adrenaline is so high! First hiccup was the operator of the concrete pumping ran into fits where the pump got clogged up, ALOT! An hour later we are back in business and the pour is on! Walls were poured within 3-4 hours with no additional issues. A huge thank you to Form Systems and Ruud Concrete (both of Haysville, KS) for your top-quality ICF forms and reliable ready-mix. Combined, they made our foundation and walls ROCK-SOLID and ready for anything Kansas throws at it!!! While the ICF walls are getting their concrete core, on the other end of the farm the detached garage is framed up and getting its trusses stacked.      Two sides of the farm, One Unbreakable Vision! (Ties it together as one big project.)

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