The Miller family is the hardest working group of people I’ve ever known. Watching them build things is a lesson in humility, endurance, patience, and family.

I doubt I would last a week living in an Amish family.

Moise has built this foundation with the help of two sons, two grandchildren, and four daughters. Last week, this was a hole in the ground.

And they all work hard, every minute of the day. Unless they are master magicians, they appear to love work. They take breaks only for Mountain Dew, ice cream, and black coffee.

Today, they’ve just about finished the foundation. Moise doesn’t expect to be living in the house until January or February.

He says the foundation is the hardest part, but the house’s interior will be much more complex and time-consuming than the barn was.

I see all of the children – male and female – outpouring concrete,  hauling lumber, shoveling, measuring, digging, hauling,  climbing, hammering. The family that works together gets things done.

In the morning, two of the sisters will come to the farm to rake up some of the leaves. Bud will have another horse in the yard to obsess on and bark at.

I’m glad to see Moise and John are wearing their new boots – no holes. I am still waiting for Little Sarah’s boots to come in the mail.

If it’s warm, I bring them Mountain Dew, which they say gives them energy, and yes, I know how much sugar is in it, which is why I have never drunk one.

Son-in-law Eli said Mountain Dew had too much sugar for him, the first time I’ve heard an Amish male (or female, for that matter)  say that.

I also noticed Eli has a complete set of shiny white teeth, almost everyone else in the family is missing some. Perhaps he’s the wave of the future.