The Cabin

The story of the cabin.

So, let’s see- where did we leave off? Ah yes- leaving Joplin and the Kansas City House.

Let’s back things up.

As I shared in my Kansas City house post- we knew in the summer of 2020 that we would not be staying where we were. And so we started talking about land and moving and how exactly we could make things happen.

And then I found out I was pregnant at the beginning of August. Which, promptly put a halt to all of our plans.

We figured, it wasn’t the right time, we were being told to stay put, and started planning for a home birth, in our Kansas City living room for April 2021.

And then we lost our baby at the end of August.

To me, that was all I needed to say- let’s get this show on the road and get the heck out of this house. So we really started searching. Perusing listings. Driving out to land. Constantly talking about it.

The trickiest part though- was that I didn’t want to sell my house without knowing where I was going.

And (as y’all know by now) as soon as ANY land came on the market, especially with a house already built on it, it was under contract the same day, usually with multiple cash offers.

We definitely couldn’t compete with that with a contingent offer. Even though we were confident that our home would sell quickly- it simply wasn’t fast enough.

Around the beginning of October (so we had been hunting and looking for all of September at this point) I was ready to quit. It wasn’t happening- the market was only getting crazier and what we wanted simply didn’t exist.

And then Jim found this weird log cabin, with the land we wanted and the price we needed and…..why was it still on the market?

So, he sent an inquiry to the listing agent and she replied that “the house was coming off of the market this weekend because the home owners weren’t letting her have any showings”

Jim thought that was kind of weird. So, (without telling me, lol) he decided to send a letter to the home owners. He wrote a letter and mailed it to their address. Basically saying something like, “I understand your house is coming off of the market, but if you ever decide to sell for sale by owner- give me a call, I’d be interested in purchasing your home”

Guess who gave him a call a few days later.

I’ll never forget- in the middle of October, I was taking a shower one evening when Jim’s voice piped up and said, “soooo I might have done something”

He told me all about the letter and the phone call with the owner and the listing and that he was going to go see it in person to see if we should move forward with things.

It turns out, the realtor and the seller had a falling out- the realtor signed some things she wasn’t supposed to…the sellers wanted out of the contract…the realtor told them not for $$$… so the sellers removed all of the keys from the lock box……

and somehow, Jim’s letter arrived just before the listing expired and the house went back on the market- where it would have been snatched up immediately because of it’s price and land (over 5 acres!)

I’ll tell you this though, for as shady as the realtor might have been- she did THE WORK with the listing photos.

Because they didn’t give her anything to work with, and she still made it happen.

So anyway, Jim saw the house in person. Then brought us out to look at it.

And I was like, well this is terrifying but so is where we currently are, and I feel a little like the waters are parting and guiding us right here, soooo let’s just do it.

So we did.

We put our house on the market in the middle of October and it sold in one weekend.

And then I found out I was pregnant again at the end of October. Surprise!

New plan: log cabin home birth in June 2021.

We closed on this house mid-November and pulled out nearly everything inside of it (progress/updated photos coming in a blog post soon!) and moved in a few days before Christmas 2020.

The above photos were the listing pictures where the realtor really did THE MOST.

The photos below are the reality.

And my first trimester brain can still remember the smell of it all.

Was this totally crazy?

Yes, yes it was.

Did God answer my prayers?

Yes, yes He did.

We now live on 5+ acres, away from the city, with a shed and a giant garden. We’ve added more cats and chickens- and that new baby boy.

Each day, we turn this place a little bit more into a home and a little bit like us.

And we had it appraised again in the summer of 2021 and it had already doubled in value over what we bought it for, so….all in all, not the worst decision we have ever made.

Even though we did have to replace the roof….and the septic system that broke and overflowed and flooded the basement and then had to be connected to the city sewer…and the fireplace….and the air conditioning…and the heating….and the flooring….and the plumbing….and the kitchen….and well, you get the idea.

Psalm 118:5
When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.

He placed our family exactly where we needed to be, exactly when we needed to be. Not at all how I wanted, thought, or expected it to happen- in any way, shape, or form. But I’m still grateful.

We all are.