Chapter 4 | Better Than Expected

I have a really bad habit of enjoying the journey much more than the destination.

This happens a lot with holidays and vacations. I love the planning, the build up, the excitement in the preparation, but when the actual event happens, it sometimes feels like a let down to me. Does anyone else do the same thing?

I am so happy to say that the move has gone better than expected.

Sure, it’s been hot and humid. Everyone told us it would be. Yes, there have been spiders and bugs. Everywhere. Everyone told us that too. But our new property is amazing! 39 acres of hay fields, woods, ponds, and grass. It’s like our own piece of privacy, freedom, Eden, or heaven. Whatever we want to call it today.

We feel very blessed.

The house structure is large, over 6,000 square feet, but only a small portion of it has been finished. But it is much better than I expected! Yes, I deep cleaned the whole thing before we actually moved in. The house had sat vacant for about a month after the previous owner’s moved out. There were spiders in the kitchen sink, cobwebs in every corner, beetles crawling across the wood floor, and it smelled funny.

But after taking care of those initial problems, I have realized how nice the living space actually is. The kitchen cupboards are very practical. I don’t have a pantry, but I have pull out drawers that work nearly as well. Lily organized all of my spices onto another pull out shelf. The tub in the bathroom is huge and Sadie has already spent lots of time “swimming” in the tub. The first bedroom works great for our room and Charlie’s office. And the extra bedroom has become the play room. All three kids are sleeping out in the trailer in the garage, which is working just fine.

And it’s amazing how once you get some of your own furniture out, your own books on the shelves, your own stuff in the drawers, the house starts to feel like home.

However, despite things being better than I expected, we still have a huge project ahead of us. Our plan is to expand and remodel this unexpected house, turn this barndominium into our dream country home. The house project is daunting. We are still trying to find someone local that is willing to take on the project. The yard is overgrown and full of weeds, poison ivy, fallen trees, and hornet’s nests.

But we have a vision. And we know that with hard work and patience, we can accomplish anything. One of my favorite quotes is attributed to Albert Einstein:

“Only those who can see the invisible can do the impossible.”

I love this quote. My mom used to have it on the fridge when I was growing up. You can do anything if you have a dream and are willing to work for it! I have to keep reminding myself of that, daily.

Today, I just want to share some pictures of our new place. Inside and outside.

Hope you enjoyed the quick tour! There will be lots more to come as we document the remodel and the changes with the property. We’re excited to show you what we learn!

Until next time!

~ Rachel

2 thoughts on “Chapter 4 | Better Than Expected

  1. Thank you for sharing your recipe Rachel, we’ll miss you everytime we make though, but at least I’ll know how to make it so we won’t miss your wonderful bread. 🙂

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