Settling in...

We’re here! A week ago today we closed on our house. The last few days and weeks leading up to the big sale were full of work and apprehension. Getting the house ready to hand over to new owners is a tremendous job which required late nights and thoughts of the unknown about the new place woke us early with the sun. Needless to say, we didn’t sleep much! Receiving the payment for our house was awesome. We were sitting at a restaurant we both grew up eating at and were having lunch with (three of) the kids for their first time there when I checked the account and we found we had received our wire transfer. We paid off half of our debt before we left! The other accounts took time, so those were paid later. At this point our only debt is our home, which is such a great feeling!! I am a bit nervous about it since it happened so fast- I want to keep up good habits and not fall into the same trap as before. Debt is a heavy burden and we never want to be there again. Having a tiny home helps in that when I see things I could purchase I have to ask myself, “Where would that go? Do I really have space for it?” Most often the answer is, of course, “no.”

Three weeks before we closed we decided to go ahead and finance the 5th wheel and begin moving in. Two weeks before the closing, the RV was delivered to our family’s property and we Jeff began digging trenches for septic and fresh water, and a (four foot deep!) hole for the power pole. 

While Jeff worked hard on all of that I spent days packing 3,000 calorie per day backpacking meals for Korbin’s trip to Philmont Scout Ranch in the mountains of New Mexico. When you remove gluten and nuts, it’s quite a challenge to come up with 3,000 calories! On Thursday Korbin left for Philmont. 

On Friday, the power company came and turned on our power. On Saturday we spent the night for the first time! We moved so many boxes of stuff into such a small space- it’s hard to believe it was possible! (Korbin was glad to miss out on the chaos of boxes everywhere!) 

There is really more space in here than I expected. I have some empty drawers and cabinets, although I also have way more boxes to work through. While we got rid of tons of stuff, I knew I was keeping more than I could possibly fit. I wanted to try things out in the space before letting them go. There are some things I thought I needed that I have let go. There are some things I wasn’t sure about that I have kept. It will take us awhile to get it all completed. That’s true with any move, but I hope to not ever move anything I don’t need or use or love again.

Within a week of moving in our lawnmower broke. While we have a tractor on the property, most of the spaces that we walk through require a lawnmower to keep trimmed. The grasses here are tall, so that is a priority. 

Upon testing the water, I found it is not good to drink. There is a bacteria in the water, so we will clean the well very soon and see where that leads. For now we are drinking and brushing our teeth with bottled water. 

The plug for our dryer does not match the outlet, so we are currently hanging our clothes on the line outside. :)

When Jeff called the local internet service provider, he was informed that there are no available pairs (dsl lines) to service our street. There is no internet. I am currently typing on a word processing program to upload when I go visit a wifi hotspot. The other challenges that poses are Netflix streaming, WiiU online gameplay, DS online gameplay, and our other devices we used with a wireless network such as the iPad, iPods, and printer will not function in the same way. We are still searching out options, but have been spoiled as an employee family of AT&T getting a discount on multiple services. We are out of AT&T’s service area now, and their wireless hotspot doesn’t offer the amount of data we “need.” Jeff and I have data plans on our phones, but that is all we have for the moment. Korbin came home Sunday. He took the internet news very well. Before he left I know that everyone was online way too much. Definitely not a problem now.

I feel like we are adjusting very well to the new space. The kids share a room and a bathroom. They get along so well, I couldn’t ask for more. I often hear them laughing and having fun together. When issues come up, we are so close to them we are able to step in and address the situation swiftly. We didn’t notice the purposeful bad behaviors as much because they were further from us physically. Lacey enjoys working in the garden most mornings, while Kailyn has taken on caring for the goats and taking Duchess on walks around the property. What makes the kids’ room more crowded is that the cat, who usually uses the potty outside, is too afraid to venture out still, so uses the litter box in the kids’ tiny bathroom. The dog has always slept with the girls in their room, so we placed her bed in the kids’ room as well. I have always enjoyed small spaces. When we visit hotel rooms, I relish in organizing and keeping tidy during our stay. Messes are quick to remedy in a small space, but I still haven’t found “homes” for everything yet. Little by little, things are finding their forever homes. Last night was our first major issue. Jeff was ladling a bowl of HOT soup at the stove when Lacey swung open the refrigerator door right into his bowl. He had a couple of pretty nasty burns from that. :( 

Yesterday we set up the shed we brought from our house. It was getting dark and I had to leave when we finished, so I’m eager to get out there today and organize what Jeff was able to put in there! I am hoping to do a video tour of the RV and post on our YouTube page very soon. I’d like to tidy up a little bit more, first. ;) I also hope to update more often, now that I have a laptop with a word processing program. We have plenty of projects and new adventures planned this summer!!