I wrote this up for another forum I am apart of and realized I never really talked about what went on while we were in Jersey packing out so I thought I would share it here as well:

It has been a while since I have been able to come online and really talk so I thought I would post an update on how we are doing.

At the end of March my husband deployed for 6 mths. Two days later the kids and I closed out our house in Jersey and drove to Kentucky to stay on the family farm. We moved into my Great Grandparents vacant and fully furnished home in the middle of the family beef farm. After we had been here in Kentucky for 1 mth we got an email from our landlord in Jersey saying that he was going to allow the house to go into foreclosure...but for us to keep sending him rent. We felt that was extremely immoral and refused to pay him the rent if he was going to refuse to pay the bank. My parents watched our 6 children for three days while I flew up to Jersey to pack out and put the entire house into storage.

Here is where some serious God "things" came up. There was no way I could have packed out that 3,000 square foot house much less moved all of our things into storage by myself. I was seriously trusting the Lord to help me. For weeks before hand I was praying a very specific prayer "Lord, if you are in this I ask you to make yourself known." Boy did He ever! It started with the plane ticket. I needed $380 for the round trip ticket. Wouldn't you know I got a check in the mail the week before for $389?! So there was my plane ticket.

Then on the first day there (Friday) I had people I didn't even know (friends of friends) show up to help us pack out our house. By 6pm on Friday night our entire house had been emptied of furniture and the majority of the house had been packed (just kitchen and master bedroom needed to be packed). We were standing in the kitchen saying we needed packing supplies for the kitchen and trying to figure out where to find them when a neighbor poked his head in the door to announce he had dropped off boxes full of packing materials. Talk about chills! God at work! Then I went to get into my husband's car and found a massive roll or bubble wrap that he had brought home from work before he deployed! I felt very touched by the Lord right that second.

On Saturday morning I still had to Uhaul for a few more hours and again the people from the night before came by to help. We managed another load to the storage unit that morning. When I got home from that trip I found there were so many people at my house I couldn't even find a parking place on the street! I walked into find the entire house filled with people. The entire house had been emptied and put in the garage, every room packed, and people in every room cleaning and scrubbing.

By 6pm the entire house was emptied and scrubbed and I had nothing to do with myself. Since I was homeless a dear friend offered me her sofa bed and then fed me steak and veggies.

Sunday morning we found that the landlord had refused to come by and do the walk through and take possession of the house. I called the local police station and they sent a nice officer over to do a walk through and document the condition I was leaving the house in. I still have not heard back from the land lord about the security deposit but I am giving him his legally required 30 days before I make contact again.

I had absolutely nothing to do with myself for the rest of the Sunday and was able to relax before my flight back to Kentucky. The Lord was definitely with me for that weekend!

Anyways back here in Kentucky. We are living rent and utility free here on the family farm. I am enjoying the no tv or internet in the home and think we will have to make some serious changes once we have our own home again. We are spending our days playing in the creek, exploring the farm, doing school work, and just being together. The kids are getting to spend time with their great grandfather, grandparents, uncle and aunt, and cousins.

We are working on completing our emergency fund, filling our sinking funds, and saving for a down payment on our own farm sometime down the road.

We plan to go back to Jersey in September and find a new house to rent before dh returns from his deployment. We want to stay in the same subdivision with our friends and fellow homeschoolers. Right now there are no listings available but we are trusting that the Lord has a plan and the right house will pop up when we need it. It is hard for me to "let it go" since I am a planner but I keep telling myself the Lord has a plan, if I knew what the plan was then it would be my plan instead of His.

So far we have made it through 3mths of the 6mth deployment. I miss my husband something fierce. He is miserable and that isn't helping my emotions at all. I am very ready for him to come home!

Anyway there is our update. We are currently homeless squatters and actually enjoying it immensely