Progress: Next Up, and a " Hold Off " Decision

Up next:  The braces for the ICF walls come down tomorrow.  Then the foundation. (I'm still confused as to why they do the foundation AFTER there are 15 foot walls up, which seems like added difficulty, but my builder explained the ICF company didn't want to do this because of covering the pilings or something like that??...  )  Then, the interior stick-build framing of the first floor is scheduled for Monday, and the blocks for our front patio and garage should be done by week's end, too. 

THE BACK YARD DILEMMA 
Originally the blocks were also supposed to include our back patio and screened-porch, but we are holding off on that now because of the unexpected elevation as mentioned in the first "Mistakes" post.  Our builder explained this will be a little more costly because of another delivery fee, etc, but that's okay because it's so important to us.   The way our porch & patio is on the plan may not be applicable now given the excessive height, and while I'm sure there is a good solution to this with a subtle terraced approach to the yard, we aren't ready to commit to the existing design now.  We are guessing we can get about 2 feet of fill to decrease that elevation to about 4 feet from the exterior rear doors, which would be fine.  Here's a pic as a point of reference.  To the right where those workers are, is the big great room window (which would be almost feet-level when you are standing inside, as I set the windows as low as local Codes would allow) and to the right of that is the back patio door: 

Right now the foundation is dug out so everything is "lower" around the house.  We want to wait until the backfill is completely done in the rear before making any rash decisions on what will be a heavily-used porch and patio.   The last thing I want is a steep set of stairs down to the yard, so we want to be very thoughtful in the process once we manipulate the grade, and depending on the outcome will likely get a landscape designer involved as well.  The original backyard was supposed to be only a step or two down like so:

Now I'm not sure that makes sense;  it may make better sense to incorporate a smaller patio where the left "???" is, and instead, add a courtyard patio where the red circle is.  This area is naturally much lower to the ground,  and that garage wall provides a perfect backdrop for a courtyard effect anyway.

What do you think?