Years ago when we bought our first home we had plans to only have 2 kids and stay in that starter home for 5 years. 8 years later we were still in that house and had 4 children and were bursting at the seams for lack of room.

We began to look for a bigger house. Mark and I were both raised on Upper Hilham road so of course we started our home search on that road. We ended up finding a home that we really liked but it was a repo home and the bank where I worked was the owner of it so we got turned down on buying that home as it would be unethical for an employee of said bank to buy a home that the bank had repossessed so our search continued.

We had started attending a church on Oak Hill road so we started looking for a home on the south side of our county more towards our church. We soon found a home that we really liked and we went to look over the land. Our first view of this property was in the early spring and the real estate lady walked us over the 7.4 acres and the whole back border of the property was a river. Right out from the back of the house was a sloping hillside and an overlook down to the level flat bottom land below and then the river. The first look I had of that bottom land was that it was full of yellow buttercups.

In my spirit that day as I looked over that bottom land that was bloomed out in gorgeous yellow buttercups, God spoke to me and told me that all of this would be mine someday. I said back in my spirit, “There is no way!” The price for all the property and the house was 69,900.00 which in that period of our life was way out of our price range. We loved it and the real estate lady knew that I especially loved it but we had to tell her no that we just couldn’t afford it.

I kept praying and we kept searching but nothing else was opening up for us. We had certain stipulations and they were:

1. Had to be outside the city limits but still close to town
2. Had to be in the community of our church
3. Had to have water and some trees as we wanted our kids to grow up like we had
4. Had to have enough acreage so that if one or all of our kids needed a small plot to put a trailer on or something that there would be room

About 6 months passed and we had looked and looked at houses and land and then one day our real estate lady called me. She asked if we were still looking and I said that we were but nothing was turning up. She told me that the house on Okalona was still available and that the lady had reduced the price. We went back and looked through the house once again and walked the property. At this visit we offered the lady 55,000.00 for the place and she turned us down. I was so broken hearted. We kept looking and once again nothing was opening up for us. I kept praying and praying and asking God to help us.

About 3 more months passed by and the real estate lady called us again. This time she had even more exciting news! The house and land that we loved was going up for auction as the lady that owned it had lost her husband to cancer and she wanted to move back to her home town and really needed to sell it. In the meantime my husband, Mark, had applied and was about to get a better paying job. Things were beginning to fall into place but our time was limited and if we were going to do this thing then we would have to move quickly.

We went before the bank officials where I worked and told them the situation. The little house that we were living in at present we still owed money on. The officials told us that we could bid on the new place but only up to 50,000.00 and not a penny more. If we got the bid then we had to auction off our present home in 30 days and for a short period of time they would let us owe for 2 houses and just pay the interest until our VA loan went through on the new place.

I had never attended an auction in my entire life and the day of the auction my husband was required to be at the factory at the same time to take a speed test as he was in the final stages of getting approved for his new job. I asked my cousin that was a lawyer to go with me to the auction and do the bidding for me as I didn’t know what to do.

The day of the auction the auctioneer started with the household items first. I had already told Mark that I really wanted a porch swing on this porch as I love swings and have lots of good memories at grandma’s house swinging in her swing. I also wanted a wood stove as the house had electric heat but also a chimney and a place in the basement for a wood stove.

I was able to buy the home’s swing at auction that day for 10.00 and the wood stove that had already been here for 40.00.

When the bidding on the house started I was standing so stiff and tall and looked like a statue! The bidding was going up and up but when my cousin got to 48,000.00 the bidding stopped and at first I didn’t realize that we got the place. Soon the realization soaked in and I began sobbing uncontrollably and the lady that owned the house was standing on the front porch and was leaning against one of the porch posts and I went over to her and thanked her and was a blubbering mess of emotions and still just crying my eyes out, she must have thought me nuts.

Within 30 days we had to be out of our old house and an auction had to take place. We staged our old house with all of our best furniture and lamps and moved all of our junkier stuff out here and Mark and I and our kids slept on the dining room floor. It was some of the happiest times of our young family’s life.

The auction of our old home took place 2 days before Christmas in 1985 and only 2 families showed up but one off those families bought our home. We had paid 21,000.00 for the place and it sold for 30,000.00 that day. We were thankful.

Matt, our youngest of 4, was only 2 years old when we moved here. We were completely moved in here by December 28, 1985 and Matt celebrated his 3rd birthday here on 12-31-85.

We built decks later and this particular swing sits diagonal for a reason as it views the Poston mountains on the other side of the river behind us. I love the Smoky Mountains and our view is spectacular just like being in the Smokies!

Every prayer I ever uttered in looking for a home is answered in this house and this land. I know without a doubt that God gave us this place just like He told me in my spirit that He would years ago.

I praise Him and I thank Him always!