We knew when we moved into this house that we wouldn't be able to stay forever. We have probably stayed about three years too long, but with Steven's unique challenges on the FASD spectrum, we didn't want to interrupt his routine and school schedule. He was doing great and the idea of training a new administration about his challenges was more than we wanted to take on. It is very clearly God's will for us to move now. The last time I felt so sure and calm about anything was during Matthew's adoption and we all know how awesome that turned out. This is what drives me to just keep moving forward, but trusting God for the details and where we will end up. I know He has an amazing plan for us regardless if that is lake life right now.
Just a few short days after seeing that ad on Zillow, the boys and I took a ride to Gun Lake to check out the house. The second I pulled onto the dusty, obscure road my stomach sank a bit. There was debris everywhere and the area looked like a junk yard. Here in the middle of all this crap is this beautiful home. No garage, storage or any real parking. It was bizarre. The surrounding homes looked like something out of Sanford and Sons. I started humming the theme song as we looked around. If you know me you know sarcasm helps me cope. Ignoring the no trespassing signs I peaked in every window and door to see that the realtor must've used a fisheye lens when he took the pictures that made it look about ten times larger than it was. It was still lovely, but I felt this immediate feeling of sadness and disappointment. I thought that was so strange since I live in a lovely home and we hadn't really discussed moving. A fire was lit inside of me and I just couldn't ignore it. We spoke to a really nice gentleman that lived a couple doors down and he explained that the house was sinking into the lake, hence the amazing price.
That evening I told John all about it and he seemed as bummed as I was. This is when we had one of our change directions, full throttle ahead, life changing talks. When that conversation ended, we were in full agreement that it was time to move and that we both wanted to find a lake home. To our complete surprise all of the boys were excited about the idea, even if that meant new schools. That's when I knew this was from God. We went into immediate let's fix the ten years of damage mode on our current home. I woke up the next morning to John packing everything he owns in our room. He had picked up a ton of boxes at a local store and had them piled high in the living room. He scrubbed our bathroom so he could paint. I was like..."oh wow, he's not wasting any time, I better get moving!"
We have a new furnace and A/C. We replaced all of the basement carpet. We filled a sixteen yard dumpster with old carpet, broken stuff, yard debris, junk from every drawer, closet and under every bed. I could literally fill another dumpster. We are on a mission. John is painting everything and everywhere and I'm packing up, selling, giving away everything not nailed down. Cleaning, sorting and so on. Our home looks like someone threw in a grenade and walked away. It gets worse before it gets
It is so liberating to reduce stuff. For me it also reduces stress. I am the opposite of a hoarder, I'm more of a minimalist. Unfortunately I live with all adopted people who have suffered so many losses, so everything is a treasure. Sometimes it's hard to find a balance. Everyone seems to understand that we will most likely be cutting our living space in half and that we have to reduce our stuff big time. As destructive as my kids are I wonder if we'll ever get out of here trying to fix old damage and new damage...LOL!
I'm staring at my driveway right now that has a pile of dirt, a pile of stone and a pile of mulch just waiting to be utilized. Unfortunately for me life goes on and I live with five men who make a ton of gross laundry and are never full. Off I go to hopefully chip away at a junk drawer I can go through or a linen closet.
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