How Did You Find This Place?
This is the question we get asked over and over here, especially by locals. There are quite a few people in this town who knew the prior owners of our house. They didn't even know the house was for sale. Our neighbor across the street said he considered buying the house, but didn't move in time. Solicitors have said they never even noticed this house was here, despite having been in the neighborhood on other occasions. So how did we find this place?
My husband Darrin and I met, and married, in 2005. Since we started dating, we dreamed together of someday owning land somewhere between the Hill Country of Texas, and Colorado. Or North Carolina. Or maybe Arkansas. Who knew?! As a kid, I had dreamed of owning land, cattle, and a few horses. As a teen and young adult, reality began to set in as I researched the cost of land, cattle, and horses. I figured if it was in God's plan someday for me to live on a farm, He would make a way.
Fast forward to meeting my better half. We joked frequently about finding land that was so remote, it could only be accessed by 4-wheel drive, or by helicopter! Reality showed us that, with children, 2 of whom did not live with us full-time, that our dream would have to wait, which was no problem. We are both patient people when it comes to long-term goals. But along with that possible lengthy wait was the realization that our parents might someday need further assistance, and that perhaps the heli-pad might be a little far-fetched.
Throughout our marriage, we talked and dreamed and occasionally looked around at what was available for sale. We had a house built in the middle of suburbia hell, and daily, the houses and businesses and traffic increased, while the green spaces decreased. My husband's first 2 children--my bonus children--turned into teens and rejected our whole family--which is a WHOLE OTHER STORY (be in prayer for those 2 babies--they are in desperate need of prayers due to their toxic mother. Years passed, and we had continued zero contact with the oldest kiddo, and only the occasional response to texts from the younger kiddo, despite repeated attempts at communication. I started dreaming about chickens and goats. I even went so far as to measure how far away a backyard chicken coop would be from our neighbors' houses, to see if we could build one within city code. Our HOA, however, forbade chickens. The desire to move grew stronger--as long as we didn't venture too far.
Darrin loved to show me houses on Zillow that were outside my "comfort level" price range, as the financial "manager" of the house. Our older girls, whom we homeschool, were involved with co-op classes "in town", and with American Heritage Girls. And still, those other 2 sweet babies were (and are) in our hearts, and we didn't want to make a move that would prohibit a future relationship. I was excited about the prospect of moving--but only if we could be within an hour's drive of our current life here. God was very much at work here, as my parameters were quite narrow. Darrin showed me a particular house, and made me promise to actually look at it before looking at the price. With an exasperated sigh, I agreed. The house, while in desperate need of updating, was nothing less than amazing. Wood paneled walls, perfect for painting; built in cabinets with tons of storage, 2 outbuildings that would be perfect for a shop and a home office for Darrin, a barn, 20 acres already cross-fenced, and all of this was IN (really, kind of surrounding) a little neighborhood with families that might have children the same age as our children. Fencing and gates are located in a manner that we can have houses built for our parents later on, if needed. They would have private access, so they can retain their independence, but we are literally around the corner to meet their needs. And, we're within an hour of major hospitals, within 30 minutes of a smaller hospital, within 5 minutes of a tiny hospital in the event of a true emergency, and a CareFlight helicopter can land in multiple locations on property in the event of an even more serious emergency. The house was priced high for the amount of work and repairs needed. We looked at the house in August 2017, made an offer in September 2017, it was more or less accepted in December after quite a bit of back and forth negotiating (really, we felt like we were in limbo until closing day!), and we moved in THE DAY AFTER CHRISTMAS. Which, I will never do again, haha! We negotiated foundation repairs with lifetime warranty as well as a new roof with warranty. January 2, 2018, we closed on the house, and here we are, God-led, living the dream!
Speaking of the need for updating! This wallpaper was in various places throughout the house. There was also a "coordinating" pattern with a dark green background. And underneath THIS wallpaper was similar wallpaper, except with a tan background, and gold and blue flowers and stripes!
