#GreenAcres

My husband and I married in 1980 and lived in an apartment for a couple of years and then rented a double, or duplex as some may call it, for several years. We continued to either rent an apartment or a house for the next 15 years. It was convenient for us during those years as we had moved around quite a bit: from Indianapolis to Tampa, to Los Angeles, to Jacksonville, and then to the Dallas/Ft Worth area.

We finally broke the mold in 1994 while renting an apartment in Lewisville, Texas, when we took the plunge and bought 10 acres of undeveloped land in Krum, Texas. It was pure country and it was absolutely beautiful! I could just sit and stare at the land for hours. In every direction we looked it was green, it was big, it was peaceful, and the sunsets were amazing.

Harold dove in immediately and began putting up fence. Within a few days we made an unexpected trip to the ER after he busted his hand with a post hole digger. Ouch!

Shortly afterward, we began the next chapter in our lives and moved out of our Lewisville apartment and on to our new land, and into a little travel trailer.

It was an old travel trailer.

And did I mention it was little?

And that there were four of us!

It was so small, when the girls were sleeping, we had to climb over their bed (couch/hideaway-bed) to get to the kitchen! We didn’t even own the travel travel trailer; we rented it! 😂

While living in the travel trailer we built a 12-stall drive-through barn and made 4 of the stalls into living quarters:

⁃ one stall for the kitchen/bathroom

⁃ one stall for the living room

⁃ one stall for our daughters’ bedrooms

⁃ and one stall for our bedroom.

It really was kind of like a log cabin except instead of logs the walls were made of untreated 2×4’s. Our bedroom was located next to the horse stall and on many an occasion the horse would wake us up by kicking the walls. 😳 We also had a few roosters 🐓 but that was very short lived because they “cock-a-doodled-do” way too early in the morning (I’m talking like 4:00 a.m.) so we gave them to a neighbor.

So at this point we were land owners and lived in a barn.

Our oldest daughter Michelle, was not very fond of living out in the country and was even less fond of living in a barn, although she did like the horses. Our younger daughter Megan was just the opposite. She loved living on the farm and loved all the animals. In addition to horses we had a dog, cats, rabbits, donkeys, goats, sheep, and cows.

Don’t ask about the emu’s. 😳

Having lived my entire life in the suburbs up until this time, living in the country was quite the culture shock. I tried to make light of it and amused myself by going around singing the theme song to the TV show, Green Acres:

Green acres is the place to be!

Farm livin’ is the life for me!

Land spreadin’ out so far and wide.

Keep Manhattan, just give me that countryside. (As sung by Eddie Albert)

New York is where I’d rather stay!

I get allergic smelling hay.

I just adore a penthouse view.

Dahling I love you but give me Park Avenue! (As sung by Eva Gabor)

The chores! (Eddie Albert)

The stores! (Eva Gabor)

Fresh air! (Eddie Albert)

Times Square! (Eva Gabor)

You are my wife! (Eddie Albert)

Good bye, city life! (Eva Gabor)

Green acres we are there! (In unison!)

#MizzyVic

My husband, on the other hand, loved everything about living in the country and was fine with living in a barn. So much so that I was a little concerned that we were never going to get around to building the new house that he’d promised when we first bought the land.

So I prayed about it.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6

Although our address was in Krum, we actually lived closer to the town of Ponder and that’s where the girls went to school and where we attended church. It was a great church and I grew in my Christian faith. I began to tithe. It was not the first time I’d thought about tithing but it was the first time that I recall that I was convicted to actually do it.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

While living in the barn we had an unexpected surprise. I became pregnant and gave birth to our third daughter, Mackenzie. When we were first married I remember thinking about our future and praying about having three children. God blessed us with two beautiful daughters, Michelle and Megan. So, at age 42 and after having had several miscarriages when I was younger, I had long given up on having any more children, but God had other plans.

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

In 1997, after 17 years of marriage, at age 42, and Harold at age 48, and after approximately a year of living in that little trailer, and another year of living in the barn, our first home as homeowners was built, and we moved into it with our three girls. Mackenzie was just a few months old, Megan was 11, and Michelle was 15.

In 2003 we sold the 10 acres and moved to a new home in the suburbs, in the home where we still live today, in Denton, TX. I look back on those years spent on those 10 green acres with a smile and recall the many sweet memories we made as a family there, including having my mom nearby for several months in 1994. I thank God for His faithfulness and providence in my life.

Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Psalm 107:1