Earlier I posted about what we’re currently going through and though this whole situation is difficult, I’m writing about it in hopes that in the near future I can look back on it and see where we’ve come from. A reminder once again to be thankful!!!
Two years ago we purchased a little 1050 square foot home on 3+ acres. The home has 1 bathroom and 2 1/2 bedrooms (yes you read that right).
The land is gorgeous!!!! It is truly what sold us on the purchase – also prices in the area were skyrocketing quick and if we didn’t get in then we wouldn’t have been able to down the road. Anyway, we knew that over time repairs would need to be made on the foundation (the original Post and Pier style) which is over 100 years old.
We also knew that it was a little small for us and our 4 boys (remember we only had 4 then!), but that over time we could make it work. We had sold our house in November 2004, and with nothing to move the family into and no rentals to be found we moved into a 32′ travel trailer in front of hubby’s parents’ house. It was interesting living in this with 4 children, but it did make us very thankful for our little house when we moved in.
Needless to say with the surprise of the twins, and various other events, the cramped quarters for 6 of us became nearly unmanageable for 8 people. Last summer hubby built a decent size garage and poured a basketball court for the boys. Then as football season wound down hubby began work under the house. Trying to figure out the best game plan was at the top of our list. Since there is a lot of standing room down there the idea occurred to us to go ahead and pour a foundation and hey while we’re at it why not add a little living space down there so we’re not always standing on each others’ toes.
Because of the expense of having someone else do the work hubby spends every spare moment down there working. Sometimes with the help of a machine, occasionally someone comes to help him, but for the most part it is just him and maybe a boy to talk to. Everything was going pretty good until last week.
Last Friday hubby was doing his daily walk through under the house and noticed a rather large crack in one of the major support beams. Later that day we found out that we need to complete the foundation in order to refinance the house – something we DESPERATELY need to do. Then that evening we had a pier block and a bunch of dirt fall under the house – the problem – that pier block is one of the supports for our front porch and it hit one of the supports hubby recently set up.
Discouragement began to set in! Big time! I was weepy for 2 days straight and hubby was downright depressed. Anyone who knows us knows that this is not like us.
We have recovered our composure and are trying to logically come up with a solution. It had better be quick though, because obviously the house isn’t getting any better. hubby actually talked about moving a trailer of some sort onto the property to live in until this is done. If this is what needs to be done to keep our children safe then so be it! But because we lived in a trailer with 4 boys for 3 months before we moved in here (through the holidays no less) I’m still a little wary of any type of “camping”! Not to complain, just stating fact.
I’ll wrap up now since I don’t want to turn this into a pity party! We are just facing a bump in the road and I truly hope it isn’t a big bump!