We have been in Missouri for over a year now, and moved into our new home in spring this year. I really thought I would post about our experience more often, but life wasn’t allowing that. Now that we are mostly settled in our home, I’ll get back to it.

We built a fully accessible home that is a lot like the one we had in Utah. We added a couple of bedrooms and brought the mother-in-law apartment to the main floor, so Kay didn’t have to navigate stairs. We kept all the other things about the same. We really liked our house in Utah:)

I know it’s a really old person thing to do, but I want to talk about the weather. Everyone knows that it’s humid in the Midwest (and in the South and the East and maybe everywhere but the Western United States) but I appreciate that the really hot months (and the really cold months) are limited to 6-8 weeks each. When you come visit me, don’t come in July/August or January/February. All other times are great. Unless there is a tornado. Don’t come then either. 

I really love living so near Adam-ondi-Ahman. An easy way to describe it is this: It’s a 10k acre park, with many trails and gravel roads, where sacred things happened in the past and will happen in the future. The peace there is palpable. I’ve never found a better place to meditate and pray. I walk there often and I feel relieved of the stress that I so often carry. The world is heavy, and getting heavier. When I’m there I feel it lift. 

We live near a neighboring Amish town. Actually we live near a few of them. I decided to spend my birthday there this year, by myself. I drove from store to store just to get a good feel for what each business/family had to offer. Many of the stores are on family properties, so their homes are right there. You get to see into their lives. In one store I visited, I got to meet Stephen. Stephen was a shoeless 9-year-old boy with a towheaded bowl cut. He was running the store while his mom was busy elsewhere. He shared with me about plans to move the store to a larger building, and how much he likes softball, but not school. He demonstrated how to play Simon (I told him they invented that game when I was his age, but that didn’t stop him) and he told me which of the card games make his brother the most angry. I told him I wanted both of those games and 2 dozen eggs. So he got me the eggs and proceeded to examine each one meticulously. Then he got a box to put my items in and when they fit perfectly he said, “yippee!”

Once our transaction was finished he said, “We’re canning pickles! I gotta go!” and he hurried off towards the barn. Just as he got to the door, he jumped up and clicked his heels. I kid you not. He clicked his heels. I’ve only ever seen someone click their heels in musical theatre. It was my favorite birthday ever.

Our home is on 3 acres, so we got a riding mower. It’s way fun to use a riding mower. It’s so much fun that my kids have taken over doing it, and I’m jealous. Why didn’t someone tell me this before. Many of you have riding mowers. Why would you keep this from me?

I spend a lot of time killing bugs and weeds here. Most of our neighbors have trendy (and some not so trendy) homesteads. Lots of chickens and goats and gardens. We just kill things here. It’s going pretty well. I was feeling a little shame about not doing what everyone else is doing here, then a new friend pointed out, “You’re keeping yourself and your kids alive here, that’s pretty impressive.” She is right. The healthcare system in this rural place is problematic, so I’m gonna call this a win and give myself a high-five.

I love so many things here. It is becoming less foreign as time goes by. People are fascinating, aren’t they?! I feel so blessed to get to know more people. So many of them have different perspectives than I do, which has been so interesting. Across the board people are very friendly here. One thing I have enjoyed is how open they are about their love of Jesus. It’s literally on billboards here. I am delighted by the number of people that I run into in the gas station, grocery store and hospital with messages on their t-shirts about Jesus. So many people say, “bless you” or “God bless” when you finish talking. I really need those blessings, so yay!

I hope to do a better job of sharing here and on instagram. So many times in the last year I have wanted to share this experience with all of you. I wish you could be here with me. Until we meet again, God bless (see, I’m becoming a local:)

So much has changed since I last posted. The biggest and hardest change was when Ramona’s time here ended. It’s been almost 5 years and I still struggle to say she “died”. I don’t think that will ever feel right to me because I feel her always and know that she goes on. I have so much to write about her life and death. I started a book about her, but paused on that for over 3 years while I was fulfilling my calling in Relief Society. 

Being a Relief Society President was another considerable experience, but I won’t be writing a book about that 🙂

Now we have moved from Utah to NorthWest Missouri. We have been here for a few weeks and that is what I plan to share here. Actually, I will share whatever I feel inspired to share here. But right now I want to write about Missouri.

We loved living in Utah and we were heartbroken to leave there. But the draw to Missouri was too strong for us to deny. The short version of why we came here is that just over a year ago Rob and I started having discussions about feelings that were shifting our hearts to the east. We took several trips out this way, lead by an unexpected source: our common ancestors. Rob and I share some distant grandparents, and we felt them guiding us to this place. They had lived here in the 1830s and were forced to leave during the 1838 Mormon War. We have felt guided to every place we have ever lived, but never quite like this. We don’t know what our life will look like here, but we are willing to do whatever the Lord would have us do.

