Tag: house

New Phase – Making Offers!

New Phase – Making Offers! #2023 #Family #Encourage #PropertyHunting #Land #PuttingOffersIn #ExcitedForMovingForward #PrayingForFavorAndWisdom #FutureTartFarm #OpenRuralLand #GenerationalHome

March 15, 2023

New Phase – Making Offers!

Finally!  

It feels like I haven’t written in a century!  We finally reached the phase of savings where our available investment capital (aka cash in the savings account) is enough to make some offers on certain pieces of property!  

We know that the only way we are going to find and afford a simple house with enough family room for our dreams is to build it from the ground up on property we own outright.  We are consistently told we don’t make enough.  We know this.  Oh well, the mortgage on a $160,000 property (15 years, after down payment) is approximately $1400/month ~ guess those who have been renting for $2800/month can’t afford a loan.  Can’t change the system, you just have to think outside the box!

Anyway, back to the seriously amazing excitement!  We’ve been looking at properties and placing offers within our budget.  Our budget will grow as our savings slowly does.  Someone will agree to let us buy a property from them – or a miracle will pop up where someone owner-finances half a property or some investor decides our family is worth the risk and does a private loan.  I’m open to pretty much anything.  We want OR land; our family dream is back to a farm with chickens, our aviary, rabbits, the ability to help shelters again, growing 95% or more of our own food again – we are only offering on spots with at least an acre.  A miracle would be 5 or more acres close to the WGV area (like that cool little abandoned spot near the turn to trailmark).  Our goal is a generational home.  Space for our family to stay close.  A farm to share food from.  Somewhere our children and grandchildren could always come home to.  Saving a tiny bit of Florida’s agricultural heritage (teaching things Grandma Jeanette taught me).

Just sending out offers is super exciting for me!  We’ve designed and planned and researched.  I keep praying this is our family’s next step.  

Hopefully we find something before September (when rent goes up again)!  I’m just so excited about seeing the light at the end of this tunnel – it’s been a long road.  It’s like a restart.  I love restarts!  

Thank you for reading!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Floor Blocks and Imagination

#2023 #Family #Pictures #Encourage #Imagination #FloorBlocks #HouseBlocks #BuildingHousesOutOfFoamFloorMatSquares #ProblemSolving #Boys #WatchWithWonder #Children #TheFascinatingImaginationOfAChild

January 29, 2023

Floor Blocks and Imagination

Uncle Buddy was purging his apartment and there were two truck-loads of stuff he thought we could use.  (Yes, we could, not that we knew it before it came)  One such item was three packs of floor blocks, you know, those spongy warm mats that you cover hard floors with to have a softer play surface.  We already had six squares of it under our swing in the back yard to keep feet from digging a ditch under the swing and nine squares in the playroom to bring out when it was too cold for bare feet on the hard floor.  

Lucas has a fantastic imagination and turned said floor cushions into… A house.  The original one was 1×2 squares in a perfect rectangle with a “door” panel they sealed behind themselves and “busted” out of with a sharp kick from both feet. 

It started in the living room, but there is more space in the playroom!  The house became 2×3 squares with a “portal” doorway complete with blanket carpets and pillows so they could sleep in it!  

Louis shook his head, “I don’t think they were made for that.”  And I shrugged, “no, but they work fine, don’t they?”  (Until a rambunctious boy-who-will-remain-unnamed dropped on the ceiling and broke it aka caved in the roof, made Thea cry and Jillian mad, and they had to rebuild said house.) 

Soon packing boxes (also from Uncle Buddy) were added to make rooms inside the house and prop up the roof as going bigger than 2×3 meant less stability in the middle.  They were finding ways to overcome the structural weakness and still expand their play house!  I loved all the problem solving that was going on!  

These large blocks also store in their bags when not in use.  I don’t know how often this will happen, but what I was saving for play surfaces in our shed while moving and in our future house when we finally get one, is now a house-building toy.  Lucas is always building big complex structures in his mega blocks, duplos, and legos.  I’m hoping to get him interested in carpentry or construction because once his football career (now he wants to be a football player in high school and college and the NFL – he better pray he gets height from Great-Grandpa Jim and Boompa!) is done, he might enjoy building things.  I totally encourage any type of hands-on skill as even though yes, the foam block houses won’t last long, the building and problem solving will present itself in other forms.  

