We went up to the property yesterday for the first time since our escrow closed. We thought we would do a dedication ceremony to dedicate the land to God and ask that we are guided by Him for everything thing that we do with this precious gift. We were blessed that my dad and a close friend of ours were also coming along to participate in this event for our family and our future.
We got off to a bit of a rocky start as we do any day we plan something. No matter how much I plan with laying out clothes, having drinks and bottles ready the night before, no matter what I cannot plan for poopie diapers, upset stomachs, teenage attitudes, toddler attitudes, clumsy kids needing ice packs, or vehicle issues. Most likely whenever we have a specific time to leave by ALL of those things will happen. So, getting 14 kids out the door is always a challenge. We finally got on the road about an hour and a half later than we wanted to but that was pretty good compared to trips in the past.
With our crew we know that we are going to make about 3-4 pit stops on our way there. Yesterday I noticed for the first time that my children are much more aware than I thought. As we pulled up to our first pit stop which was a McDonald's a few of them say, "This is a two person one." They all agree with one another and I have no idea what they are talking about, but I'm busy ushering my cherubs across the parking lot watching for cars and holding chubby little hands so I just keep talking and walking knowing I will figure it out soon. We walk into the bathrooms and my girls say, "See only two people at a time!" I guess with 11 girls they notice the number of stalls because they knew every bathroom we went to and they do not want to use Sonic as a pit stop because they only have one stall and it takes too long (plus the spring on the door is broke and it slams on them when they open and shut it). One place had a sign that said, "LARGE bathrooms inside!" We found out this meant they had extra wide, large stalls but they only had three of them. :)
Our close friend was up touring the property before we got there. He loved it! I am so happy that he thought it was a beautiful as we do. Unfortunately, he had to leave before we got there. So he told us that he had left something for us to see to show us that we had been there. I was very interested to see what he had left. When we got there we found a Toyota hubcap hanging from a tree on a strap down strap. He gave a tree a necklace! We are leaving it there! :)
We pulled up to the property and took off in the jeep. The kids happily stayed in the van and watched Megamind (one of their favorites). Off we went. Kevin drove and he went over four foot trees that he called shrubs, huge boulders that he referred to as annoying obstacles, and I learned to "duck" inside the vehicle as large branches were hurled into the window and missed me by mere inches. We found the spot where we might plant my dad's house, and the views are gorgeous!
We got back to the van and tied a ribbon between two trees. We got all the cameras ready and the video camera. Our daughter Vivianna (11) was so excited to be in charge of the video camera. All the kids were great while Kevin prayed a prayer and we got ready to cut the ribbon. We cut the ribbon and everyone cheered and clapped. Then we got out the shovel and everyone took a turn shoveling some dirt. Then Vivi brought the camera to dad to view some of the video she shot, so excited. That was when we discovered... she never pressed 'record'! Oops! Well, there that went, but we plan to do a full reenactment the next time we go up.
Kevin marked some trees to cut down with orange duct tape while I gave the kids jeep rides, acting like we were going to crash into trees going a whole 5 mph. They loved the excitement.We then loaded up and got ready to go. We had a great time! The land is dedicated to God to use it and us according to His will for His glory.
What a day! I feel less nervous each time that we go up to the property and make some more plans. I am excited for the day that I actually feel confident about this whole new unfamiliar life. I think about all of the things that have been unfamiliar and what successes they have turned into. Just a few more chapters in my book...or I mean LIFE. ;-)
Have a wonderful Memorial Day!
Country Momma
Monday, May 28, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The First Auction
Through all of our craigslist searches my DH found an auction that had a lot of things that we could possibly use in this venture. So, we did our homework. We watched Storage Wars, Auction Hunters, and Storage Wars Texas! Homework done and now we are professional bidders with all the fake knowledge and even less experience and of course, we now feel that we are fully prepared! :-)
So, he takes seven kids and I keep seven kids and he leaves for two days. One day is for previewing the auction items and the other is to bid on them. He stayed at his parents' house because that always comes with free babysitting, good food, and well, it's home. The kids that went were happy to stay with Grama and the kids that stayed were feeling like Momma's big helpers.
So, off my DH goes...he took pictures of ten items that he wanted made notes of others that he thought he could like. Then he started his research and gave himself price limits on each item. (I thought that he wasn't going to stick to it, but I am proud to say he did very well.) He talked with his dad to get his very valuable and knowledgeable opinion and got some sketchy sleep. He was so worried about my night he kept texting over and over to make sure I was okay. (I'm always nervous I won't hear the kids cry if I am asleep.) So, he slept a little and then off he and his dad went to participate in this auction.
