So, the project is to build a house, right? Well, it didn't start out that way. Originally, we were looking for a house to buy and move into. And we spent a long time looking, too. It was only after we'd looked at a lot of houses that we started thinking about building a house instead. And it took even more viewings to decide that building was the right thing to do. Then we had to figure out what we wanted to build, find the land we wanted to build it on, and find the people we wanted to have build it for us.

There were a lot of people involved in the process, too:

• Our banks. Yes, plural. There's the bank we do business with day to day, the bank that loaned us the money for the land, and the lender for our construction loan/mortgage.
• Our buyer's agent, Michael Elia.
• Our builder, Luxor Homes.
• Family and friends, who were immensely supportive.
• Both our employers, who've been pretty understanding so far. Of course, they haven't seen how much time the actual construction is going to take away from our jobs yet…