Updates - Settling a new home (Written in April '17)

As I was talking to a professional colleague while traveling this week she pointed out I hadn't posted anything to the blog in a while.  It's been a whirlwind six months for my family and I.  We spent the summer last year chasing the idea that it might be nice to live outside of town with a little space.  We ventured through at least a dozen homes, mostly old farm houses outside of the Ames city limits.  When we had started to lose hope of finding anything and were shifting our thoughts towards the slow progression of getting updates done to our house in Ames, several more listings popped up, and we found "the one" and made a fast offer.  October through December was busy with lining up flooring installations, countertops and other needed repairs and updates all mixed in with the chaos of the holidays.

Come mid-January, immediately after my being in DC for work travel for a week, we moved with the help of a small army, into a farm house over 100 years old.  It wasn't any old farm house, as it had been thoroughly renovated in the mid-90s to add several additions including a three car attached garage.  The property is great, three acres even, four miles south of ISU campus, with the house and a big pole barn and the loveliest sunrises and sunsets you've seen across the Iowa farm fields. 

The beginning of the year found us adjusting to our new normal.  Careful scheduling of activities so we weren't running back and fourth to town all the time.  Learning the timing of running the kids to school in the mornings, figuring out after school schedules so everyone was rounded up at the same time or by a second parent or extended community of ours to get everyone back home again.  We also got the kids officially open enrolled in the Ames school district to keep some continuity in the kids routines.

Three months in, we are finally getting a handle on things, but with both Joe and I traveling for work in March and April scheduling remains a complicated dance.  The last part of this puzzle is figuring out the right moves to get our Ames home off the payroll.  Yes it is still listed, no we haven't had an offer despite a dozen other homes in the neighborhood going sale pending.  Ames is a pretty aggressive, constantly changing housing market but our "Ames house" still sits there empty.  I continue to go over to make improvements like paint touch up, cleaning up flower beds and putting down mulch before racing to the airport for a work trip.

Because of our haste to secure the farmhouse in a very aggressive acreage market we used a VA loan since we wouldn't have a down payment until we sold our other house which wasn't even on the market until right before New Years.  I believe we will sell soon, but all of this hasn't been without stress so as I wrap up this post I ask you to send positive thoughts out into the universe to bring our house a new family to make it home SOON!  We miss our old neighbors, but we don't miss the old house.  Needless to say the whole endeavor has been exhausting but I'm pretty sure we wouldn't change a thing.  Thank you to our family and friends who helped us make it happen. Stay tuned for adventures in chickens, and until next time thanks for reading.