I’ve always had big feet. When I was younger, my mom would tell me it gave me a good foundation. That was little consolation for a goofy looking teenager who thought he looked like he had clown shoes.

We all understand that in everything we do a firm foundation is critical. Every business has to have a good foundation to be successful. There has to be a valid product that people want and core business values that will guide the company as it grows. A company has to have guiding principles as a foundation that will make sure it maintains its direction when difficult times come its way. Employees need an anchor that they can hold on to in good times or bad.

In our personal lives, building a firm foundation is essential also. When Moses spoke to the children of Israel, he instructed them on created a firm foundation for their children.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7  “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Moses understood the importance of parents teaching their children as a means of ensuring that they never forget their foundation – their God !

Jesus also told his disciples the parable of the house built on the rock (Matthew 7:24-27). The winds blew and the floods came but the house did not fall “because it was founded on the rock”.

Building a firm foundation in life takes planning,time, and effort. Once the foundation is laid, we can begin to grow and develop our lives, our relationships and our dreams. It just doesn’t happen by accident and it is vital.

As we continue to renovate our new cabin, Misty Morn,  in Pigeon Forge, we have started the addition to the existing cabin. The foundation has been poured so the addition will be on firm ground. We are excited about the additional space for the cabin. We plan on adding a bathroom and a rec room in the new space. The work is moving quickly now that the foundation has been poured and the framing has started. We also are planning on  adding a patio with a fire-pit off the back of the addition. It will be a great place to relax and enjoy the mountains.

We are looking forward to adding Misty Morn to our rental cabins and offer a great place for families to stay in the mountains. The mountains are so beautiful and a great place for families to spend time. Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg are growing rapidly with so many things to do and places to eat.

Keep up with our progress on our website, facebook page and instagram.

Plan your stay in Pigeon Forge now. Enjoy the fall colors and all the entertainment in the area.

Checkout http://stephensonproperty.com and look at our other rental cabin ,Maple Top in the Smokies, as well as other pictures of Misty Morn.

Driving the roads in East Tennessee can be a little tricky.

A few weeks ago, while driving to our cabin, the person driving (not me) decided not to apply the brakes going around a curve. We go around this curve every time we go to the cabin. It’s not a sharp curve and it doesn’t sneak up on you but it is deceptively sharp. We learned an important lesson that day. If you don’t slow down going around this curve, all of your luggage and boxes in the back will shift to the other side of the car and the passenger will be pinned against the door and window.

Even if you are familiar with the roads a sharp curve can sneak up on you. You have to always be cautious and ready for the next curve. Maybe you have driven the Tale of the Dragon in East Tennessee. It has 318 curves in about 11 miles of road. There is a tree a the end with parts from motorcycles/vehicles that have lost parts or crashed on the road. On this stretch of road you know what to expect. We don’t always know what ahead of us down the road.

It’s the same way in life. Just when we think the road is straight and we can clearly see what lies ahead, the road throws us a curve. Maybe it’s an unexpected health issue, maybe its job change or a move that you didn’t expect. These curves may throw us against the door pretty hard at times. But it is how we respond to the curves in the road that determines whether we will crash, lose a few parts or keep on going. Sometimes you have to just slow down, gain control and prepare for the next stretch of road. It may be hard and things may get tossed around a bit but sometimes hanging on is the most important part.

Sometimes when life’s road throws you a sharp curve, the only thing you can do is slow down, get the luggage back in order and prepare to move on. We have to understand that the road isn’t always straight and that the curves may come when we least expect them.

The Psalmist said in Psalm 40:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” In the midst the traveling down the road of life, sometimes we have to just be still. Take a deep breath and focus on who God is and how He will help us as we encounter the curves in the road.

Back to the mountains …

I’m sure if you have ever built a home or renovated a home you also understand about the curves in the road. There are always those unexpected curves in the road to completion. You always know there will be the unexpected things that come up but you don’t know where they will be or when they will come up.

