litte white housecountry living

It’s been ten years since we’ve house shopped. Six years since we lived in a house we weren’t renting. And now that our debt is paid off we are saving up for our next house. We love our community, the people at our church are dear to us–my husband works there part time, and after six years we have those deep friendships that only come with staying in one place. We’d prefer not to start over.

mulberry farmmulberry hill

But we also have a hazy dream…

It has to do with having a little gathering place. To me it’s a place to have the a Big Sale with Angela without having to squeeze you all into a little rented clubhouse. It’s a place where we have a swap meet, a place where we bring Mandie in and she teaches us how to paint furniture, Kristi comes and teaches us slipcover making, we get together and do crafts. Reeve can come sing and there’s room to listen.  I’ve done most of this at my house already. But I’d rather have a dedicated place for people, for you to come so we can hang out. And maybe have a white peacock or two roaming around. And in my dream it’s in the mountains which is not where we live currently which completely contradicts another part of my dream. Like I said, the dream is hazy.

To my husband it’s a place for all that but also a place for him to do a little more intensive listening, a place where he can teach a parenting series or pastor people without having to work for a church, a place for our family to be together, a place with a pond so he can duck hunt.

To both of us, it’s also a place to live.

barndelight by design

My parents have a similar dream. So we’ve been wondering if maybe we can combine them. We’re even hoping my sister‘s family could find some kind of use for something like this one day.

gatebabylonstoren

Our dream location would be somewhere close enough to where we currently are, north of Charlotte, NC that we could still be a part of our community, somewhere close enough to an ice rink that it’s less than an hour drive, somewhere with more than five acres, with a house or two, with another structure on it so we can use that for gatherings. All of our criteria is barely possible to find together so we know we’ll need to be open to change and our dream has changed a lot over the past few years and I’m guessing it will continue to change. The only difference now is we are nearer being in the position to make it happen

Lastly, as I get ready to hit publish I realize I’m nervous. I’ve been nervous all week with all the stuff I’ve shared but this one surprises me. Why would I be nervous to share this? It’s tells me how near and dear this dream is to me.

Today is the third post in a series: Things You Might Not Know About Me. Previous posts: Becoming Debt Free & Six Odd Tips That Helped Us Pay Off $150,000,  Nice to Meet You: My Real Name

Now it’s your turn, what’s your dream?