Spare Change
The story of our path to this point is long and boring, so here's the short version.
Before Christmas, God provided us with something very good.
One month ago, we bought either
1. A LARGE Car
or
2. An Itty Bitty Home
Which was it, you ask?
Good question. I haven't seen it myself yet, but, Lord willing, we'll transplant ourselves there in the late spring sunshine. It's about half the size of a standard single-wide trailor, but it has no steering wheel, so my bet's on the itty-bitty home. The only picture I could find that shows something with similar square footage was this. Take out the gigantic boat, and there's a cozy space for our family of six. Plus, our car/home only cost $500, and that included a stove, refrigerator, and a new furnace. (The Boat Tent costs $2,000, without the boat.)
I am excited!
If one counts our month and a half stint of gypsyhood as a home, then this 1965 Pontiac will be our seventh home, and the first one we've ever owned.
I like that.
Once I see it, I'll take a picture, and then we'll have a naming contest.
22 comments :
hi abigail! sorry i haven't been online much...so i just recently saw your comment and if you still want i would LOVE to receive my doodle!! let me know! you can email me at susannacummings@gmail.com thanks!!
I should have read this more carefully, I thought you were living in the tent. Whoa, but now I read it again, every word this time and so congratulations!!
Susanna,
Hurrah! I'll send you an email shortly.
Torie,
Your comment made me laugh. I was just coming on here to leave a long congratulatory comment to myself because everyone else avoided commenting!
I think I'll do it, anyway...
WOW! WOW! WOW!
You and John are the greatest!!! Your children are tops!!! Your new home (not the boat tent, which doesn't include a refrigerator or stove OR a boat) is AMAZING!!!!!! WHAT AN ADVENTURE!!! I am SO EXCITED FOR YOU ALL and I think you're SENSIBLE and BRAVE and KIND and BEAUTIFUL and INTELLIGENT and MORAL and LOVING and YOU FLOSS YOUR TEETH AFTER EVERY SINGLE MEAL and NONE OF US WILL THINK YOU'RE LOW-CLASS CITIZENS WHEN YOU MOVE INTO YOUR WONDERFUL TRAILER!!!!!! I WON'T EVEN ASK WHY ON EARTH YOU'RE DOING THIS OR HOW LONG YOU PLAN ON LIVING THERE!!! WOW!
WOWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
Pete gets the trailer when you're done with it; How he yearns for Nantikoke ...
Also, I deeply respect your ambition to live debt free and hope to be supportive in your endeavor.
Not to mention, a trailer in God's country is as close to a home on the range where the deer and the antelope play as you can get.
Godspeed,
Sarah
I can't wait to see your home and how you make it work! I work hard to keep things simple around here i.e. getting rid of extras and clutter, etc. but you certainly will have to do even better than that! Congratulations!!!
Isn't it exciting to have a place to truly call your own??? Congrats and Congrats again :)
I totally agree with you "BIGGEST FAN!!"
I'm late! I'm late! I'm late for a date!
(with the comments box)
That biggest fan comment had me in FITS... I WONDER WHO WROTE IT?!? I MEAN, WHOEVER IT WAS CERTAINLY LOVES CAPS! ;-)
But-commenter extraordinare is right about everything said. You guys are tops.
I am just pleased as punch for you all and know, without a doubt, that you of all people will not only make it WORK but you'll do so with grace and STYLE.
I get more and more convinced every day how good it is to live free from bondage...(and I don't say that in a fanatical way, after all, we are renting too!) but truth is~handing money over when you don't HAVE to, is a sort of bondage. I admire you for doing what most people won't in order to obtain your goals.
And~ I'm really happy there is a toilet! :-)
this is great! hooray for tiny houses filled with oodles of love! i can't wait for photos and a visit!
xoxo from me and unka 'wirrel.
Thanks, everybody! I walked through the home/car yesterday, but my camera died. I only got one picture; it was of a washboard inside a bucket inside the tub. Next time, I'll take more, and you'll be awed silent by the splendorous glory of our soon home.
Sarah,
I also deeply respect our ambition to live debt-free. We are, after all, SENSIBLE and BRAVE and SO ON. Lest people who don't know us think more highly of us than they ought, let it be known that we're still paying off school loans and will likely have to take on debt in order to build our home. The question of the hour is whether we'll take out successive small loans that we can pay off each year or a Monster Lump Loan that will take longer to pay off.
And we'd gladly pass this trailer along to Pete, provided you and the boys came, too!!!
Kiley,
I've gotten rid of a few bagfuls in the last couple of weeks, and it didn't make even the smallest dent in our two-bedroom home full o' stuff. Are you available for hire?
Rebecca,
Grace and style? I'll work on it...
Heidi,
We'll feed you cinnamon buns!
Your post had me laughing! (Wondering whether it was a large car and an itty bitty house)
With those old cars, one can never tell. They ARE sort of HUGE! :D
Congratulations! There is nothing like having your own place and not renting. I say this now as a renter who really pines for her house back in PA...
I am SO excited to see pictures of you guys in the new house, all moved in!! I know you will make it work fabulously!!
That was a god riddle...you sure stumped me! :) Can't wait to see some pics!! Congrats!
I hope that your nail a rifle over the top of your door- we're reading the Little House series to our kidlings...a house big enough for a boat is just about right, I think!
(Or maybe too big! Need some company?)
We just found a mover. Hurrah!
And, Sarah, we'll do our best. We also plan on giving the girls only an orange, a peppermint stick, and a penny for Christmas. (That's about what we do, anyway, and then grandparents pull through like a stampede of loving consumer-buffalo... Hey! Maybe the grandparents will give us rifles this year!)
*Note to grandparents on both sides: We already have the nails.
Mover= A man who will pull our car-home to its new resting spot.
p.s. He's VERY strong.
so glad you found the good strong mover... we need photos!
Will said mover be using a team of oxen?
Laura,
Photos from my wounded camera will limp on here sometime in the next week to reward you for your faithfulness!
Torie,
I've only talked to this Strong Man on the phone, but he's got a gruff voice, he uses the word "ain't", and he told me that it would be "no problem" to move the trailer. Who needs oxen!
This will be the fourth time that I have tried to leave a comment here.
All my congratulations and prayers. What an amazing move. I think we have lived in some tough places and situations... but this will definitely be difficult (size wise, I mean!) It will be a true challenge to slim down your belongings to be comfortable in your new home. I really respect your choice. May God bless it richly!!
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