They get there and the wind starts, and keeps going, and then the dirt joins the wind. His dad tells me he's glad that he brought a small shovel to be able to clear the dirt from his ears. My DH texts me and shows me a picture of the crowd that began to dissipate as the day went along. He sent me various pictures of items that were cool but were obviously going to go for too much for us.He got two items, the rest of the items that he was hoping for sold for more money than he was comfortable to spend on them. I am very proud that he stuck to his guns on the amounts. He ended up winning 18,900 feet of barbed wire, enough to fence the entire property. Then he also got 2 hay feeders that hook onto corral panels, that our three goats and future horses will no doubt appreciate. I am very glad that he is bringing back much more money than he spent, and also feels like he got some good deals. :)
However, the biggest thing I believe he got out of the day was the experience of attending the auction and seeing how this one ran. This auction started at 9am and ended after 5pm, that makes for a long day especially with the dirt and the wind. The auction went very quickly but there were so many items at the auction. Also, some of the items were in bulk quantities and they would separate them out so that 200 corral panels become 10 separate lots of 20 panels each, so that makes things take a lot longer also. All in all it was a good auction and my DH feels that he is off to a good start to be able to fence the property. We now know how this auction runs, we know that they sell some pretty good items and it will be worth our time in the future to go to other auctions at this auction house.
So, tomorrow we go to dedicate the land. How exciting! I pray for great weather, well behaving children and continued peace for this journey that we are embarking on.
Blessings!
Country Momma
So, he takes seven kids and I keep seven kids and he leaves for two days. One day is for previewing the auction items and the other is to bid on them. He stayed at his parents' house because that always comes with free babysitting, good food, and well, it's home. The kids that went were happy to stay with Grama and the kids that stayed were feeling like Momma's big helpers.
So, off my DH goes...he took pictures of ten items that he wanted made notes of others that he thought he could like. Then he started his research and gave himself price limits on each item. (I thought that he wasn't going to stick to it, but I am proud to say he did very well.) He talked with his dad to get his very valuable and knowledgeable opinion and got some sketchy sleep. He was so worried about my night he kept texting over and over to make sure I was okay. (I'm always nervous I won't hear the kids cry if I am asleep.) So, he slept a little and then off he and his dad went to participate in this auction.
They get there and the wind starts, and keeps going, and then the dirt joins the wind. His dad tells me he's glad that he brought a small shovel to be able to clear the dirt from his ears. My DH texts me and shows me a picture of the crowd that began to dissipate as the day went along. He sent me various pictures of items that were cool but were obviously going to go for too much for us.He got two items, the rest of the items that he was hoping for sold for more money than he was comfortable to spend on them. I am very proud that he stuck to his guns on the amounts. He ended up winning 18,900 feet of barbed wire, enough to fence the entire property. Then he also got 2 hay feeders that hook onto corral panels, that our three goats and future horses will no doubt appreciate. I am very glad that he is bringing back much more money than he spent, and also feels like he got some good deals. :)
However, the biggest thing I believe he got out of the day was the experience of attending the auction and seeing how this one ran. This auction started at 9am and ended after 5pm, that makes for a long day especially with the dirt and the wind. The auction went very quickly but there were so many items at the auction. Also, some of the items were in bulk quantities and they would separate them out so that 200 corral panels become 10 separate lots of 20 panels each, so that makes things take a lot longer also. All in all it was a good auction and my DH feels that he is off to a good start to be able to fence the property. We now know how this auction runs, we know that they sell some pretty good items and it will be worth our time in the future to go to other auctions at this auction house.
So, tomorrow we go to dedicate the land. How exciting! I pray for great weather, well behaving children and continued peace for this journey that we are embarking on.
Blessings!
Country Momma
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Won if Buy LAND
Well, Paul Revere, we got the land!
Yes, 75 acres of bare naked, completely raw land. There are trees, cacti, rocks, dirt, bushes, stickers, thorns, flowers, grass, and various wildlife animals. However, this city slicker Momma is missing, water, electricity, shelter, pavement, streetlights, and of course, the nearest Wal-Mart. We are beginning a huge adventure! I think our journey will be different than most because we are tackling this with 14 children in tow.
This weekend will be our first trip to the property since the close of escrow. We are cutting a ribbon, shoveling some dirt, and breaking a bottle of cider on a big rock to dedicate the land in any way we can think of. This weekend we will also walk the path that will one day be our driveway and tie a ribbon around the trees that need to be cut down to achieve our goal.
I'm nervous. I love the convenience of the city. I enjoy being able to run to the store for a quick ingredient, however, that will no longer be the case. During this process of building our house on the property I will be in complete learning mode. I will learn how to plan the meals for a full month ahead of time. I will learn how to use more ingredients for foods that we have in the garden (my kiddos will probably want to try and plant a McDonald's) and growing more dependent on our chicken eggs and organic meat. And I am sure every once in awhile I will be blogging my own cheerleading and encouragement to get me one step closer without losing my sanity.
