giving credit where credit is due . . .

On several occasions we have had the opportunity to meet, and become friends with people from all over the world; people from Korea, South Africa, Australia, and many other far away places. Living in Los Angeles, the melting pot of America, gave us the chance to come into contact with so many different people and I am so glad to have lived there and came into contact with others with diverse backgrounds, cultural experiences, and fascinating lifestyles.

Here in Ohio, it doesn't seem to be as diverse as our experience living in California. But what Ohio has, that is equally rich in experience, is people who care, share, and lend a hand when others are in need. Patrick and Deb Allen have been those types of people for us as we have made our move "back" to my roots.

On previous posts, I made mention of staying "with friends" while we were looking for jobs, homes, or just visiting. The Allen family is the family that we stayed with the most on our seemingly monthly trip to Ohio. On each trip, they hosted us with gladness, and took time to ensure that our stay went well. Deb graciously provided meals for us throughout the day and we spent most evenings eating a desert, drinking coffee, and sharing our lives together. Both Patrick and Deb have gone far and above in hosting us on our trips up here and were always eager to invite us up to stay again and again. It is great to have people like the Allens help in the transition moving fromm the South, back to the North.

Thank you Patrick and Deb for your giving attitude, your hospitality, your endless provision (the stove came from their basement) and most of all your friendship.

this little light of mine . . .

Recently I have had an earache. It started back about a month ago and has been quite a pesky little annoyance. At times it has been piercing with pain, but mostly it is just a dull, underwater type of feeling that has GREATLY affected my hearing. Feeling like I have stepped back in time, I have the children administer the "ear candle" to alleviate the wax buildup that comes with ear infections. In this picture, Maine got to light the candle and hold it to my ear. Why have I not gone to the doctor if I have a earache? Good question. Answer: Just moved, don't know where to go, and have no recommendations. In addition, I am leery of most doctors and the advice they give for remedies. So instead of going to the doctor and getting antibiotics, I am trying this home remedy suggested to me by a friend.

Here's how it goes. You push the candle through a hole in a paper plate so you don't catch your hair, the sofa, or the house on fire. As you can notice in the photo, I really won't be able to burn much hair. You then light the candle, which is made of wax, and stick it down in your ear as far as it will go. It takes about 15 minutes to burn down close to your ear and then you take it out. (so as to not burn your hair). The oxygen that is burned inside the hollow candle creates a vacuum that draws out all the wax from your ear. (reminds me a little of the movie "The Green Mile") The surprise at the end is cutting the candle open and seeing how much wax has been "sucked" out of your ear. It is really shocking how much wax your ear can hold. I have done the candle thing now around 6 times and still find that each time a crushed peanut's size of wax is extracted from my ear.

all is quiet . . .

One of the things I did not anticipate about living in the country is the QUIETness of it all. Sure, I knew that the country was not filled with lights, stores, and the traffic that makes night time seem alive in the city. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck you know. But this evening as I sit here to post, I am quite shocked at how quiet it is in (and outside ) the house. No lights, no stores, no people, just the darkness and the "stuff" outside. Actually, to be honest, I am sometimes a little afraid to go outside in the evening by myself here. Not that there is anyone or anything outside here where we are living. In fact, just the opposite is true. There is NOTHING and NO ONE for miles around. It is just us, the neighbors, and the plants. On several occasions I have caught myself saying "I'll go out there tomorrow" when I feel like I need to get something from the pig barn at night. What would I be getting from a PIG BARN you might ask? It is where I am storing my stuff, sort-of like a garage.

The children are in bed by eight, asleep by nine. Ildi is usually tired early, and I can't help but think "I can't go to bed at 9:30!" I'm an adult now. However, I am faced with the ominous quiet and am really quite amazed at the reality of it in comparison to the idea that I had before I moved out here. I even think that this keyboarding is slightly echoing. :)

much to do about . . .

It is amazing how many different emotional situations occur when you move. "I love this place" thoughts happen one day, "what on EARTH were we thinking?" the next. I have had so many different emotional reactions and responses that I am not quite sure which ones to believe.

School is starting to get into a small routine. The students are finding out more about me and therefore trusting me more. (and liking me) Today, I had a student, who is a GIANT of a child, not want to work. He was pouting because his project was not turning out perfectly. Since I was trying to encourage him to work I sat at his table and asked him to get busy on his work. He seemed angry and wouldn't even look at me. The other students looked at me when I asked like I would not get an answer out of him. Just to throw a curve ball at him, I said "Aaron, look at my bald, ugly head" with an attitude. He laughed out loud and looked. He did not work the rest of the period but I know for sure I made a connection with him today.

