First off…a giant thank you for all of you who sent word of encouragement and prayer after my last post. I can truly say that I feel like we’ve been riding your prayers; they have been holding us up. I actually had the miscarriage the day after my post, and the next couple weeks were definitely a journey physically. I’ve been behind on several things I’ve needed to tend to, as it took a while to get motivation to get going again, and I was physically and emotionally wiped out. I’m still not done with the follow up. I still have yet another lab appointment to make sure my HCG levels have gone completely to zero (if not, there is risk that not everything cleared and infection could set in). I feel 100% back to normal (aside from the stress of the crazy events of the last month), so I suspect my levels will be normal, by then.
Could this be our new commute view?
Anyway, we’ve been trying to find a new normal, which is really hard when you’re hanging out in your family’s basement trying to sort out the next step in the land-buying process. In the midst of it all, we have had a birthday to celebrate (Jak turned three!), and I’ve been trying to reorganize my Usborne business and get it rolling again (I’m actually going to be sharing a bit about it here on my next post), and have had car troubles rear their ugly heads (nothing major…just brakes and tires, but just added stress).
I just thought I would take a moment to update everyone on the house plans! I know some of you are following along, anxious to hear what is next. At the moment we are in a bit of limbo. We have land we want. But with it comes decisions! There are two plots. We would prefer one plot that costs a bit more. But they won’t sell it without the other plot. It’s a long story. We are pretty confident the other plot is worth purchasing. We just want the pricier one more (clearly, the price indicates it is the more desirable plot, not only to us). Anyway, we know the options on the table. And now we have some work to do with pursuing the financing to see our options.
The view from the western parcel looking toward the eastern one. (The tree is pretty much at the line between the two. The western property extends more to the right of the picture.)
The pricing for all TWENTY acres (can’t believe we are even talking about 10 or 20 acres!) is actually very reasonable, and would leave us with a very reasonable mortgage price. But our whole goal was to get us set up for a minimal mortgage that we could pay off much sooner than traditionally is acceptable in our country. So it is really challenging our will to stick to the plan. (At least it is challenging for me…my eyes keep seeing 20 acres and thinking how amazing that would be!) We are in the place where we need to discern the Lord’s plan, not just what is logical.
We know what the Lord has told us: the land is already set aside for us. So here is what my amazing husband said: if it is already set aside for us, we don’t need to fret and toil over the decision. We will make our offer (once we decide what to do), and if they don’t take it, we aren’t going to sweat it. We’ll keep looking. Because if God has it set aside, it won’t be hard to get. And we shouldn’t over extend our finances beyond our means, even if it looks to be in our means on paper…because that isn’t God’s plan, at any point.
Standing in front of the eastern plot. There is a pond on this property, as well as more creek (both properties include part of the creek). A little less area to actually build. Not a problem when you are planning to build small. Just a decision to make!
We have our house plan designed (loosely…it will have to be tweaked by the professionals). We are about 95% sure we will be choosing a kit home (remember the Sears kit homes?) barn-house cottage, cape cod style, from a company out of New Hampshire. It is a kit in the sense that they design it and prepare all the pieces in the shop, so that it will all come together, built to code, at your site. When the pieces arrive…you build it! (Or hire someone to build it…but it is designed to be built by non-professionals). We will hire out for the things we don’t know how to do ourselves that are not included in the kit (foundation, plumbing, electric, etc.). All the pieces add up. So many things to think about!
We don’t have a timeline yet, obviously, as we don’t have the land yet. We have lots of planning yet to do. So we’ll update you when we know more! But we continue to covet your prayers as we make decisions. And if anyone wants to help us build a house….we may literally have a barn-raising of sorts. 😉 And I’m not joking.
Heehee!
WongPress 