I apologize for neglecting this little blog as of late. Life has become so busy with the twins now toddlers and trying to juggle part-time work with homesteading. On top of that, our family is trying to make some very important upcoming decisions.
We have generously been offered some land by some dear friends who live on a farm not too far from us out in the country. They have given us 10 acres if we want it. Half of the acreage is wooded and half is already cleared (as the pics in this post show). What a blessing!
For some time we have been trying to decide whether we would build upon this land or not. While it is exciting to think about the possibilities, it’s frightening not knowing what could happen in terms of our jobs or family situations that could force us to move elsewhere. To add to the struggle, we have always wanted to be closer to all of our parents in Kentucky, and building a house would make it more difficult to leave in the near future. On the other hand, we desperately want to put down roots somewhere after renting for over 9 years. Currently the hubby has a wonderful job he cannot leave unless he found something comparable elsewhere (which is pretty difficult), plus, we are happy in this area. It will be a bittersweet decision either way we choose.
Of course I’m already dreaming about all the fun times we could have and a cozy cottage in the woods actually sounds pretty perfect right now–especially during the hectic times when we want to just slow down and enjoy nature.
We could have a huge garden, plant some field crops, and keep some other animals besides just the chickens! And designing a cottage from the ground up would be pretty fun too 🙂
BUT WAIT–you might ask: “Aren’t you a committed preservationist?” Indeed I am, and building a NEW house instead of rehabbing an old one would certainly make me feel guilty (and naughty). We have looked and looked at older houses for sale for some time but have failed to find one we liked on enough land in our price range. Perhaps that’s just not in God’s plan for us right now at this point in our lives.
It’s a huge decision and commitment that will require much prayer and deliberation. Would appreciate your prayers that the Lord would lead us to make the right one.
It looks like a beautiful piece of land, although I can so understand wanting to be closer to family! As for the new build, I'm not sure what kind of access you have to repurposed building materials and salvage, but if you could get much of your material as salvaged items and/or surplus stock, would that make it feel a little less naughty for you to build? And I know you have twin baby girls so this might not be even remotely attractive to you, but what about a tiny house? Not a super tiny house on a trailer, but maybe just a cottage-tiny two-bedroom house that's two stories so the footprint would be small. I think the Earth would forgive a new build that's little and as recycled as possible to a family that will cherish and nurture the land around it. 🙂