In about another month we will be moving, YET AGAIN. But this will (hopefully) be the 2nd to the last time we move. Since Todd and I have been married (coming up on 8 years) we have lived in 5 places cumulatively. His apartment, my apartment, 2 owned homes and 1 rental house. The rental house is where we are currently. When we moved in here a year ago we thought it would be more temporary than it has become. We thought that we would be out before Thanksgiving. But fall came and went and yet we are still here.
We had a plan to buy some land from my Grandma. We were going to buy the farm where my mom has lived all her life. She would stay and we would also build there. But due to my aunt not wanting to sell to us, our plans had to change. This was and still is a very frustrating situation. We had spent years and a good chunk of money planning on that piece of property being our forever home. Up until it was time to sign some papers we never heard that it may not be a possibility for us to live there. We had started Kermit in the school district that we *thought* we would be in by Thanksgiving. I was driving him to and from the bus stop. The bus stop being my Grandma’s house and it’s a half an hour one way from our rental house. We considered this a minor inconvenience. It will only be a few months of driving him we thought. Oh NO, NO. So, we had to move on, in our minds and literally from that 40 acres.
In early January we ran in to an acquaintance in town and we did some catching up. He said he had a piece of property that may suit us. We said our main concern was that we could build on it right away. If we were moving to the area, we needed a roof over our head. He said yes, we could build. So we went to look at it, did some discussing and then decided to sign a PA. Around the time of closing, we were talking to him about our plans and he said No we couldn’t build there. He had bought the property on a contract for deed and was selling it to us on a contract for deed. But the lady who still ‘techinically’ owned it said we couldn’t build until it was paid off. This put a massive monkey wrench in our plans. What good would this 20 acres be if we couldn’t build a house there? So plans on that piece came to a screeching halt.
Back to square one. We are still living in the rental with no good options as to where to go. It’s now (in my story) the end of March. There is one property that is a slight possibility and it seems like a long shot, but hey, what have we got to lose?! So Todd makes a phone call to his cousin, Donald. Donald says, why yes they are considering selling the farm. It has become time since his dad’s passing and even though it is bitter-sweet, let’s have a discussion about us (family) buying the farm. So we sat down with them a few times, hashed out some details and lo and behold, we will soon be the owners of the farm!!
This farm is the one that before Todd and I were married we drove by a few times and Todd had always said, I’d like to live there someday. Look at the shed and the nice lot with the house up on a hill. What are the odds that all these years later we would actually buy it? It doesn’t hurt that Donald’s dad and our son, Green share a name, Atler. I guess there has been an Atler on that farm since 1914 (or some year close to that). Fate.
I’m excited actually to live in this old house. I grew up in an old house and have lived in 2 very nice brand new homes. Two homes that we build from the ground up. And remember earlier when I said this would hopefully be the 2nd the last time we move. We are planning on building a new house on the property, but in a few years. In the meantime we will live in the old farm-house. My excitement comes from the fact that it’s an old house. It has some character to work with but mostly I get to try some stuff out. Since it’s not brand new I feel like I can experiment some. I want to paint chalkboard paint on the walls and hang up pictures. I get to decorate and mess it up a bit. And if I go to far, well we’ll be moving out eventually and probably knocking it over so WHO CARES! I get to paint obnoxiously bright colors if I want and pound lots of holes in the walls. I can tile or do whatever it is that I want. I’m excited!! For the last few years we have been living a pretty boring existence. We were in the process of selling our 2nd house for almost a year. Which means that we didn’t really have much personality in that house. There wasn’t much on the walls, as to not distract potential buyers. And then when we moved in here (the rental) we weren’t staying long so why decorate or hang anything up. Plus we didn’t want to have to go around fixing nail holes before we moved out. So FINALLY I get to take out some of the stuff that’s been in storage for a few years and hang it up, put it out, decorate it, accessorize it, LOVE it!!!
Now first things first, since we’ll be painting before we move in, I’d better get on picking out those obnoxious colors! Keep your fingers crossed that come July 1st, we will be Farmers!
It needs a little TLC. The bathroom will be the only major overhaul, if we decide to do it at all. It’s VERY small (the 2 pictures are ACTUAL size.) Other than that it needs some paint, which I’m working on picking out colors and it needs some new flooring which we are going to do for as cheap as possible considering we won’t be there long (hopefully). We are thinking 2 years before we start building and probably no more than 5 years before we move from Old Farm House to New Farm House. Once the renter moves his stuff out and the family goes through the last of their things there, we are home free, er wait, it’s not free, we are home payment? That doesn’t have the same ring to it. How ’bout this….. We are Home Sweet Home!