The Beginning of A Dream

Time is up! For most of our family, many of you already knew bits and pieces, but these clues might have been harder to solve for those who are not as familiar with our house and home.

For years, Ken and I have had an ongoing vision to find a fantastic piece of land, and later build our dream home on it. Who doesn't have that dream? Recently, we have become more serious about the pursuit, spending more time on real estate web sites scoping out local land for sale. In the search process, it became very clear that trying to find land in our very popular suburban county, would be a challenge, especially in our own booming town. The alternatives were not appealing. Moving far enough north or east to get the land we wanted at a nice price, would mean uprooting church roots and friendships we had grown to really appreciate. Not a reasonable trade off.

So for the last two years, on a weekly to bi-monthly basis, I would revisit the real estate sites to see if by some great miracle 10 acres was available for sale in our area. At the same time, the mental debate of giving up the dream for a nice house on a 1/2 acre lot circled in our heads. We did find a couple properties with acreage, but they were poor choices for undeniable reasons.

Then this January, during a late night search, I stumbled upon a horse farm that sat on 12 acres of pasture available for sale by owner. There were no pictures listed online, but a trip to Google Earth was enough to peak our interest. The location was remarkably close to home. Within 5 minutes!!!! Tucked away on a dead end cul de sac with 5 other horse farms, and adjacent to a city protected creek and greenway, the farm sat in an area that would never be touched by other developers.

We found ourselves soon making arrangements to visit the property one cold winter January afternoon. The house was two houses connected together. The original 3 bedroom ranch was built in the 1970's. When the owners purchased the property in 1998, they added another 4 bedroom house onto the ranch, and refinished the old house. I immediately began calculating the advantages I would have as a busy homeschooling mother with a growing family: two kitchens, two laundry rooms, space, separation of school and home, closets and more space.


The house was in good shape and simply needed a fresh slap of paint on the wall, a bit of patching, quite a bit of landscaping, and a lot of TLC. I think I might have taken a box with a hole in it. It was the land that stole my heart almost immediately. The scene of horses grazing in the pastures, our children running from paddocks to kitties to new adventures around the next corner, and the character of the unique old barn. It was beautiful, and full of promise.


We spent a couple more weeks researching the property, getting others' feedback on the property, and consulting the Lord in prayer. We wanted to be good stewards, and purchasing this property would mean going from completely debt free, back into debt for five years. We prayed for the Lord to open doors, and I specifically asked for the Lord to make it incredibly clear to me that we were making a wise decision by seeking this property.

One day, while driving the kids around town and thinking over the farm, I wondered how God might reveal His will. For a split second, I entertained the thought that another pregnancy would be the clearest sign in my mind's eye that the Lord approved. Four children would instantly cramp the two children's bedrooms. As quick as it came, I erased the thought, scolding myself for being so foolish.

One week later, I was late, and a pregnancy test revealed, we were expecting, quite unexpectedly, our fourth child. The Lord heard my foolish heart. Walking into the room with the test behind my back, I asked Ken, "Remember the confirmation I was looking for?...I think we have it." Surprised, he took the test from my hand and looked at the results. All we could do is shake our heads and laugh at each other in disbelief. I had only experienced one cycle since weaning Faith, and the Lord had decided it was time to add another blessing to our family.

Shortly thereafter, we began negotiations on the house. An inspection last week revealed that the owner, who was a builder and had built his own home, had done an excellent job. The building was sound and in good shape. With the sun shining for the first time down on the property, the land looked more inviting than ever. Negotiations were finalized before the inspection, and the results of the inspection added the last confirmation we needed to know that the decision was sound.

In three weeks we will close. It is hard to believe that we are three weeks away from a dream that seemed almost impossible to achieve. And yet, it was under our noses the whole time. The Lord has been so sweet to us. He has reminded us in a very kind way that nothing is impossible with the Lord.

What's Behind Door Number Four?

While you are in deep discussions over yesterday's clue, I will unfurl a single clue in reference to the second life changing event that awaits our family.
I will avoid the spoiler, and wait to add the label for this post later. :)

A Smudge of a Clue

Ken and I have a fun word we use. You've heard of the word "smidge"? Well, if you want a lot of a smidge we call it a "smudge". So here is a smudge of a clue regarding our first life changing event that is about to land square on the shoulders of the Knucker Hatch household. We are all buzzing with excitement and anticipation over the following...

If the first picture isn't enough of a smudge, this ought to help move speculations along...Whatever you do, DO NOT look at the label for this post. SPOILER ALERT.

Too late. You looked, didn't you.

What Is In Your Front Yard?

While you are waiting for the revelation of family secrets to arrive, I thought I'd provide some amusing entertainment that had our house in a big to-do last Friday. It all started with an afternoon phone call:

"Hi! It's Jennie's mom. I just had to call you and tell you about this bird that was in your yard. I drove by your house on the way to the store and it was standing by the pond. And then, twenty minutes later, as I was returning, it was still in your yard! You've got to check and see if it is still there. You won't believe it."

Upon that intriguing news, Faith and I removed ourselves from a laundry folding marathon and headed to the dining room window that faced the pond. For two quick seconds I saw him, looking very smug as he stood over the small pond. And then he saw me, and decided it would be wise to fly to safety on a neighbor's roof.


Unbelievable. It really took my breath away. We had an enormous four foot tall Blue Heron grabbing fast food from our tiny pond. In a span of two seconds, it all made sense. The missing fish, one here, one there over the last two years that would completely vanish. The flag stones lining the pond that I would find in complete disarray. It wasn't the work of a mischievous cat, or even a hawk...it was most likely a heron. How in the wide world he found our 4ft x 2ft pond, escapes me.

But the size of our three gigantically fat 9 inch long goldfish in our pond, did not escape him. They didn't stand a chance. The heron had more than a satisfying meal, devouring the two largest fish. In fact, I have witnesses! Our neighbors, upon seeing me inspect the damage, came over to tell their big fish story of how they saw the heron catch an orange fish, and how they tried to scare him away from the pond.

And so we have one fish left. The poor girl. All by her lonesome, and too scared to come out from underneath the one protective rock she can hide under. In the spring, we'll head back to Walmart, to cheer her up with some more company. Hopefully, by then, the heron will be more interested in bigger waters. But bigger fish?? I have a feeling we were his trip to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for the year.

This picture was taken three years ago...with the lone survivor sporting the white and orange markings (only now she's 5 inches more plump and tasty).