What neat things have your kids done with their imagination lately?  I love to watch with sonder as they explore new things!  Sit back, let them play, and watch a world of wonder explode from their untamed imaginations!

Thank you for reading!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

What Fantastic Thing Are You Expecting In 2023?

I heard talk show hosts on the radio ask each other, “what fantastic thing are you expecting in 2023?”
Instantly, my mind says…

(Delayed Publish: Written January 3, 2023)

What Fantastic Thing Are You Expecting In 2023?

It’s the start of a new year!  

I heard talk show hosts on the radio ask each other, “what fantastic thing are you expecting in 2023?”  

Instantly, my mind says, “obtaining property we can build our home on.” 

Other things follow quickly: An exciting competition season for my two gymnasts (their first meet is Jan 13!), Christina’s graduation at the end of the year with her Bachelor’s from Embry, an edifying college year for Becky at PCC, Kimberly conquering her fear of tests, Jaquline turning 13 and getting her first debit card, Lucas learning to read, having chickens again, growing our own food again, getting a cover made for and publishing my CheyneAnne story, getting illustrations for the childrens’ books I’ve written… my mind just kept going with things I consider fantastic and am super excited for.  

My prayer is that this year is one of spiritual growth for my children as we make fun memories.  

I want my focus to be eternal rather than temporal.  

I completed Kimberly’s journal just before Christmas and gave it to her.  I hope that little book is full of treasures for her.  I pray over each page I write that God will direct my mind and hands to pen just what will be important or reaching for the heart of the daughter I’m writing the journal for.  

I am expecting miracles in our everyday lives.  God always gives them.  Fresh breath and lungs that work.  Beautiful painted sunrises and sunsets.  Have you ever thought of how much a miracle it is that we can see?  I’m overwhelmed by the everyday miracles that grace our lives.  

What fantastic thing am I expecting?  Life.  Full, abundant life as God has blessed us with!  Love.  Family.  Enjoyable times.  Memorable Moments.  A careful listening heart with which to catch the amazing wonder of these miracles and enjoy them as they happen.  

I’m praying for a heart of gratitude more than ever before.  I plan to focus on being grateful.  That should totally help my perspective!

What fantastic thing are you expecting in 2023?

Think about it… and Smile!

Thank you for reading!

Type at you later!

~Nancy Tart

Life Goals

December 28, 2022

Life Goals

I continually reevaluate my “life goals,” if you want to call them that.  

Core has always been to love Jesus, pass that on to everyone I can touch, and show love when I can.  The additions have changed a little:

Pre-twenties, I wanted to be a wife, mother, and teacher.  Did that.  Am living that.

Twenties to mid-thirty: The only earthly thing I wanted for my children was a home they all grew up in and family roots.  I failed at that. Life teaches you lessons and you hope to pass on the results so they don’t fall into the same trap.

Thirty-three and beyond, I only want my children to love Jesus in a true life-long relationship; I’ve learned that everything in life beyond relationships is just temporary.  

Lately, my older children have made comments in passing that really cut to my heart.  The first year I didn’t unwrap a gift from you.  (Her gifts were too large to wrap & smaller things were in her stocking.)  Wow, they’ve lived there like 12 years, that would never be us.  (We did have a home for 14 years, just moved to two different places during that ownership to help other people for seasons.)  You don’t give me stuff like the other girls’ moms.  (No, I can’t give anyone a brand new car as they get their license, a new laptop, the latest phone, gaming systems, etc.  I provide you with opportunities to save for those things and decide their value yourself.)

Those things and other assorted in passing comments have made me delve into self-examination for the past couple of months.  I can’t talk to my Daddy about it, praying feels one-way, a memory pops up of Louis’ accident last year and the days of challenges and miracles, I feel like I’ll never dig us out into property that is our home (though I keep reminding my doubt that I left that in God’s hands, the doubt keeps trying to come in), people I know whose children I know are dying from poison, I pray daily for those I know who are affected: my life feels useless as I feel like I can’t do much for anyone.

