Rebuilding Our Home After Fraud & Heartbreak

This isn’t easy to write. We’ve always tried to handle things privately — with faith, hard work, and grit — but what we’re facing now has left us emotionally and financially exhausted. We’re at a point where we are kindly asking for help to recover. More than anything, we also want to warn others before this happens to another family.

We gave a temporary lease to a prospective buyer for our home in Abilene, TX. After months of delays, vague excuses, and missed deadlines, the deal fell through — and we discovered this man had done the same thing to others. It wasn’t just dishonesty… it was mortgage fraud. Something we didn’t even know was possible until we lived it.

When we finally regained access, the house we had lovingly renovated was unrecognizable:

The garage and shop reeked of animal urine, feces, and decay

Two dead cats were found

There were food bowls, bedding, and crate markings everywhere — possible signs the property was being used as an unlicensed animal breeding facility

New flooring was damaged, walls had holes, windows of our daughters’ old bedrooms were boarded up, and the house was left in an awful state

We are currently paying rent on a separate home just so we can live together as a family again — something we had to fight hard for after a year of living apart due to Aaron’s work commute. He spent that year renovating the house on his days off with me while I was pregnant — scraping by, building it up with love, and pouring everything we had into it with the hope that it would bless another family.

When it was finally finished, we were so proud. But then came this nightmare.

To add to it all, Aaron is a disabled veteran who deals with chronic back pain from his time in service. The first renovation pushed his body to the limit — he could barely hold our kids at times. After months of healing, he’s now back out there again, doing all the repairs alone, and I worry it’s undoing all his progress.

He spent Father’s Day and too many family moments knee-deep in damage control. Our once-loved home is now at risk of not selling at all because of the damage, the smell, and the trauma left behind. He has spent 4 weekends so far trying to clean up after what was left behind, including a putrid smell that just seems to have seeped into the floors and walls.

We’ve reported everything — the fraud, the suspected breeding operation, the animal neglect — but for now, the burden of fixing this has fallen solely on us because the system is slow.

We’re not just sharing this to raise funds — though any financial support for repairs, cleanup, and legal costs would be an enormous help, and especially because this situation is spreading us thinner financially than anything ever has. Our biggest hope is to get our story out — especially in Abilene — to warn others. We’ve been careful not to name names, because our goal isn’t to shame someone, as much as we want instant justice, but to protect others from facing this same heartbreak.

And truthfully? As wild and terrible as this has been… we’ve joked that we must be doing something right for the enemy to be trying this hard. It’s always the people building something meaningful who get tested the hardest. But we’re still here. Still fighting. Still believing in brighter days ahead.

What makes this even harder is that our dream of homesteading as a family — a vision we’ve been building toward for years — depends on the sale of this house. It’s our launching point. We’ve hit roadblocks before, but nothing this devastating. Still, we believe God placed this dream in our hearts for a reason. And we’re trusting that somehow, some way, He’ll still bring it to life.

So whether you’re able to give, share, or just send up a prayer — especially for justice to be served — thank you. We’re grateful beyond words.

With love,

Amanda, Aaron, and our tired-but-still-kickin’ little crew ❤️