I have given up on trying to actually post here on a regular basis, but once in a while I can pop in and say something. :)

The girl are all growing super fast!  They are 8, 5 and 3 now.  School is almost done for the year, and I am really looking forward to the lazy days of summer!   

The best news though, is that Lord willing, we will probably be able to move next year!  I have been wanting to move to the country almost since I moved away, but the last few years the pull to live on a farm has grown and grown until now I can hardly stand it!  The problem is that we bought this house right before the market crashed.   We were supposed to be here 4-5 years, it has been seven.   We have started saving, thinking it would be 3-4 more years before we would have enough to pay the difference from what we owe, to what the house is worth.  Well, this spring prices have jumped a LOT in our neighborhood.  They have increased at least 20%, just from six months ago.  So now we are in range to actually sell soon!  Even if the house values don't go up again next year, as long as they don't drop, we should be able to make it happen.   I am so excited that I can not even express it.  I feel like I have hope and expectancy, even if I do have to wait a year, I now know what is coming is right around the corner!

The plan is the spend this year doing all the little things that need fixing, so by the time spring arrives next year, all we have do do is clear out the "clutter" to ge the house ready to go on the market.


We are hoping that our next place will be our forever home, so I am going to be very picky!  My top desire is that it is secluded (neighbors at least 1000 feet away, farther would be better.)  Just far enough that I can do what I want without neighbors to complain (like if I want 20 roosters, I only have to deal with hubby's annoyance, not the neighbor's.)  I also would like a longer driveway so I don't have to worry about kids or pets on the road.  I would also like enough land to mini farm.   I look at places with 5 acres, but really I would like at least 20, 40 would be better.
So my ideal farm would be...
40+ acres, 1/4 wooded, the rest pasture and hay field, a pond would be nice
dead end road with nearest neighbors 1/4 mile away or more
old farmhouse that has been completely restored and updated with attached garage ( Or a newly built straw bale home that used passive solar energy)
mature yard (big old trees)
4 bedrooms, formal dining room, den and 4 season porch or sunroom 
big old barn (red barn style)
already fenced would be a plus

Eric would just like to be close enough to the Twin Cities so that he can commute.

I know that I will have to bend on a lot of my wishes, because that ideal just doesn't  fit into our budget, but the seclusion is not negotiable.  The neighbors have to be far enough away not to care about my roosters, or where their dogs are not going to be coming over all the time, etc.  (Or my dog there.)
My second is having enough land to farm.
Third is that I would really like a mature yard.  
It can be a new house, old house, two story, rambler (although I don't want a split entry if I can avoid it... might consider one if everything else is perfect.)  I would even squeeze into a smaller house (800-1000 square feet) if everything else is great.  You can always add on to a house, you can't change your location. ;)

Ok, I am going to stop now, you get the idea. :)