You Really Ought to Give Iowa a Try!

Well here we are, months after the biggest life change we've been through as a family,  and anxiously awaiting our first real autumn and winter!  It seems the summer is winding down, and while we will miss the lightning bugs and lush green surroundings, we hope to pull out socks, corduroys and sleds soon : )  

I just have to jump in here with this post, because it is long overdue.  We left California on April 21, and life changed more drastically than I could have ever imagined!  Just as a taste of what our surroundings are like here, consider that the nearest Starbucks is around 30 minutes away, the garbage man is also the owner of the disposal company that picks up our waste each Monday morning,  and we can view deer, rabbits, wild fowl and hawks on a daily basis - in our backyard!

Upon arriving in Iowa, we stayed 3 months with my brother and sister-in-law, who were exceedingly hospitable to us, as we took up residence in their basement.  Their 4 kids and our 3 probably had the time of their lives, playing together on all those long summer days. What a special time to be together, knowing we would probably never have such a chance to be quite so close to one another again!  

We purchased our home at the end of May, but escrow took 54 days.  We finally moved in mid/late July.  We got to live there for 5-6 weeks, but then had to vacate a little over a week ago.  The house has foundation problems (it is leaning downhill).  But we knew this.  And as you all know, Jacob cannot be deterred, so we bought the house anyway and planned to have the footings and foundation repaired.  Since the house didn't have a basement, Jacob figured, we might as well add one of those while we were at it.  

Currently, we are traveling among a few friends' homes, until ours is ready to move back into.  It seems pretty clear God's plan is for us to continue to wait upon Him as we house-hop.  We have already now lived in 4 different homes, in anticipation of eventually returning to ours for some kind of permanency!   Thankfully, we have family and friends who are so kind and generous to share their homes with us during this time of transition!

Our house is several feet in the air right now.  They lifted it last week, to prepare for the foundation and footing repair.  Take a look:

It all makes me a little sick to my stomach, but Jacob reminded me that they not only lift houses, but actually MOVE them to new locations, so it could be "worse". : )