Unconventional.

Someone I spoke with recently described our...situation...choices...that way.  We've done quite a few things "unconventionally" during these twenty-some years. 

Don has a knack for thinking outside the box, and, in fact, several folks who've come in and out of our lives over the years have encouraged us both to do just that. (Whether they meant to or not!)

So, unconventional or just plain nuts, I'm never quite sure!  

But, here we are.

When discovering the "crumbly" condition of the existing house's foundation, we had to think outside the box if we were to be living in our own house before Christmas.  We opted to buy a modular home, as you all know!

Nothing has been simple or easy about our journey back to Pennsylvania-living this year, and the last week, the 11th hour of our adventure, has presented its challenges:

Snow...

Frozen water lines...

Several days of bitter cold temps...
Propane tanks running out of gas in the middle of the night...

Toilets not working properly...

Did I mention "Snow" ? 

As pretty as it can be, it is NOT ideal or even remotely easy to be living in a camper when it snows. (Plus, all of our snow gear is buried in the storage unit 15 miles away!) But, at least we can now say we've "camped" in EVERY type of weather!  As my sister-in-law put it, "Ya'll have certainly earned your wilderness badge!"

After much ado, and 7 looong months of living in campers, our new house finally arrived this week!  

When they first pulled in, I thought that the company had mixed up our house with someone else's because it looked like a very long ranch-style house.  However, it turns out that they had simply attached the two halves of our house to comply with transportation rules!  The following morning, as we cleared the snow out of our 4 ft. crawl space and away from the foundation, one of the construction guys literally sawed our house in half!  Yikes!

Then, just like a beached whale, this large crane lifted each half of the house off of the trailer and set it on the foundation.  It was so cool to watch!  Much as I hate to admit it, the below freezing temperatures last week were a blessing in disguise - the ground was rock hard, making it much easier for the large equipment to maneuver around our home site. 

But, c'mon!  I asked ya'll to pray for DRY ground, not FROZEN ground - ha, ha! 🤣

Once the house was securely attached to its foundation, the set-up team went to work raising the roof. The exterior crew worked hard all day long on Friday to finish the siding, roof and such.

The propane company came out, promptly so the workers would have some heat inside!  Don is closely monitoring the work being done, ensuring that Patriot Homes is living up to their promises.  So far, so good!

Yesterday, Don and our friend, Tim, worked on hooking up the plumbing and all. Today, an electrician is coming (He's here now, in fact!).  Tomorrow, Don hopes to wrap up the septic system.  And, the most exciting part for me right now...the interior crew should come back tomorrow to finish up with some drywall and flooring and clean up!  By Tuesday afternoon, we should be able to begin moving our furniture inside!  Yipee!!

Here's a sneak peak of the inside:

We had hoped that both the exterior and interior crews could work their magic on Friday and Saturday, so that we could begin moving our belongings out of storage and into our new abode today, but it simply did not work out that way.  Apparently, this is a super busy time of the year for modulars - lots of people want their new house for Christmas, I guess!


So, today I will begin packing up the things in the campers that will be moving to the house in another 48 hours.  Fortunately, its not all that much since we bought the camper fully stocked.  The majority of my actual kitchenware is in several boxes in the barn, as we speak.

Still struggling with no running water in the campers at the moment...its been 3 days already.  Hoping that today's warmer temps thaw us out a bit, then Don can put those incredible problem-solving skills of his to work, so it doesn't happen again!

I think we'll do some shopping today, too - I'm ready to choose an area rug and lighting fixture for my new living room...and, possibly, a new comforter for our bedroom?

Yes...by this Wednesday, after 7 long months...we will sleep, eat, do our laundry, shower!...in our new, adorable cape cod home....Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!

I LOVE this bank of windows that overlooks our hay field and upper pasture.  This house is so bright and airy - makes it feel larger than it actually is!

master bathroom

Watch for more interior photos...and more of my thoughts on this "unconventional" life...next weekend, as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our Savior.