As we continue with the renovation of our latest cabin, Misty Morn, there are plenty of curves in the road. There are the things we planned for but there are unexpected curves that cause us to slow down a bit. In spite of the curves and the slower speed, we keep moving on. We are taking the time to assess where things have shifted and get everything back on track. But we press on and look forward to the finished product and look forward to have a great cabin in the Pigeon Forge area for you to rent in a few months.

Stay tuned for more updates on Misty Morn.

Follow us on Instagram for updates and information about events and activities in the Pigeon Forge area.

https://www.instagram.com/stephensoncabins/

I want patience … and I want it now!

When you are waiting for an elevator, how many times do you hit the button?

When you are cooking something in the microwave, do you take the food out with 9 seconds left?

For a good part of my career, I worked for a visionary and entrepreneur. He was known for coming up with an idea, drawing it out on a piece of paper and then giving it to a programmer (systems engineer today). We all knew at that point, in his mind, the new feature or project was already done. He would come around the next day asking about the progress. I think it is a common trait of visionaries to have limited patience when it comes to getting things done. In some ways, I think that mentality rubbed off on me.

Have you ever built a house or remodeled one?

Amy and I have never built a house from the ground up.  It seems like everything about building or remodeling a house comes down to “hurry up and wait”. There are so many facets to remodeling a house that will try your patience (or at least mine).

When we bought our new cabin, Misty Morn, I set a timeline for the remodel/addition in my head. I came up with the timeline, not because I thought through the work to be done, but because I knew when I wanted to get it on the rental market. We closed on the cabin at the first of February. I could already visualize what the cabin would look like when we are finished. In my mind, it was already done.  In my mind, I thought we could remodel and add a room in about 3-4 months. That way we could have it on the rental market by the peak rental season and all of you would be wanting to rent it !

Seemed like a good plan at the time …

I keep pushing the elevator button but it just won’t come. I don’t even hear it moving.

Like most projects, big or small, there are so many details to deal with to get this party started. Project managers make a living by considering every detail and item that has to be completed and the time required to complete them. That’s how you come up with a real, thorough and accurate timeline. That’s what I should have done! A lesson in patience and planning.

We may be slow getting started but we are seeing some progress. 

Step 1 Complete. Lots surveyed and property lines redrawn for the addition.

Step 2 Complete. We had trees that had to be cut down where the new addition will be on the cabin. Thanks to Monkey Man Tree Service for getting that job done last week. Definitely not me in the picture below !

A long way to go but I can hear the elevator moving now. It’s a slow elevator but at least it’s moving. Stay tuned !

Maybe if I just push that button one more time it will get here faster.

In then meantime, Spring is my favorite time to be in the mountains. Everything is so green and coming to life. It’s a great time for a trip to the Smokies.

Since Misty Morn is a work in progress, check out Maple Top in the Smokies

To some extent we are all creatures of habit. I know I am and always have been. When you find something that works, why change ?  Right ?

For most of my life, I have eaten the same things for breakfast and lunch. When you walk into Subway at lunch and they just start making your sandwich, you know that you have been there a time or two before. 

Some people love the familiar and others love something new and adventurous. I happen to be one of those that generally likes the familiar and comfortable. It is, in general, more relaxing to me. Doing the familiar things, you don’t have to think about making decisions about something that you haven’t done before or somewhere you haven’t been before.

Growing up our family went to Panama City Beach every summer. For many years, we stayed in the same motel on the beach. We ate at the same places and did the same things every year. We would play putt-putt golf, go to St. Andrews Park to fish, eat at Angelo’s Steak House and hit up Alvin’s Island for some souvenirs.

My mom and dad loved going there more than anywhere else. We rarely went anywhere else for vacation. It was always great and we looked forward to it every year. My parents weren’t really concerned about things they had not seen or places they had not been. They just liked to get away and relax.

Do you prefer the usual places or do you like some adventure ?

I’ve become somewhat the same with my family and traveling. We have been  to Panama City Beach or Destin just about every year since my kids were young. It’s our happy place and the best place we know to enjoy the fun, sun and surf. We always like going back to the same condo complex, eating at the same places and doing the same things for fun. It may be boring to some but to me it’s comfortable and relaxing.

