Hello everyone! The last post took a long tim to upload since our WiFi was spotty at the hotel. But now we are situated and have WiFi in our house at the estate, so here we go again!

I thought I would share some of my favorite things about being here so far. Truly it is another world that we are just now beginning to explore..

The grounds.

It’s 300+ years of history is impressively untouched and kept pristine always. There are four full time gardeners and three who run the farm. The landlord and his wife don’t have children, so Mark and I wonder if we are the last renters while this is privately owned.

This is a historical landmark, and people come from 10am to 4:30 most days to pay to walk around the gardens. There are weddings, tea parties, and various events hosted here.

The people.

The way this estate is set up is like it’s own town within walls. The main house is next to us, and then there are rooms and cottages being rented out for various purposes (some living, some get away from the city to have some peace and quiet, etc.)

So far we have met around 18 people and all are very happy to have us!

Next to us is Frank, a famous artist (Francis Hamel, go look him up if you like) rents a space for his studio, but also lives with his wife nearby in the village.

Paul and Ann are the main farmer and gardener – they keep this place running and have helped with our plumbing and water heater many times already!

Warren and Alison are the local painters that touch up the window sills for weddings and painted our cottage before we moved in.

Charles and Angela Cotrell-Dormer are the owners and our landlords. They are in their eighties and still hobble around and are generally adorable in the old-English way. Charles drives an old green Land Rover Defender that he “usually just uses for the dogs when we hunt on the winter.”

Yes, they own 26 hounds especially for hunting in the winter.

East Wing

When I was dreaming of our home here, I had three things that would have been top “this-will-never-happen-but-a-girl-can-dream” things.

Lots of light. 12 foot ceilings. A wood burning fireplace.

I figured I would probably just get the fireplace since most homes here are built with them.

Then in late May I saw this place on the rental app, and swooned. But then it disappeared from the site, so I figured it was gone.

Two months later it was house hunting week, and there it was, back on the site. So I emailed and nobody responded. Other than that there was nothing that fit our budget except apartment-like modern homes in the city. Which we honestly tried to get, since we needed a place ASAP.

Nobody called us back, nobody returned my emails. Then I got a call from a rental agent apologizing that there just wasn’t anything available right now, but she had this two bedroom place called the East Wing. I nearly started crying, and told her we would love to see it!

Oh, the ceilings, the light, the adorable fireplace in the living room…surely this couldn’t be our home? Surely they would find a better fit than two newlyweds who didn’t even own a bed yet.

Come to find out many people were trying to get into this one-of-a-kid rental, but the landlord was picky and didn’t want just anyone renting there. He also loves American military.

So we show up and an hour later they not only offered us the rental, but we’re going to install a dishwasher just for me.

So there is the setting of our everyday, and it is a gift from God.

I prayed for this house, these people, our first home. So many people have prayed. How graciously He has answered! What a sweet gift to enjoy.

I have asked that it would be a place of deep joy, hospitality, and peace. That our relationships with those around us would honor and glorify Him. That our marriage and family would grow here in depth, richness, and Christlikeness.

Thanks for reading! I’m off to the store now. Much love!