Still Alive- Our moving story part 1

Yes, we're still here. We ARE indeed alive, just crazy. 

Who in their right mind would think it's a good idea to do a major lifestyle transition and move into a major fixer-upper house? Isn't it crazy to do this when I'm in the last trimester of my pregnancy? Let's add to the fun mix that my sweet husband has a major deadline this month which requires extra hours at work. Sound fun yet? 

Miracles have been happening in our little lives.

Let's start at the beginning of our 'moving' story.

Originally I planned on placing our current home on the real estate market AFTER we moved out. It sounded so easy that way. There'd be no home staging to worry about. It's hard to keep a home staged and immaculate when we're a home schooling family. We're always HERE.

After some praying, Nathan and and I felt like we should list our house as quickly as possible. We were leaving in a week to drive across the country to attend my sister's wedding. Could we get our house packed up and cleaned and staged in one week? Not a chance.

Enter miracles here. The Lord poured out blessings on us abundantly. Several friends offered to come over and help me pack boxes. It was such a blessing- especially since my pregnancy fatigue severely limits how much work I can do in one day.

Some days I packed all day only to realize around 6:00pm that I had hungry children and had no idea what to feed them. I had put off the trip to the grocery store and had no food for them. More than once I answered my door to find friends standing there with a meal for my family. The Lord answered prayers, even when I didn't have time to actually kneel to pray and was merely carrying a prayer in my heart.

One day I was feeling completely overwhelmed and exhausted emotionally and physically. I was doubting myself. I prayed for increased strength and confirmation from the Lord that we were doing the right thing. That afternoon I opened the door to find a friend that I hadn't seen in over 3 years. She asked if I like Indian food (how could she know it's my favorite cuisine?) and gave me take-out from a local Indian restaurant. There's nothing as comforting as hot Na'an and Chicken Tikka Masala after an exhausting day. It was such an amazing 'coincidence'. I feel like the Lord was blessing me with a tender mercy through this friend. He wanted me to know that I was loved, that He knew me, and He was watching over me.

One of the biggest challenges was this: how could we hide all our food storage? I didn't want to rent a storage unit for it. Nathan stacked all the 5-gallon buckets and boxes into the shape of a queen bed and two nightstands. Viola. Doesn't it look like a nice guest room? No one knows it's all long-term food storage.

Several friends from our home school group and church congregation helped me stage the house, landscape the front yard, and deep clean. With their help we were able to list our house on the market the day before we left town. I am so thankful for their generous hours of service. I feel so richly blessed. Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.