Been a while...

Last post was fixing to have the keys now we've been  in the house for four months! Most of that time was with no internet. Lots of that time was with trip after trip after trip (you get the picture) with truck and trailer of furniture, boxes, tools, tractor, implements, chicken coop (hauling a 9' tall, 7' wide, 12' long coop down a windy country road at night in the rain, whew!). Back to the list, multiple trailers, horses, pigs, more tools, more boxes, and tons of stuff. After moving all that stuff Amanda was wishing I wasn't an auctioneer and finding cool stuff all the time. Now that we're in and settled she's loving decorating with it! See if you can find a few goodies in the after picture of the porch swing.

These four months have been a whirlwind of work. Moving is "fun" no matter what. When you move your household and a small farm, it's a beast of a job. Not only do you move everything, you also have to setup new pens, build fences, bale the hay and get it in the barn. There's always something to do but that is why we moved here. It's ours! This is our dream home and we're slowly getting it set up the way we want it. Key word there is sloooowly. In fact, it was just yesterday that we got the last boxes out of the living room floor.

What is one thing you expect to see on the porch of a farmhouse?  A porch swing! The first thing Amanda and I built together when we first got married was a porch swing. We scavenged barn wood from a neighbor's fallen barn and got to work. That old barnwood was tough and has made it through two moves to it's final home at the G5. We never imagined the house it would end up on but it's a perfect fit!

Zuzu helped me drill holes. Well, she helped with moral support. We hung the swing, put up the halloween spider that Amanda and the boys made last year, then enjoyed the fall breeze.

As I get caught up on posts we'll show the projects we're working on and some of the things we've missed. If you're in the area, give us a holler and stop by. That porch swing is comfy and the domino table inside is just itching to hear some bones rattling!

Less than 24 hours

In less than 24 hours the keys will be in my hand!

It's almost time to start moving furniture into the little turquoise house!

2 days left!!!

Actually it's so late in the day it's almost 1 day left! We haven't packed a single box since Sunday. Other projects and living life have kept us busy. We won't have a problem getting the first trailed load ready Friday morning though.

We are planning on showing up to closing with furniture loaded. If you see a gooseneck trailer loaded with beds and boxes at the Title company Friday afternoon, that's us!

The other night we were talking about what we were most excited about at the new house. Amanda came up with one that I didn't expect - the fireplace. She's excited about having a mantle to hang stockings from at Christmas. Right now there is no mantle on it. Works out perfectly because several years ago my grandparents tore down their old barn, talking 100 years old barn. We saved some of the wood from it. I used planks to build a domino table (a game I learned to love at their house) and I also saved a big rough cut beam from the barn. I thought when I saved it that it would make an awesome mantle above a fireplace someday. Amanda has given me her blessing to make our mantle out of the old barn beam.

The first dilemma I see with the house isn't one for me, it's for Momma. Amanda has always gotten ready sitting on the bathroom counter. She likes to be close to the mirror, have good lighting - makes sense. Not gonna happen in this bathroom. You know, the more I think about it, this will probably end up being a problem for me somehow. I'd better help her find a solution!

4 days, no, it's 3 left!

Sunday we got to meet the seller and the boys finally got to see their new room and they were excited. Well, Luke was excited about the balcony and wants to sleep out there. O.K. Sounds good to me. Camping on the balcony - in the fall I think though.

What's the other cool place the boys liked? It wasn't in the big living room or at the nice kitchen island.  These two are all boy so where did they want to go? To the barn and in the loft!!!

It makes my heart smile to see them up there grinning. Where did they get that from? Well, probably both sides but I was up there when we did the inspections on the property. Apple doesn't fall from the tree, does it?


Speaking of apples, eating is important to two growing boys and little sister right behind. We live in our kitchen right now and I don't see that changing. I think the new kitchen will do the job.

3 days left and we're all about to bust with excitement. Get the trailer loaded and unloaded a few times and we'll all cool our heels a little, but not much!

Day 6, day 5, we're going faster!!!

Day 6 was buried in sorting, cleaning, boxes, packing tape, black sharpie markers, trips to Wally world to get more boxes and a horse out at 11pm! I could stand a porch to relax on. Ahh, that one looks good!

We were big-time motivated yesterday. Less than a week left and learned a lot of cool stuff on Friday.

First, the lender has finished their work and is just waiting on close - a week early! Fingers crossed there are no delays!

Then I got to talk to the sellers and they are really cool. The wife is very interested in the history of the home and the area. She told me Macey is the little community around the corner and was the home of a rapscallion uncle of Frank and Jesse James. Now it's home to a great little barbecue joint!

The seller is thinking the house is older than the 1940 date listed in the tax rolls. Possibly early 1900's. Sweet! She also took tons of pictures of the before, during and after of the remodel process. Her husband and a family member who is a custom home builder did most of the work themselves. They took it down to the studs, replaced any studs that needed it, then rewired, replumbed, insulated added central heat and air, etc. We knew they had done a lot to the house but I was excited to hear that it was a total renovation. We're going to drop by and give them a jump drive and they're going to load it with remodel pictures, a list of contractors who have worked on the house, paint colors they used and useful info like that.

Day 5 and it's time to get back to work. Lots to move and not a lot of time. The kids rooms are mostly done, living room is packed, but I don't see light at the end of the tunnel yet. We have to get everything packed here, moved, then build fence before we can move the livestock. They'll be excited though, they have a new house too!

7 days left!!!

I see some great barbecues in our future. Belly on up to the bar!

Day 8!