As many of you know, my little family of four is in the midst of transitioning to a new town. Let me tell you, it’s been quite the journey! After going through our fair share of traumas over the last several years (The Fire and My Favorite Cowboy being two of them), we were in desperate need of a fresh start somewhere greener and cooler, yet close enough for family visits. Because we were looking at a town a few hours away from where we were living, my goal was to move over the summer so as to avoid transitioning the kids mid-school year.

We hurried to finish all the projects on our to-do list and got our house listed for sale in the spring. During this same time, we heard about a house that would soon be listed for sale in the very town we were hoping to move to. The more we learned about it, the more we thought it might be the perfect place for us to call home. Best of all, because my uncle knew the previous owner, we would be able to put in an offer before it ever hit the market—but first, we needed to get into escrow on our current home.

In the eleventh hour, we got an offer that was just enough to make the purchase of the next house work out. We placed our offer on the house up north, and it was quickly accepted! The downside was that escrow would close after the school year began. We needed to get up north ASAP to make this transition easier on our daughters. We found a monthly campground along the river, reserved our spot beginning a week before school started, and called it home for the next month as Ember started first grade and Karissa began preschool.

In early September, we closed escrow on our charming late-1800s farmhouse on a quiet dead-end street, with a creek along one side, and enough property for my horses. Since moving to the property, the sunsets here have been absolutely gorgeous, bathing the property in this magical golden light and reassuring us that we made the right move. Admittedly, the house needs quite a bit of love and the yard needs some cleanup (as you’ll see in the next few posts), but as my vision slowly comes to life, I have all the faith in the world that this will be a wonderful home for us!

We have met all of our immediate neighbors and a few others. Some have offered advice or even donated their time helping with projects on our to-do list. All of them have been warm and welcoming, and our daughters have made fast friends with the boys up the road. We also have a lot of family in the area since my dad was originally from here, and they have all stepped up tremendously as well. Although we are staying in our trailer on the property while the major renovations are underway, it already feels like home.

As I keep telling everyone, we were always meant to be here. I just feel it. And I am truly grateful for this fresh start.

To Be Continued…

Stay tuned to see the renovations both outside and inside in the next several posts!