House number 4 is the house where we live now.
It all pretty much started about 11ish years ago while we were still living in Benton. Don's work place was closing.. in fact he had already taken an early retirement and was working for them on a contract bases. I was pretty much ready for a change. I mentioned to Don that I might like to live in Bentonville and be closer to my parents as they got older. Kelly was out of high school and in college in Fayetteville so we were empty nesters. While Don was deer hunting with Dad that year, he mentioned to him that we might be looking for some land to build on or a house to buy. Dad told Don that he had 80ish achers to choose from. Don commented that I really wanted somthing on a hill top.... That is when Dad said what about that hill up there... it is away from the main farm, wooded and on top of a ridge. We then had a look/see of the property... Dad said there was about 6 achers up there and that he and mom would deed it to us. That ended up taking almost a year because they had to get someone out there to survey the land. I remember the night that they gave me the deed.... I had driven up from Benton to Bentonville to go to the craft fairs with the girl family.. the drive seemed long.. I had worked all day and was driving up in the evening. There was a lot of road construction so the going was slow at times. Anyway, when I walked in the door I was pretty tired... both mom and dad said that they had something that would make me feel better--the deed to the property!!! And it did make me feel better...
This started a pretty long process of getting a house built... I had to go to the county office and get an address and start looking for house plans that would fit the property...\
From the get go, I had been looking at house plans for they type of house we wanted and had been looking around at houses in neighborhoods being built.
I found a plan that I liked and with some tweeking.... I along with the builder came up with a doable house plan.
I was slow going -- but we got started -- the land had to be cleared and the house staked out... Don and I started coming up to Bentonville at least once a month to check out the building process.. there were some delays because of the weather.. rainy etc...
When we weren't there, mom and dad would go out and oversee the building.. and mom took pictures to send to me.
I had made up my mind that I would not go back to teach at Benton the next year.... so I resigned at the end of the year with out having a job in NW Arkansas...
The plan was for me to live in Bentonville and do sub work if I didn't have a full time job. I had applied in Bentonville and Rogers..(Anita was teaching in rogers at the time)
So, we took time out from job hunting and house building to take a vacation... this was our first time to raft the Middle Fork of the Salmon river.... (we have since been back 2 more times)
While in route, I have a call at one of the hotels we were staying in that Anita had called and everything was fine but there might be a job opportunity for me... I called her and found out they needed a first grade teacher at the school where she was teaching music. I then called the principal and told here I was in Idaho getting ready to get on and river for a week and would be out of touch for that week.
I was to call here where I got back in Arkansas and we would talk not knowing if the job would still be open when I got back.
As soon as I got back into Arkansas.. It was the first of July... I called and the job was still open.. I set up an interview for the next day,,,, a Monday....
Don had to go to work the next day so he went on home and I stayed for the interview.
I had to go to the store to buy an interview outfit and shoes because all I had was river cloths.
I had the interview and had to stay in town a couple more days to have an interview at the admin office...
I spent that time picking out things for the house and surveying progress... long story longer...lol.. I got the job teaching first grade at Tillery Elementary in Rogers with Anita was teaching.
I got a ride with Mike to Little Rock since he was driving down to see his mom.
I spent the rest of the summer getting ready for a move to Bentonville...
the plan was that I live with Mom and Dad until the house was built. Don was to stay in Benton working and selling the house.
I went on to Bentonville in August to get room and stuff ready for the job..... The house sold soon after I came to Bentonville so Don ended up living with a friend until he moved to Bentonville.
This was an interesting time for us. We had never lived apart in all our married live (longest time apart was when Don was in the National Guard and would be gone for two weeks at a time)
We would see each other on the weekends.
The positive of me living with Mom and Dad, is that I didn't have to cook.
I spent much of the time picking things out for the house and working.
Don did get a job and was scheduled to move down December 1 to start job. We closed on the house just before Thanksgiving and moved in that week. I forgot to mention that we had to store our stuff for the months that we were waiting for the house to be finished. Don had a big job in all of this... he had to get movers to pack and move from Benton to Bentonville and to a storage unit that I had gotten... He also had to do all the cleaning of the house in Benton! Big job!
Then since I could not get off work.. He had to oversee the moving into the new house. Before we moved furnature, we slept on air mattresses and cleaned the house from top to bottom.. another big job, dust and sheet rock mud everywhere!
We got moved in time for my Thanksgiving break so I could unpack and put away some of the things..
Then we had a couple of snow days so I unpacked and put away some more.
We were to have the family over for Christmas... however the snow we got a couple of days before kept us from doing that. We ended up going somewhere for the day... Can't remember where.
Anyway, we have since had several family gatherings here at our house since we are so close to everyone now. Not everything has been good, but we have enjoyed being close to family.
Only a couple of years after we moved into the house, Bentonville was hit with a tornado. The twister missed us but we did get some hail damage and had to replace the roof... not happy since it was only a couple of years old...
the road up to our house started out as a private road, then a few years ago, the county took it over and made it a county road and they maintained it. Just this fall, with with help of others who live up the road and the county, we got the road paved with black top... Does make it a lot nicer going up and down the hill.
This December after 9 years in the house, we paid it off... what a great feeling to have this house paid for. This will lead the way for me to retire from teaching at the end of this year.....And that will be another story of looking back.
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