June 26, 2014

 

 

Our Temporary Home - 2 trailers

The girls are staying in the one on the left (with the indoor cat "Precious") and Darren and I are in the one on the right. The barn you barely see in the left hand side of the photo is where we lock the outdoor cat "Tiger" for night so he doesn't get eaten by coyotes!

 



We have 2 dining options - outdoors OR indoors!

Kylie seems to be enjoying "farm life!"  She's always up for an adventure!

The girls have opportunities to do things they wouldn't normally do - like ride 4-wheelers!










I thought it would be good to add some pictures this time  . . . to give you a little taste of our life right now.  Darren seems to be enjoying farm work.  They are now into hay season and he is learning new things, like how to run a baler.  He is sweating a lot in this humidity and comes home very tired each night.  This is all good, except not very conducive to filling out applications and job hunting! 

There are a few opportunities presenting themselves, so please pray for clear direction as he applies and we go through the process of discerning where God wants us. I think Darren might take a little time off soon to process and spend some time with the Lord.  He doesn't have much "think" and "process" time with the current schedule. . . All the opportunities are very different - teaching music in a Christian school in Oklahoma, part-time worship/music pastor, or overseeing and coordinating worship teams in a college setting . . . all of these are part-time.  So lots of details that would need to be worked out and come together for any of them.

We also found out today that the buyers of our house are completely approved and ready to set an earlier date than July 30 to close on our house in Cimarron.  Therefore, we now need to figure out what to do with our belongings and where to go with them.  We go to Idaho to meet with Darren's Spiritual Formation Group again July 13-19, so it will probably be soon after that. 

Being here has allowed us to take part in some opportunities we wouldn't have had otherwise.  As many of you know, Marissa Hiett, my cousin's daughter, is getting married July 5 here in Fairview.  We've had the opportunity to get together and help put together programs, centerpieces, party favors, etc.  What a privilege to be a part of this!

I've also had opportunities to help my mom do some cleaning and going through things.  She is probably ready for me to leave already, but it is much easier to do these things with someone than alone! . . .   I'm in clean out mode as I just went through my entire house and packed things up!

This is an adventure and it helps to look at it that way to make things more tolerable.  We've had rainstorms recently and therefore found out that our trailer had leaks. So we've spent 2 nights catching water in bowls and trying to figure out where all the rain is leaking in.  Cooking is a challenge.  We usually do breakfast at the trailers, everyone has lunch together at my parents', and then supper varies.  I only have minimal food and cooking items at the trailers, so it depends on what we're having. I am constantly transporting items and laundry back and forth.  The trailers are across the section from my parents' house, which isn't that far as the crow flies (or as Darren drives on the 4-wheeler each day), but by car it is 2 1/2 miles each time.  Invariably, we always need something at the other location . . . ugh. But we are starting to find a little bit of a routine. 

The girls are doing well.  Kaitlyn went up to Salina last weekend and spent the weekend with college friends.  Kylie had a friend from the Enid area come visit last weekend as well.  Two second cousins came in yesterday to spend some time on the farm prior to the wedding, so the next couple of weeks will be filled with family and events connected to the wedding on July 5th!

Thank you again for your support and most of all for your prayers.  We are trying to be faithful to God's leading in our lives, but that doesn't mean that it is always easy.  Some days are harder than others and we covet your prayers as we continue to process and seek the Lord's guidance for our future.

Sherry

June 13, 2014

Well, I decided it was time to sit down and write an update.  Life has been pretty crazy lately and I've just been trying to keep my nose above water!

They finished cutting wheat last Thursday evening, June 5th.  Darren and I left Friday morning, June 6th, to come to Cimarron to prepare for our garage sale during the "City Wide Garage Sale Day."  While it was rainy while we were in Cimarron, we had a beautiful day for the garage sale and got rid of A LOT of stuff.  We were pleased with how well it went.  A great big shout out to Marca Deimand for offering to help and taking money for us! It was a huge help!  Thank you, Marca!

Darren and I stayed in Cimarron through Tuesday morning.  We went to church in Meade, which was a nice treat.  We've pretty much had dictated to us where we would go to church for the last 24 years, so it is nice to have the flexibility to visit churches for a while. While in Cimarron, we were able to pack up 95% of the house and get the inspection, pest inspection and appraisals done.  So it won't take much now when we close on the house to load everything up.  We are still scheduled to close July 30, so it will all just sit there until then.