This morning I saw the evidence of a life well lived.  My entire perspective changed. 

There was a young woman in a beautiful wedding dress beaming a smile holding onto the arm of an elegant man in a suit.  Their faces shone with love.  The photo was a portrait size and in black and white; aged scores of years. You could feel their love.  Two candles on either side of the little table below the portrait.  Mementos and memories on the table; he had passed away before her.  It reminded me of my mother’s tribute shadowbox for my Daddy.  Her home was full of framed pictures: children and grandchildren in various smiles and grins.  A few in the midst of laughter – those cherished candid photos that you keep even if they aren’t the best quality.  Worn rocker.  Stockings.  A Christmas tree.  An open Bible.  Her faith and the relationships she had cultivated radiated from each well-worn book, devotional, and study guide on that little bookshelf. My writer’s brain wondered how many of those books she or her husband had bought and then passed around. How many grandchildren had heard stories from that Children’s Bible with the bent binding?  Children told her goodbye: that they loved her, they didn’t want her to leave, that they would see her later in heaven, one told her to give daddy a kiss from her.  

That is a life well-lived.  

Her children loved her enough to keep taking care of her at home; like Mom did for Grandma Jeanette.  Don’t ever put me in a nursing home.  Because of love, they sacrificed and made it happen that they cared for mom at her home so she could die in peace.  Her face showed that peace.  

That is a life well-lived. 

I was so overwhelmed with emotion for that wonderful woman I didn’t know.  Grandma Jeanette told me once to “live with no regrets” which I also remember from the lady who gave me my first cookbook.  She’d been married four times and raised five boys.  Her life story was how to gather things and make stews and build add-ons to her house and save people from storms on the lake.  Her sons all passed on her faith; I played with her grandchildren and they were the first group of children I’d met who talked about Jesus like a close friend like my family did.  She wrote “God will bless your life, let Him lead,” in my cookbook cover (I was 7 years old).  She died shortly after at 90-something.  

That is a life well-lived. 

Live with no regrets.  Love without reservation.  

My goal is to allow my children to see Jesus through me, to trust Him in everything, to do my absolute best to shine His love wherever I can.  

Life doesn’t have to be long to be well-lived.  I consider the life I’ve already lived to be amazing.  I thank God for each day He’s given me.  For the challenges we’ve overcome as a family, for the health miracles which are the reason my babies and I are here, for the protection over my daughters’ hearts as they allow it, for the relationships we have with each other.  Those I’ve known for seasons who are friends like sisters and brothers in my heart.  Growing those relationships as best I can even when life is “too busy” and time is challenging; that is a goal. 

Live with no regrets.  Love without reservation. 

I was 12, she was a beautiful frail girl with a rapturous joy of life and Jesus and family when we met her.  She shared her love with everyone without caring what they thought.  If someone stared at her bald head, she would approach them and say, hi, how are you today? And try to show them love and happiness.  She came to our house probably because we treated her and her sister just like we treated anyone else; we played with them, swang with them, took them for canoe rides, fished on the shore while she braided flowers, played with our chickens and dogs together, told stories to each other, and otherwise enjoyed life.  She lost her battle with cancer shortly afterward, but I couldn’t cry.  She was home with Jesus like she talked about all the time.  She told us we had to still play with Danielle.  As long as we lived there, we did.  I still love Erica and Danielle like they were my own sisters; since we were sisters in the faith, we are sisters. 

That is a life well-lived. 

He was his sisters’ baby doll.  He protected everyone.  He was loved by everyone.  He knew who needed to hear and in turns shared his faith and struggles and love with them.  His smile told you everything you needed to know; he was genuine.  He died protecting those he cared about.  His legacy is the love and relationships left in the hearts of those he loved and who loved him; and the relationships they created when coming to celebrate his life.  He was my brother’s friend.  His family and mine were intertwined in so many relationships through many seasons of our lives.  

That is a life well-lived. 

