I LOVE our house.  It needs a little help though.  We've been working on the inside, and Jeff has spent hours in the front yard, but for the longest time, the back yard has intimidated us.  Jeff kept it mowed, but beyond that, we were at a loss.

We wanted that fence to actually connect to something...namely more fencing...and we didn't want all that overgrowth hanging about either.  Jeff's parents came out for a work day last summer, and we worked hard all morning and cleared a lot, but when we stepped back and looked at the progress we'd made, we were pretty bummed to see how much more we had to do.

Enter Custom Lawns, a local (Grayson County) business owned by a friend.  For an extremely fair price, they came in and took out trees, demolished brush, and even hauled away a section of the fence that was beyond repair.

Note: The next several photos are definitely BEFORE the Custom Lawn guys got hold of this little rain forest.  All the AFTER photos will come in a minute!

All that.  All that and more, they cleared out, pretty much in one day.  And mind you, that tree up above was one good windstorm away from taking out a good chunk of our apartment--and they got it down without scratching a thing.  Crazy.

So, once all that mess was gone, we called Talbert Fencing and Gutters, again, a company owned by a friend (this time not so local, but they had the best bid, even with travel fees!), and got the fence rolling.

Are y'all ready for this?

I mean, seriously.  I'm excited.

Here we go.

CHECK IT OUT, Y'ALL.  Both of these companies did tremendous jobs.  Here's the corner where the existing fence meets the newbie:

We live on a highway.  Small-town-two-lane-highway, yes, but highway nonetheless.  Therefore, this fence means that our dogs (and someday our child) can go outside without supervision.  It's like a new lease on life, y'all.

Here are a few more "after" photos taken from outside the fence.  Notice also our wrought iron gate!  

I have no shame in saying we are delighting fully in this completely extra, want-not-need, awesomely fun blessing.  I believe God takes pleasure in little treats, and I'll take it.