Jacki & Jerry Shafer, The Shafer Team Call 502-643-SOLD (7653)

I consider her my best friend. She has always been there for me, and I can confide in her things I wouldn't tell anyone else. I know that I can count on her to be a shoulder to cry on, a blast to laugh with, and a prayer warrior who will knock on Heaven's door for me until God answers.

Barbara is battling cancer - for the fourth time. After visiting her doctor for a routine blood test, she found out that it's back - this time on her diaphragm.

Always upbeat, Barbara is not overly concerned. She knows she's in the palm of God's hand. You know, we all say that when times get tough, but Barbara demonstrates her faith by the very fact that she's not panicked. She's not falling apart. She's wants her life to count for God's kingdom. Whenever given the opportunity, she is open about her ten years of fighting cancer and gives God all the glory for miracle after miracle in her life.

Barbara is the "go to" person in her large family whenever there is a need, and even now, her concern is for her mother who is getting older and has health concerns.

Barbara has been taking a cancer drug called Gleevec, and interestingly, one of the side effects of the drug is that it makes your hair grow thick and lustrous. So for the past several years Barbara has been growing out this beautiful mane for "Locks of Love", a charitable organization that makes human hair wigs for financially disadvantaged children experiencing long-term hair loss after an illness and medical treatments.

Barbara with her beautiful long hair.

After the doctors told Barbara this newest drug (that we're all praying will obliterate the tumors on her diaphragm) may cause her hair to thin or fall out, she decided that NOW was the time to donate her hair. I called a Crestwood salon, Yves Hair, Body & Soles Salon and Spa, and they were thrilled to help. I told them to please let me pay for her to also be treated to a manicure (since Barbara never spends any money on herself), but when we got there they would not take my money; in fact, they insisted that Barbara come back in for a complimentary cut and style and complimentary manicure. Great folks at this salon!

So Barbara sat in the chair while the hair stylist cut off two 12-inch ponytails and shaped her hair into an adorable above-the-shoulder style.

Our local paper, The Oldham Era, recently did a story on Barbara. I'm sure it will inspire other people to consider growing out their hair and donating it to "Locks of Love" as well.

But the real story is the person of Barbara Hampton. She is such a loving and giving person, and I hope you'll join me in praying for her full recovery. God has brought her through before, and I know He can do it again. I love her so very much and can't imagine life without her.

Barbara touched the hearts of everyone in the salon that day, even the reporter from The Oldham Era doing the story. I could see it in his eyes. Barbara told him, "I wonder what God's got in store for me this time. It's a journey, and I will keep on the journey until it's over."

Jacki and Jerry Shafer with The Shafer Team and Keller Williams Louisville East specialize in home sales in Oldham, Jefferson, Trimble, Henry, and Shelby counties in Kentucky.

Oldham County seems to have weathered the housing slump pretty well. There's no doubt that Sellers have taken a bit of a hit this year, but if you compare Oldham County (located just North of Louisville, Kentucky) to much of the rest of the country, you'll see that Buyers are still buying and Sellers are still selling.

Let's look at the numbers for February 2008 and compare them to February 2007:

From February 1-29, 2008, 50 homes SOLD. Same time in 2007: 60 homes SOLD.

The average price for February, 2008 was $272,667. February 2007 saw an average price of $284,557.

The average cost per square foot in February 2008: 119.52. For February 2007: per foot cost was $120.01.

The average days on the market in February 2008: 81 days. For February 2007: 82 days.

Especially when you use the cost per square foot number, Oldham County has seen very little change. We're not seeing appreciation, in spite of the fact that Oldham County remains one of the most sought-after areas in which to live if you're relocating to the Louisville, Kentucky area. Many gurus are predicting improvement by the middle of 2008, but even the best minds can't seem to agree when this will turn around.

Seems the best resource today for getting an answer to when we'll see real improvement in the real estate marketplace might be one of these:

Jacki and Jerry Shafer with The Shafer Team and Keller Williams Realty Louisville East are "mega agents", specializing in real estate sales in their own "back yard" of Oldham County, as well as in eastern Jefferson County (Louisville), and in Henry, Trimble, and Shelby Counties in Kentucky.

Jerry and I built our first home in LaGrange, Kentucky. When we first drove out to look for land, our daughter, Heather, then only 7 years old, sounded out the words of the sign she saw as we crossed over the Jefferson/Oldham line and shouted, "I don't want to live in OLD - HAM County !" But she loved living in LaGrange, and is so happy we moved there because it's where she met - and married - her high school sweetheart.

We now live in Crestwood (still in Oldham County), but we both love to take the short drive to LaGrange whenever we get a little time off. There's so much to do in downtown LaGrange, all year round.

I love meeting a girlfriend early on Saturday mornings at the Farmer's Market. Our routine is to get a tall cup of gourmet coffee and sample the fresh fruit. The Farmer's Market has everything from wonderful fresh produce to baked goods to live music. Before our busy weekend as Realtors gets started, an hour or so Saturday morning really kick-starts my day. Farmer's Market is open Saturdays from June to September.

Our annual summer festival is held on the 3rd Saturday in July. If you've always had an urge to just get out and dance in the middle of the street, here's the place to do it! The Friday night before is a street dance with live music, and Saturay morning starts out with a 5K run/walk and the much-anticipated pancake breakfast fund-raiser, hosted by the LaGrange Rotary Club. How about a stack of chocolate-chip pancakes? The courthouse square comes to life with booths set up everywhere by non-profit organizations and local businesses showcasing the work they do right here in Oldham County. The kids will especially love the parade, and a you can wave at the new marching bands and the Grand Marshall.

