Moving Day

I have not blogged in quite a bit again and I will be deleting previous entries as we are starting over. A new life, a simple life, and as self sufficiant as possible. Today we embark on a journey that can change our whole outlook on life. Today we pack up the moving truck and drive a very long 16 hours to a quaint town in SE Kansas, called Mapleton. Mapleton has a population of 84 people. Mapleton is the little town that I grew up in. I rode my bike about 5 miles a day, visiting older people who I affectionatelly called grandma and grandpa even when they really weren't, went fishing in the river, explored the woods, and scraped my knees. This is also the town that when you are a teenager and ready to graduate high school you swear you want to leave but secretly wish you could stay forever because it is safe. Mapleton has a small cafe, fire department and even a post office, but no stop lights just stop signs. My grandmother lives 100 yards from the house and acreage we plan to move on. The house is my childhood home. I have memories of tree forts, basketball and my dog Maggie from this house. It is a quaint farm community. The house is a small farm house but the kids will still get their own small rooms. We will have to remodel most of the house as it has seen better days. I will also be able to add some animals to the tiny farm, our first is a little goat from my Step Mom and Dad for the kids.
The kids are excited. They think it is neat to go to the same school mama did. Although I warned them that some of the teachers were teachers when mom was there and I was not the most well behaved kid in school. I wasn't horrible but I am sure some of those teachers will have some memories of me good and bad. I am excited for Alexis the most, my best friend from High School has a daughter a year older than Alexis. The girls have met and played when they were younger and became friends, but it would be so neat if they could be best of friends like me and my best friend.
The boys are excited to be able to farm. They have pretty much lived in a city their whole lives or at least a larger town. I am not sure what they will think of 5am chores, but only time will tell.

My plan for this blog is to document the changes we are making from the bustle of the city to the comfort of the Farm. I plan to post recipes we are trying out, ideas we have from the farm, pictures of the progress of the house (even the bad part we may be moving into), kids meeting the animals for the first time and just our day to day activities.
I will also be posting on our spiritual lives and how we are seeking God first in all we do. We will be looking for a new home church in the area, so I will post little tidbits on each church we visit and how we feel we will fit in. We have not been involved in the church here as much in the past few months due to the economy and our church was a drive away.
In the country everything is a drive away, so I will have to prepare for many trips in a more thought out way. I will no longer just be able to hop in the car and got to Wal...mart. I will have to plan our grocery trips and bring coolers so items can stay cold, although the nearest store is about 30-40 mins away, I still would like the frozen items to be frozen once we get home. I will be stocking a pantry for the first time ever. Will be buying in bulk and freeze meat. I am hoping to get some beef from my dad in the fall and that should get us through the winter. We have not eaten alot of red meat in the past three years due to the prices of meat.

So now I must go and prepare for our exceptionally long day. We are picking up the movign truck this morning and hitting the road around 12. First stop New Orleans, to pick up my neice...four dogs, 3 adults and 4 kids, all packed up into a four door car and a huge Uhaul truck. Sounds like a recipe for FUN. Thank goodness for laptops, ds's and sleepy kids. Im thinking I will need a HUGE break come this time tomorrow.

God Bless.