“Wait. You’re doing what?!”: a phrase we are hearing A LOT these days. I’m Corrie. I am a teacher turned stay at home mom of 2. Our son is 4 and our daughter is 2, they are the answer to our “Why”. My husband, Carson, is an ICU RN and he keeps us all going.

For years, we had a dream of building a “compound” with my family. Maybe it started as a joke to make sure we had land to ride dirt bikes on, maybe it started as a way to just get away from a busy city. To be honest, it was so long ago I can’t remember. But that dream evolved into what I can only describe as reality.

20 + acres, two houses, two septics, two driveways, two wells…$$$$$$. Way more than our modest budget could afford.

So, I approached my husband with the idea of building a house on smaller acreage and attaching basically a supersized “mother-in-law suite”.

Fast forward to now, we’ve bought two lots in two different states. We’ve worked with two different builders and three architects. We’ve worried about budget…A LOT. And ultimately, we want to bring you along so that anyone can gain from our mistakes and also celebrate mini wins with us.