The Journey Begins

We've been praying and dreaming about it for a long time.  Basically since we've been dating we've talked about our dream to raise our family on a farm.  I will admit I was a hard sell at first but after we had a little boy I couldn't deny the voices inside my head telling me that this boy was made for living in the country.  He loves to climb, discover, get dirty, be around animals, and just run.  After we had boy number two it was a done deal. We began talking about our options and praying for guidance and that something would come up that we could see ourselves growing our family in. I have always struggled with contentment but after many properties/land came up and didn't work out I finally got to a place where I said, "okay God I give up. Teach me to feel content and help me to trust in you." It wasn't much later when we were approached by some good family friends telling us that they were thinking about selling their beautiful, old farmhouse.  

This home screams Cedar Falls history and I can't wait to learn more about the Hearst family and the Maplehearst farm as we get acquainted with the property. The McClanahan family, who asked us if we'd be interested in the house, grew up down the road from Morgan's parents. They have 5 kids that they raised in this house and they have been close friends with the Troendle family for a long time.  We are so excited to begin this journey and feel so thankful to the McClanahan family for giving our growing family this opportunity. We hope to bring up our kids loving life and God as much as yours do! Anyone who knows any of you knows that this is true!

One huge bonus with moving to this house is how close we will be to Morgan's parents. We love spending time with family and it will be so nice to be so close! Also, since Morgan grew up in the area, he knows most of the people living around the house.  Which will come in handy when we need someone to push our snow or something comes up that we need help with...that never happens on a farm right?? Having great neighbors is a huge blessing when living in the country and we are very lucky to know some of those folks already!

We are going to do some renovations on the house. We will begin by renovating the kitchen and upstairs bathroom prior to moving in.  I have been busy pinning, reading renovation blogs, looking at builders websites etc. Pinterest seems to be the first step when starting any home project, right? Next we started meeting with potential builders and designers. We were feeling pretty discouraged at first because everyone we initially met with we felt didn't get our ideas. We then met with a couple from our church who renovated their farmhouse near Hudson. Their house was gorgeous so we wrote down the contacts of the people on their building team and set up meetings right away. We are excited about these professionals and feel confident they will work hard to restore this beautiful home.  My goal has alway been to keep the integrity of the house and so it was important to me to find people who are passionate about that as well.

We have big dreams for this house! Mainly that God will use it to grow his kingdom in different ways! We are so excited to see what He has in-store for our family. One thing I've learned about God during this process is you never know what tomorrow will bring. We are looking forward to discovering His plan for us!

I plan on using this blog to share with our friends and family the ups and downs of restoring an older home. I also think it'll be fun to look back on all the work we do! So please, join us on this journey to discovering Maplehearst!!

 

There will be a lot of school pictures taken on those steps!!

Welcome to the farm!! Ain't she a beauty!!