Sparrow Creek Ranch: it takes a family to build a barn:

Family means everyone involved is family to us! 

For those of you who could not make it to the wedding or just heard the stories about the amazing barn my dad built, I thought I should share some more “building in process” and “finished project photos” with you. This was a family effort that could not have been done without everyone’s skills, blood, and tears. You can read the re-purposed blog post to learn more about the building materials  (under wedding bliss). 

This place is special to us because this is where George proved himself. My parents bought this property in 2006, and I started bringing George home then. We spend our Graham weekends at the land cutting brush, watching for copper heads, and eating hotdogs under the stars, warmed by a campfire atop the hill that eventually became our beloved ceremony site. These weekends continued for years without knowing what incredible fruit they would one day yield: God’s plans are always better than our own.

If you were at the wedding, your chair was right here! 

looking a little better 

final product

This blog is a thank you and showcase for the love that came from so many to build this special place. Of course, my Dad, who didn’t get home till after 10 every night for the past year, was the last to leave and the first to work on the barn, day and night. My mom's time and beautiful creativity can be seen in so many amazing designs and little details that make it so special. Most notably, she helped save the ceremony site from fire with only an old broom and clipboard! 

My dear sister and her boyfriend Hagen, for their weekends away from friends, cutting brush and building whatever needed building, from bathrooms to signs and everything in between, they had their hands in it.

George, of course, drove almost every weekend straight to Graham from Houston for four months to help work on whatever that week’s mega task was, from putting in the septic tanks to building the bathrooms.  Randy and Joe Moore’s support and help are hard to match: from driving the loaders to get the walls up to coming to the rescue like the Dukes of Hazard when the burn pile got out of control on the ceremony site! 

The last week would have been unbearable without the help of Marjorie, Aubrey, and the Brogden women. Sweeping floors, scrapping windows, and getting us to the finish line were just a few of the amazing things they did that week.  

The work everyone did and the months of enduring cactus in every inch of their bodies is what true friendship and family look like. I love them all and can’t believe we pulled this thing off! 

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Native American relic on the Ceremony Site

My fiance and I had always dreamed about getting married outside at his family’s farm located in historic Schulenburg, Texas. Not only does it hold a special place in his heart, but the area's attractions would have been fun for guests. If you have not traveled to Europe and gazed up with amazement of how someone hundreds of years ago could have envisioned something so heavenly when painting the inside of the gothic cathedrals scattered around Europe, you must take a trip to Schulenburg. Hidden throughout the hills are little gems, the Pained Churches. This region was settled by Check Germans, who brought their artistic skills from Europe and blessed the countryside with a little window into the craftsmanship of European artists. These churches give you a taste and enough to push any non-traveler to the realization it is worth every moment to take a trip and visit the incredible beauty that envelops all the churches of Europe. 

However, this part of Texas hasn’t had enough rain in the last year to support full green pastures. Nevertheless, my parents were given a wonderful blessing a few years ago when they purchased 90 acres ten miles outside of Graham. For years, my parents have debated whether to build a house, a cabin, or just a barn on the property.  My parents took this as an opportunity to finally make a move, build something, and make my desire to have an outdoor wedding at a place special to our hearts a reality. You know you are a daddy’s girl from Texas when your father says, “We’ll fix this, and I’ll just build you a barn.”

 

I was unsure at first since there was nothing there, not even a telephone pole. This may seem a little crazy to most, but to the Fullerton family this is normal, we are do it ourselves type of people. We are in the process of building a 60-foot by 78-foot barn, from the ground up, for the reception. We have now successfully cleared a path through the forest and installed the telephone poles and electricity. Every weekend, my fiancé and I are free. We are there working away, either clearing out trees, moving stones off the ceremony site, fighting the fire while burning the brush piles, or digging ditches. This past weekend, my family was out at the land doing a number of these. While digging the ditch for the water line, my Dad and George hit a large stone a few inches under the surface. When we brought it up, we were all screaming at once, “That’s an Indian grinding stone!”

 

The whole left when we pulled the corner out

 For me, this was a great geography moment! We all had a lot of joy knowing that the exact place we had chosen to build our barn and future cabin was on the exact spot the people who had lived here centuries before us had chosen. The property backs up against the Brazos River and has a long history of Indian settlement. 

 

This was quite the find, and of course, this discovery ensued in an hour or two of “archeology” instead of ditch digging. We have a long way to go, and it is starting to get a little anxious around our dinner table when we start to talk about the progress. We are down to the wire, but at least we have poured a great dance floor, so if nothing else, we will be able to dance!

www.sparrowcreekranch.com (edited to add the website link in 2024)

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