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When we first announced to the world (okay, our little world) that we were buying the farmhouse, I posted a picture and a friend of ours tagged Stephanie in it. She said, "This house looks just like the house I grew up in!" And at that moment...the story began unfolding.
She and I have been corresponding since we made contact that day about everything from the wells on the property to the way you have to put your hip into the interior doors to get them to close just right. It has been a joy to have conversation with Stephanie about the home we have come to love and call our own and to get to know her sweet mama through our talks! We have been saying for the last several months that the next time she was in Adrian, she would have to come visit and this weekend we were able to make that happen! Stephanie, her brother Keith, and Keith's wife Tracy came out to see the farmhouse this afternoon. They brought the aerial image you see above of the farm in the 1970's.
Our girls have been looking forward to meeting Stephanie ever since I told them about her several months ago. Today, it happened. She and Keith walked them through the house and gave them a tour, sharing details of what the house was like in year's past. Mattie showed them her bedroom and closet (and offered to show them again at least four or five times). The wallpaper that Stephanie picked out as a young girl is still in the closet! Claire shared the transformation to her girly bedroom from the one that was Keith's bedroom in high school. Harlee's bedroom wasn't even a room back then...but instead a loft area that overlooked the stairwell. She enjoyed showing off her basketball room and reminding Mr. Farmhouse once again that he still hasn't built her a wall. What a beautiful snowy day to introduce the girls to the adults who grew up here. Thanks for coming out, Highley family. ❤️🏡❤️ 
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January 9th marked our six-month anniversary of our "first night sleeping at the farmhouse". Six months. In some ways, it feels like that was ages ago...and in some ways, it feels like yesterday. Over the snow days (and ice day and really cold wind-chill day) that we had off of school last week, I really reminisced about our time here at the farmhouse so far. I started looking through some of my old blog posts and Instagram photos. One of my most favorite memories for the rest of my life will be from 9:00 at night on the first Saturday night that we slept here. Our minister and his wife came out and prayed over the farmhouse. You can read about it in my blog post from that day...Bless this Mess. Since that warm July night, we have enjoyed family movie nights cuddled in the living room, mornings on the front porch reading our books, pick-up games of basketball out to the north of the house, friends over to BBQ, softball practice out in the yard, and for Thanksgiving we hosted our first TWO family dinners out here. We experienced our first farmhouse Christmas with the girls. We have painted and decorated, Added an upstairs bathroom, Tore down a barn, Added a chicken coop, Purged belongings, Purchased furniture. It has been quite the journey and I know we are nowhere near "finished".
Mr. Farmhouse has been working tirelessly in all of his spare time to get the girls a second bathroom. We paid a buddy of ours to do the rough-in work and plumbing (thanks, Brent!), but Mr. Farmhouse decided he could finish the rest out himself. With lots of help from our dads, we have finished the sheetrock, cement board for the tile, and wiring. Next up is paint, then putting in the vanity & sink, finishing the accent wall with barn wood & metal from the barn that is lying beside our house, the tile work, and installing the toilet & plumbing fixtures.
I finally (almost) finished a room today. The farmhouse bathroom is now (almost) complete. I need to hang a picture of the girls and maybe a few other signs, but for the most part, it is how I want it. So here it comes. The very first "room reveal" for the farmhouse. Try to remember that I had some "help" from a certain 3-year-old while taking the photos. 
One of my favorite things to think about when I'm starting to decorate a room is what details I can add to really make the room "mine". Today, I worked on the office nook. I would say this room is considered "finished", except for whatever I might find in tubs over the next few days. Hopefully I've got it organized enough now that I should be able to categorize any extra items and put them right away.  Some of the details that I really adore about the new farmhouse office nook include the herringbone plank clothespin board, the Rise & Shine sign, and of course, the typewriter Scentsy warmer. I love the Farmhouse caddy sitting by my camera and the wire basket from Dollar General holding all of my Bible study items. My childrens' picture on the "love" picture frame along with the funky desk lamp are both details that I enjoy.
Through the whole process of moving and planning and decorating, I'm trying to remember to take time for the details.
I wanted my office nook to be someplace that I can come each morning to spend time with Jesus. To be able to load and edit photographs for my clients in a peaceful environment. To be inspired in my workspace. To pay attention to the details as I mold the space to fit exactly what I am visualizing in my mind. I wanted to have a refreshing place to create. And I think this farmhouse office nook will be just that place. Sometimes you can't go back to sleep after tucking the three-year-old back into bed at 4:45 a.m. So you decide to do some online window shopping on Hobby Lobby's website. Sometimes you accidentally put some items in your cart. And enter your shipping information. And your payment information. Sometimes your online window shopping turns into actual online shopping. Oops. I had a plan. I was going to do a thing. I was going to BUILD MY OWN FARMHOUSE TABLE for the new house. Seriously. I had pinned all kinds of plans. I had measured and sketched and figured. I had called and priced lumber. I was ready. I was going to build a farmhouse table for like $175. Amazing. And then, I thought I would just check and make sure I couldn't find one for that price online. I checked all over the Internet and NOPE, turns out $175 is the best price for the masterpiece I had planned! And then...Craiglist. I hopped onto Craiglist last weekend just to do a little browsing of any farmhouse tables that might have been around the Greater KC area in the last few months. Just looking for some ideas...some inspiration. That's when I found it.
 We'll be closing on the new house in a few short weeks.
We are looking forward to the memories to be made at the farmhouse, but also excited for the couple who will be purchasing our current home. Our stories line up pretty perfectly. We've known these "kids" for several years and we've always joked with them about how their relationship has really mirrored ours. They were high school sweethearts. They got married young. We share a lot of the same hobbies and our tastes in decor are very similar. So when they contacted us with aspirations to purchase our house, we felt very "at peace" about the whole situation. We decided to pray about it and look at the budget, as we discussed all the possibilities of where we might end up. One possibility was my parents' house, staying in their basement. With three kids. And three dogs. And cows. And chickens. We also talked about buying some land and building a house, but there was the issue of going from a house with three nice big established outbuildings to a property with none. For most of the land we were looking at, we would have to fork out about as much as we will be spending on the farmhouse for the land alone. And we would still have the expense of a house and shop added on top of that. Plus, we have really loved taking this old house we live in now and loving on it to make it our own. The thought of starting with something brand new just didn't really feel like "us" at this point in our lives. We both love the character of older homes, so we were trying to build that character into our house plans which can get pretty costly. So when I was sitting at Claire's softball practice one night and my sister-in-law mentioned her neighbors getting ready to put their house on the market, my heart leapt and a smile began to form on the corners of my lips. After practice, the girls and I drove out there and we fell in love. That's when the dreaming began. The "Bungalow" Pinterest board was created. I started sketching ideas of how to divide up the pasture and yard. I emailed the realtor and set up a showing. I began praying that if this was the house for us, that God would work it out. And He did. In a big way. But that's a story for another day. ❤️ |
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