If you follow me on facebook or instagram you likely already know the news. We are moving! We have been in this home for 3 years, but we have always had in the back of our mind that we would move again for the right property. Acres. With high speed internet. Rural, but accessible to the airport for my husband who travels on business. We have always felt uncomfortable with people right there when we are in the garden. We are lucky that we actually have great neighbors that we love to chat with, but it still feels like a fishbowl. 

From February to June this year we had constant issues with my older son's health. The mast cells are wreaking havoc and his body is reacting and responding to everything. Over a few months he had a biopsy, 2 MRIs, a few scopes, a dozen blood draws, and an urgent care visit. We have some answers and we have been making changes via foods and herbs to support him ongoing -  but all of that pretty much reinforced the idea that we need a place where we can settle in for the long haul and where we can just work together as a family. A home that works for us now, and will work for us with adult child or children still living at home. We found one home that was amazing and after a hectic week we discovered the owner used an open house to push an existing accepted offer - and we just wasted time even trying. 

About a week after that we were in a small town 40 minutes east and I half heartedly mentioned a house I saw that was nearby - should we drive by? We drove past and immediately called the realtor for a showing the next day. We have been wary of homes that have been lived in since mu son and I react to everything people have used in the home - cleaners, detergents, plug-ins, air fresheners, you name it. But we were in the house for an hour without any reaction. It was spotless, well maintained (anal retentively, almost, which is good). The only house you can *see* when standing anywhere on the property is almost a mile away (there are closer neighbors, but there is a large wooded area of pines, so we cannot see them). Glorious. We put in an offer before we had even listed our house and it was accepted. 

We had a frantic week of packing half of everything we own to stage the house for the realty photographer and an open house. The house was listed on that Thursday and on Sunday the open house happened. On Wednesday we had an offer and our house was sold (we have amazing realtor team too). I am not much of a woo person, but I have always felt if something is too hard it wasn't meant to happen. This came together perfectly because it is what we need at this time. 

We had high speed internet tested  - and it is indeed high speed. The well was tested and it is deep and clean. We had the house inspected and it is not only beautiful, but in great condition. While I can't wait to update the kitchen cabinets and light fixtures throughout the house (a little country for me), it has real wood floors, floor to ceiling windows in the living room with views for miles (literally). It also has a full lower level that can be used as classroom (!!) and business space now and will be a perfect an A apartment if he needs it in the future. 

We only have a month to now pack and move. A month or so is plenty of time to make big plans. We want chickens. Greenhouses. Extensive medicinal herb gardens and integrated layered permaculture systems throughout. There is a forest side - perfect for medicinal woodland plants, and plenty of flat space for serious expansion of growing. The property also already has fruit trees, restored grasses and prairie areas, and it is on a road with only 3 other homes, next door to horses. It is also zoned rural so no HOA. Plenty of room to grow food and herbs and have fresh air and sunshine. 

Being in this home for a few years has been a good step for us, but we are ready to make the move to better match our lifestyle and to make a better day to day for all of us. We have been waiting and working for many years wanting big open skies, huge views, green rolling hills, and land of our own. It is time.

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In late April, we moved from the far side of our city to a small outlying town on the far opposite side of our metro area. We moved from one green built home to another, but the landscape couldn't be more different for moving only 19 miles. We moved from a 1536 square foot home on a lot that was under 3000 square feet (including driveway, sidewalks, etc.). We moved to a bit larger home (better suits our work at home/homeschooling/kids moving closer to teens) with the total lot size more than three times the size of our last home. Our square footage is still less than "average", but after living in such a small space for so long, it feels huge to us. A big part of the change though really is the landscape. 

The views are amazing. We are atop a hill and surrounded by fields on 3 sides. The birds swoop and sing. The grasses and wildflowers sway in the breeze. The storms roll through and we can see rain from dozens of miles away. The lightning! At night it is quiet and the moon and stars are so so clear. The sunsets are stunning. 

It is a great feeling to move from the bottom of a hill where neighbors walking by would wave at us through the windows to a panorama of rolling hills, swaying grasses and wildflowers, distant silos, and so much quiet. I stand outside every single night looking at that sky. We open windows wide at night and peer through our telescope to see moon, stars, and even birds landing on thistles far across a field. 

We were waiting for our base landscaping grass to establish before we started working on our new permaculture beds and plantings. I am happy we had time to sit here and feel the winds, see how much sun we get, and observe the wildlife. It will help us create a more balanced garden for this environment. And now I also know that we need a place to lay down and look at the stars. 

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