Log Cabin Living

​As usual, God's plans for my life in New York have turned out different than I expected. I thought I would be living on West Point, but instead, I've made our current home in a log cabin off post. I thought I would be volunteering each week at a crisis pregnancy center, but instead, every door on that front has been shut. I thought we were going to wait until after this assignment to possibly try for another child, but instead, I am now four months pregnant with our third baby. And as always, God's vision is more purposeful and beautiful than my own. 

Even more than our newest little blessing on the way, the biggest shocker of this move was that we ended up living in a real log cabin. Two Tucson natives residing in the woods. I wouldn't have ever guessed that. When we learned that living on West Point was no longer an option, we had four days to find a rental since our housing goods were already set to be delivered. I scoured the internet, which revealed limited options. In desperation, I called the owner of a listing with no picture--a log cabin on a private road. Within an hour we found ourselves on the property. It was quite the mess as the owners were planning to vacate, but certainly not in four days. I put on my HGTV rose-colored glasses and saw the potential. Tim was not of the same positivity, but I asked him to trust me and three days later we moved into a house that needed desperate love. As with almost every house we've rented, our new home became a labor of love. After five months of repair, cleaning, relocating, yard work, reorganizing, and the like, I finally feel like this cabin in the woods is our home (for the next six months or couple years anyway). 

Driving up to our potential home on the first day made quite the impression. The trees were exceptionally lush and it felt like this tiny road transported you to a mountain vacation. 

The road leading to our house

The View to the right of our house

The view to the left of our house

Now that we've had our hands into this house for the last few months, we're really enjoying our temporary home. Tim likes being able to leave post at the end of the day and come home to a place that offers  a respite from the cramped quarters on West Point. I miss the community that we were promised to enjoy if we lived on post, but we still see our military friends regularly and are making close friendships in our community. What we love the most about this property is that it sits on an acre of land and the kids have endless opportunities to explore OUTSIDE and truly be free, like children of generations past. Below are images on the front of the house and the front yard. 

The backyard is probably the most significant factor that sold me on the house. It's extremely open and the picture-perfect yard for a kid. I easily imagined all the fun we would have exploring outdoors and entertaining. There is a huge deck that we all enjoy when the weather is nice and we even have our own raspberry bushes to pick from in the summer! On top of all the open space, we get to see wildlife weekly, which the kids LOVE.  So far, we've seen deer and turkeys, but we know that a black bear also roams the area. 

When you walk into the house, there is a tiny entryway and a narrow staircase straight ahead. To the right of the front door, you come into the dining room and kitchen. The owners left their table and chairs for us to borrow, which was nice since we were looking for a new set anyway; our bar height table isn't exactly child-friendly. The kitchen was remodeled shortly before we moved in and works well for all our needs. 

Past the dining room and kitchen sits the living room. I love the vaulted ceilings and all the windows. Despite all the windows, there is barely any natural light in the house because we are buried in the woods and not much sun reaches us, but it's still pretty to see all the greenery outside. Now that all the leaves have fallen, we are getting a bit more light which is welcome. The room is large so we've made a portion of it a craft area for the kids. 

On the other side of the dining room is the playroom, guest room/office, and the forest green (yes, green!) bathroom. Green floor tile, green shower tile, green bathtub, green countertops, and green toilet--ugh. That bathroom was almost a deal breaker for me, but I decided I could live with it in the end. 

Upstairs there are three bedrooms and a shared bathroom (that is NOT green--thank God).

Overall, our woodsy rental is a charming experience. There are some cons to living in an older, uninsulated cabin (yikes!), but we're embracing the adventure and grateful that God's vision for our time in New York was different than what we originally planned. This really is a place where we get to see all of His handiwork up close--the trees, the sunsets, the flowers, the animals, and the absolute serenity of the woods.

Summer

Fall

(Almost) Winter

In this military life, we are learning to place our trust more and more in the Lord. There is SO little that we can actually control in the Army. Among our nine moves, we've lived in a lake cottage, on a golf course, and now in a log cabin, so I'm hoping God is working some miracle that leads us to a beach front property next. Hey, a girl can dream! No matter where He takes us after this assignment, it's always an adventure and an opportunity to lean not on our own understanding, trusting that His plan is infinitely wiser than our own.

​If you're in the area, come and stay. We'd love to host you at our cabin!