Our Farmhouse

     The story of our new farmhouse isn't complete without a detailed discussion of all of the places that we have called home since we said "I do." My husband and I met and married very young and quickly while my family and I were residing in Germany. Stuttgart, at that time, was a mixing bowl of all military branches at various barracks locations. Ken was serving in the United States Army. We spent our first year of marriage in a huge, two bedroom apartment on Patch Barracks. Our first home holds such important memories as we grew as a young, married couple, discovering new things about each other and learning the ropes of domestication: cooking, cleaning, budgeting, etc. I look back on that first year of our marriage and giggle, remembering how often we survived on Hamburger Helper and Velveeta Shells and Cheese. We were just kids with such a passion for each other. Ken's job in the Army required him to travel quite frequently and I remember, like it was yesterday, how 4-5 days without him felt like a lifetime. The arguments and heated discussions that were had between those walls were so childish and immature but truly aided in our marital growth. Oh, how far we've come since then...

     A family emergency in Ken's family was the reason behind his discharge from the Army and our immediate move back to Connecticut. It was such a sudden, urgent matter that left us with no time to plan or prepare that we eventually ended up renting the first place available to us. It was a small, two bedroom apartment with so much character in an older, 3 family, house. That sweet, tiny place saw the next two and a half years of our marriage. We were continuing to grow as a couple, however, the strength of our vows were most certainly tested while we lived there. Being in a place that was so new and unfamiliar to me while being surrounded by Ken's family, friends, and memories of the first 18 years of his life, drove a huge wedge between us. I worried we were growing apart due to differing priorities and financial hardship, common of most young couples. Being thrown back into the civilian world, attempting to figure out our new normal, while also working through the urgent matter involving his family was a huge testament to our love for each other, but, as you might've guessed, we survived it...

     At the end of 2007, we bought our first house. We were still very young and naive, but we were ready for the challenge. We were smart enough to know not to get in over our heads so we found a small, fixer-upper at a fantastic price. Over the course of the last 9 years, that house played witness to some of the most amazing memories, thus far, in my life: we made that house our own by completely renovating it, I graduated from college and started a business while living there, and that house saw our family grow by six little feet, from the pregnancy tests taken in the one single bathroom, to the sweet, little cries heard throughout it's rooms, to the paint and crayon covered walls...that house kept my family safe and warm. If we hadn't have outgrown it, I would've lived there forever, but we desperately needed more space...so...just as hard as it was to say "goodbye," it was just as exciting to say "hello" to our Rollo Family Farmhouse:

     Built in 1929, this house has so much character. Located on Main Street, I had my eye on this house for years. I never dreamed that one day I'd call it my own. The second I saw the For Sale sign out front I contacted our real estate agent and was making arrangements, that very day, to get inside to check it out. I knew, the second I crossed the threshold, I was home. As I began walking through the house, rather than inspecting it and making sure it was good enough for my family, I was mentally decorating it in my head. It was full of so much potential and possibility! I could envision my children growing up here: homework being done at the imaginary farm table; sleepovers with friends in the living room; I could even envision myself, sitting on the couch, awaiting their return home from a first date; make-up, glitter, and jewelry covering every square inch of counter space in the bathroom as my daughter prepared for her prom or, better yet, her wedding. As we walked out and our real estate agent locked up behind us, I knew in my heart I had to have it! Later that night, we put in an offer. There was still a long road ahead of us before it was officially our's but on September 12th, 2016, we were given the keys and the rest is history.