......The beginning

     For a few months back in early 2013, Daniel and I tossed around and joked about leaving the area we both have known as home our whole life, South Louisiana, for wide open spaces. I read everything I could about homesteading, gardening, and animal husbandry. I was so excited.

     Then in late 2013, his father fell very ill. He died the day after Christmas 2013. We hadn't spoke of moving after that for a long while. It was a sad time for a solid year. More bad things happen to us then I thought should happen to any one family. I will not go into detail, but trust me, it was rough!
   Enter October 2014. I brought the crazy idea up once again to the husband after a very rough day. To my surprise, he agreed! So my search began!!

     I downloaded an app for my phone from Realtor.com. I looked and looked near our current home. The land here, although rich in soil for growing all sorts of plants, was not "exciting". I mean, it was flat....it was old cane fields......it was boring. And the big thing, it was EXPENSIVE! like $17k an acre!! WHAT?!?!!? My little dream began to unravel. I thought I would never have my little homestead farm.

Our search area

     Then one day my 16 year old daughter, Mamie, came to me with an idea. She is our resident singer and her dream is to be a country music superstar. She asked if we could move close to Nashville. This would help her career and she wouldn't have to move away from us. I told her that it would probably be impossible to find land there and even harder to talk dad into moving so far away. That night we went to him with the idea of Tennessee. He agreed! I couldn't have been happier. Not only a change of way of life, but a whole change in scenery.

     I went back to the Realtor.com app and began my search of Tennessee. Land was still fairly expensive. I looked in north Mississippi too. Still, nothing. Each had something wrong. Price. Location. Size. Zoning. Nothing was standing out. I began to get discouraged.

     One day in November 2014 I went on the app. I put the most impossible search criteria. I figured there was no way this piece of land would even exist:

20+ acres, Under $50k, utilities

The Ad for Property

     Holy Moly!!! I got a hit. In a little town in the south eastern corner of west Tennessee. I found my Eden. A 40 acre plot of land with an old house, rolling hills, and lots of road frontage. I fell in love through pics and Google earth. I showed Daniel. I was so happy that he was just as happy with it as i was. For weeks we stared at the pics, looked up the town, read about the county. Then, in January 2015, we called the realtor. We asked a few questions and then began to discuss with each other the big decision we were about to make.

Our drive 

     We planned a trip. This is no small feat. We have 9 children, 8 that still live at home. There was lots of packing to do. Clothes, food, and even boots in case we wanted to walk the property. I called the realtor that Tuesday February 10, 2015 to set up a time to see him. He informed me that another lady had came to look at it. She had made an offer and it was accepted. We were so sad. We decided to go anyway and look around. We had fell in love with the area after all of our research. We thought there may be other spots. So we left very early that next morning with hopes of a new life beginning.

     The realtor tried for days after our call to get back in touch with the other lady. She wouldn't return calls or texts or even e mails. So we set a time to go see it on that Saturday. We arrived in Savannah, TN around 7pm on Friday. Daniel was anxious to see the property. So, after checking into the hotel, we loaded up and went for a drive. At 8pm on Friday February 13, 2015 we saw our future for the first time. It was dark. but we looked a bit. Excited to see it the next day in the light!!!

     The next morning, no one slept in. Bright and early we had breakfast and dressed for the day. Our meeting at the property was set for 11am. But Daniel was to excited. We went about 10am. When we drove up this time you could see the trees. The kids jumped out the van and disappeared into the thick trees.  Once through the tree line, the property open up to rolling hills. It was dead. No green at all. But all I could see was potential. I saw my pastures. I could hear my cows. I could smell my compost. All my senses were awoken. I knew at that very moment that I was home.

     Now, there was an old house there. Old. Ugly. Ransacked. But, I saw potential in that too. We made our offer and waited. For a whole 15 minutes! Accepted!!!!! For Valentines Day 2015, while my friends got cards, flowers, and dinner, I got LAND!!!!

Shane & Daniel Winters on the new property 2/14/15

     We hope to move in 2016.

Daniel overlooking property

Johnathan on a hill

LAND

a few hills

Elizabeth and a stump