Darren and I brought a pickup and trailer to Cimarron and brought back some items to use for the summer - bbq grill, deep freeze, refrigerator, etc.  We finally got set up in the trailers on Wednesday, only to have bad storms predicted for later that night. . . golf ball sized hail and 60-70 mph winds.  Well, the decision was made to tear them down and move them into barns for the night.  Thankfully the hail and high winds didn't come, but it did rain and blow and storm.  So, yesterday we set them all back up again and spent the first night in them last night.  It will take a little adjusting, but I think it will be a nice "temporary" setup.

We moved our cats here.  Poor things don't know what to think.  We kept them in the shop office the first night.  Had just moved them out to the farm with the trailers when they decided to tear them down due to the storms.  So, we moved them back to the shop office once again.  Precious is now queen of the girls' trailer and Tiger is still figuring out the barn.  We aren't letting him free yet and are for sure locking him up for night. The coyotes don't need a Tiger for a snack!

Kylie had a great time at camp, but a rather adventurous trip home.  She rode with the group from Enid.  That was the night of many storms in Eastern Colorado and Western Oklahoma/Kansas.  Their 8-9 hour trip turned into nearly 15 as they kept having to stop and/or backtrack due to storms and tornadoes.  They saw two tornadoes and encountered lots of hail along the way as well.  Glad they made it home safely!

She is adjusting to her new babysitting job.  She babysits in the morning and then is around here this afternoon.  Today she is mowing lawn.  Yesterday she found out which roads NOT to drive on when it has rained.  After a mile of treacherous driving, she finally had to call Darren that she was stuck!  He got stuck trying to get her and they had to finally have a tractor come pull them both out!  Good learning experience for her!

Kaitlyn is still enjoying her job.  She went to a college Bible study on Wednesday night. The girls will have much bonding time this summer as they share a small travel trailer (with the cat!).

Well, this is getting long enough again.  We are doing okay.  I am trying to remain flexible.  I am tired of packing and moving and packing and moving and and hunting for things, but I know this is not going away for awhile yet.  So, hopefully my flexibility is improving and God will give me His stamp of approval soon and lead us to some stability again soon!

Thanks for your ongoing support and prayers. We appreciate it.


  

June 4, 2014

Just a quick update . . . we are in the midst of harvest in Oklahoma.  We had rain Sunday evening and that stopped us for Monday, but got rolling again on Tuesday.  We have one full day of wheat harvest left and one day of canola harvest . . . if all would go smoothly.  However, we have one combine down and someone headed to Kansas for a part and the other one hasn't gotten in the field yet this morning either.  So, hopefully things can get rolling today by lunchtime!

Kylie is at church camp and I'm assuming having a wonderful time.  I get very short answers to my texts.
Me:  Doing ok?  Feeling ok?  Getting enough to eat?
Kylie: Yes to all.
So, I've decided to quit asking questions.  I figure no news is good news.
She will start her babysitting job here on Monday.  She will babysit a 2 year old little girl from 8-12 each day.

Kaitlyn is enjoying her new job.  She is doing backup secretarial work at Cimarron Acid and Frac.  It is a company here in Fairview that works with oil wells.

Darren is getting dirty being a farmhand.  He hurt his back a couple of days ago, but is wearing a back brace now which seems to get him by for now.  Hopefully it will heal soon.  I see him at meal times and bedtime and that is about it right now.

I am busy helping my mom cook and keep everyone going.

Darren and I are headed back to Cimarron this weekend for our garage sale and to finish up a few things.  Much of the house is packed already, but not completely yet. I got a lot done last week before I came down, but it seems like the more you get done and look around there is always more to go . . . it never seems to end! 

For those that don't know . . . Darren was offered the 5-12 vocal music position he applied for at the Christian School near Newton.  However, we prayed about it for a week and just didn't feel peace about it. (That is the short version.)  So, he turned it down.  We continue to pray and seek the Lord's guidance.

Our current plan is to get our house packed up and leave everything stored in it until the end of July when we are scheduled to close.  We are hopeful the Lord gives us direction by then to know where to go with our belongings.  We are living with my parents right now until after harvest and they can get the two trailer houses set up for us to live in at a farmstead across the section from my parents.  I am learning to be "flexible" which is a challenge for this Type A "planner" personality.  I have my good days and my bad days.  I feel like Peter stepping out of the boat and when I focus on the waves (uncertainties, fears, etc) I begin to sink, but when I focus on God, I feel peace.  That is my daily challenge.

Well, so much for my "quick" update . . . We appreciate your prayers and support of us on this journey.
Sherry