Wow! It has been a long time!
A lot has changed for us sense I wrote my last blog. We have gone on many adventures. And had many ups and downs. We moved another unschooling family in which, did not go well at all. It was pure chaos and not the joyful kind either. We finally packed up and moved to live with my dad in the middle of nowhere in the desert to try off griding. Well this was not a positive off grid experience for my family so we moved from my dads into town. This town has a post office, two stores, and a tiny library. We were two hours from the nearest gymnastics place or anything fun really and my kids were bored and unhappy. I found out I was pregnant with our fifth child. Ya I know home is where the heart is and life is what you make it, but I am a firm believer that environmental factors come into play here as well. It is hard to be joyful around people who are always negative or worrying about this that and the other thing. It is hard to be joyful when your in a place where your stuck and there's nothing there for you or your children. Where you don't make enough money to go into town that is two hours away to do something fun. We felt stuck in this little itty bitty town. We felt like we were cut off from the rest of the world. I felt claustrophobic and like I was drowning. So hubby and I talked and thought maybe a move to another state where he could make good money and still be around would be an option to look into. Hubby has a friend that moved to Wyoming for work and we looked into it and a lot of Wyoming looked good to us and it felt good. So we talked to the kids, showed them some websites and all the things we can do there. And that they would also be able to enjoy going to dance and gymnastics as well as other interests. Everyone was on board.
A few years ago we had looked into moving to South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico, and North Carolina but there was always one person that didn't feel right about it so we didn't go. But Wyoming we all wanted to go. We packed up our minivan with four kids, two dogs, and two adults and the basic essentials. Bedding, food, clothes, special toys, computers and tablets and put all of our keepsakes in storage and was out the door heading from Oregon to Wyoming in less then two weeks from the time we made the decision. We were excited.
Crossing over the Idaho border was the most amazing feeling. I felt free. I felt at peace. I felt like my dad no longer had a grip over me or the people of the little itty bitty town he lived in. I was so excited I cried. It felt surreal. We drove through to Utah and stayed in a hotel for the night had pizza watched movies went to bed. Then we woke up and hit the road. We drove till we couldn't anymore then stopped in Nevada for lunch. We then hit the road after lunch and made it to Wyoming where we were staying on Friday the 13th two minutes before midnight. I remember the moon being full and bright and the feeling of empowerment. It was a magical moment.
We stayed in a 5th wheel for almost two months and while it brought us closer together in ways it made us realize as well that we are a bunch of introverts that need our own space. We are family of high needs and strong personalities and emotions. So space is good. We found a house in the paper, and here it is hard to find a home to rent because of the job boom they go fast. But I called on it and I was the first caller. We went and looked at it and it is technically a four bedroom, two bath, two level home. This home is huge. You walk in and if you go downstairs there's a room on the right that has no carpet that we are going to use for a work out room, then if you go straight there's the downstairs bathroom and laundry room to right and to the left a living room then a bedroom. Then upstairs there is a living room, huge dinning room and kitchen, three bedrooms and bathroom. In the hallway there is a built in bookshelf and huge linen closest. There is a ton of room here to grow. It even has a back deck that is covered and huge with a fenced yard with room for trampoline and there is already a built in space to have a garden.
We turned in the paper work and signed the lease and we were in in two days after looking at it. We love it so much here. We are buying everyone new bedroom sets and a nice living room set for upstairs and new TVs. Were so excited. Hubby loves his new job and he still gets time with us. We are able to live and do things with each other and get the space we need.
