Life Change Moment Number ???

I have been oh-so-eagerly anticipating writing this blog post for almost two months.  As most of you know, we moved to Northwest Washington - right on the border between Washington and Canada - in October 2011 after Robert received a job as a Customs Officer with Customs & Border Protection.  We lived in the quaint little Dutch town of Lynden for six months and then the busy-during-the-summer touristy ocean-side town of Birch Bay for six months.  What most of you don't know is that Robert made the difficult decision to leave that job after having been a Customs Officer for a year. I could go into specifics explaining all the reasons Robert made that decision, but that is better left for him to answer as it was a very personal choice.  All I know is that the last two months have been a whirlwind of plans made, plans changed, and a HUGE learning and growing experience for our family.  I want all my friends to read what I have to say, but I especially want my friends who are women to hear my heart through our testimony.

I want to preface this testimony by asking you to please keep in mind that I am not trying to build myself up.  I am merely telling a story that could have gone very, very different and had a very, very sad outcome.  I also want to add that throughout this past summer I had been (for some reason) praying a very specific prayer: God, please let me use a situation in our lives to show my husband that I respect and support him. I am very thankful that God opened my eyes to that situation when it happened...

When Robert came home from work at the end of August I could tell something was very wrong when he said, "Bonnie, get up to the room, now, because we need to talk."  He then explained to me that he had been considering leaving his job with Customs for a few weeks but was afraid of how I would react. Most of my friends on Facebook have seen the year we had experienced in our "new" lives out of Alaska.  We had great times and a wonderful rain-free three months in the summer.  We went to the beach and played in the ocean, we rode bikes and took walks, went apple and berry-picking and then canned all those wonderful fruits after making them into delicious jams and sauces.  We even went camping and only had take light sleeping bags - an experience I have NEVER had in Alaska in the summer.  So you can see how Robert might have thought my reaction to his announcement could go very, very badly.

This is the point where my prayers were answered.  I quietly said, "It's going to be okay."  I won't go into a lot of details, but the next few weeks involved simply letting God quiet our anxious hearts and work things out for the good.  I wish I had written everything down that was an absolute miracle but some of the big ones are as follows: Robert applied for, and received, a job as a Mail Carrier in Casper, Wyoming (more on that later); we found amazing renters who took over the remaining portion of our six-month lease in Birch Bay (incidentally, our rental house just happened to be a miracle for them too...); I was part of a Bible study on James with a couple of my neighbor friends - James is an incredibly encouraging book to read - couldn't have come at a better time; during our final study I was prayed for by one of the ladies and to even think about it today takes my breath away - I have never before so strongly felt the presence of the Holy Spirit (that prayer, in itself, will get a separate blog post); friends and family have helped us, loved us, supported us, and prayed for us - even when not fully understanding (or agreeing with) our decisions.

What I'd like to say now is specifically for my friends who are women.  Some of you are married and some are not, but I think this is important no matter what situation you are in.  Please, please, please support and respect your husbands.  Through my reaction to his news and my support that followed, I was able to see Robert mature to a man who loves me absolutely and more than I ever thought possible.  I could have easily decided to leave and "not put up with this" and there are some who would not have blamed me.  Problem is, we vowed to stay together as ONE through good times AND BAD, for richer OR POORER.  Trust me when I say there are have been days I have felt the evil one intruding into my thoughts and trying to make me bitter and resentful.  Through silent prayer God helped me turn those thoughts to only the good and perfect blessings we have received from Above.  After all, I have two sets of little eyes watching my every reaction.  I am convinced that the reason they love and respect their daddy so much is because I chose to do the same.

While sounding like a martyr through this testimony I am merely trying to encourage my friends to train your thoughts and words to be those that are uplifting and loving. Husbands can be very frustrating creatures sometimes...almost as difficult as we are as wives!  Your husband, if he has a kind heart and good character, will reciprocate, and you will see a marked difference in your marriage.

So back to the exciting news...
At the beginning of October we left Washington to begin our lives in Casper. (NOTE: Casper, Wyoming is barren, desolate, and bleak - and windy for most of the year. It does get hot there but not for very long.)  The post office in Casper hadn't given Robert an exact start date but we decided to get there early so we could get moved and settled into a new place.  We had heard that housing in Casper was very difficult to obtain because there is a lot of oil exploration (on private land) and so there is a boom in the surrounding areas.  Little did we know that housing would be so expensive and hard to find. There were many days we would find a prospective rental pop up on Craigslist or while driving around, call the number, and they had already had fifty calls on it! The post office was having trouble with Robert's paperwork so the kids and I decided to visit family and friends in Arkansas and Missouri until we could either buy or rent a house in Casper. (We've already tried to rent or buy houses - or even rvs - so many times I've lost count.)

Finally today, after applying for and receiving a job offer from the post office almost two months ago, the Casper Post Office called and told Robert he could start work this Saturday, November 3rd.  The problem is, not five minutes before that call, he accepted a position from a post office in Overland Park, Kansas that would also begin this Saturday! When Robert told me about the offer from Kansas I was elated! I strongly detested Casper and did NOT want to live there, but would have if needed.

