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