Downsizing. Part 2.

We are downsizing and as hard as it will be to leave a home we love, I am so excited for the simplicity and minimalism at our little farmhouse.

We put our house up on the market on a Friday in April and had 18 showings up until Sunday night when we got an offer that we accepted. And then began the whirlwind of packing, cleaning and preparing to leave a home we loved. And although all of our kids were excited, there are still many emotional transitions to to be aware of and nurture.

We have moved a lot in our past 11 years of marriage, and each home we go into, we make it ours and often leave it much better than when we first came. Now, we walk into our little 1950’s home that will be a complete remodel. It’s nestled on a little plot of land about 40ish minutes from downtown Minneapolis and we have so many plans in store for this little charmer. We are moving into a house almost half the size of our other house with 1,834 sq. ft. It has 3 bedrooms and 1 bath and sits on 1.31 acres of private land. While walking our land just the other day, our dad helped us discover maple trees (who knows how to tap for maple syrup?), wild raspberry bushes, black current plants and wine grape vines so basically, Yancy Vineyard is now a thing. There are so many more things to venture and discover on our little plot of land.

We are doing almost an entire house renovation with a very simplistic + minimalist design. Because of redoing so much of the house, we stayed with my parents for 3ish weeks who generously took in 8 people. They are the best and we are so so grateful! Seborn worked tirelessly to get our house completed and we have some other fun projects that I will be sharing as time progresses throughout the summer and fall.

Have you ever heard this quote:

“But you know, love grows best in little houses
With fewer walls to separate
Where you eat and sleep so close together
You can't help but communicate
Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss
Love grows best, in houses just like this”

That’s what I am so looking forward to relishing in.

Having a smaller house means less to clean.

Having a smaller house means more closeness together.

Having a smaller house means more time to do things we love.

Having a smaller house means less expenses.

Having a smaller house means bringing less ‘things’ into it.

And this is not a knock on big houses. I had a big house and LOVED IT. Just sharing my perspective in this season and what I crave and desire our life to look and where I want our resources, time, energy and money focused.

When I think of the freedom that is right in our grasp, I want to take hold of it and run with it.

When Seborn and I were chatting about how silly this may all sound to some people I shared with him my realization that I just don’t think I should commit to long-term homes because I’m always up for a new adventure. He says, “You’re right. Let’s think of each home purchase as a college decision. We are only making the commitment for 4 years or so.” And I responded to him, “Yah, I like that idea. Except let’s go to a 2 year college. I only want to get an Associate’s degree.”

I am so good with the fact that I understand myself more and begin to follow the urges I have to explore. And that I can do it with my littles.

The big thing is that Seborn and I would always talk about what we will do when the kids get older and leave the house. That we would retire and travel and do all the things we want in life. And we then realized we didn’t like that mentality. That we don’t need to wait for the kids to be grown to do the things we dream of. That we actually don’t want the kids to grow up and leave us. But that we want to create a space to gently usher them into adulthood, newlywedness and parenthood with a great support system set up. We already know that when the time comes, want to provide an opportunity for inter-generational living with all of our children.

But we didn’t want to wait another 20-30 years to live life how we want. We want to do that right now, WITH our children.

At point, I struggled with the thought of our frequent moving as a sign of instability. But no. Stableness is not found within 4 walls of drywall. Stableness and security are found within a family of love and support. Stableness is in our actions, words, deeds, thoughts, and unconditional love that flows through our family members. Not in a building. Memories can be made anywhere. And we fully intend on taking advantage of that.

I understand most peoples hesitations. It doesn’t make sense to most. I just have a naturally counter-cultural viewpoint. I naturally see life through a very different lens from the rest of the world. And I have somehow convinced my husband to join me along for the ride. He would be so content with the status-quo life, which makes me all the for grateful to him for taking risks, being up for craziness and living life to the fullest, in what that looks like for our family.

This is only the beginning…