The Latest Update on Us

Nomad: one without a home who moves around or travels freely without ties holding them back.
(Urban dictionary)  Sounds kind of fun, being able to just travel around from place to place without any major responsibilities holding you down, doesn't it?  Well, I can tell you, it's not as fun as one would think.  At least not for us.

For the past 7 months, our family has essentially been a nomadic family.  We have spent different amounts of time living in hotels, renting by-the-week apartments, or staying with various family members.  We travelled around in our van packed to the brim with everything we have that is not in storage in Alberta.  We have been wearing the same few outfits over and over and over again.  We have been living out of suitcases.  And I've got to tell you, it was getting kind of old.

I really don't mean to complain.  God has been very good to us in always providing a place to stay and a good meal.  But the feeling of not being settled or having a place of our own has been a bit stressful.  So much has changed for our family in the past year, and not having our own home where we can just be our own family unit was taking a toll on our mental state. So we have been praying for a house to rent where we could feel even a little bit settled.

Let me tell you, that is easier said than done.  Since Matt is currently not working, we are living on a very tight budget.  And renting a place to fit our family and work with my physical limitations isn't cheap or easily found.  We had been looking and searching for somewhere - anywhere - to live, but kept turning up empty.  There were three different times we thought we had a place nailed down, only to find a few hours later that it wouldn't work for some reason (like the apartment owned by several siblings and through the course of getting it set up for us to rent, a family feud among them breaks out and the apartment becomes no longer available).  To say we were discouraged would be an understatement.

We really had no idea what to do or where to go.  But, one day last week, as a last ditch effort, I emailed a realtor in the area where we were looking and she was able to find a house for us to rent!  Praise the Lord!  This house had been for sale for a while, but was just sitting there empty.  The realtor made some calls and gave us a good character reference (she knows us personally) and the owner agreed to rent to us!  I cannot tell you just how excited we are!

We leave Colorado in one week and will then head back to New Brunswick where we will immediately be able to move in to "our" home.  Thanks to the generosity of some family members, we will have a dining table, a couple of beds, and two desks.  We will probably still have to keep our clothes in suitcases (unless I get some hangers), but I am totally okay with that because we will be living on our own!!!  I know this will help lift our spirits immensely.

As for Matt and a job, he is still unemployed.  His "job" these past months has really been taking care of me and the kids.  Since I have been recovering from my surgeries, I have needed help with lots of everyday things that we usually take for granted (like getting in and out of shower or going up and down stairs).  But I am slowly getting better and am not as dependent on him all day, so he is now more free to leave me with the kids and find a job. So he will begin looking sometime in the near future.

I am doing pretty good health-wise.  Overall, I feel good with just my normal aches and pains that I have dealt with for years.  My walking is still an issue.  I am doing lots of physiotherapy which is helping a lot.  My progress is still slow but it is coming.  I am much stronger than I was this summer and my balance is much better.  I can stand for short periods of time on my own and can do stairs as long as I have someone there to "spot" me.  I still definitely need a walker when walking around the house, but even with that I am becoming less dependent on the walker and using more of my own strength to move.  But, everything that I am able to do takes a lot of effort and I am usually exhausted after just a short time.  For this reason, I still use a wheelchair when out and about.  I am still working hard and am confident that I will regain my abilities. It is just obviously taking a lot of time - definitely more time than I would like.  But I know that there is a specific reason that the Lord is having me go through this, and I want to learn and grow as much as I can through it all.

Our kids have been really great through all of this.  The past 9 months they have had pretty much everything they knew completely change.  And through it all, they have handled it like champs.  We have had a few behaviour issues, but really not many and nothing too drastic.  They have learned to just "go with the flow" and accept these changes that may not necessarily be their first choice.  We have had a lot of talks with them about how following the Lord is not always easy, and sometimes He asks you to do and go through things that don't seem fair or make much sense, but that it is ALWAYS worth it.  I am so thankful for the sweet children God has allowed us to parent.  There have been times that it was them and their sweet childlike faith that kept us going.

We appreciate your prayers as we continue to seek the Lord as to what He has for us next.  We honestly have no idea what that is going to be (or where!), but we are excited (mixed with a little trepidation) to see what He is going to do both in and through us!