Good things come to those who wait...and wait...

I feel like a broken record here, but this waiting gig is SO HARD. I feel like we have been in a season of waiting for way too long. Ten years too long. And when we FINALLY were able to start construction it seems we are still forced to WAIT. God is clearly trying to tell us to trust Him. That’s the only logical explanation.

​ We have been waiting on the weather - to stop raining - and boy has it rained, and waiting for the site to dry out enough to have successful working days, and waiting on contractors to show up on time - one in particular, and waiting on licenses, and it seems all we do lately is wait.

And I sound like I am complaining, but really I'm coming from a place of absolute frustration. We are having to crush this year’s crop differently than we planned - spending extra (unplanned) funds on freezing the fruit. Our (very expensive) equipment is starting to arrive and we have no place to put it, so it will have to sit outside in the elements until we have the space finished. And by the time this is all said and done, we will likely be moving into the building in the snow. And that is really frustrating.

I found an article online (here) that offers 3 things to remember when sitting in a season of waiting.

1. Waiting Isn’t Punishment
Its often preparation or protection - and I believe this is a lot of what’s going on.
2. The Waiting Won’t Last Forever
There will be a resolution - and I know there will be, we can see it so clearly, which makes the waiting that much more difficult
3. You Don’t Just Have to Idly Sit Around Doing Nothing
And we aren't. This waiting period has allowed us -especially Joe - a few extra evenings with the kids to soak in their activities before the busyness of harvest will make it nearly impossible.

This week the plumbing in the basement was installed and the state plumber, John, did his inspection and passed this stage of the project. So Gateway’s crew can now finish backfilling around the basement walls and prep to pour the basement floor next week.

Lundblad’s have been busy this week as well, hauling fill from one part of our property up to the winery site. We were blessed enough to find a very large sand pit that provided perfect material for backfilling the production area and a base for the parking lot. This helped our budget immensely! It’s been so nice to have these materials at our disposal and I’m sure the guys are thankful they only have to make trips around the property, instead of from across town - because they have moved a lot of material.

And our well was installed this week - We Have Water!!!💦💦💦. Thien Well Company out of Spicer, MN drilled the well. Their team was great to work with through the entire process. Our well has to be “Certified Public Water” and Joe had some special requests as far as his needs in the production space. They were able to make it all happen. We received a bunch of rain from the time they set their drilling machine and when they finished up, so they got stuck while trying to leave. Joe gave them a big tug with our old tractor, and they were on their way!

And these piles of materials are just WAITING to be installed! Soon, my friends. Very soon!

Harvest will continue again tomorrow! We have some volunteers stopping out to help us hand pick a couple of varieties and then the machine harvester will get back to work next week. Anyone is welcome to join us tomorrow. We will start at our house at 8am and pick until we are done. We will provide a fun time and lunch!