Just when we knew what we were doing...

Well... we have a stomach bug.  Which is not nearly as tragic as I broke my tea kettle (you know, the one that started to break the first time I used it, the day I brought it home?).

But the good news is, the first person who looked at our house made an offer on it!  This does NOT mean the house is sold yet.  There's still the inspection, and blah blah blah.  But I'm just excited to get an offer, period.  The last time the house was on the market, we showed the house about eleventy billion times and got NO offers.  so this is a big improvement on that.  Totally due to the awesome kitchen Nick put together for us, and his very, very hard work to cover the tracks of 3 tornadoes living in it.

So, yesterday and today we've been playing "what if".  What if the house actually sells already?  We kept saying that if the house sold within a month (thinking that's totally out of the question, that DOESN'T HAPPEN), we'd return to take care of the closing and our stuff, and head back out on the road, mortgage- free.  But... do we really want that?

Our choices are, Nick could fly back and take care of everything, leaving us marooned somewhere, preferably with a beach.  We COULD book it super fast to Cali, and be near some friends I've been whining about going to see for about 5 years, since the last time we were there.  Timing- wise... we could just make it,  if we drive really, really hard.  financially.. not a smart move.  Staying here would be smarter, but i'm not crazy about staying here much longer. Also, that splits our family up for a couple weeks, which I am not excited about.

Or, we can all drive back together and camp in Linn Co while we take care of stuff.  Back to Iowa... we would get to see our friends again!  And.. the snow.  Well, it'd be rain by then.  April.  COLD and rainy.  But, I can manage that.  It's okay.  If we are going crazy.. there are lots of people to visit.  I know where to go, what to do.

So, that's probably what we'll do.  PROBABLY.  Nothing is final yet, including that the sale will go through.

But then, back on the road, or stay and buy a house?  We don't know.  There are pros and cons to each, and the point is, what does God want of us?  And we don't know that, either.  It's a really big exercise in waiting on God's leadership, and not jumping to make the decisions before the time has come for it.  Don't borrow trouble from tomorrow.  Which, is so true.  I got so wrapped up in this whole thing today, I was not nearly focused enough on the kids and what they needed.  I waffled back and forth on everything from what to eat for meals, to whether we should take a walk, or what the kids will play with today, or even when Anna would nap.  It was exhausting   God made us people of habits so that we wouldn't have to make so many choices, because choices are exhausting.   Which ended with my furiously trying to do everything at the last minute, and in my hurry I elbowed my kettle out of the way and it broke.  Which means heating water for my 6 teas and coffees every day will take slightly longer and be slightly less convenient and pretty.  A nice lesson in patience.

Where are we now?

     In the past month, we've been really busy getting ready. We have the house largely packed up. Left out are those things we need until the last minute, those things we'll take with us, and those things that are left out to stage the house. It does make it somewhat easier to clean, with fewer things laying around, but it still takes a significant part of an afternoon to pick up a million tiny legos.

     We have found someone to take care of the rabbit for us while we're gone. Thumper will be moving to a friend's house, in a hutch in the backyard. I think she'll really like that, and she will enjoy the attention from the kids who live there. The cat will be going with us... one of the parts of the plan that I'm just gonna trust to turn out okay.

     We sold our van, so we are down to just one (gas- guzzling) vehicle for the month of February. We've done that before, it's not a huge adjustment for us. And it's much easier to stay on top of housework when I'm not leaving the house every single morning. The kids are happier, too, which I did not expect. And Nick comes home for lunches again, which is really very nice. I've missed that. And I have to wonder if that's part of what makes our afternoon go so much more smoothly now- they get to see Daddy for a few minutes in the middle of the day, and it really does relax all of us when he's around.

     We have also revamped the plan several times. We still don't know where we're going. We were up way too late last night talking about our options. I'm starting to be in favor of just driving until it's time to stop, which has never been my style, but for this first weekend sounds like a good plan.

     The next big step is getting the house ready to be on the market. We've done the painting and all the little things we will probably do.. so it's down to cleaning. Which there is a lot to do. And the important part, visiting with all the people we want to say goodbye to- we just won't be able to see everyone. We're also trying to take a few more dates, since we won't have anyone to leave the kids with once we hit the road.

     We also have a few more things to figure out- like, how to fit the litter box into where we want it, and how to turn one of the bunks into a safe crib for Anna... we want something more permanent than the pea pod tent. And how to best weatherize ourselves for the first month. And where to even go. I love it, and I really love that as I one by one (painfully slowly) let go of control over the process, things just... fall into place. God really does provide what you need, when you stop trying to force it all into your little box of how you think it should all work. The purpose of our lives is to glorify God, not ourselves- so easy to forget, so easy to get off track and try to “do it all” and try to look like you have it all together. I am learning, I don't need to have it all figured out, because I don't need to be in the driver's seat- I'm just along for the ride.

What's the Plan?

The most common question I'm asked right now is, “Where are you going? Do you have a plan, or....?” The answer is... yeah, that.

The plan right now is that we'll put the house on the market at the same time that we're leaving town- the first of March, we hope. Of course we won't leave town if it's a blizzard that weekend, but we will put the house up that weekend for sure, so... let's just all pray that March comes in like a lamb.

From there, we head south. We have friends and family somewhat on the way to better weather, so we'll stop and say hi to people that we meet along the way. We want to get to where it's warm enough to not have to worry about pipes freezing. Hopefully, that's the Ozarks, but we're not really sure that's south enough- we'll find out when we get that far, I guess. We'll stop wherever we stop for a while- a month or so, until actual nice weather hits, and then head westerly.

When the house sells, we'll head back here to pack up all our stuff and decide what to do. If we want to keep traveling at that point, we'll put it in storage and move on. If we feel we've been on the road long enough, we'll start looking for property around here.

There are a variety of variables here- we don't know how long it will take to sell our house (and consequently, how far away we'll be when that happens). We don't know if we'll even like this lifestyle. Or if our internet connection will be good enough for Nick to work- he has to be actively connected to the internet in order to do his job. And if the connection is not good enough, we'll have to find someplace better. So, we're leaving a lot up in the air and playing it by ear. Luckily, we both really like adventure so this suits us just fine.

So, there you have it. Our plan that is barely a plan. Which is why I keep thinking about Abraham, when God told him to get up and go “to a place I will show you”. I've always liked that passage. I like it even more every year. For the past year or two I've done a lot of stepping out in faith.. faith that God and Nick really do know how to communicate without my help, faith that God wouldn't lead us down a wrong path, faith that it's actually God I'm speaking with and not the voices in my head.

It's gonna be something new and interesting, I can be sure of that.