Finding Querencia

So this is where it starts. We've made an offer on a house again, this time a super weird one, but on five acres. It's the first one we've made a written offer on, and I'm a nervous Nellie (sorry, Nellie). 
We've always talked about what we want, Jake and I: a beat up (read: cheap) house in a perfect spot where we can build equity; a place where our kids can play outside freely & wildly (so a big yard & no busy streets); space for friends, dogs, chickens, and a garden; a place where we can hear & see God in His creation and have available space for whatever is needed; and room to really, really breathe, which I suppose is what other people call 'privacy'. 

 This place has existed in our minds for a long time, but we're only just now looking to make it a reality. It's a really scary thing to make a dream into a reality, especially one that (by definition) requires a lot of hard work. Hard work isn't always (ever) my strong suit, at least not of the physical variety. Maybe a crazy weird house on five rocky, weed-filled, beautiful acres can change that. 

So that's the dream. And I, being obsessed with words, found the perfect one to describe it: querencia, a Spanish word that doesn't directly translate into English. In Spanish, querencia describes a place where one feels safe, a place from which one's strength of character is drawn, a place where one feels at home. John Jeremiah Sullivan defines querencia as "an untranslatable Spanish word that means something like 'the place where you are your most authentic self." Isn't that exactly what home should be? It's so perfect that when (I mustn't think "if"!) we find it, I'm putting it on a giant signpost over the gate. 

 I know for a certain fact that a home that doesn't run smoothly isn't a source of joy and peace, but of stress. I also know that when gentle plans are made and followed, and people work hard as servants to each other, counting each one as better than themselves, a truly happy home is found. So it definitely won't be easy to pull off, and I'm sure there will be lots of crazy things that create a lot of stress, but I want to start finding querencia, and the only way to get there is to start moving.