We have been looking at some farms for sale. I love the idea that we are not pressured to buy and that we can take our time and evaluate exactly what we want in a farm. Our good friends the Weihrauchs come with us often to let us know if it is going to work as a homestead. They are the ones who are currently homesteading and making a living of it. It is also great to be next door neighbors (if you call a half a mile a next door neighbor).

giving thanks . . .

Having grown up in a small city just thirty miles from where I am living now, and then moving to Los Angeles and living most of my life, I never believed that I would end up back in Ohio, better yet on a farm. It is funny how God brings things full circle in our lives.

We sat tonight developing a friendship with some folks who live in the area. They run around with the same circle of friends that we know. I guess the main connection between them (us) all is good food. We all have various views on the church, baptism, . . . and yet the common threads center around family life, having children, and eating food that is closely related to it's natural state.

In talking this evening, we reminisced about our past, finding out more about each other, and continually were brought back to the reassuring fact that God has had His hand on us all our lives, and even when we didn't acknowledge Him, He knew our ways. It is funny to think that no matter where we go . . . He is there. No matter where we hide . . . He is there. There is no escaping the the magnificent sovereignty of God.

There are so many things that I am thankful for now. We are living within our means, we are establishing friendships, I have a great work situation, and we have even gotten kittens for the children to start our "life" with animals. (these three kittens are the first animals we have gotten as a family) But, there is nothing I am more thankful for than for God's grace as He has reconciled me to Himself through the sacrifice of His Son. The pain of death became a passageway for my life. And I am thankful that the plan for my life included my relationship with Him.

being welcomed in . . .

So this is the "yucky " house in the country that I was talking about. This is the view from the road, at a later time I will upload a photo of where it sits in the middle of the planted fields. Turns out, it is not so "yucky" at all! I guess, from the first visit, and comparing it to houses we wanted to purchase, it seemed bad. However, the day we moved in, it had a whole new feel to it. I have actually thought about ways that I could change it if we purchased it.

So many changes have happened over the two week period that it is hard to limit what to share. I am going to just highlight some of the major events and maybe go into more detail on a later post.

• School started and it is Great. Large room, small class sizes, good kids. Sure there is the occasional "BOZO" but they are mostly rural children in attitude.
• I am able to visit my family members. It is nice to connect with them again. My nephew goes to the school I am working in.
• I am developing connections with staff members, students, and people in our farm community already. (As a reception, four families came to our house last night for a belling! Around 9:30 they walked up the lane in the dark and then all 27 people started BANGING on pans, pots, drums, and "stuff" to call us out of our home. When we came out, they greeted and welcomed us to the "neighborhood" with snacks and drinks. We all socialized for an hour or so, and then they returned home. I nearly cried from the warm welcome of such caring, giving people.
• We are mostly moved in and our eagerly anticipating finding the homestead. We looked at a place the other night that could quite possibly be "the place."

Thanks to all of you who have prayed for us, commented and helped us in our decision-making, and have continued to befriend us. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Going back to donkey Dial-Up is going to take a bit to get used to. :) I am sure we will survive. Here's a photo from the dining room window the first morning. It was pretty shocking, and slightly overwhelming as well.

how to spend your birthday day . . .

Today was Macy's 11th birthday. Normally on birthdays in our home, the birthday child chooses all the meals of the day, and in the evening we celebrate by eating some kind of sweet dessert and giving them a couple of useful gifts. Today however looked a little different. Today was full of packing and moving. We got a truck from the ABF Moving Company and everyone chipped in packing and loading the truck. We got 1/2 of the truck loaded and tomorrow we finish the truck off, and if we need, get another truck. It is great to watch the children get dirty and work, and it is equally nice to have them do a great job! More and more I am able to trust them to do just as good as I would do something. Rarely do I have to go back and change anything. During the later part of the work today Nolan made a comment that scared me. He said "hey dad, we should start a moving company!" I was stunned for a minute, and then pretended like it was a great idea. I guess I could OWN a moving company but I sure would NOT like to work moving homes like I have done these past few years.

Here's a picture of Gresham after rubbing his hands on the wheels of the truck, rubbing his face, and having been neglected all day. He probably felt like it was a great day where everyone left him alone to play the way he wanted. I did have to tell him a couple of times to not play in the street. :)We did have the meals Macy wanted so her birthday day turned out to be somewhat familiar.

which way do we go . . .

