We've Moved! Into Our RV!

We've moved!  Into our RV!  It's true...and it's hilarious.  We homeschool, we eat healthy, we farm, and now we live in an RV.  My friend and neighbor, Victoria, calls us "Modern Day Hippies."  I can't dispute the title.  Here are a few common questions I'll answer:

What?  That is by far the most common question we hear.  We've moved into our RV.

Is Travis' business doing ok?  Actually, nobody has asked me that question...but I feel like they want to.  I must point out that Travis' business is doing very well.  We are not moving out because we've foreclosed on our home or because he's lost his job or anything.  No worries.

Didn't you just buy a farm last summer?  Yes.  Our friends, the Backlund's, live there and work that farm - and do an excellent job at it.  We deeply value our partnership and would not want to ask them to move out or leave farming.  We have never lived at our Belle Plaine farm.  We've lived at our suburban home in Prior Lake for the last nine years. 

Why?  (Why did you move out of your home?)  Over the last 3 years we've heard God calling us into farming.  This last year went really well with the Backlund's at our farm in Belle Plaine and we were ecstatic to raise food the way we would want to eat it.  This winter both Travis and I felt God nudging us to be on a farm.  We felt it at different times and in different ways, but we shared it with each other and started praying.  We knew God wanted us to leave the Backlund's at the farm and He had something else in store for us.  We didn't know the entire plan, but we heard God say, "Go!"  So we started to go.  We felt a little like the Israelites following a pillar of cloud/fire.  We packed up our belongings and started following.

Did you sell your Prior Lake home?  No.  We are renting out our house.  Around Easter time we started researching what selling our house would look like.  We bought in 2004.  We learned that 11 years later our house would still not sell for the price we paid for it.  We would lose 10's of thousands of dollars...of God's money.  We hemmed and hawed.  We wanted to obey God and go, but we also felt like we needed to be stewards of His money.  Travis suggested we consider renting.  (Ugh!  I've only heard stories from friends who have rental properties.  I wasn't sure that was the right path!)  Travis was out of town on a business trip on Wednesday, April 22nd, when we emailed each other late that night to make the final call to start packing and "follow the pillar of cloud/fire."

How long did it take you to get out of your home?  Was that kind of stressful?  The kids and I started packing on Thursday, April 23rd.  We moved out Saturday, May 2nd.  By Sunday night (April 26th) I was a stressed-out mess!  I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off packing boxes in every room and trying to organize a move.  Praise God for the example of forgiveness, because my entire family had to forgive me many, many times that week.  Talk about ugly mom!  If I didn't think about it, I was ok...but the moment I contemplated which on the long list of tasks I should do next I nearly started to cry.  Praise God for the many family and friends He sent to help pack, clean, and teach and feed my kids.  (THANK YOU!!! if you were one of our helpers!)  I know many of our friends were stressed out for us.  Ummm...thank you?  Or maybe...sorry we stressed you out, too.  ;-)

Trevor, Tyler, Anthony (Matt is missing)

Who is renting your home?  "M.A.T.T."  That's what the kids call the Nautical Circle home now.  That Sunday night when I was at my breaking point, Travis and I talked and had a beautiful time of prayer together.  (I was extremely anxious at the idea of renting out our house - particularly because of our neighborhood and the association meeting I had attended on the 22nd.  I was reminded of the "architectural committee" and how the association monitors the yards and landscaping of the developments' homes.) Our time of prayer was very authentic and really calmed me down - reminding me to trust.  Monday morning I asked for more prayer from my amazing praying friends.  Monday afternoon at 3:30 Travis called me to tell me he thought he had found renters for us (!?!?).  We hadn't even made it public that our house was available to rent yet.  He told me our friends Tyler Grinder and Anthony Price, Tyler's brother Trevor (who we met on a trip to New York), and another roommate Matt were looking to rent in Prior Lake.  (Who ever looks to rent here?!)  They had just signed a lease Friday for another home down the road.  When Travis brought our home's availability to Tyler's attention, Tyler looked into cancelling his lease and scheduled a time to come see our home.  While I absolutely love these guys, I was concerned about the fact that these guys were in their late twenties and single (btw, ladies - they are single!!  Really great guys!!!).  I was imagining parties and the lawn not being cared for in our "upscale, single-family home community bordering the western shores of Prior Lake," as the association puts it.  Travis reminded me that Tyler, Anthony, and Trevor all have chosen a lifestyle of sobriety.  (One concern off my list.  I was already feeling better.)  Three of the guys came over to look at our house that Monday night (amidst our HUGE mess of boxes, dirty carpets, and walls dings that need fixing).  When they arrived I learned that Trevor and Matt work for a lawn care company!!!!!!  OMPickles!  They moved in Saturday, May 2nd, and had already stopped by to mow our lawn once.  I didn't have to fix a single scratch in my house, I didn't need to replace any light fixtures (aside from burned out bulbs), they didn't need the carpets cleaned.  On top of all that, these young gentlemen with strong arms were willing to move our furniture to the basement (and we will store it all there - we don't need to keep it all in PODS or vaults).  I mean, seriously!  God answered every concern and anxiety I had.  Matt, Anthony, Tyler, Trevor.  MATT.  The MATT house.  Clever.

Is your RV at the farm?  Or where are you parked?  We are not at the farm.  We live at Dakota Meadows...Mystic Lake's RV Park.  Yes, we are a Christian homeschooling family and we live in the casino's parking lot.  It was just easier to live here for a few weeks while we finish school and co-ops and move things around at our Nautica Circle house.

Will you be there all summer?  No.  We intended to leave May 31st to take a 6-week road trip to Boston.  We will return by July 11.

Have you seen "Tiny House"?  Ha!  Yes - one episode.  We know God is leading us to simplify and do more with less stuff.  Our ability to live in our RV has shown us how great life can be with less.  I'm not sure a tiny house is in our future.  However, I really like the idea of making all our space useful.  Our Nautica Circle house has 4,000 square feet (some of it unfinished - perfect for storage).  I would prefer to only have to clean 2,000 square feet, maybe less?.  (That will force me to store less stuff, too.  We just had one great purge.  I see another in our near future.)

Are you crazy?  Yes.  This is the most common question (and comment) we hear from people.  And we would agree that, yes, we are crazy.  We prefer to call it adventurous.  Never a dull moment at the Wilson house, I guess. 

How is it, living in your RV?  Most people are concerned about us not having enough space and time apart.  We have amazing friends who all have offered for us to use their space, showers, spare rooms and more.  We have imposed ourselves on my sister quite often (she lives about a 1/2 mile from our new residence) for laundry and meals.  For the most part we've done really well living in our 400 square foot tenement on wheels.  It only takes about 10 minutes to clean our entire home!  (My favorite part!)  We've played a lot of games, laughed a lot, and just done life in a smaller space.  So far, so good.  Ask us again in another week or two. 

At one point in this whole process, I was about to cry thinking about all that had to be done in a few days.  Now I'm about to cry seeing how God took care of every last detail.  We praise Him and we are excited to see where He leads us!