Hey there! I’m Jennifer. Welcome to Marigold Acres. This blog is a glimpse into the crazy world of homesteading with a unique multigenerational twist. I live on 38 acres in southern Wisconsin with my husband, mom, mother-in-law, daughter, her husband as well as a collection of 4 dogs. Join us as we venture into the messy unknown!
This adventure began in January of 2016 when the hubs and I went “looking” for property. We stumbled on 2 pieces of land that were perfect but out of our price range.
We left sad that we couldn’t afford them. We continued to look at more affordable parcels and they never could measure up to what we had seen in Wisconsin. In April of that same year we looked to see if “our land” was still available. Sure enough, it was and decided to call the realtor to and get the the details on the property. You know that moment when you feel like all the stars are aligned and God is looking at you and your needs as if He has nothing else better to do? Well that was our moment. The land owner was motivated to sell and was willing to sell under a land contract giving us time to get organized for this huge undertaking. We signed on the dotted line!
We spent the summer camping on the property and mad some improvements down by the river. We were able to add an outhouse, shower enclosure and a dock before the weather made it time to say goodbye for the winter.
The addition of the outhouse made camping for the summer so much nicer!
That winter we made plans to move forward with making this our permanent residence.
I guess it is time to explain our “Why”. Multigenerational living is not very common these days. It used to be the norm but not anymore. Most families opt for assisted living facilities for aging family members. That was not an option for us. Healthcare costs for the elderly are crazy expensive and neither of our families can afford that. One night while watching a movie a seed was planted. If you have the opportunity to watch “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel”, it is well with your time.
Both my Hubs and I were raised by families that took care of their own. Dave’s grandparents lived either with them or down the street while he was growing up. Both sets of my grandparents lived in the same town and were very much part of my life as a child. Dave and I would not be where we are today if it were not for the help of our parents. We plan are doing the same for our children as well as paying our parents back for all they have done for us. God, Country, and Family. That’s how we roll.
At this point in our story, we didn’t really have a time frame to make Marigold Acres our home. We had been thinking that we would make improvements little by little and continue to live in Chicagoland area. Our living situation in Chi Town was not perfect but it worked. Our daughter was in Grad school at the time and she and her husband were living with us while she finished school. Her husband Kyle was working but his job was not his dream job so he was looking. Both the hubs and I work from home so it was not super important to be in any particular location but we didn’t have a real reason to jump into homestead life just yet…
Well God has a way of lighting fires and showing signs. The son-in-law Kyle found his dream job in Madison. Of all places this was the most perfect location and the most perfect job for my uber Engineer son-in-law. Kyle happily moved out of my basement and into a sad apartment in Madison to begin his “big boy” job as a test engineer. Not so happy daughter Olivia remained in our basement to finish Grad school. That was sigh #1. Sign #2 happened when we realized how much money we were throwing away renting in Chicagoland and the kids in Madison. It made so much sense to look into moving on to the property we were paying for. Solution: buy a trailer and live in that while we build a barn and let the kids live in the trailer until we build the “big house”. Sign #3 My dad passed away in late March. I flew to Texas to help her sort out all that goes along with a death in the family while David sorted out what we were going to do with mom. We weren’t exactly ready for her to move to Wisconsin with us. We didn’t have any water, electricity or sewer in place and the trailer was delayed in manufacturing. Decided to have mom spend the spring and summer in California with my sister and mom’s best friend. Sign #4 Olivia landed the perfect job right in downtown Janesville even before she graduated. The stars were lining up in a way that that only God could have designed! Now we just needed that trailer to show up!
May 22nd we finally were officially able to call this place home. We put 99% of our stuff in storage and moved into a very well appointed Park Model Trailer.
