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How We Bought The Old Farmhouse

It's official, we bought the house!

Now I can breathe and scream and jump up and down, because the house is ours!

Sit right down, have yourself a cup of coffee or tea or wine, whatever suits your fancy. Settle down and I am going to tell you a little story of the house that could.

I started this blog almost a year ago. I have aways felt a need to write and when I gather my thoughts in written form, everything just seems so much more clear for me.

Knowing very little about blogs, I decided to start one of my own to follow the progress of making a home for my family. You can read a bit more about it here.

I've been slowly rolling along, creating a home for my family and writing about the process along the way. Here, here , here , here , here , here , here , here and here should catch you up! Whew!

Then one day I received a message from a neighbor about their old farmhouse they were looking to sell. She had tried before to contact me via my blog, but the comment had not gone through, (still sorting through those issues). So this time she got ahold of me through Facebook.

At first, I wasn't sure she was even serious, but when it became clear that she and her husband were really interested in selling their house to us, I went into freak out mode.

She told me they were looking to sell their 1920's, two story home and were wondering if we were interested. They needed a house that was more suitable for their family's needs, and the two story house was not functional for them.

Even though they loved the house, they knew they needed something different and she had read my blog and knew how passionate I was about old houses. They wanted their house to go to someone who would take care of it, and since we live only about two miles down the road, we were the perfect people to buy it and move it to our place!

After our first walk through of the house, the Hubs was sold. He knew my heart had always belonged in an old house, he felt the home had good bones, the interior wood work was incredible and it was priced to sell, because it needed to be moved.

What more could we want?

I was hesitant though, for reasons I still can't quite explain. I think it had something to do with the fact that it was a HUGE decision.

Phone calls were made to my mom and dad a million times to ask their advice, as well as my in-laws. I called my contractor in to take a look at the old house. I didn't sleep well as I ran floor plans and options through my mind at night.

And then just as I had made my decision. Just as I had decided that perhaps I was crazy if I took on a ninety year old farmhouse. Just as I told the Hubs that my gut said to walk away. Just as I had my mind made up to say no; we drove by the old house in the early evening hours on our way home.

The Hubs slowed the car, (he never slows for anything) and we both found ourselves taking in every little detail as we passed. We looked at it all lit up from the inside, light pouring out the big windows.

The tall building beamed with its potential and somewhere deep inside each of us was the realization that if we did not make this our home it would be an opportunity missed.

Worse, if we did not take this house, it may sit empty and slowly deteriorate and we would drive by watching it fall apart before our eyes and KNOW that we could have done something about it.

The next day we sat down and crunched all the numbers over and over, and a miracle happened, the Hubs and I agreed on something. We knew what we were going to do. I called the neighbor and made an offer.

Three breathless, sleepless nights later I got a phone call at 10:40 am. They counter offered at a thousand dollars more, and using every ounce of courage I had, I said "Yes, we'll take it."

The neighbor and I talked some details and then hung up. After a quick call to the Hubs, (he was working cattle and paused long enough to answer the phone and tell me congrats), I called my female family members who cried and laughed with me!

This was all just over a month ago. It feels like forever though!

Yesterday we went down to the lawyer and made it official. I wrote the check and signed my name. This is the first house my name has ever been on and hopefully it will be the only one for a long, long time!

We are hoping to start the dirt work and the basement within the next week or so.

I am so excited to share all the steps along the way!

Right now I am in the middle of sorting through our house making keep and toss piles. This could take awhile!

Thanks for stopping by today. Any advice for taking the ups and downs that come along with remodeling?

Have a lovely weekend!

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