My perspective shifted.  It set me back on the track that my brain keeps trying to veer me off of.  My true life goal is to shine with Jesus’ light: to make strong relationships, to build into people, to share my faith, to encourage others, to help when I can, to do my very best to love as Jesus does.  And in Jesus’ time, when my story on Earth is finished, I will go home and those I love will see a life well-lived. 

Right now, I’m living my life well-lived!

Thank you for reading!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Thanksgiving Week 2022

Much to be thankful for!!

December 6, 2022

Thanksgiving Week 2022

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house for those who could come.  It lasted from November 22 (our 20th anniversary) to November 27 (Sunday).  This was our “vacation” from gym/work.  It included lots of traveling (for me, Becky, Christina, Jaquline, Lucas, and Thea), lots of fun, and lots of food!

For my anniversary, we still had to work (thank you, Hurricane Whatever in September – I don’t commit names to memory) because we had school and a make-up day at gymnastics.  This started our Thanksgiving Break because I started out just before midnight on 11/22 with Christina to go pick Becky up from college.  

This car trip was super fun!  Christina and I drove.  Lucas and Thea went with us as Kimberly had early practice (Xcel Platinum) on the 23rd (a friend played taxi), Louis still had work like regular, and Jaquline & Jillian were cleaning and cooking with Grandma Tina.  

We got home to take naps, help finish cooking, cleaning, and such.   The table was set so pretty! (Yes, that is a marble chessboard that we use as a hot plate to set the turkey on! – Louis had it when we were dating and after some “accidents” happened to the pieces over the years, it was just too pretty to toss so was repurposed.)

Uncle Buddy came.  Anastasia came.  Gavin came.  Aunt Becca sent yummy desserts! We had so much fun!  Louis brought in new chairs.  (our table was used when we bought it and was missing chairs – we originally used the piano bench, but since the piano & bench are in storage for lack of room…) We played games.  Okay, yes, most were group video games or Frogger Challenge (two players, winner takes on next player…), but there were a few Boggle games and it seems we can’t have Thanksgiving fun without a campfire!

Uncle Buddy wanted to play Age of Empires with Lucas & Becky; even Louis and I joined in on a 5-person hot-seat Heroes 3 game that lasted all day (and we didn’t finish).  The kiddos (will leave anonymous which adults joined in as well) did a super-multi-player Minecraft / Imposter with phones and computers.  The shouted directions in the living and dining room had everyone else laughing! 

My Angel Eggs were a different story.  I made two platters.  I love making food look beautiful but most of the time we are short on time so I can’t.  (I used to even make everyone’s birthday cakes from scratch & even made two wedding cakes!)  Today I made beautiful piped eggs. 

One platter was gone in T-5 minutes!  Jaquline did warn us she was going to eat more than the eggs she shelled!  I love making food people enjoy.  

Being around my family when we aren’t rushed always reminds me to be thankful for them!  Uncle Buddy had prepped his head for military service (more on that next time) and Lucas thoroughly enjoyed playing video games with and snuggling with his uncle.  I am super thankful for this life God has given me and I pray my home becomes the gathering point for family and friends always on any Sunday we have family day or any holiday.  Food and good company is always a reason to gather together!

Thank you for reading!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Shifting Time, Adapting Traditions

November 15, 2022

Shifting Time, Adapting Traditions


Yesterday a notification from my calendar app popped up on my phone.  It read, “Pearson Family Thanksgiving at Mom & Daddy’s.”  It was an old recurring appointment I’d just never deleted.  I guess I hoped we’d restart it someday.  The recurring day was always the 15th of November and time was set as 4pm to 7pm just because my app in 2010 with my first smartphone didn’t allow “all day” appointments to give me day-before notifications.

Why would our family Thanksgiving be on the 15th instead of the fourth Thursday of each November?

