Thursday, May 5, 2011

About The House.

The boxes are unpacked (mostly) and the furniture is (somewhat) situated. I still can't believe we're here, that we're actually here, in this house, the house we've stealthily driven by for the past six weeks, trying to and not trying to imagine what our lives would look like in this place; in this yard, in this house.

The house is a 4 bedroom/3 bathroom ranch-style and sits on five acres. Its long gravel driveway leads to a rarely-used street and most of the acreage falls to the front and side of the house. A third of the land is fenced off as pasture, where the pond is situated. When we initially began our house-search, we thought that maybe a little land would be nice, thinking two acres at the most. We chose to look at this house just for kicks and I'm very glad we did. The five acres is beautiful and sprawling. Every house on this street sits on at least five acres (leaving room for one neighbor on each side), making the land feel vast and open.


We've officially "gone country" and already our short time here has confirmed that we made the best choice for us. Every morning we awaken to the sound of birds singing, which is new for us! There is typically a small flock of Canadian geese in the front yard enjoying the morning mist and a white crane has declared the pond as its home. A distant neighbor owns a donkey which we hear braying at intervals throughout the day (quiet enough to not be a bother) and when you drive to our street you pass cows and horses. We've seen a snake, which I'm certain will be the first of many, and a spider or two, which confirms that we are, in fact, rural folk now!

But not too rural. Target is about ten minutes away and the grocery store is about eight. We were blessed to find what we consider to be a good amount of land so close to town. Close enough for convenience, but far enough for peace and quiet.

And oh, the quiet.

It's palpable. I hadn't realized the impact of the street noise from our first home until we moved to a place that has none. At night, when the birds are quiet and the donkey is parked in his stall, it is silent. It's a silence that was almost unnerving the first night, but one that we've welcomed ever since. And it's dark. Our previous corner lot saw two street lights situated on each side of the house that caused the house to glow at night. Now there is simply darkness. I could tell the darkness scared Cub a little (he was used to one of the street lights being close to his window), so we put a little night light in his room. I wasn't sure of his fear of the dark until I asked him if he wanted the light on or off and he answered firmly, "ON." Besides the dark nights, the kids are having a blast here. Cub loves to play outside and throw rocks in the pond and Naomi has eaten her fair share of grass.

The house herself is a beauty. It was a custom build for the previous owners and they didn't paint very much. The house sits like a blank canvas, awaiting a little extra love that we can't wait to give. Every day we remark on the light of the rooms--the windows paired with the high ceilings of the entryway make the house bright and cheery. There is a formal dining room separated by columns into an open hallway and formal living room when you walk through the front door. Through a doorway in the formal living room you walk into the kitchen which is open to a breakfast nook and den. I am excited to claim these spaces as our own. If you know us, then "formal" isn't exactly a word you would probably choose, and I can't wait to turn the formal dining room into a cozy reading nook and the formal living room into a relaxed space to chat with friends.

(Dining Room)


(Living Room)

(Kitchen)

(Den)

The kids' rooms are on their own end of the house with their own bathroom, while the guest room and bathroom and the master bedroom and bathroom are situated on the other end.

(Guest Bedroom)

When I sit in the dining room (it has my favorite old yellow chair in it now) in the morning and watch the mist hover over the pond, my heart moves from satisfied to overflowing. This place, this precious place, is now our home. We bless God's Name and praise Him in the hard times as well as in the good, and we dedicate this home to Him, thanking Him for His gracious kindness. I hope we can use it to bless others, the way it is already blessing us, and I pray that we won't miss those opportunities when they come.

(We very much look forward to housing guests.)

Have a lovely day.

10 comments:

  1. We LOVED it. I just had to drive around for a little while yesterday afternoon to see what else was selling out there. So perfect! SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!!

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  2. I love it! It look so peaceful there.

    Something for Cub to feel not so fearful about the dark, maybe take him out to see the stars and explain that the darkness is good because it wakes up the stars. I would love to be there and see his big eyes when he sees allllllllll the stars out there.

    If you can't tell, I kinda want some land in the darkness. :)

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  3. Sounds beautiful. I'm a little jealous of all that land... can't imagine how different that would be from my Brooklyn apartment right now.

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  4. Your house sounds situated a lot like ours. We are on 8 acres in the middle of nowhere, yet stores are only 10 minutes away. We love the dark and quiet too. It's amazing to raise kids in the country. Every day we pass cows, horses, even llamas! and Sophia goes nuts! She loves being able to see so many animals every day. ...and it's so fun to go on nature walks around our property and find all sorts of things. Every day is an adventure.

    I'm glad you found such a wonderful place for your family.

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  5. Even though I've never met you, I'm so happy for you! Your forever house sounds a lot like my dream forever house- rural feel while still close to Target (and sushi in my case). Congrats!

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  6. So beautiful. I love your kitchen. I used to think I would never use a formal dining room, but when we moved into our home I found that I used more than I imagined. Not so much for formal reasons, but we started having holidays with all of our family at our home. I'm glad I have it now. Congratulations! Can't wait to see what you do with the house.

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  7. Why do I cry every time I read your posts? So happy for your family, even though I don't know you all personally...that's our dream too - in the country, but close to town. I'm glad your dream came true :-)

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  8. Love it, inside and out. It's such a good spot for you guys, and we've loved being there, too! Can't wait to watch the place evolve with you. I'd say it was the perfect move! :)

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  9. Absolutely beatiful! Can't wait to see it in person! I'm so happy for your family.

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  10. Oh wow, Katie, it looks awesome!! I especially love the formal dining room - COLUMNS!! I'm a girl who loves columns. :) So happy for y'all!!

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