Fall is beautiful in Kentucky, and the evenings are great for taking a walk. How about a "ghost walk" around Halloween? The downtown LaGrange Ghost Tours take you inside historic homes and buildings rumored to have "spirited" residents revisiting their old "haunts".

My absoluted favorite event on downtown LaGrange's calender is "Light Up LaGrange". A beautiful and fun celebration of Christmas, you'll swear you walked right into a Norman Rockwell painting! The kids get a special visit from Santa, and everyone enjoys the hot chocolate and Christmas cookies. Carolers walk up and down the sidewalks in period costume while all the shops stay open. Many of the shop owners lure you inside with free hot apple cider. It always gets me in the Christmas spirit!

Whether you're looking for antiques, a special book, or the perfect toy, downtown LaGrange's Main Street shopping will be a treat. My favorite stores are Karen's Book Barn and Java Shop, (because I love to read and I love the atmosphere of this friendly book store), The Treasured Child (because of the "child" still in me and because it's a place where you can find the remarkable and the unusual in children's toys, books, etc.) and I've got to go around the corner to a delightful store called Christmas in Kentucky (because I love the unique and the beautiful this store has to offer). And I can't leave until I visit The 1887 Corner Store (because you can find everything from furniture to collectibles - and because of that Norman Rockwell thing! You'll feel like you stepped back in time about a hundred years. Everything about this store puts me in a great mood.)

(For a more complete list of stores click here: Discover Art, Antiques and Designer Boutiques.)

Gettin' hungry? Lets stop for lunch at Norma Jean's Trackside Restaurant and watch the train roll by. (Yes, the train runs right down the middle of Main Street; hence, our motto: "LaGrange: we're right on track!). Or we can walk down to The Irish Rover Too! if you want Irish fare and atmosphere.

(For a more complete list of downtown LaGrange restaurants click here: Discover Downtown LaGrange)

And don't forget to go off the "Main" drag to discover other great shops and restaurants. You can really make a full day of fun for yourself!

And if you don't want to take a walk, just come downtown and people watch or catch up on the local gossip. The courthouse lawn is a great place to do just that!

So if you're planning a trip to Oldham County, let Jerry and me take you to lunch in LaGrange and introduce you to the shop owners and show you the many reasons we're glad to call Oldham County our home.

Jacki and Jerry are long-time residents of Oldham County. They are Mega Agents with The Shafer Team and Keller Williams Realty Louisville East. They specialize in home sales in Oldham, Jefferson and surrounding counties in Kentucky.

It's great having a builder in the family - especially when he is your husband. Jerry is, among his many wonderful talents, an incredible builder. He built our home in Summerfield-By-The-Lake in Crestwood in Oldham County. Located just over the Jefferson/Oldham line, we love it's convenience to Louisville amenities, and right around the corner is our church (Crestwood Baptist Church). We also have a CVS Pharmacy and great neighborhood restaurants just minutes away, and we are eagerly awaiting a new Kroger grocery store (coming soon!). And we're just three minutes from our house to the front door of Starbucks! I just love the smell of a fat-free, sugar-free vanilla latte in the morning!

It was difficult for me in the beginning. We had lived in an older subdivision just north of Crestwood called Borowick Farms. I had gotten used to being surrounded by dense woods and rarely ever seeing a neighbor. We like our neighbors, but must admit that after being with clients all day it's nice to have peace, quiet, privacy, and a sense of space! But we found a great lot in Summerfield that backs up to a meadow, so it feels like we're on multiple acreage. It's not unusual to look out mornings from our sun room and see deer lying down in the meadow behind our home. The sunsets are breathtaking!

Summerfield is a great place to take a walk. The sidewalk meanders around the lake where you can watch the ducks, geese, and even swans lazily paddling around in the water.

Homes in Summerfield range from a low of hi $300's to hi $600's. That number may change if some of the homes presently on the market sell for close to their asking price of up to hi $700's.

Jacki and Jerry Shafer are "mega agents" with The Shafer Team and Keller Williams Realty Louisville East. They specialize in selling homes in eastern Jefferson County in Louisville and all over Oldham County.

Do you remember the TV show, "ALF" ? The furry alien (last known survivor from the planet Melmac) who crash-landed into the Tanner family's garage? Well, if you remember the sitcom, you'll also remember Mrs. Ochmonek, the nosy next-door neighbor who constantly tried to find out the true identity of Gordon Shumway.

Okay, where am I going with this? Jerry and I had our own Mrs. Ochmonek living next door to us when we lived in Jefferson County. We put up with her constant prying into our business as long as we could, and we put our house up for sale and started taking drives out to Oldham County.

We began what could only be described as a Love Affair with this beautiful county, located just over the line from Louisville's Jefferson County. We discovered, much to our delight, that we could afford to buy some land and build our dream home! We found a densely wooded lot and literally carved out a spot right in the middle where nary a nosy neighbor could be seen or heard! We found Nirvana!

Needing some breathing room was one of two reasons we moved to Oldham County. The other key reason was for the kids. We had heard about Oldham County's award-winning schools and our kids needed to be challenged. The schools were everything we had heard they were, and our kids truly blossomed!

Now, 22 years later, our kids are grown, and so has Oldham County! But our county has not outgrown its charm and its sense of community. We still have long stretches of beautiful horse farms and rolling countryside. But we also now have great restaurants, shopping centers and other amenities we used to have to drive into Louisville to enjoy. Hey, we even have a Starbucks!

I'm so glad to call Oldham County our home. Thank you, Mrs. Ochmonek!

Jacki and Jerry Shafer are long-time residents of Oldham County and full-time Mega Agents with The Shafer Team and KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY LOUISVILLE EAST.