Good question: here’s the historical answer…

It started after the first year Louis and I got married.  We had just tried to do Thanksgiving at his family’s (Grandma Jeanette’s house) and then Thanksgiving at my family’s – and were exhausted and Louis complained he was too full from one place to eat half of what he wanted to taste at my parent’s house.  Same happened at Christmas!  At least the food part wasn’t a big issue at Christmas.  His family always did presents and stuff at the crack of dawn (not really, but early) and my family usually had a big breakfast, tried all the kids’ patience, setup everything, made sure all the service workers had gotten a good nights’ sleep so it was later and lasted longer.  Christmas was easy.  Morning with his family, afternoon with mine.  

Plus, as the second year holidays approached, we realized that three of us (Louis, Katy, and Becca) worked service industry and didn’t have the actual Thanksgiving Day off.  Hmm… That made the decision even easier!  I approached my Daddy with an idea: what if, we celebrated Thanksgiving on Mom’s birthday each year instead of actual Thanksgiving Day – of course, they could still do the actual Thanksgiving, but the Travel Thanksgiving Day celebration when we all got together would be Mom’s birthday.  Daddy said, “two feast days for Thanksgiving?  Great idea.”  (or something very similar to that, I don’t remember the exact words)

We started celebrating Thanksgiving with my family on November 15th, my Mother’s birthday!  It was perfect, service industry workers could easily ask and get a random day a week and a half before the start of the holiday rush (pre-Nights-of-Lights for us Saint Augustinians), and we’d always make or buy a cake for Mom!  It was perfect!  (Then we could go to our own thing or for us, go to Louis’ family celebration on Thanksgiving Day, if we were off – Louis usually tried to make an appearance; even it is was briefly.)

Lots of stuff has happened to my birth family and we’ve tried to keep that tradition alive, but it isn’t happening this year.  Instead, we are hosting Thanksgiving for anyone able from 11/23 to 11/27.  A few of our family will be in town and able to visit.  Maybe some friends might pop in over those off-days (we are off work and the girls on break from college, Louis is on call, but he’s always on call) – family and friends make for fun days full of memories!  

I smiled at the notification because it today would mark four full years since we’d gone over to Mom and Daddy’s for “Pearson Thanksgiving on Mom’s Birthday” and all my older girls remember “two Thanksgiving parties” every year!  Lucas attended some, but doesn’t remember them.  Thea hadn’t ever been.  

So many things shifted in our family that now, getting days off before Thanksgiving, when most of us are on vacation is like “really?” and two of our children are grown (okay, Becky’s not legally an adult yet, but I consider her one) so I want our home to be the gathering place.  I want to be like Grandma Jeanette, the “glue” that holds the family together.  I want everyone to feel welcome and this year we’ve officially started opening our home to anyone during holidays (it feels like we have more space even though we don’t).  Not that we didn’t say it before “oh, you can just come by” no, this year we sent out timelines to family and have offered verbal invitations to friends of our kids and their families.  I want to be the fun memory-making place – and it won’t matter that we won’t be in this house next year for any of the fall holidays, our new place will be the new gathering place.  I want to build memories so my younglings keep coming back – even if one day they show up and say, “Dad, Mom, can we do Thanksgiving at your house on your anniversary instead of actual Thanksgiving Day?” – and yes, we’ll shift with the time to accommodate what our youngsters and their growing families need… but that’s WAY in the future, right?  

(Who am I kidding?  It seems like yesterday I proposed the question to my Daddy…)

Thank you for Reading!

Type at you next time!

~Nancy Tart

Encouragers: The Challenger of Norms

Encouragers: The Challenger of Norms

October 6, 2022

I’m praying for her family.  I’m praying for strength, wisdom, and peace in her heart.  This woman is the Challenger of Norms.  She has encouraged me over many years.  When my daughters ask if I have a best friend, this woman comes to mind.  She has allowed me to speak openly.  We can talk honestly with each other about our respective challenges, joys, disappointments, fears, mountain highs, and valley lows without judging each other. 

She was the friend who taught me it was safe to be vulnerable to another adult (other than my husband).  She taught me I can be real about the challenges I face with the life I chose.  Often we feel trapped in the life we chose, especially if our choice is considered “unconventional” or “unrealistic” in today’s world.  This is because the world tries to isolate us into tiny corners.  Public schooled here.  Homeschooled there.Medical challenges in your children here.Healthy children there.Stay-at-home-moms here.Working moms there.Struggling business owner families here.Lower class, middle class, upper middle class, lower middle class… Etc. Society tries to put us all into tiny boxes and keep us isolated there. 

