Our Road Abode Story
A year ago we NEVER dreamed we would be where we are at today. Living full time in an RV was not exactly in our plan book, but then again, when does our own plans actually happen.
I always thought we had a cool story. Being high school sweethearts, moving around different states & still finding our way back together. Getting married young. The lady at the pet store told us we were a Hallmark movie. I like to think so. There is one part though, I guess our plot in our story. You know, the infertility detail that I sometimes talk about. The part of the story that is keeping us at the edge of our seats - actually more on our knees, if you know what I mean. The BIG part of our story that is shaping us & creating us as a couple in Christ.
Our Road Abode Story
Our first house was such a little cozy home. We knew it was not our forever home, but it was a roof over our heads that we were able to buy when nothing else was working. Turns out, it was the home that established us & was such a huge blessing in our lives. Because of the way we purchased it, we were able to make some improvements on it & sell it for some extra cash. That lead us to the infamous Blue Abode. You all know that one! We used that money to make some renovations to the blue abode & made it such a cozy space. This was a long term home. A home we saw babies crawling around. We did the jobs we needed to do to see the fertility specialist, we did the treatments we needed to do to make the babies. Well, until they didn’t work & our dollars ran low. Honestly, we didn’t get to do much. Whether it was the funds or my mental well-being putting up a wall, fertility treatments were just not in God’s plan for us. Turns out, moving was.
Our plan was for babies, His plan was way bigger.
January 2018 was a very cold month in the midwest. There were a few days that were so cold, we were warned to stay in doors. In those two days we built a fireplace in our home & the joked about moving to Florida. Well, that joke turned into a question that turned into a prayer & then a real conversation. Could we actually move to Florida? Could we actually totally uproot our lives for an “adventure”. Why would we do that & why does it feel so important to us? There was such a deep desire in us to make this happen, but honestly we had no idea at first. That is when we started praying harder about it & asking for prayers about it. This is what was revealed to us.
Babies is not in God’s plan for us right now. No matter what money we spend or treatments we do, if the Lord does not have babies on the calendar for you, it is not going to happen. This infertility journey has taught us so much & opened up our hearts to more than we even knew it could handle. This being Adoption. June 16, 2018 we had our very first conversation about adoption. July 2, 2018 we met with family friends to talk about their journey. August 13, 2018 we went to orientation. I will never forget those dates because they were such happy days. I will admit, I was never one to say “I want to adopt”. I never felt pulled or called to it. Well, I think I was always called to it, I just never took a second to pick up the phone & listen. After that August, we knew in our hearts that adoption was so incredibly important to us. It is actually so crazy for me to put this on the blog, mainly because that is where our adoption journey ended. Or I should say paused.
Taking this adventure means so much more than just skipping a snowy winter. For us, it means open doors to fill our open hearts.
Like I said, our journey with adoption paused after August of 2018. Our hearts were still open to it, but we just were not quite ready for so so so many reasons. Mentally, spiritually, physically I was ready enough to sign papers that day. Emotionally took a few months. This is a story about our WHY to move, so I won’t elaborate too much on this adoption thing. Mainly because we are not ready to start the journey or say we are 100% adopting. However, the road blocks that needed to be busted down are now getting picked off little by little. This is how we started see our prayers being answered for this move.
We prayed each night, together, for clarity, to know why this felt important.
One, we had some VERY special people in our lives want to buy our house. This was their very first home to buy & as excited as we were for ourselves, we were ten times more excited for the blue abode to be their home! This meant selling our home before it even hit the market, selling all our furniture, having an easy transaction with people we LOVE.
Two, selling our home meant making the money it was worth after our renovations. A chunk of change that would allow us to be DEBT FREE, have enough to buy another home some day, & be comfortable enough to begin the adoption process. Starting the adoption process, it was important for us to go into it with no debt - other than a mortgage. We had car payments that made saving money seem impossible. We loved flipping houses & making them our own, but living in this tiny space means WAY less money, maintenance, & time making it our own. It means using our time to enjoy each other, our family, the outdoors. It means living SO simple, minimal & more intentional. Wow, has RV living already taught us so much. Things that have changed me forever & things I want to incorporate in my life no mater what roof is over our heads.
Three, the midwest will always be home to us. We have so many friends & family there, it is where we both grew up, it is our home. However, I have lived away from my mom & dad & sisters for several years. Actually, this will be my first birthday in 5 years I get to spend with my parents & sisters. This was our chance to enjoy life by this side of the family, time for them to get to know Luke even more, establish relationships, learn a new area, learn new jobs, SKIP THE WINTER BLUES! The list for pros to moving to Florida seemed never ending. Don’t get me wrong, the cons list is lengthy too & makes my stomach hurt even thinking about. BUT we had this heaviness in our stomachs that this was right for this time in our lives.
Our plan was babies, His plan was much bigger - but we truly believe it is a plan for our babies.
We serve a God that is known for his faithfulness. They always say “in God’s timing” or “His plan will show”. I believe all these things & until the day we have our babies in our arms, we won’t see His greater plan, but that heaviness in our hearts makes us believe that this IS His plan for our babies.
I was hesitant to put this out there - the adoption part - because we do not want to put out there that we are 100% doing it. It is a HUGE & GREAT thing, that we are praying about. We chose to share this to ask for prayers as we continue to work towards this goal & discern what God wants our next steps to be. Trust me, the moment we decide to hit the Go Ahead, I am sure you all will know! I won’t be able to wipe the smile off my face. It is big thing to put out there - before we even begin the process - because what if we don’t even do it. What if His plan unfolds & we are completely off base with what He wants for us? We won’t know until we’re there, HOWEVER having adoption on our hearts was a huge huge part of this move, so hiding that while sharing our “why” just didn’t feel right.
Living in the RV full time clearly means so much to us. The doors it is opening now & the doors it will open in the future are life changing & we couldn’t be more grateful for this once in a lifetime opportunity.
However long this journey is for, we are so incredibly thankful for it. It is truly shaping our family.