We are extremely excited about moving to Kansas.  Overland Park is a suburb of Kansas City - which is on both the Kansas and Missouri state line.  Other than that, I don't know much about it.  I do know that it will be substantially cheaper to live and easier to find housing.  Also, I will probably be able to grow a garden instead of cactus and tumbleweed.  :)

Cheyenne and Robert are doing wonderfully.  We are keeping up with their schoolwork - thankful for the ability to homeschool!  They are also excited about this move, but more importantly, they are happy that we are united as a family and learning and growing through this experience together.  They mention at least once a day how God is working in our lives.  Such a blessing.

Please drop me a note, text, or call if any of you want to talk.  I have been reluctant to post updates on this blog or Facebook since this has been a time of many - sometimes daily - changes.  I am even still hesitant to post too many updates for fear they might change five minutes later.

Thank you for reading this post.  I might have to write a book someday about this experience.  It has been amazing to see all the ways God has worked in this time of our lives.  The following verses became very real for me these past two months:

James 1:2-5, 13-17 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you....When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Thank you for the prayers...

I titled this post "Thank you for the prayers" because I have felt so in awe lately about the wonderful people who have entered our lives these past eight months and I know it is because my friends and family have prayed for that to happen.  God has provided us with some wonderful people that I know will be life-long friends.  We've forged strong bonds already with our neighbors from our first rental house in Lynden to a family from AWANA (who also homeschools) to our new neighbors here in Birch Bay who have five children and also homeschool.

Yesterday, the kids and I were with a group of four other homeschool families who meet every couple of weeks at a local park (started by our new friends from AWANA) and I actually had to take a deep breath and hold in my tears because I was just so happy to have found another wonderful group of ladies who have the same interests, trials, and lifestyle as we do.  While I miss the group of similar ladies I had for support in the Valley, I know they have prayed these people into my life.

We have been busy finishing up our school year lately.  With the warmer weather it is definitely more difficult to concentrate - for all three of us, but whenever it rains (which it does quite often here in Northwest Washington), we are diligently working.

Robert will be done with his training and off of probation in one week!  It's hard to believe that, this time last year, Customs had just called and offered Robert the job in Washington and we were preparing for him to go to the training academy!!  He is really liking his job.  It is one of the busiest ports - especially in the summer - so he is getting a lot of overtime.  We love hearing stories from his day about people who he interviewed going across the border.  There's some really interesting and funny ones, for sure!

We have settled into our new rental house and are very comfortable.  It is at the end of a huge subdivision and as far back as one can go.  Our backyard backs up to a greenbelt with a walking trail in a conservation area.  The trail leads back to a really nice non-crowded playground which we use frequently.  Right after we moved in I started noticing all kinds of birds in our backyard and we have spent a lot of time watching and learning about all the different species we see.  My favorites are the Spotted Towhees (notice the red eyes) and Hummingbirds.

Adult Male Rufous Hummingbird

Adult Female Rufous Hummingbird

Spotted Towhee

The Birch Bay Sandcastle Building Contest was today.  Kind of a dringy day for it, but surprisingly warm.  Don't know when I'll quit dressing in heavy layers when I look out and see that it's raining...only to discover that it's actually very warm outside.

Cheyenne posing in front of one of the sandcastles on the beach

We have a short road-trip planned for the end of June.  Going to head over towards Idaho and spend a few days driving around there and Eastern Washington.  It's nice to be able to do this and we feel very happy and blessed.

A New Move...not very far away

Another year older as I type this.  Sigh...I make myself feel better about it by telling myself that I'm not even as old as my mother was when she gave birth to me.  (Sorry, Mom, but it helps...)

We have been settling in to our "new" lives over the past few months...Robert getting used to his new job as a Custom's Officer in a busy Border town, me playing catch-up teaching homeschool since we had a late start after the move, meeting new people, discovering the area, etc.  And now that we're finally feeling settled -- we're moving again.

Our lease was only for six months and they are trying to sell this home so it is a good time to move.  We found a home closer to Robert's work - in a little town closer to the Northern Border called Birch Bay.  Birch Bay is a busy town during the summer since it's so close to the beach.  I'm told it's a lot of fun during the summer because people swim, dig for clams, go crabbing, and all sorts of beach-y activities.  They even have a sandcastle contest over Father's Day weekend.

And a waterslide park:

And sunsets which I am very much looking forward to enjoying:

Robert says we are going to start a new exercise routine after we move.  Running (among other things).  Ugh. But, I am so thankful that he is wanting us to do this, as a family, along with NOT having cable tv follow us to our new home.  Yes, we are turning it OFF!  I am hopeful that we will be able to keep it off. We have felt lately that precious moments are slipping away while we sit and stare at the electronic idol in the middle of the living room.  I know that some people are able to limit their television time and I completely respect that.  We, however, do not have the self-discipline to do that.  We have always kept the tv off during the day while doing school (wellll...except for that half-hour I sit and drink coffee and catch up on the morning's news...), but you can guarantee that it is on every night...for most of the night.  The suggestive commercials, alone, were the deciding factor when we were on the fence about the whole thing.

Cheyenne has lost three teeth so far.  The front two finally came out (were pulled out by Mommy) and she looks adorable!

Robert has already started baseball - something unheard of in March in Alaska! His team is very good since they've been playing together for so many years and we are looking forward to a competitive season playing other teams throughout the county.

AWANA will be coming to a close for this school year soon.  It was so rewarding the other night as we were doing some family devotions when Big Robert started reading from Proverbs and Little Robert was able to finish out the next three verses from memory...and cite them! He was so excited that he knew them and we were so impressed. It's neat when you see the fruit from the labor of so many years.