Years ago, we added Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg to our list of favorite places. We know where to stay, where to eat, where to shop and all of the back-roads to get there when it’s crowded. We love to go to the mountains and see the beauty of God’s creation all around us. It doesn’t matter how many times we go, we always want to go back.

Always going to the same places does limit you from seeing new things. There is a whole world of beautiful things out there waiting for us to see and enjoy. So it is nice to be able to do both. I will admit that always hitting up the same places does limit your access to new and wonderful places.

Last week we went to Puerto Rico to celebrate a special birthday.  We wanted to go somewhere where there was a warm beach. While we were there, we were able to visit a rain forest (yes, it rained while we were there), a 500 year old Spanish fort (awesome place to see) and saw some incredibly beautiful places. But talk about being out of our comfort zone !  We had a great time … but it was nerve-racking at times, at least for me. Not knowing your way around … not knowing places to eat, shop, etc is to some adventurous … to me it’s kind of stressful.

It didn’t help matters that apparently traffic laws are just suggestions in Puerto Rico. Within minutes after leaving the airport, I was passed by a car on the on-ramp to the interstate. We saw someone make a u-turn across three lanes of traffic and several times we were passed by someone on a motorcycle riding between the lanes of traffic. Thankfully, GPS (one of the greatest inventions ever!) and a daughter that could navigate for me helped us get where we were going without incident (ok, maybe the car needed a front-end alignment when we were finished).

There are so many more wonderful things to see there, I would venture to say that we will be back.

One thing is for sure. You can have both relaxation and adventure in the Smoky Mountains. Sit back and relax in your cabin overlooking the mountains or pack a picnic lunch and head to Cade’s Cove (maybe you’ll even see a bear). Head to the mountains and do some hiking or zipline through the trees. Go for a horseback ride up a mountain or ride an alpine coaster down a mountain. You could spend an evening at The Island having dinner and listening to some Bluegrass music.

Another thing you can count on is things are always changing in East Tn. The scenery of the mountains changes from week to week and season to season. New attractions, restaurants, shopping are always popping up in Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg and Sevierville. There is no lack of things to do and places to go in East Tn.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the adventure of the Smoky Mountains.

I can promise it will be easier to get around than it is in Puerto Rico !

Maple Top in the Smokies

So we closed on our new cabin a couple of weeks ago. So now they work begins. Misty Morn (our name for now) is located near our other two cabins. It has not been occupied for several years and is in need of some serious TLC. We’ve never done a remodel to this extent so it will be a “fun” project for us to work on over the next few months.

It is currently a two bedroom, one bath cabin. We are planning on adding a bedroom/bath while turning one of the bedrooms into a game room. We are sure it will involve more than we expect but are excited about how it will look when we are finished.

We spent a few days cleaning out stuff from the previous owners including some furniture left behind. It’s now an empty cabin waiting for the real work to begin. Hopefully, we can get some nice spring weather to help speed up the remodel process.

Stay tuned for updates as we get started.

In the meantime, book a stay at our other cabin for spring. I know most people love the mountains in the fall, but I love it in the Spring when everything begins to come to life again.

Check out Maple Top in the Smokies. Great location and some nice views of nearby mountains.

https://patriotgetaways.com/cabins/in-pigeon-forge/maple-top-in-the-smokies.html

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Today (Feb. 8), we closed on a new cabin in Sevierville, TN. It’s close to Pigeon Forge and just down the street from Maple Top in the Smokies.

We are excited to add this cabin to our rental program. It is a fixer upper so we will be renovating this cabin for a few months.

We will be posting pictures as we go so stay tuned for updates and more information.

We are excited to announce that we have purchased a new cabin in the Pigeon Forge area. We will spend a few months fixing it up and getting it ready for the rental program. Stay tuned for pictures as we bring this cabin back to life.

Thanks for checking out our new website. We’re excited about offering cabin rentals in the Pigeon Forge area. Look for upcoming posts about vacationing in Pigeon Forge and our new cabin coming soon.