Rural Missouri is a very different culture to us. It is both charming and a little frustrating to navigate. It feels very much like going back in time. 

The people here are incredibly kind. I can’t get over it. Everywhere we go we are treated like dear friends. I just love it! 

The businesses, technology, education and healthcare systems are stuck in the 1990s. It is difficult to find services, as many businesses are not on the internet. It seems that a lot of commerce is run by “word of mouth”. I have started buying newspapers to find advertisements for the services we need 🙂

The educators and doctors that we have here have never worked with a child with Milo’s significant special needs. If they weren’t all so dang delightful and helpful I would be worried. Thankfully the children’s hospital in the big city (about 1-1.5 hours drive) are cutting edge. I know we will be able to get the help we need for him!

One of the delights about moving here is that we are building our new home very near Adam-ondi-Ahman. If you have visited that particular church history site, then you know that the peace and comfort felt there can rival any other location. It is a special place and I feel overwhelmed with gratitude each time I visit there.

While we are building our home we are living in a small temporary home about 25 minutes north of our land. We are so thankful for this little house with one bathroom. As my dear friend said, “Sharing a bathroom is bonding.”  So far, there have been no incidents. I attribute that to my other sweet friend who said she would, “pray that our biorhythms line up.” Haha. I’ve got the best friends!

I hope to share our experiences here, on this blog and on my Instagram account, to stay connected with all those we left behind. My friends and family, I love and miss you so much. I want you all to know that it is only through this ‘call from the dust’ and the deep confirmation of the Holy Spirit that we would move so far from your hugs. My kids may be growing weary of my neediness (“No, hug longer…no, longer.”)

We got a hot tub this winter. We’ve wanted one for a long time. We hoped we would eventually get one, so we put in the electrical outlet when we built this house. The hot tub was never at the top of our list. You know, the “list” of things we can not afford right now, but hope to eventually get. The hot tub would still be WAY down on the list, down below things like, a real piano and a new ramp van, and trees in the yard, if it weren’t for the Make A Wish Foundation.

Make A Wish selected Milo to receive his wish. It was all very exciting. First our wish granters came to our house. They brought a huge bag of popcorn and toys for Milo. Then they did an informal interview with all of us to discuss what Milo likes. This was necessary since Milo is non-verbal. It was also lots of fun figuring out what he would like. Almost everything seemed to include water. He is as happy playing with the faucet in the kitchen as he is swimming at the pool. After the chat our wish granters left with a list of Milo’s top 3 wishes: a hot tub (with lights and a water feature), a splash pad, and a special needs bike cart.

A few weeks later they called to let us know that Milo’s top wish would be granted! Make A Wish arranged to have the concrete pad laid, and then we waited. Finally the hot tub arrived, right before Christmas, which was a huge relief because I hadn’t gotten Milo any gifts yet (you might think that is a joke, it is not.)

We used the hot tub a couple of times before it got too cold. Milo loved it! Ramona did too. We haven’t used the hot tub as much as I’d like during the winter, (except for Grey, who has been in it most days) but Spring is gonna be hot tub season, I hope.

Thank you to Make A Wish. All the rumors about you are true. You guys are the best!

This is a direct link to Richard Ostler’s speaking events.

http://www.listenlearnandlove.org/events

I can’t believe it’s been so long since I posted here. Usually I have a lot of things I want to post, but just can’t get to it. This time I haven’t even thought about the blog since July. I guess I’ve been busy.

Since my last post we have had several birthdays (Mony is 21, Grey is 9, Milo is 8, I am 25), we went to Idaho with cousins, we started school, then celebrated Swiss Days, then switched schools, then celebrated Halloween. Many other insignificant and life changing things have happened. Let’s see if I can keep up moving forward.

The thing that prompted me to post today was a presentation that I attended last night. The speakers name was Richard Ostler and the presentation was titled, Being a Good Latter-day Saint and Supporting God’s LGBTQ Children. It was a beautiful eye opening experience that I wish everyone could have. I feel that my paradigm has shifted in the very best way. So I’m linking to his website and Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/papa_ostler/?hl=en
http://www.listenlearnandlove.org

I don’t remember where we were when I took this picture, but it makes me laugh so I’m posting it. Happy 4th of July.

No matter how hard we tried, we could not convince him that riding the 4-wheeler around the yard is fun. But look at how cute Nina is:)

We finally figured out how to take the whole gang biking. As you can see, Mony just hates it 😉

Ramona and Milo have had a fantastic school year doing physical therapy at the pool. This team of therapists and teachers have worked so hard to provide this service to all the special education kids that needed it in the district. What a blessing this place has been for us! Can’t wait for next year!

Every time I take Grey to the grocery store with me he rips in to the bag to eat on the way home. And it’s never the chips or treats that he has convinced me to buy. It’s always the lettuce:)