This was not how God intended!  We are intended to work together!  Younger are to learn from elders, we are to speak truth and encouragement into the lives of others, we are to build each other up and edify.  You can’t do that if you feel trapped into silence because someone’s response to you saying you feel stressed, please pray for me ends up being “you shouldn’t have done xyz” instead of just saying “yes” or praying right there.  I always heard “your troubles are just because you have too many kids” – um… no.  Our financial troubles came from poor decisions (paying off credit cards instead of house), medical unknowns (my crazy hospital issue), or issues beyond our control (losing jobs due to forced government shutdown debacle, someone using a car without permission and wrecking two others, someone rear-ending and totaling a car that is too old for us to get a replacement, etc)

The Challenger of Norms taught me to embrace the life I chose and enjoy each stage of it unapologetically.  I have taken that to heart.  She has managed to keep joy and purpose even in the face of debilitating medical issues facing her precious children.  Once I mentioned how I felt bad speaking about how I was challenged when she faces so much.  She told me only she walks her journey just as only I walk mine.  That I’ve heard in my heart for over a decade.  I have to lean on others who are choosing joy in order to encourage me to choose joy in my challenges. 

We can discuss homeschooling options and challenges without comparing our children one to another because both of us understand that each child has their own unique challenges and strengths.  We can discuss our challenges and encourage each other in mothering without judging.  We can share our challenges and strengths in our respective marriages and understand that neither of us are alone in our respective struggles.  We can boast on our men and laugh at their craziness and somehow that actually makes me feel more thankful for the blessings we both have. 

She taught me that dropping in unannounced was totally acceptable for friends.  We could show up at each others’ homes and just jump into whatever was going on – from parties to cleaning to pool parties to bonfires to just chatting about everything while our toddlers to teens entertain each other and our babies fall asleep.  My home is now always open and I don’t really care what it looks like (Louis and the girls generally keep it in “mostly acceptable” condition anyway).  We have games and fun every Sunday as that is officially our “family day” that we try to keep open.  I hope to build relationships with my children, their friends, and families of their friends so that friends and family feel comfortable just showing up at my house if they ever need it or want it.

What I really learned from my friend is to live life as I want to, as God leads me, and let everyone else think and say whatever they want without really caring.  Oh, I listen, but when it’s something that directly challenges the lifestyle God has given me – my amazing husband, our wonderful children, our happy amazing life – I smile, nod politely, and let it in one ear and out the other.  I am who I am. 

Sometimes we just need someone to affirm we are human just like everyone else and someone who will tell us the truth while allowing us to speak our emotions openly.  We know the truth.  I am loved.  I am chosen.  I am blessed!  Sometimes we need to speak our emotions out loud to get them in line with our truths – and that, it when we find out where true friends are.  Those who listen, agree they are human just like we are, and speak encouragement into our lives.

I am so thankful that God allowed me to overcome my insane fear of talking to adults just in time to make an amazing friend who, together with her awesome family, has blessed me and my family in more ways than I can possibly ever list. 

Be that friend to someone today.  Listen.  Be human.  Speak truth in love.

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

House Hunting – Turn Negatives Into Positives

November 11, 2021

Turn Negatives Into Positives

I make that a command for myself.

When we first ran our information into a loan company portal, I felt it wouldn’t happen. I kept asking for everything I could check myself. We check credit reports constantly, we knew our shortcomings and explained everything we knew about up front trying to make sure we wouldn’t sink another chunk of our savings into an attempt and get rejected.

Last week, after being reassured falsely that I’d done everything, I was told about a secret report I can’t access that reported a “transfer error” where loans I had paid had been sold without someone passing that information along to this secret report place. My credit report showed all these loans as “paid in full.”

Doesn’t matter. This “transfer error” would take a lawyer thousands to fix and a minimum time, supposedly, of ten months, if it could be fixed because they don’t care if you “choose” to overpay… Oh well. Life.

