We purchased this property in 2020 from the original recipients of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
It’s no secret in the community that this place was well loved… and that whoever bought it next was going to have some work to do.
I can only imagine what people thought when we moved in.
Two people who had been living out of state. A house that doesn’t quite fit the rural landscape. Probably a lot of “they have no idea what they just got themselves into.”
And honestly… they weren’t wrong.
But what most people didn’t know is this…
I was born and raised in Iowa. Small town, about an hour south of here.
And Ryan? Iowa has always been home for him too. This is where he was raised. This is where his roots are.
So while it may have looked like we were outsiders coming in…
We were actually coming back.
Before this, Ryan and I had moved around a bit. Illinois. Colorado. I picked those places while he handled the moves and kept everything together while I tried to prove myself in corporate America.
At one point, he said, “Hey Jamie… this time I’d like to pick the property.”
Fair.
But somehow… I still picked this one.
Just for all the wrong reasons.
Ryan, on the other hand, saw something completely different. Opportunity. Potential. A long game.
The first night should have been our warning.
We hired a cleaning crew just to make the house livable. That night, Ryan set off the fire alarm while cleaning… and it didn’t stop.
It blared for over an hour.
I remember sitting there thinking, is this a sign?
Like… what did we just do?
This house was built in under five days. In that moment, it felt like we made a huge mistake.
And Ryan just looked at me and said, “If this were easy, everyone would do it.”
That stuck.
That first winter taught us everything.
Propane? Gone. Fast.
We were filling a 500-gallon tank monthly.
Windows? Cracked. Rotted. Falling apart.
No screens. Which explained… a lot.
We even had a company come out and tell us everything was “fine” and offer us screens for $10,000.
Meanwhile… we’re literally holding pieces of the window in our hands while cleaning.
That’s when we knew.
This wasn’t going to be a quick fix.
So we adjusted.
We installed a wood burning stove instead of relying on propane. We started sourcing wood however we could. We stopped trying to make the house something it wasn’t… and started working with it instead.
Four years later, we’re still replacing windows. Still fixing. Still figuring it out.
Roof. Siding. You name it.
At one point, we joked we could build a whole new cabin cheaper.
And honestly… that’s probably not far off.
When we bought the property, part of the agreement was that everything tied to the show stayed.
Because from day one, our vision was bigger than just the house.
We saw a future agritourism space. Something people could come to. Experience. Be a part of.
Now we have a video hitting close to a million views, and I see comments all the time about the past. About what people think happened here.
But that’s not our story to tell.
That was Chapter One.
We’re building Chapter Two.
Here’s what I do know.
This house wasn’t built for efficiency. It wasn’t built for longevity.
It was built for TV.
But what was real… was the community that showed up to make it happen.
And that’s what we hold onto every time something breaks. Every time we hit a wall.
A lot of people assume we come from money.
I wish.
Ryan and I both grew up with very little. We made a decision early on that we were going to break that cycle. College was the plan. That’s where we met.
We pushed each other.
I got pregnant in college. That didn’t stop us. If anything, it pushed us harder.
No handouts. No safety net. Just figuring it out as we went.
I worked my way up from an office assistant in a body shop to corporate. Ryan carved his own path in corporate America. We built everything step by step.
Still are.
And now?
We’re working full-time jobs while building something most people would probably walk away from.
Because to us… the “finer things” never looked like fancy trips or expensive stuff.
It looks like this.
Building something from nothing.
Creating something that lasts.
Leaving something behind.
We still have a long way to go.
And yeah… I’ve got to get ready for work after writing this.
But before I do, I’ll step outside, look at everything we’re building, and remind myself why we started.
Moral of the Story
Sometimes it looks like you’re starting from scratch… but really, you’re coming back to where you were meant to build.
What people see isn’t always the full story.
And what looks like a risk to others… might be exactly where your roots belong. ❤️✌🏼 – Jamie
Moral Of The Story 