If I am being honest… this house was not our first choice, it wasn’t really our second.
We had moved around the country a bit for our careers. Then of course 2020 hit us like a ton of bricks. My job turned virtual and Ryan already had the ability to work anywhere in the country. Ryan had a dream of owning a farm from the moment I met him. Over the last few years the fire for this passion grew to a point where he could no longer deny it. He told me it was time to come back home to Iowa.
We put the house up for sale in the summer of 2020 in Colorado (which I absolutely loved!) Colorado was my state but I knew what we needed to do. The house sold in two days.
We were on a mission to find the perfect farm back home in Iowa. We put so many offers in and came up with nothing. Time was running out until we came across what we thought was the perfect property 16 acres and a pond! It was a little above the price we wanted to spend but we went for it and the offer was accepted! At that point I just knew everything was going to be okay…
As time grew closer to the move things were not progressing like they should be. We were finishing up our move from Colorado and we still hadn’t completed the final steps to purchase the home in Iowa… We ended up moving to Iowa putting our things in storage and separating our animals among our family’s homes and rented a house from a friend. Needless to say that house fell through and we were devastated. Thank goodness at this point our son was off doing his own thing and we were newly empty nesters.
We started our home search again and looked at farm after farm. Then this oversized home in the middle of nowhere came across our path. We had no idea what it was at the time all we knew was it was bigger than we needed and a little further out than we wanted to be..
I remember the moment I saw the property. I looked at Ryan and said this is it. It had a greenhouse a large historical barn, what more could you ask! We of course were informed at that time of the background on the home but that didn’t matter to me we had just went through hell with the last farm we tried to purchase. I didn’t disclose all the horrible details about our experience but one day I will have the courage to share it. So back to the Extreme Home Makeover. We bought it!
We actually bought it in the middle of Winter. We got acclimated to the quarks of the home very quickly. The home fit its title well. Everything about it was extreme. We were new to rural living, we had no idea about propane. Our home in Colorado used natural gas and we had a gas fireplace that I loved! This home also had a gas fireplace! It was a win win for me! At least I thought! I remember we had just filled our 500 gallon propane tank and not even a month later it needed refilled.. I was running that fireplace nonstop and the furnace was running nonstop. We soon discovered that we needed to put in some major work on making this home energy efficient. We have been working on that ever since! We tore out that gas fireplace and installed a wood stove. That has been a game changer! This home needs a lot of updates including windows, siding and a new roof. We will not be acquiring new debt to upkeep this home so we do small increments of improvements. Baby steps people and I am absolutely okay with that approach!
I would like to switch gears a bit and talk about our neighbors. I will share more about the home in future blogs!
I remember thinking we are way out here in rural Iowa and everyone probably keeps to themselves..
I remember getting a knock on the door one early Spring day. It was what we now know to be one of the most kind, loving and supportive human beings in our lives. He was just stopping by to introduce himself. We were so glad he stopped by that day, it gave us the feeling of belonging.
Soon after that Ryan almost set the barn on fire trying to clear overgrown weeds. I was so upset with him…I remember him making a frantic call to our neighbor as he was previously on the fire department, we didn’t know it at the time but he contacted our other neighbor who was also on the fire department and they were there in minutes putting out the fire with a garden hose😂. That moment was a pivotal moment that we were not aware of at that time but it broke the ice. Our two neighbors showed up for us within seconds of a call and they continue to show up for us to this day.
One of our neighbors recently shared a picture with Ryan that he took back in 2006 during the Extreme Home Makeover build and it happened to have Ryan in the photo. Back in our earlier years Ryan worked a second job at Home Depot and he volunteered to help at this very home. Little did he know at the time he was helping to build his forever home.
Sometimes this house can be very overwhelming along with what we have going on to rebuild the farm. When those moments come up I gravitate to the people in our lives cheering us on which happen to be our neighbors whom happen to be our biggest supporters! They give us the encouragement to keep going and offer us sound advice and a helping hand. If I am being honest here… there are times that I want to throw in the towel but remember what type of community we live in and couldn’t imagine not living next to some pretty amazing people who we now call family ♥️
Moral of the story… You never know what life has in store for you. Sometimes the best things in life come from the hardest of times.
-Jamie
Moral Of The Story 