How this all began

When our kids were little (they are now 28,22 and 19) and our oldest was in the early grade school years we drove her to school each morning and drove by several large lots with horses and multiple houses on the land.  Chris and I would say to each other "Wouldn't that be amazing if we could buy one of those and Grammy and Grampy could live in the other house?"  Grammy and Grampy are my parents, also known as Barbara and Gene Sinclair.  Years passed and that dream seemed to be unrealistic.  We moved to North Caroline for 2 1/2 years then came back to life in full swing.  With our kids so far apart in age we spent many years parenting adolescents and teenagers.  Dance, choir, cheerleading, basketball and football became our time consumers.  Not to mention church activities, youth group functions and all the traveling Chris did with his job.  If you're a parent, you know what I am talking about.  You jump into the river of life and it takes you....it takes you quickly. 

Fast forward to 2013.  This was not our favorite year to say the very least.  Heartbreak happened in more than one area of our lives.  There was also much joy of course as Samuel graduated from high school and started college.  Lindsay and Ross got jobs in Tyler, Texas and bought their first home,  and Kate continued in her studies to be a nurse.  In those months  we started talking about this dream again  "what if? could we? well let's try!"  So we put our house on the market and began to look for the right property.  We wanted about 2 acres, with two houses on the land.  We hoped for other specific but were really just giving it to God.

Our house was on the market for two months and didn't sell.  I didn't want to deal with showing it over the holidays so we took it off right after Halloween.  Midway through December we got a call from a realtor.  Her client had seen our house when it was on the market, had now sold theirs and wanted to buy ours!  We were two weeks away from leaving for 12 days for a cruise with the family.  They wanted to move in on January 24th.  We went into over drive looking for our dream. 

Enter 716 S. Gabriel drive...  We had seen this property over the summer from the street but never could get a good look at it because there is a pecan grove on the front part of the land and during the time we were looking, the trees were in full bloom and you couldn't even tell there was a house on the property, much less two.  On December 18th (my parents' 60th anniversary) we finally got to look at the house and walk around the property.  We loved it.  Two days later we made an offer.  After almost 8 months of it being on the market (it started at a significantly higher price) and no offers, the owner got two offers on the SAME day!  He took the other offer.  Sigh.  We had been praying this entire time for God to guide us in this process.  We were disappointed but believed if the answer was no, then that was His way of saying He had something better.  On the morning of December 24th we found an apartment we liked and started the paper work on renting it for a year.  We would revisit the dream after that time.  Chris, Samuel and I attended Christmas Eve service at church.  When we got out of service and were getting in the car to head to dinner with Kate my phone buzzed.  It was our realtor telling us that the other deal had fallen through...were we still interested?  YES!  we were!! 

We took our cruise then came back home and packed like mad men.  On January 24th we officially owned what I am, for now, calling the Copper Roof.  Since that day we have been living in a trailer house on some very generous friends' property.  Thank God for generous friends as we could have never done this remodel while living in the house. 

The house is on 6 acres with a guest house just a couple hundred feet from the main house.  The homes are on city water but we also have a well to water our pecan trees- There are about 90 of them- and our fenced and irrigated  garden which is the size of a tennis court.  There will be a chicken run on part of that garden in the fall. 

So, that's the story.  The most important part of all of this for me is this....God knew the timing, He knew our hearts would be heavy at this time in our lives and that it was the PERFECT time for us to do this.   Did I mention Chris also left his job of 15 years during this time?  That has also played into the timing of all of this.  As I watch this old house get torn apart and then begin to be rebuilt, God has clearly shown me that is what He is doing in my life as well.  So many people have loved us through the tough times.  I have learned about forgiveness, about hope, about how terribly judgmental I have been in my life.  God is tearing down the old useless parts of me and rebuilding my heart;  Piece by piece, He shows me His love and faithfulness.  Not that I did not know it before, I did.  But I know it- am learning it - in deeper ways than ever before.  He is remodeling me.  He is the potter, I am the clay.  Or in this case he is the carpenter and I am the out-dated house.  I am so thankful He knows me/us so well.  I am so grateful this dream is coming true in His perfect timing.  I am overwhelmed by my blessings. 

PS, This is a blessing we intend to share.  Come see us!  Pray for us to know how God wants to use us through this.  And if you ever need pecans.....you know how to find us!