Well folks, it took 10 more years but we made it to our new homestead in Virginia! I still can't believe it and am so afraid I will wake up and it will still be just a dream! We had a bit of a problem getting the moving truck up the mountains (we had a lot of stuff!!), but all arrive safe and sound. I can't believe that we are so blessed to live in such a beautiful place! Everyone has been so nice and helpful here and we have a wonderful neighbor who came and mowed the lawn for us and brought us tomatoes from thier garden.

On the downside, the house turns out to need re-wiring and the barn and chicken coop sure are a L-O-N-G way from the house (gosh, I was certain that I remembered it closer..LOL) and will be a trek in the winter, but the scenery and the rest make up for it. We will just tighten our belts and have the house re-wired and downgrade our choice for a tractor. Figured we could get a used riding mower and rototiller and the tractor can come later (we won't be putting in hay or anything until next year--or so)-- safe wiring is a must...or the barn won't be so far away because we will be living in it when the house burns down!

I got up before dawn yesterday and had coffee on the porch and watched the sun come up over the mountain and listened to the roosters crowing on the farm down the road. I prayed that the good Lord would never let me take all this for granted. There was a time not so many weeks before, that I would have given anything for a homestead just like this! I keep wondering what I did in life to deserve such a wonderful place when so many good people would give anything for just an acre in the country ANY WHERE! It was especially hard for us because we had our little homestead before and had to leave and go back to the city due to the illness of my mother and, believe me, it is easy to move from the city but it is painful to go back to the city from the country! After my mom passed away we had every intention of going back, but life just took over and we finally just got to a point when we had to say "now or never" and just do it all again. I am so glad we did!

I know this is rambling on but I just wanted to encourage those of you who think the homestead dream is just out only a dream and can't happen for you. It can!! You just have to say, "do it" and find some "creative" ways to make it happen and to work at it to make it happen. Money doesn't have to hold you back. We have found some pretty unique ways to make it all happen when you get determined to some how just make it happen!

One last word, thank you so much my forum friends for your encouragement and good wishes to make it all happen for us! I don't think we could have mustard up the courage to do it without you. Getting later in life we found we just didn't have the courage we did when we were young and didn't know better! Somewhere we lost our sense of adventure and opted for the bank accounts and 401K plans! Thanks for the reality check and helping us find ourselves all over again! Of course we are now officially dead broke like most homesteaders...but found life instead! Hummm...not a bad trade off after all!

-- Karen (db0421@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001

Answers

Thank you, Karen, for holding up the mirror for me. We moved to our homestead 2 1/2 years ago and I feel the same way that you do. It was a long time coming but worth the effort. Like you, there is not a day that goes by that I don't stop what I am doing, look around and thank the Lord for the blessings.

I know that it would be very difficult if not impossible to move back to the city!

Congratulations to you and best wishes for a very happy homesteading life. Doug

-- Doug in KY (toadshutes@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

Oh Karen, how very wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing!!! I remember so well that feeling of "how ever did I deserve some place as wonderful as this" when we finally were able to move onto our land after being in the city. I have moved from country to city several times for several different reasons and find it mostly impossible to discribe the feelings of gratitude and joy that I feel to be allowed to live were I do today, on our little homestead.

Wishing you the best and hoping that you are able to enjoy each day of your journey in the process of homesteading.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

Thanks for such an encouraging letter..just days ago I found myself near tears and very frustrated..we are trying to get moved to a homestead in So.Ky (been trying 4 yrs). Sometimes it seems impossible..my pastor told me this week.."if it is difficult, then the Lord is probably in it" meaning that the harder we try the better we will appreciate it and respect it when we do get moved. It was so inspiring to see in print..your faith in the Lord. His grace is beyond words..Thanks again I need to read this as I start another VERY HOT HUMID day in Fl. Makes getting the house ready to sell next to impossible..Sandi

-- sandi in Fl. (msjazt@aol.com), August 18, 2001.

Karen, welcome to the beautiful mountains of Virginia! I think this is absolutely the most beautiful area in the US. Oops, I'd better hush, or we'll be crowded out!

No, we dont deserve the good things we get in life. That's why we should be thankful. It's called grace. :^)

-- daffodyllady (daffodyllady@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

Karen, Congratulations!! I am sooooo happy for you, AND jealous! Please remember to always remain thankful for your gift and love the land and the life it harbors.

-- debra in ks (windfish@toto.net), August 18, 2001.

You go girl there's nothing better than a cup of coffee and a country sunrise. I wish you much happiness. Sherry

-- sherry (chickadee259@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

Congratulations on getting to move to your property!!!! We only have 13 acres and it's too near civilization to suit me but it's OURS and we have our animals and it's wonderful!

I wish you peace and happiness and much joy!!!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), August 18, 2001.

Karen--Thank you so much for letting us share in your joy. I wish you many blessings and hope that your homestead is productive, and that it will truly be a HOMEstead.

