Photos by Jodi Hyde 

“It’s almost like we live in a different time,” said Jodi Hyde in describing her home on Parker Road in Hartselle. It’s a place where her daughters play outside and come in for the night to sound of a dinner bell. Roots run deep for the Hyde family: Cody and Jodi Hyde are raising their daughters on 30 acres of family land where Jodi spent her own childhood years.  

“I feel like it’s a blessing from God that I get to raise my kids here,” Jodi said. “I’ve always loved this land.”  

Cody and Jodi met while in college at the University of North Alabama in Florence, where Cody grew up. When they married in July 2007, they moved to Jodi’s hometown and have been here ever since.  

They are the parents to two daughters: Camryn, 10, and Katie Claire, 7. The family loves to spend time outdoors: The girls like exploring and climbing trees, and as a family, the Hydes enjoy fishing, meals at their picnic table on the back patio and leisurely walks around their property. “We live outside more than we live inside,” Jodi said. “I honestly cannot remember the last time we turned on the TV. The weather has been so nice.”  

Animals are plentiful on the Hyde homestead, too. The family owns two horses and a pony – named Peanut, Biscuit and Ms. Kitty – and three dogs, Bud, Spark and Scout.  

The family home was designed and built in 2010 by Jodi’s parents.  

“My mom drew the house plans and made sure there was no wasted space, and my dad cut all the wood in his own sawmill,” Jodi said. “Cody found the pecan wood we used for the kitchen cabinets.”  

Sentimental heirlooms, from furniture and artwork to décor that has been passed down from both sides of their family, fill the home. The stained glass in the home was handmade by Jodi’s mother, and the chandelier was once a lamp in her childhood home. The wooden bedroom set is more than 100 years old, and it was a gift from a family friend.  

The Hyde family moved into the home in 2016 and are perfectly happy on the land that’s been in the family for generations.