Two years ago I promised my wife the biggest anniversary gift ever.
It took a little longer than I expected.
Like two years longer.
The Birth of the Dream
It all started in January 2015.
Missy told me, “I’d like to build a house on Poodle’s (her grandmother) property. We could knock down the old house and put up a new one for just the cost of the house.”
Sounded good to me.
But there was a problem.
Missy’s dad and his sister both own the property. After pleading, prayer, and even bribing Missy’s aunt, she wouldn’t budge.
“I ain’t givin’ up that land for no amount of money.”
Strike One.
Round Two
Missy was upset, but she didn’t give up.
She’s a fighter when it comes to her dreams.
One day Missy’s brother Joey noticed some commotion next door.
“What’s going on here?” Joey asked someone inside.
“The old man who lived here died. We’re getting rid of everything.”
“You selling the house, too?”
“Yep.”
“How much you want?”
In less than an hour, Joey brought a check.
Let’s Try That Again
Joey rented the house for a few months.
Then he called Missy with an offer.
“How’d you like to get that house next to me? You could remodel it and make it like you want it. I think you can do it for about the same amount it would have cost you to build at Poodle’s.”
We thought about it for a day or two.
“We’d love to.”
The Construction Begins
We hired an architect to make our plans real.
We used some of the old house. The front and side wall. The foundation. The roof over the carport.
Everything else is new.
Things progressed without a hitch for 9 months or so.
Then we discovered we were over budget.
What’s worse is we were only 75% done.
After some prayer, some anguish, and a lot of talking, we decided to let Joey finish the house and sell it.
Strike Two.
A New Year, A New Beginning
The house was done.
I remarked to Missy, “Wouldn’t it be cool if one day we got the house anyway?”
She nodded, “Yes, it would.”
One day we discovered a broken water pipe had damaged my son’s floor. There was plenty of OSB board left at the house we could use so Joey brought it to repair the floor.
“Missy, I’ve been wracking my brain to find a way for you to get into this house. I’m willing to offer it to you for less than I’ve got in it. Maybe you can get Frank’s parents to help.”
My mom and dad were more than happy to lend a hand.
As I write this, 6 hours ago we signed 100 pages of documents that say this house is ours!
Here’s the Happy Homeowners!
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Frank this is an excellent touching story of you and your family’s dream realized and answered prayer!!! Congratulations on the new house!
Thank you, Cori! This truly is God’s blessing. It’s the answer to hundreds of prayers!
Reading the story of how it came to be makes it even more special. I love things with a history!
Thanks, Cynthia. I love telling the story!
So happy for you!
Thanks, Debbie!
Congratulations, Frank!! I’m very happy for you and your family! It’s a beautiful story.
Thanks, Lauriane! It has been a long journey. It’s good to be home!