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), August 18, 2001.

Congratulations on finally getting there!! Now, its not impossible to move barns. Just something for you to think about once you get settled and your wiring straightened out.If not this yrear, maybe in the future.

-- Kate henderson (kate@sheepyvalley.com), August 18, 2001.

Oh Karen..thank you so much for the story..I could just picture you on the porch with the coffee and scenery! We too are homesteading..and most would think we would be depressed at all that is still to be done...me, I am just so thankful to God for allowing my husband and I to live here..I try to never take it for granted...even when things are tough. I hope you enjoy your homestead and all the experiences that come with it! Sher

-- Sher in southeast Iowa (riverdobbers@webtv.net), August 18, 2001.

Congratulations, Karen. I am still far from having my own homestead (I'm a hostage in the city, chained here by school debt), but one day I hope to have a little piece of green heaven under a blue sky in the country, just like yours. It's stories like yours that keep people like me from letting go of their dreams. Thank you for sharing, you've made my day.

-- Emily Jane (emilyjanejenkins@hotmail.com), August 18, 2001.

Congratulations Karen! Watching the sun come up in the Country sounds like Heaven to me! We are waiting suppose to close on our land Sept. 4th! Maybe it won't be too awfully long before we can do the same thing! Enjoy!!

-- Brenda in NC (CherokeeMaiden2@aol.com), August 18, 2001.

Congrats and I have to agree with daffodyllady, you picked about the best spot in the world! My old stomping grounds. I compare only the most beautiful spots here in Missouri as reminding me of the mountains of Virginia. Enjoy!

-- Susan (smtroxel@socket.net), August 18, 2001.

Karen, Congratulations on your move! Thank you for sharing your good news with us. Reading this helped to brighten up a bad day. (We lost our 2 goats this morning for no apparent reason.) Thanks again and best wishes for a hapy life in the country.

-- Murray in ME (lkdmfarm@megalink.net), August 18, 2001.

Karen and Sandi, thanks for the hope. The Lord says that He fills the desires of our hearts and I've been waiting an awful long time. Somehow, even though my hubby has looked at places and talked about it , when it really comes down to it I think he is afraid to leave the security of the city.

Me, I know if I've got land I can make do with whatever is available. I've been there and done that.

Ya'll pray that God will make a way for us when there seems not to be a way at all. I'm homesick for the country.

-- stephanie nosacek (pospossum@earthlink.net), August 18, 2001.

Congratulations Karen! We live in Virginia too, although not in the mountains. We've been homesteading for 16 years now--love it! Best wishes to you!

-- Sharon (spangenberg@hovac.com), August 19, 2001.

Karen, Congratulations! I can imagine you sitting on the porch with your coffee enjoying the sunrise and the mountains. We are also looking to move to SW Virginia as soon as we can. We are living in Florida now and the heat, humidity, bugs and particularly the growth and lack of freedom to use your own property the way you want has convinced us to move. Even though we have 15 acres, its a struggle to do what we would like between the weather, government restrictions and expense of living here. Because of the West Nile Virus, we are not going to be subjected to aerial spraying of a highly toxic pesticide in the next week and I am absolutely dreading it. And things will only get worse here in Florida. So, we feel its time to move on. We have been looking at western parts of Virginia and are hoping that is where we end up. So, if anyone knows of someone who likes hot weather and might like to purchase an organic lawn fertilizing company in beautiful hot northern Florida, let me know. That's our main tie holding us here. But do enjoy your new place and hope that each morning will be as special to you as your first morning. I do agree that if we have to work harder to get something or accomplish something that we enjoy it so much more. Best of luck and enjoyed your writing.

-- Sherry S. (natmatters@mail.istal.com), August 20, 2001.

Karen: That trek to the barn and chicken coop is the frugal equivalent of a big city exercise gym. I use that long trek for prayer while I lift my buckets like freeweights. Im sure it amuses those who drive by...

-- Ann Markson (tngreenacres@hotmail.com), August 20, 2001.

One thing to consider before moving to S.E. Kentucky is the water supply. The place we have is on a old strip mine. The well water is very brackish, and needs to be heavily filtered to drink. Just something to ponder, depending on where you move to.

-- Uriah (Uriahdeath2@netscape.net), August 21, 2001.

Karen, You sound so happy! I wish you the best of luck in your new home. You will probably get used to the barn being far from the house. Having grown up on a farm, we had a trek to all our outbuildings. You learn to dress warm and build up good endurance from using a snow shovel!

-- amy (acook@in4web.com), August 21, 2001.

From one Virginian to another, welcome to Virginia. I, too, like the state although I have to admit getting through July and August can sometimes try my northern upbringing just a tad. But the rest of the year makes up for it. Congratulations on your final move. How wonderful to be back to the country. What part of Virginia are you in? We are in Stafford which is just above Fredericksburg and below Quantico.

-- Colleen (pyramidgreatdanes@erols.com), August 22, 2001.