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Monday, September 7, 2020

Making A Move!

Our soon-to-be new home!

In 2016, we made a decision to move from our suburban home to a small acreage with my husband's Mom, sister, and nephew. His Mom's health was failing, and his sister needed our help. So they moved to Texas from Oklahoma, and we all purchased five beautiful acres on a dirt road in the Sam Houston National Forest. The two homes that came with the acreage housed his Mom, sister, and nephew, and we bought a new manufactured home and had it placed about 100 feet away. We got quite an education on mobile home living, as we knew nothing about aerobic septic systems, having power lines brought in, and having water pipe laid!

Driveway to our current 5 acres

In 2017, his Mom passed away, and since then his sister and nephew have wanted to move back to Oklahoma. With two of our grandchildren being born to our daughter since 2016, we also wanted to move closer to them in north Texas. Plus, taking care of 5 acres was beginning to wear on our senior citizen bodies - it's a lot of physical labor. So we made the joint decision to move, put our properties on the market as one listing, and waited to see what would happen. It would have to be a very special situation for someone to want acreage with three houses, but surprisingly, we had a few interested parties. The last one made a full price offer, and we have a closing date of September 28.

His sister found a home in Oklahoma very quickly while we looked online for houses. In mid-August we had a list of a dozen houses and made a trip north. We fell in love with the first house we saw, half-heartedly looked at the other houses, and made an offer on the first one. That deal just refused to work, and we were very disappointed. So back to the drawing board. The problem we encountered was a hot market all over north Texas - every time we put a house on our list, it was in contract within a day or two. Finally on August 31 we had a list of six houses and made a fast trip north. As we were driving, two of the houses we really wanted went to contract. So we had only four left. The first two looked great in the listing but weren't so great in person, and the third one had foundation issues, so we dejectedly traveled to the last house on our list.


As we parked out front I saw two beautiful white crape myrtles in bloom on either side of the house. White crape myrtles are my favorite trees - it had to be a sign! We liked what we saw inside, and the neighborhood was nice, so we decided on the spot to make an offer. Now that the option period has ended, we are feeling enormous relief and can finally say we are moving.

We will only be 60 miles (currently 250 miles) from our daughter and two littlest grands and 30 miles from the border of my beloved Oklahoma. We have lived within 40 miles of our son and family since 2012, and we hate to be so far from them (280 miles!), but those three grandchildren range in age from 17 to 21 and are leading busy lives. We are very excited to begin this new journey.

We will miss our garden and the views of the forest but not the dust from the dirt road!

My fabric is packed into boxes, and my sewing machine is going in for maintenance this week, so I will miss sewing and posting, but I will try to keep up with your blogs while I anticipate moving into my new sewing space!

9 comments :

  1. So glad you found a home so close to Oklahoma, Hubby is a Choctaw and we really are missing our trips to Durant and the Casino. I feel that you are a true blue Conservative Texan who loves our country - Glad you are staying in Texas. Hope to see your moving progress. Hugs.

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  2. Good luck with your move...& you sound just a little excited...
    Hope all goes to plan...xox

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  3. Your new home looks lovely! So glad everything is working out! The acreage always looked so beautiful, but I can imagine it will be nice to have less to take care of. Looking forward to hearing more about it after you get settled.

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  4. I've seen your IG posts, and I've been waiting to hear the news. Congratulations! I'm so glad you found a home you like, and the myrtle trees are such a fun blessing. I hope the closing and the move go smoothly!

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  5. oddly i felt quite an excitement reading this. I get how you have to choose - being farther away from one kid but closer to another...etc.... and giving up those beautiful five acres. But starting a new life and it looks like a good one - is so exciting. I'm happy for you (and I kind of wish it was me).

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    1. I totally get that feeling, I've felt it many times when I've read about someone moving to an area that has more diverse weather than we do! The excitement, right now anyway, is tamped down by worry - getting everything packed, having a crowded car with our 4 cats and dog and incidentals, the timing of everything. But deep down I know it will all be OK.
      Hope you are staying well Sandy!

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  6. Your new home looks lovely! House hunting can be stressful, so glad you've made it through that phase. I've done my share of moves. It's a great feeling to settle down again where God wants you to be.

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  7. Wow so much news, Linda. We moved 5 years ago to be closer to one of my daughters and it was so much work. Hubby lived in his house that he built for 47 years. Finding a new home and one he would go for was a process but now he is very pleased with our wooden house. So happy you finally found a home you can now make your own and love. It looks absolutely lovely and yes, I think the trees were a sign you are going to be where you are meant to be.

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  8. What a gorgeous house, Linda. I wish that this new house brings you peace, love and happiness.

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