2019 was the year of buying and selling homes for the Spikeston family.

We sold two houses this year. Sarah sold her Marshall, TX house and J R sold his home in Austin. Both sold relatively quickly, thanks be to God! Another one of Sarah’s houses didn’t sell so we’re retaining a couple of rentals at the moment in Daingerfield, Odessa, and Gainesville (the house we just moved out of).

Since we were married, we’ve been trying to find the perfect house that would be big enough for our family AND the animal rescue. Ideally, we wanted to find the perfect house late Spring, early Summer and do most of the heavy moving and settling in while we were both on Summer break. It was rough. Finding a minimum of 5 acres outside of city limits (pig restrictions), but close enough to civilization to get reliable internet access and not be more than 30 minutes from our jobs. No property felt perfect…we felt we were either compromising our comfort or the animals…maybe the land was barely 5 acres…or the house needed some improvements…or the property wasn’t fenced yet.  After a few false starts (had offers, counters, and the like on a couple houses), Sarah stumbled on the perfect house only 19 hours after it went live for sale. We went to see it the next day.

When we drove up, we had an “I know you!” moment with the owners. The Sullivans do rescue with Duck Team 6 who Sarah had helped a few years back capture three Great Pyrenees mixes. The personal connection and the fact neither the people or the animals had to compromise with the property meant it was a perfect fit. No compromises needed!

In mid-September, we moved into our new farm house in Sanger, TX just north of Denton and Dallas. 10.01 acres, 3100+ sq feet of barnodominium home plus an attached 1500 sq feet of dog kennel. The home already had an existing 10 stall professional dog kennel with dog washing station already installed. A two story wood burning fireplace, 4 bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, pipe fencing, two dog yards, two pastures, and a gated entrance made this property perfect.

And although we moved later than our ideal schedule (in September instead of over summer break), we settled in well and have been enjoying our new home. The dogs are cozied up in their kennels separate from the house and we feel like we have our own space for a change without foster dogs under foot. The horse, pony, donkey, and goats are enjoying the pastures. (Our cows are with a friend until we can install a middle bar to our pipe fencing.) And the chickens are in a hawk proof enclosure.

We love our home and are so happy to have been blessed with the space and ability to buy the place. You’re welcome to come see it in person! We are always happy to host friends and family.