Simply beautiful our Story
My husband and I bought 10 beautiful acres in Enumclaw, Washington, in April of 2017. At the time, we simply wanted a place to share with our family and friends. Little did we know that in May of 2019, we would welcome another little family member into our lives — our bonus daughter.
I am not her tummy mommy; I was really her Nana. But when she was just a little over two years old, we received the finalized court papers stating that, in the eyes of the court system, we were her parents. Her biological father — our son — and her biological mother were young and not ready to be full-time parents. As a family, and for many reasons, the decision was made that we would become her legal parents.
The day I received the phone call from our lawyer, followed by the email with the finalized documents, I cried so many tears. It was such a relief, and in that moment, I knew my prayers had been heard.
Our household began to transition as her bio mom moved out, and our son came to understand that he had not given his father and me a burden, but a beautiful little gift. Our little farm baby has only ever known our home as her home. Other than one night away as a newborn, she has never been away from either myself or her Papa.
She still calls him Papa, but if you ask her who her dad is, she will look at you and proudly say, “That’s my Papa!” When she was about two and a half, she decided on her own that I was her Mommy and no longer Nana. I simply let it be, because that was her decision.
When she was two, we enrolled her in a farm school program so she could socialize with other children. She absolutely thrived. It was second nature to her. She was already extremely smart, but seeing her so happy at school with her friends and teachers — no matter the weather here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest — was refreshing.
She is truly a PNW child. She thrives in the rain. In fact, rainy days are some of her favorites.
That experience got me thinking more about how we — or maybe how I — could share our amazing property with others.
Let me paint a little picture of our land.
We have a park-like setting in the front of our home and side yard. Then we have our farm area, where we have made space for horses, a mini goat, a mini pig, chickens, and hopefully someday a few mini Highland cows.
Beyond that is the forest — the part of the property that is always changing with the rhythm of the seasons. There are trees that have withstood the ages, and trees that have fallen but become beautiful nurse logs for new life to grow.
When I walk along our little hidden trails, I feel like I am on an adventure in the mountains, yet I have only stepped into my own backyard. In the summer, the cool forest offers shade just steps away, along with the inviting smell of cedar and fresh berries. In the cooler, wetter months, the trees offer shelter from the rain.
It is truly beautiful.
We did not buy this property because of a big beautiful house or a perfect horse farm, because at the time, it was not really either of those things. We bought it because of the land. We all fell in love with it.
The man who owned the property before us was 98 years old when we bought it, and I was told he had been a teacher. He went on to live to be over 100 years old. Somehow, it just felt fitting that this amazing land would become a nature school — a place to enrich children’s lives in our community and the surrounding areas.
Simply put, it was meant to be.
