New Normal

I had questions about yesterday's post, so I thought I'd just clarify it here! Yes? Yes!

So here's our sad little story...We sold our house before Covid hit. Our thought was to find a house with a little bit of property, and we were excited to find something that checked all of our boxes. After saving up for several months, we had a chunky downpayment and began our search. We sensed the market in Southern Oregon was going up, but I told myself it was just temporary and things would get back to normal soon (ha!). We looked at house after house, putting in bids and hoping for the best. Every time we thought we'd found it, someone from out of state would come in with a higher offer without even walking through the property. And then... the Rogue Valley was hit with a horrific fire. More than 6000 families in our county heartbreakingly lost their homes. Inventory went down, and housing prices soared. We finally found a house that I KNEW was exactly perfect for us. It was a fixer-upper in Shady Cove, and it was at the top of our limit, but we decided to go all in. We offered $21,000 over the asking price and I began dreaming about drinking coffee and playing with grandbabies and eating from our very own garden. And then, we were outbid.

At that moment it was clear to us we weren't going to find what we were looking for. As much as I didn't want to move away, I knew that it was our best option. So.....Long story short, we decided to move to Florida to help our son Ellis plant a church. We don't plan on staying here forever, but we are here for now. Sort of.

I found out that moving across the country takes time and planning! Who knew? (Well you probably did, but I'm still learning how many moving pieces there are...LOL) David loves his job in Medford, and he is still trying to figure out when he will make the move. 3 out of our 4 grandkids are in the Rogue Valley, so there has been some back and forth as I travel for work and pop in for snuggles with the boys. We purchased a cute little place, and hope to both be settled in here in Florida by the end of the year. Our plan is to travel around on the weekends and eventually find our permanent home. All of our stuff is in storage in Medford, Oregon, and we are technically still Oregon residents until the end of 2021. We are looking forward to visiting friends in different states and getting a lay of the land. I'm excited to explore.

For now, Florida is a good place to rest and reconnect. I'm learning to embrace my "new normal" for now, trusting that the path will come in to focus as we walk it.

In the meantime, I'll be posting some pictures of our little place and taking you along on my journey of making it a home. I'll be taking you along on our roadtrips. Here is where I'll dump some of my writing and the things I'm processing. I'm thankful for a small tribe of readers again. Thanks, friend.