Well, it’s official.  We are doing it.  We are moving back to the farm and hopefully building our forever home (which I affectionately call “Alabama Acres.”)  This has been a ten-year process and I am so excited to finally get this ball rolling.  Let me give you the back story:

When Justin and I first married, we lived in an 800 square foot apartment above my grandparents’ garage.  It was perfect for us and still really nice when Kyndall was born.  When we started thinking about adding another baby to the mix, we knew we needed something with more space.

My family owns around 400 acres of farmland in Lawrence County, Alabama.  We picked out a great spot to build on, right smack in the middle, between my grandparents and my parents.  We knew we wouldn’t be able to afford to build our forever home at that point in our lives, so we built what would later become our garage.  For the time being, it was perfect.  Wide open layout with a kitchen, living, and utility downstairs and three bedrooms and a bath upstairs.

Fast forward about four years and we started looking at building, again.  This was right around the time the market was dropping and things just weren’t in our favor.  The bank would approve us to buy a house, but not build one.

We happened upon a nice house in town, about four minutes from my work and the girls’ school.  We thought it would be fun to try out subdivision living for a while.  We moved into town and rented out our garage apartment to some friends, and that’s where we’ve been for the last five years.

Add yet another baby to the mix and our family of five is getting a little cramped in our three bedroom home.  After MUCH prayer and conversation, we’ve decided now is the time to go back home.  We want land and space and chickens again.

We’ve sold our house in town (to Justin’s parents, how convenient) and in a little over two weeks will be moving in with my parents.  (Right now, we still have renters in the garage apartment and we want to do some repairs after they move out before we move back in.)

House plans are being drawn, boxes are being packed, and every spare penny is being saved.  (I don’t know if you’ve attempted to build a house lately, but the bank requires a left arm and your firstborn child as downpayment. Be warned.)

I’m so excited about picking out windows and sinks and lighting.  Libby has already requested a chandelier in her bedroom, how fitting.  Kyndall has requested for us to have goats again.

You guys, I can’t wait to document every step of this experience and share it with you!

Updated to add:  Check out our plans here!