Our Journey
The Beginning!
Our Block, and our goal for clearing. 
The buildings placed incorrectly. 
Buildings shifted correctly and patio built. 
The ‘Cage’ erected! 
Vital steps, Pad built for the water tank. 
The kids helping to cart the crusher dust.
Now, our path to ending up on our property was a bit of a winding one, I have done some videos about it on YouTube if you want to check them out there, this one in 2022, and this one in 2023 and a four year collage as well.
But in essence, Darryl was running 4 franchises, I was home with 6 small children (which included 4 under the age of 3 for a bit there) running payroll and bookkeeping etc for these franchises as well as homeschooling Surreal and running the rest of the house.
We were seriously struggling with balance. We decided we would purchase a block of land that could be our weekender or holiday space and maybe one day, in the distant future, our home.
We decided that for the moment we would look at purchasing the house we were currently renting, this proved to be difficult because we were self employed, obtaining finance was challenging and the owners of the property were not being particularly receptive to us needing time to get it sorted. In the end, they chose not to renew our lease and we were then stuck with nowhere to go and not sure how to move forward.
Then, unfortunately, things spiralled a little further and Darryl started struggling with the stress and expectations in regard to providing for us, working the businesses as required and supporting me through the care of the kids etc. Our lives fell apart. We handed back a couple of the franchises in the hopes that reducing that pressure would help us to find balance again, however, we did not really get any compensation for this, and therefore were in no better position, we sought other rental properties to no avail and we tried to negotiate with our current landlord who was not interested.
In the end, we did the only thing we felt like we could do, we packed up and moved to the property, handing the last two franchises back and hoping that we could make things work on our mostly empty block, with a few half finished buildings on it, in the middle of nowhere with very minimal savings, but also, so we thought, very minimal debt.
Part Two coming soon!
I’m sorry that you had to go through such difficult times. I’m a mom of 10 daughters 6 still at home. We are teaching our children to be self sufficient (homesteading ways ) if you will. With inflation and the way of the world, I believe they should know how to cook, bake ,build what they can. I love your channel and understand this way of life isn’t easy. Love how you talk through your videos and when you say I’m rambling. It makes it more enjoyable and real. I like the way you make it work. All that said, be proud of the way you handled your situation and continue to care for your family. I like to watch you cook and make your bread. I learn something new often. Thank you Nyssa and family. I’ve been watching for about a year and will continue to do so. Thanks again!