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That time we moved… again – Part One

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September 17, 2018 by Jennifer 8 Comments

I’ve been talking in code these past few months, giving hints of our family’s struggle. Today I’m pulling away the veil and sharing that time we moved.

That time we moved...again. How we handled life's challenges when faced with a decision to move

When times get tough, I cocoon. Maybe it’s the performer in me, but when the hard times hit – when the ugly happens in life, I have a tendency to hide away and wait until I’m a beautiful butterfly to emerge again with a big smile on my face.

We all have those seasons in life. Seasons of happiness and seasons of sadness.  Seasons of growth and change. But then there are seasons of pruning.

The latter has been our life for the past few months.

Here’s what happened to us.

That time we moved...again. How we handled life's challenges when faced with a decision to move

Our Limewashed Home

April came with a huge dose of news.  Trent’s non-profit he worked for lost their funding which in turn lost him his job. It was a dose of dread that came on the tail end of major character growth for him. News with an extra wallop of ‘kick him while he’s down’.

I took on the role of supportive wife while he navigated his unsteady future, but felt helpless in my efforts.

And that didn’t stop the hurt from hitting the rest of us. We had to take a hard look at our lifestyle and weigh our options. Everything was on the chopping block for consideration.

We cut back here, trimmed expenses there, and reworked the budget again and again.

There was one issue that we couldn’t solve – education.

That time we moved...again. How we handled life's challenges when faced with a decision to move

DIY Cast Iron Urn

In 2017, I stopped homeschooling the boys. We could have kept them at home and challenged them academically, but we felt it necessary that they face some hard knocks while they were under our roof. They needed to get dumped, deal with difficult classmates, or not make the basketball team.

Life is so much more than grades and gpas.

It’s about having all the tools in their belt once they cross that threshold to take on the world on their own. We wanted to help guide them through those struggles and build their character while we still had that opportunity.

So, last year they attended an excellent private school. And yes – those hard knocks came, along with tears and cheers, victories and failures all wrapped up in one epic school year.

When Trent lost his job, telling the boys that we couldn’t afford to send them back was the toughest thing we had to do. They took it well and understood our situation with the job loss, but it was oh-so-heartbreaking. At the end of the conversation, all of us were crying!

While that big budget cut helped with our finances, it didn’t solve the education dilemma. You see, the local high school we were zoned for wouldn’t work for our oldest and his academic needs.

That time we moved...again. How we handled life's challenges when faced with a decision to move

Praying and pleading, kicking and screaming, we knew we had to move, even though it was the last thing we wanted to do. I think we hashed and rehashed this at least a dozen times trying to find a way to work.

I loved my Almost Farmhouse, our church family, and the perfect proximity to both sides of our families.

There were a lot of questions as to why these challenges came.

Even so, I knew that God had big plans for our little family with this change.

But what I didn’t know is that I would have a front row seat to God’s amazing work in Trent’s life.

 

Subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss “That time we moved…again – Part Two” of this story later this week.

 

Filed Under: Encouragement, Grace Notes, Posts, That Time I, the Almost Farmhouse

Previous Post: « How to Limewash a Brick Home
Next Post: That time we moved… again – Part Two »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Barbara

    September 17, 2018 at 8:08 am

    Hoping everything turns in the right direction for your family. We will be praying for you.

  2. Anonymous

    September 17, 2018 at 12:26 pm

    So privileged to watch your faith through this process! Hugs dear friend!

  3. Krista

    September 17, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    Love you guys!

  4. Victoria Anderson

    September 18, 2018 at 7:26 am

    Thank you for sharing your struggles, I.am.sendng my thoughs & prayers 🙏🏻

  5. Jennifer

    September 19, 2018 at 7:45 am

    Thank you so much!

  6. Jennifer

    September 19, 2018 at 7:46 am

    Oh friend! Love and miss you all!

  7. Mary

    September 22, 2018 at 7:50 am

    Jennifer I am so sorry to hear you had to move from that beautiful home. God is great and for every difficulty, you will reap rewards. Hang in there.

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  • Counting my blessings today. While the past month has had its challenges, I know my God is in control and that is an overwhelming peace to cling to! 
May you be given that same peace this evening, dear friends! 
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  • Sweet Ollie has had quite the week. It started Friday with a cluster of seizures that landed him in the doggie ER. Ever since he’s been home, he seems like a different dog. We aren’t sure if it’s the meds or the effects of the events from Friday, but he’s definitely tuckered out. At least we have glimpses of our sweet boy here and there. 
One thing is for sure - we certainly love this mutt and what a perfect way to celebrate that love than on National Love Your Pet Day. We are so thankful that he is on the mend. 
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  • Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for your encouragement, reassurance, kind words, and prayers! Ollie came home last night and slowly has been coming back to the sweet mutt we know and love. The past few days have been so traumatic for him so he’s been out of sorts. .
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  • Well, we found out yesterday that our sweet Ollie is epileptic. We had suspicions, but never saw them with our own eyes, until yesterday. He had a cluster of them and is at the doggy ER to get them under control. It was scary and we felt so helpless. .
In the midst of it, I somehow pulled a muscle in my leg and have been couch bound most of the day. Funny how things fall like dominoes, isn’t it? But we are thankful that Ollie is getting the treatment he needs and we have hope that we can get this under control.  Thank you for being a sounding board over the past few weeks while we’ve tried to figure this out! I love this supportive community!
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  • Well today is a wonderful day! My momma is in town to visit with us for the long weekend and all of us are so excited! .
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Hey y'all! I'm Jen - a musician-turned-momma who started this blog with the goal to share my budget friendly tutorials with fellow creatives. Grab a cup of coffee, let's laugh until we cry, and dare to DIY as I show you how fun and easy it can be to Dress you Nest for Less while Noting the Grace in all Life's messes! Read More…

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