From mold in Houston to moving onto 17 acres, here’s how our family began our homestead journey (with no septic, a couch, and a whole lot of faith).

Two months ago, we traded comfort for calling, and we’ve been learning ever since. You may have noticed the account name change – from Seven Loaves Baking Co to Ten Talents @ 347. I wanted share what’s been going on and hopefully invite you to stick with us as we learn how to homestead together as 3 generations!

Truthfully, a lot has happened in the last 12 months…except for making sourdough. I think I’ve baked 2 loaves, maybe.

My husband, Stephen, my in laws, Glenn and Rori (GNR), and I (Kristi) have all shared the dream of building a multigenerational homestead. It was GNR’s dream for a very long time to live on the same property as their children and grandchildren. And while I was falling in love with Stephen, that dream quickly became ours too.

This spring, while I was on maternity leave after welcoming our beautiful daughter Gigi, Stephen and I purchased a double-wide home to put on GNR’s 17 acres. We weren’t quite ready to move yet but we wanted to start preparing, with the goal of being there within the next year. GNR moved into their custom build home November 2024 and have been praying for our chance to relocate sooner rather than later!

Then came this summer.

In July and August, we found ourselves dealing with a disastrous mold situation in our rental home just outside Houston, TX. Our property management company refused to let us out of our lease despite the unsafe living conditions – and we had three babies under the age of four. In August, we made the decision to end our lease anyways and move to the modular home. On September 13^th our permanent address officially became the 17 acres!

The last eight weeks have been an absolute whirlwind. The essentials for moving in – power, water and septic (plus Starlink for internet) – weren’t all ready when we arrived. Water was connected in August, so that part was set, but the rest still needed work. Because of that, Stephen and I spent four weeks on GNR’s couch, our toddlers shared an air mattress in the guest room, and our infant slept in a pack & play in the master closet. An adventure from day one to say the least!

Thankfully, both Stephen and Glenn are superintendents in the construction industry, so they’ve been tackling as much as they can themselves to help keep costs down. After a lot of back and forth, power was finally connected in early October and Starlink was installed soon afterward, meaning we could finally move into our own beds. But as of today, Nov 11, we still don’t have septic installed. This means that all bathroom needs, laundry and dishes are taking place at GNR’s. (Thank God for them!)

Stephen had planned to take a course at Texas A&M to get licensed to install our septic himself, but we found out the type of system required for our property isn’t covered in that first course. So now we’re looking at paying $10,000-$14,000 for a professional install. As I type this, he’s on the phone trying to get us on someone’s calendar for late November or early December.

But despite the messiness of living without plumbing, there have been some incredible wins! We’ve watched breathtaking sunrises, played baseball until the sun went down, and added a few green and yellow upgrades to the family: a John Deere tractor, a John Deere riding lawn mower (were calling the John Fawn) and a very broken (but full of potential) John Deere Utility Vehicle (the John Doe). We’ve also added four barn cats to the mix & started making progress on the driveway!

Somewhere between hauling moving boxes to the firepit and praying the power company gave us the greenlight to hook us up, I realized that comfort isn’t the goal out here – contentment is. I’ve learned that plans change faster than the Texas weather, that you can’t control much except your attitude, and that gratitude really does grow roots when you stop long enough to notice the small wins.

Now you’re all caught up!! We hope you stick around as we tackle the next projects on our list – getting our septic system installed, finishing the driveway and saying yes to all the other adventures we stumble into along the way!

All the best, Kristi