I talked about the day I could move away from our small town growing up, you know those high school years where getting away from home sounds like the best thing? I wish I could go back and tell that girl who was frustrated to just enjoy the here & now, because one day you wish you’d be able to get that time back. The “plans” of moving away didn’t happen because God had better plans. Plans that included me becoming a small business owner in our small town and getting involved in many community activities that made me fall in love with the people who make up this small town. That was 4 years ago. 

Who would have thought that at 19 & 21, we would be buying land and a house just a field away from our parents home? Who would have thought that we would be EXCITED about it? Who would have thought that the joke my mom always teased us with that maybe one day we’d all have families & build houses near mom & dad, would actually kind of be true? 

A few months ago, right around the time of selling the store, one of our neighbors approached my Dad about selling their property. Dad called us all into the living room one night and told us that he thought it would be a good opportunity for us kids to do together. The next weeks were filled with paperwork upon paperwork but it was all worth it when we got the keys to the house on December 15! 

That afternoon we went and started ripping up old carpet before our logic kicked in & made us realize how bad of an idea that might be (because for anyone who has remodeled before knows that once you start, it’s really hard to stop). With the decision to rip the carpet in the living room out, we made the subconscious decision to be in it for the long haul with renovations. 

It was the best subconscious decision though because it has led Hunter & I to have some of the most hilarious bonding experiences together. The people at Lowes & Home Depot recognize us and have learned to stop asking if I need help because they know I am determined to find it myself & don’t want to be treated like a girl who doesn’t know what she’s doing. I’m figuring it out. We might stand there googling in the store or calling Dad but we’re learning. It’s one of those topics that I think you learn best from hands on learning. 

One day at Lowe’s we were passing through the paint section and decided that painting the one room wouldn’t be a big deal and the fresh coat of white paint would do it good. So we bought the paint and thought it would be a Saturday afternoon project. Turns out it would be a week long project. We would learn how our painting styles are VERY different but we learned how to laugh through the frustration. We blasted the music so loud we couldn’t hear the other one’s whining and by the end we were laying on the floor, laughing & crying. (The fresh coat of white does make it look much better, just took way longer than we were expecting) 

Buying a house in the winter means that in the first week of owning it, you will have frozen pipes and be crawling under the house to fix them. You’ll learn that there’s a right way and wrong way for the hinges to be attached to a door….the hard way. You’ll learn that sanding down window sills is one of those fun things to do. Really anything with a power tool is fun. 

My favorite thing is watching my Dad’s face when I tell him I used a power tool. He still looks shocked. I’ve always been his girly-girl so he’s getting to see a whole new side of me with this and  I think he’s enjoying watching/helping his 2 daughters learn all of this new stuff. 

We are happy to have the renovating almost done because that means the house is ready for being a blessing to someone else. We will be renting it out and our prayer is that it will be a blessing to a couple, family or whoever God has in mind to live there. If you or anyone you know are looking for a place to rent, be sure to check out the information here!