The blue one, the green one, no the blue one, or maybe the green . . .

I feel like the last three weeks of our lives I have changed my mind more than I have in my entire life! Deciding where to live, if we should rent first, where to rent if we do, and what it is we are actually looking for is all becoming extremely VEXING! (in the words of Mrs. Bennett)
WE are so close to moving and still have not completely decided on if we should purchase the house we love, or hold out for the country home with lots of land. Here's the rundown and all of you can post your thoughts to help us in our decision.

1. Big beautiful house, (we love it) only 3 acres, no chance for more land later. Carry a little mortgage on it.

2. Move to a YUCKY rental next to our friends while we look for houses together as a family. It is a decent rental price, we don't have to sign a contract. As soon as we find the place, move. If we don't find a place, move to the house in number one above.

3. I leave and go to Ohio to work, live, and look for houses. Ildi and the children stay here in NC until I find a place. I don't find one, we move to the house in number one by November.

Here is some other information to help in the decision-making process. This sort-of feels like reality TV getting the audience to join in on the decision.

~The house here in NC is twice the rent, but it is a brand new home. We have the internet, utilities, and everything already in place. Don't have to move things twice. Pitfall, I will be away from the family, we have one vehicle, I would have to drive down on the weekends to stay. When I find a house I will want Ildi to look at it so i would drive down to get her to come up and look at it.
~The rental house in Ohio is half the price, no internet, (did I mention it was YUCKY) no lease or commitment, and we are all together with all our junk. We can look at properties together after I get home from school, we can visit friends, places to get online, and visit houses in the area. We could also set a tent out in the yard and "Camp" if we wanted. I don't have to drive 8 hours back to NC and 8 hours back to Ohio to work after the weekend.
~Just agree to the term of the landowners now. They only want to give up three acres and it is straight back to a forest the width of the property. Since it was this hard to arrive at this layout, there is probably no way we can get more land later. As well, it is 100k more than we were thinking of spending. But did I mention it was a beautiful home! 3100 sq. ft. new everything, we move right on in! And a full basement.

Please give us your input to help us on the decision process. I promise we won't hold you responsible. :) Here's the survey with a yellow circle around the land

packing boxes can be fun . . .

This is the beginning of the packing process. The mounds and mounds of packing, loading, and unloading that I am SO looking forward to. As we were getting the boxes out of the garage, the children wanted to use them to make houses. My initial response was no. Boxes all over the house, more stuff to clean up, an overall mess. After a few minutes of thinking about the original no, I realized that we need to make moving as fun as possible, and I could deal with a mess of boxes for a day or two.
This year the packing will go a bit easier since we are not trying to sell a house at the same time. In addition, we have some boxes already packed from last summer's move. We are working on making packing as easy as possible, so, we first started on packing all the books. From our earlier moves we have learned a few things about moving boxes from place to place.
1. Pack books in very small boxes. Even though you move many of them, they are easier to handle and don't fall apart.
2. Use blankets, sheets and towels as packing material. It's nice to keep things together, but when moving dishes and breakable things, nothing beats cloth to wrap them in.
3. Pack refrigerators and freezers with boxes. This saves on room when you are renting a moving truck.
Over the next few days we will take things off the walls, pack the clothes we are not currently using, break the beds down, and then pack the kitchen last. Hopefully we will be able to move all of it quickly and efficiently this time.

country LIVING . . .

Here is an aerial shot of the property we are trying to buy. The house is located in the country and sits next to an old farm house. The house we want is a fairly new build (2002) and is around 3100 sq ft. Seems awful big, but we have a large family that is still growing. The relatives that own and farm the land around it have agreed to add five additional acres to the house (which will make around 6 acres total) so I took a snapshot of the land on Zillow and drew in what I wanted the lay of the land to look like. My hope is that in the future they will want to sell us some more land that will reach back and include the woods. We are in the last stage of negotiation and only need one of the family members of the trust to agree to sell the land. It's all exciting to watch unfold. However, I am so UNMOTIVATED to pack this house. I have been extremely lazy this summer, sleeping in and staying up late, that I don't want anything to do with work. Once we get the O.K. that the deal is done I am sure that they energy to pack and MOVE OUT will surge, and the motivation to work will return. For now, I am just going to sit around and enjoy the break.