So 20 days from what would be our closing and getting into a little house of our own, we can’t. One doesn’t have long enough work history and another has a “transfer error” that can’t be fixed quickly.

I have to find positives.

First, in less than two years, all three “issues” with our joint loan would be moot. Awesome!

Second, in two years’ time, maybe I can find a property for us to build on and keep us from any kind of loan (you know, mortgage means death and pledge, literally) and Louis said he didn’t want a mortgage.

Third, we can build our perfect simple house ourselves!!

Becky looked at me in the van last night (she’s been the most excited to leave our present situation) and said, “obviously, this isn’t what God wants for us.”

Bam! Absolute truth, but can I agree?

Flatly, once I look at the positives: Louis doesn’t want a mortgage, check, I want to build our own perfect house, check… I almost get excited.

I feel sad that I wasted so many people’s time, frustrated that again, I allowed my kids to believe we would get something we all want desperately but can’t, and sad that our savings dropped due to this. I honestly don’t care about errors, I guess we are all human.

I can only move forward: this means, making sure my children understand the importance of having everything written down. I will make paying their student loans my first priority. If it is in my power to help them better their lot, I will.

I challenge myself to move forward, learn from the past, and believe the best is yet to come… It is. Although it saddens me that my oldest daughter is an adult and we don’t have a house, I know our family is home whenever we are together!

Thank you for reading!

Type at you later,

~Nancy Tart

House Hunting 102 – Searching

September 9, 2021

House Hunting 102 – Searching

Searching… They say the hardest part of doing something you really want is waiting and planning. They might be right.

We keep getting to the search part.

We are looking for land or a house on land within 10 minutes of I95 in St John’s County, Florida. The hard part is our budget isn’t high. I just want a place my kids can run free, have their pets, explore, we can have eight or ten cars (family lol) over without bothering anyone else, etc.

I’d love old Florida land like property with a touch of wetlands that no one can ever mess up. We are twenty years in and back to our original dream of land and an old house to redo or land and build our own from the ground up.

It feels disheartening sometimes when I realize that we “wasted” (really just rented lol) years because some mortgage company took a risk and we weren’t able to pay the rest in full. I can’t look at it as wasted, though. I have to realize it was just another step. We can never go backwards in time, always forward. We learn from mistakes and teach others to avoid the pits we fell into.

I choose to look at the positive! I choose to move forward. We saved, started the first one. We saved, we were able to do almost all of our business investments in cash (should have paid off house instead and ran the business on loans, but didn’t understand that the only non-forgibable loans are student and home loans lol, lesson learned to pass along), we can, are, and will save again.

I’m a saver by nature. I run on thriftiness. I carpool to save gas, Louis can do all maintenance on our vehicles except for major rebuilds (did to both to avoid new vehicle payments), the one daughter who has a car has one paid in full, we stretch food so that is a minimal expense (no eating out, lots of grown foods ourselves, lots of beans and rice or spaghetti dinners, canning, leftovers, bulk cooking, etc.), we get clothes and shoes from hand-me-down bags (I usually only buy underwear and socks new), and our extracurricular activities are limited to those places family works for.

My kids even say, I’m a scrooge.

So now, we have a pre-approval! (I know, I shouldn’t be excited just yet.) We can’t do a construction loan just yet, but they said a new home loan (builder has to sell it “done”).

If dreams happen, then we could find a builder willing to build on a rural property with total cost was than 265000 and a simple floor plan

My plans 😂

Simple. (Except my pantry is huge 😂)

In our search, most homes have huge oversized bedrooms and stop at 3. It’s tough to find one with 6 bedrooms… and they’d still be sharing! (That’s because I can’t separate some duos even if I wanted to.)

We have prayed.

Like everything in my life, I have chosen to give the sum nd total of it to God and He will direct us where He wants and we will move on from there. If that means awesome new build with exactly what we want small and simple or a 700sqft existing 2br/1ba that we add on to… We are waiting and praying.

Thank you for praying and reading our journey!

~Nancy Tart

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