My DH will have the bigger challenge. He's building the house. We are not talking about a little house on the prarie one room with a loft. We are talking about an 8500 sq ft home. We are not hiring contractors or professionals to do this. We are making this our family project full of memories and long days. My DH has a lot of experience with building, but this is the largest project he has ever taken on. We are learning about solar panels, grey water filtration, generators, radiant flooring, rainwater catchers, and all the materials needed to make it happen.
Every time we learn about one thing we know we will need to buy so much more to make it happen. Hello craigslist!! I heart craigslist! My DH gives me the list and off I go with my new challenge, and then his phone begins to chime in with the craigslist ads that I have texted that will hopefully meet the needs that we have. He makes the calls and sets up the appointments to look at all this stuff that I have no clue about and then tells me about the dreaded cost. He can make some great deals, and I think the thing that makes me feel the best is when I can look up the item and see what the retail cost would be and see our savings.
We are currently shopping for a backhoe, water storage tanks for potable (that means drinkable, learned this one recently) water, old semi trailers for storage, and industrial trailers to haul the backhoe. We are also keeping our eyes open for a commercial walk-in refrigerator, freezer and a dishwasher. We shop at Habitat for Humanities, Craigslist and any auctions that we find. We have so much to get and we need to do it as inexpensive as possible. It's definitely a challenge!
So, here we begin our journey. I figure my kids will enjoy being able to read this later and see all that Dad and Mom did to give them more room to grow and teach them how to live off the land. We are excited to show them how to make goat cheese and ride quads. It will also be exciting to have this memoir to look back on and see our funny stories, or the challenges we overcome.
Blessings to you,
New Country Momma
Yes, 75 acres of bare naked, completely raw land. There are trees, cacti, rocks, dirt, bushes, stickers, thorns, flowers, grass, and various wildlife animals. However, this city slicker Momma is missing, water, electricity, shelter, pavement, streetlights, and of course, the nearest Wal-Mart. We are beginning a huge adventure! I think our journey will be different than most because we are tackling this with 14 children in tow.
This weekend will be our first trip to the property since the close of escrow. We are cutting a ribbon, shoveling some dirt, and breaking a bottle of cider on a big rock to dedicate the land in any way we can think of. This weekend we will also walk the path that will one day be our driveway and tie a ribbon around the trees that need to be cut down to achieve our goal.
I'm nervous. I love the convenience of the city. I enjoy being able to run to the store for a quick ingredient, however, that will no longer be the case. During this process of building our house on the property I will be in complete learning mode. I will learn how to plan the meals for a full month ahead of time. I will learn how to use more ingredients for foods that we have in the garden (my kiddos will probably want to try and plant a McDonald's) and growing more dependent on our chicken eggs and organic meat. And I am sure every once in awhile I will be blogging my own cheerleading and encouragement to get me one step closer without losing my sanity.
My DH will have the bigger challenge. He's building the house. We are not talking about a little house on the prarie one room with a loft. We are talking about an 8500 sq ft home. We are not hiring contractors or professionals to do this. We are making this our family project full of memories and long days. My DH has a lot of experience with building, but this is the largest project he has ever taken on. We are learning about solar panels, grey water filtration, generators, radiant flooring, rainwater catchers, and all the materials needed to make it happen.
Every time we learn about one thing we know we will need to buy so much more to make it happen. Hello craigslist!! I heart craigslist! My DH gives me the list and off I go with my new challenge, and then his phone begins to chime in with the craigslist ads that I have texted that will hopefully meet the needs that we have. He makes the calls and sets up the appointments to look at all this stuff that I have no clue about and then tells me about the dreaded cost. He can make some great deals, and I think the thing that makes me feel the best is when I can look up the item and see what the retail cost would be and see our savings.
We are currently shopping for a backhoe, water storage tanks for potable (that means drinkable, learned this one recently) water, old semi trailers for storage, and industrial trailers to haul the backhoe. We are also keeping our eyes open for a commercial walk-in refrigerator, freezer and a dishwasher. We shop at Habitat for Humanities, Craigslist and any auctions that we find. We have so much to get and we need to do it as inexpensive as possible. It's definitely a challenge!
So, here we begin our journey. I figure my kids will enjoy being able to read this later and see all that Dad and Mom did to give them more room to grow and teach them how to live off the land. We are excited to show them how to make goat cheese and ride quads. It will also be exciting to have this memoir to look back on and see our funny stories, or the challenges we overcome.
Blessings to you,
New Country Momma
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