It’s finally happening.

After years of dreaming, planning, waiting, paperwork, delays, and more than a few moments of wondering whether this day would ever come (and if I made a mistake), construction on my new home has officially started. On June 30, 2026, the excavator arrived and began work on the property. Finally, something is happening.

Moving Back Home

In June 2025, I moved back to rural Pennsylvania after selling my home in Frederick, Maryland.This was not a sudden decision. Moving home and building a house had been in planning for some time, although the path to getting here turned out to be much longer and more complicated than I ever expected.

Many years ago, my parents purchased a historic property in the same town where we grew up.The property included a church, a former nunnery, a cemetery, and several acres of land. Before my parents purchased it, the nunnery/community house building (built in 1814) had already been converted into rental units.

Years later, my parents renovated the old church, built in the 1800s and transformed it into their home.I actually remember attending a church service there once when I was growing up. I never could have imagined that decades later, my parents would buy this property and live in that same building or that I would eventually be building my own home on land once connected to the church and nunnery property.

The Thanksgiving Conversation That Changed Everything

About two years before I moved, we were sitting around the Thanksgiving table when I commented on how much I loved my parents’ recently renovated home.I said something along the lines of, “I wish you had more land that I could build something like this here too.” My parents looked at each other and told me there was.

They owned more than four wooded acres across the street and around the corner. The land had once been part of the church and nunnery property.I knew immediately that I wanted it. But, there was just one catch, the acreage came with an old historic cemetery. And honestly? I did not care. I understood that I would be responsible for maintaining it, and I was completely fine with that, even if “maintaining it” really meant I was paying someone else to do the work.

Selling My House and Becoming My Parents’ Tenant

In early 2025, one of my parents’ rental apartments became available.I knew there was no guarantee another unit would open when I eventually needed one, so I decided to take it. That meant selling my house in Maryland and moving back to Pennsylvania before construction had even started. And just like that, my parents became my landlords.

The apartment was ideal for several reasons. It was affordable, it was located directly across the street from the land I planned to purchase, and it gave me time to adjust to living in a rural setting again. It also meant getting used to commuting an hour each way for work, something I had done many years before, but had not needed to do in quite some time. Still, I thought the arrangement would be temporary. I was incredibly naive and somehow convinced myself I would move back in June, build a house, and be settled into my new home by Christmas. That did not happen. Not even close.

The Delays Begin

The land surveying was not completed until the fall of 2025. The purchase and land transfer were not finalized until May 2026.Then came the bank process for the construction loan, final approvals, permits, scheduling, and all the other moving parts that come with building a custom home. One delay led to another. Every time I thought we were ready to move forward, there seemed to be another document, decision, approval, or obstacle standing in the way. Building a new custom house is not for the weak, and this was all before construction even began.

Then The Day Finally Arrived

Finally, on June 30, 2026, the excavator was able to begin. After so much waiting, seeing equipment on the property felt surreal. There is still a very long road ahead. There will be major decisions, more unexpected expenses, construction delays, exciting milestones, frustrating setbacks, and probably quite a few things I have not even considered yet.

Welcome to At Home With Heidi K

I created At Home With Heidi K to document this entire journey. Along the way I will be sharing the history of the property, the process and realities of building a custom home, selections, what I continue to learn along the way, life in rural Pennsylvania, and eventually turning the house into my home.

And I cannot wait to take you along for the journey.