February 25th: Last night, we heard the news: the last, seemingly insurmountable, hurdle had been cleared. Three times we have sought appraisals on the house we are selling in Phoenix: at build, when removing PMI and finally for the sale. Each time, until this last, we had been disappointed by the result. And then yesterday we heard the news: the house appraised!
And with that news we are on our way! And it is almost indescribably joyful for me to imagine the idea of driving down the long, beautiful driveway at Bonnie Bourne and being home. Surreal describes it best. What grace to be given the opportunity to become stewards of the farm which has been in my family for over 200 years, to be occupants and owners of the farmhouse my grandfather built himself over 80 years ago on the foundation of a home long since burned down. My mother tells me that a man named Joe Bailey helped build the farmhouse after my grandfather had helped him build his dairy barn up on Mt. Gilead.
To be offered the privilege to own and maintain 40 acres in a time when the rest of the world is gobbling up land at such an alarming pace, well, nothing can compare. We are enormously thankful and humbled by the responsibility of bringing this farm back to life and productivity. Let the adventure continue!