Light! Renewed hope!

Greetings from the laundromat today!
Yes, I see light at the end of this tunnel.  Let me explain...






With all that's been going on the last few months, there have been some days, lately, in which we've questioned if we really bought the right property for us.  Seems like we may have bitten off more than we could chew in one moment, then the next I'm reminded how much I love this little horse farm and how it felt like we were supposed to be here right from the beginning, despite the condition of the house...

I finally captured the twins in a photo!

 ....Tall, graceful trees, colorful wildflowers, earthy stone, green pastures, sweet songbirds, noisy nighttime critters, a wide array of interesting wildlife...I mean, how many people have a gorgeous peacock visit them randomly!

...And, yesterday, as I strolled around our field I discovered another thing I love here...



LOTS of butterflies!

Monarchs,
Swallowtails,
yellow ones, white ones, blue ones!


Butterflies carry special meaning for me and my family.  They are a beautiful, powerful symbol of rebirth and new life.  Endurance and transformation.  Hope.

After sinking into the deep pit of clinical depression for a time in my life a number of years ago, I experienced breaking free, rebirth...through faith, endurance and perseverance.




Each member of this family has experienced a host of life's challenges, big and small.  Yet rather than being defeated by them, Don, Will, Nate, Grace and Rosie were transformed by them, experiencing  new life in Christ, through faith, and have been baptized in the last decade.

My own family of "butterflies".







In several ancient cultures, the butterfly represents the soul of a loved one who has passed on.  My grandmother left me a delicate, gold butterfly pendant when she passed away....Butterflies remind me of her.


A single, tiger swallowtail graced us with its presence during Isaac's birth...and continued to hang around the barn for a day or so afterwards.  This had special meaning to us because Don's grandmother loved both butterflies AND Pop's standardbred horses.  It was as if she were part of the whole crazy experience, laughing about it with us!




This place used to be called, "Echo Acres" because once upon a time, Mr. M explained, you could shout from almost any spot on the property and hear an echo.  So much woodland and vegetation has grown and so many more houses stand nearby that there isn't much of an echo anymore.

Besides, the property is undergoing its own transformation... resurrection, if you will.  It just needs a new name.




In light of all this, we're re-naming the farm.  We want to include "butterfly" into it because of the multi-faceted meaning that would hold, but "Butterfly Farm" or "Monarch Farm" just doesn't sound right!  Grace and Rosie looked for other languages...Papillon, Schmetterling, Mariposa... none seem to fit.



 Don and Grace like "Dealan Dé" .  Dealan Dé is the ancient Irish word for "butterfly".  Irish folklore and ancient culture fascinate these two, so when they saw this Celtic word for butterfly, the name seemed appropriate.  The jury's still out, but we're all leaning towards this one!

After much research, discussion and prayer, weighing the pros and cons of the options...we've made the decision to build a modular home.  With the help of Leon at Patriot Homes in Kinzers, PA  we found a cape cod modular that is nearly identical to the plans Don had originally drawn.  All the details still need to be hashed out, but at least we have a direction, a heading, now.

We initiated our new plan last night, signing some papers and making a deposit.  God-willing, if all goes fairly smoothly, the house will be ready for us right around Thanksgiving....possibly sooner if the bank can get us to closing before mid-August. 🙏 Phew!  I can finally see light at the end of this tunnel. 😎

Don will begin his part this weekend...clean-up of the old materials, , submitting the plans to the township, taking down about eight trees so they can get the house where it needs to be come November and finally, replacing the current foundation.

That's the news for now!