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Friday, November 30, 2012

Spread my arms and just fall

The morning husband was fired, he went and retrieved his tools. His ex boss said to him that since we were going to fall off a cliff, it would be better to fall now, rather than later. (And a bunch of other pandering psychology bs in an attempt to make Husband feel guilty)

Husband walks in, looks at me and smiles.

"Now I will spread my arms and just fall"

I don't think I have been prouder of the man. He scooped me up, hugged me tight and said, let's do it.

Get your minds out of that city gutter. He was talking about buying the property that we were quickly falling in love with. We had planned to do this slowly. To put some money down, have time to tie up any loose ends, and put in notice at work, that six months down the line Husband would need to be replaced. Well when an. . . I decided to censor myself, as this girl isn't worth my time. And since the boss decided that we apparently deserve to have our heads loped off when we were in trouble because of the wreck, Husband decided that we should buy it now.

The next morning, beef, the tractor, a car, and scrap metal was sold. As we are missing a month of pay, we need some of it to keep us alive. The rest is enough to send to the property owner to hold the land for us.

We are not afraid of hard work. We survived off of telemarketing and shoveling horse manure. We know that we are leaving everything we know behind, even the great State of Kansas. Yes, you read that correctly. We are leaving Kansas. We love the prairie, but the prairie no longer loves us.

We will be homesteading on virgin land. No well, no electricity, no house, no fences. The terrain is foreign to us. We will no longer be flat landers. We are going into the Appalachian foothills, 14 hours away from the Neophyte Homestead.

We discussed it over with all three boys. Large shrugs and says cool. Medium gets excited about tree houses. And Small, oh my darling Small is stoked about black bears. They understand that Christmas will be tight this year (I am still paying it forward and sending what I can to my adopted family) and they have asked for very little. But if things truly work out, next Christmas they will be sledding down real hills, decorating a Christmas tree outside of our window, and all of us happy and warm in a land of milk and honey. Ok a holler, close enough.

The land is perfect for three boys. Everything you dream of, trees and snakes, caves and bears, creeks and lizard, hills and beavers. We will be within a short distance of some of my closest homesteading blogger friends, so don't be surprised when my projects start popping up on other blogs and vice versa.

I realize that some people will cringe at the idea of taking off with little money. They may think we should stay, find more work and leave when we are financially sound. Unfortunately, the prices of things keep going up and wages go unchanged. We could stay, and find ourselves trapped in that finical loop and never make it out. When we first left home as young adults we took that same huge risk. We jumped, and we landed. Most of us never returning home. Some times your life requires another huge jump. Husband and I have always landed upright.

We will struggle in the beginning. And after talking to our parents, and with their joyful blessings, we know that this is going to be the grandest of adventures.

Here is your sneak peek. . . Just spread my arms and fall



36 comments:

small farm girl said...

I can't wait!!!!!! Nice pictures! :)

Phelan said...

Thank you. I just hope the person I stole them from never finds out. That might be bad ;)

mizdeb said...

So happy for you and your family! Never a dull moment with you guys. Lol have you found out anything about medical facilities to help you along with your leg? Blessings

Phelan said...

Dull? No, although sometimes I do wish for it. :D there are physical therists in the area, plus Husband was a sports therapist in a previous life. He is the one that actually does most my therapy now, as our insurance is exhausted and we can't pay for three sessions a week. Lucky for me my PT rocks and helps us when he can for free. Update on all that later.

Catherine said...

I'm sure small Farm girl told you about my reaction (I think I burst her eardrums, squealing in delight!) Can't wait to meet you in person...and we'll have to see what your Appalachian neighbors can do about Christmas for all of you

Sandy Livesay said...

Phelan,

What a beautiful place you have there. I can see plenty of fishing trips for the boys up by the water.
I'm very very happy for you and your husband.

Phelan said...

Catherine, I was thrilled to find out you were so close as well! I have always been a big fan of yours. I am going to be surrounded by so many wonderful people! I can't wait to met you guys in person!

Sandy, oh yes. The boys are excited about fishing when they want and learning to be trappers. :) so much different than the flatlands.

HermitJim said...

Looks like things are coming together!

Boy, I envy you in a way! I'm hoping that things continue to rock along smoothly (or as smoothly as possible!)...

Great place to start over!

MamaHen said...

Hey, sounds like ya'll are heading my way, sorta! lol! This region is beautiful, and I believe, a bit easier to garden in, so you will be ecstatic about that. If you are anywhere sorta close we will try to lend a helping hand too.

Phelan said...

Jim, it does! And I hope so too. I think this will be a wonderful thing for my family.

Rex, I emailed you.

Felinae said...

Phelan, it's beautiful! Oh, I am so excited for you all. :)

you will be close to small farm girl? if so, give her a big hug from me.

I'm sitting here doing the happy dance for you guys, I love when good things come together for good people.

Hugs & Love to you and yours
~Fel~

Phelan said...

Fel, I will be close enough to give her a hug from you several times a day. :D

Warlock Sundance said...

good deal.

JMD said...

Oh my, that is beyond beautiful. Glad you aren't going to let the situation keep you from your dream.

Never give up!

carol anne said...

For what it's worth, I think there's something romantic about hard work and struggle. Not sure where in the Appalachians you're moving so I"ll just say welcome to the East Coast-ish area. Good luck! I hope your little family loves their new home and wish you much success.

Judy said...

Things look like they are looking up! I'm excited for you!

Robbyn said...

My idea of paradise...and so rooting you on!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I understand completely! My husband got fired and I only make $30-$100 a month. We have been struggling, but we have lived our whole 4 married yrs in a camper and hating it. But we decided that we are going to finish clearing our land, put our camper on it, start our farm and call it home. We also live in a holler in the Appalachian mountains, WNC and we love it!! Your property looks very familiar! ! Go for it, and soak it up!!

DFW said...

That piece of property looks beautiful! What an adventure lies ahead of you. How exciting. Be glad you are still young & will be able to enjoy the journey.

Good luck, have fun! Can't wait for future posts. When do you think you will be moving?

bbarna said...

Hi Phelan,
It looks like the country around us, including the bears, but minus the -40C winter weather.
Best wishes and hugs!!
Barb from Canada.

FancyHorse said...

It looks like a lovely spot, complete with a fishing/swimming hole for the boys! I wish the best for all of you, you've been through some tough times. You deserve it.
(((Hugs)))

Felinae said...

:) Wow! that is great!
I'm still trying to convince Catman that we need to move that way at some point. I think I need to try harder. LOL

Hugs
~Fel~

Anonymous said...

Phelan, I'm so happy for you!! I really think life will be easier for you here in the south. I'll be waiting (but not patiently) to find out if you'll be in KY or TN....or wherever!

Aunt D

Anonymous said...

We may not always understand why something happens, but good for you for falling with it, rather than fighting it! Keep us updated...

Unknown said...

Blessings to you and your family. Sometimes to change your path you need to take a leap of faith. I wish you all the best and good luck!

Doom said...

Wow! I never thought covered wagons returned East.

I'm never sure about these things, myself, but I went and did my own impossible journey and... am loving it. I'm not that far along into homesteading, but I'm much better ready for whatever may happen than ever before. And you guys are crazy good at this kind of thing. Yep, you'll do well. And you'll buck up to whatever hardship you hit. That and hard work are they keys?

Good luck and God bless. You two, all of you, deserve each other. Be well.

West Tx at Heart said...

I was speaking to a friend last night in the wee hours of early morning looking at the lights of down town and the haze that hangs over this excuse for a city. We dreamed of chucking in pensions, careers and all the anchors that hold one back. Then we came up with 50 reasons not to do it. I love that you and your Husband live life fearless. Thank you for letting us live vicariously through you. What an adventure. Your boys are going to love it, all 4 of them. Man talk about making lemonade out of lemons.
Congrats, couldnt be happier for you!!!

Unknown said...

Good luck and welcome to the Applachians. We are not in the same area that you are moving to, but in the foothills of NC. To me these mountains are a precious thing and I get antsy being away from them for more than a couple of days. Hope you come to love them as much as I do. Oh, and please tell the boys to investigate for crawfish in that creek, they will have a blast.

Phelan said...

Sundace, oh it is! Once we get the bike rebuilt, and I can ride again, you might have a visit.

JMD, we won't.

Carol Anne, unless you're the one working. Lol! Thank you

Judy, thank you.

Robbyn :D

Little homestead, I wish you guys the best of luck!

DFW, we are hoping to hold out until spring. But it's all going to have to be played by ear.

Barb, it gets that cold here, but I am told not that cold in the hills. Ks sees some extremes and I am glad to be leaving that behind.

Thank you Fancy!

Fel, sounds like it.

Aunt D, Ky :)

Ruth, thank you.

Thank you Sherry!

Doom, some did return. Usually after much struggle and heart ache. And thank you.

West, after I read your comment, I sat here and thought about it. Do we have reasons not to leave? Everyone I am close to are excited and we have their blessings. I can work anywhere, husband has job offers and can work and do anything. The boys. . . They are excited. We don't have reasons to stay. This land we are going to for us is heaven. If we hadn't found this land, we would stay. But this was just to perfect. Thank you!

Roslyn, I had already thought of that. So I did a little searching. The crawfish our huge there! We have these tiny insects, but the ones there are mini lobsters! Boys were in awe of the pics we found. And thank you for the welcome.

Tam Hanley said...

Wow! That's awesome and brave and scary and exciting. I'll have you in my prayers!!

Phelan said...

Tam, oh yes it is a bit scary. And very exciting. Thank you!

Judy T said...

Oh, how exciting! I'm so glad you found the perfect place!
Judy

Amy said...

Good luck, trees and mountains are good for boys. And their parents :) Those pictures look like a little bit of paradise.

Phelan said...

Judy and Amy, thank you!

kath said...

I'm so thrilled for you! We drive through the Appalachians (mostly Blue Ridge & Great Smoky sections) a couple of times a year when we visit our son in GA and every single time, we talk about how breathtakingly beautiful it is. I think you're going to be very happy there!

Trish said...

Beautiful! I look forward to more blog posts about how things go for you in your new spot. It gives me hope to fulfill my own dream of homesteading.

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