Golden Gate to the Potato State

What have the Bradys been up to??? 

This blog has been in hibernation for a very long time; my apologies to those who were trying to follow along in the journey.  I have good excuses for not writing :)... mostly, us moving to and living in remote places that didn't have internet. Then, I would start to write but then realize that my info was outdated and I would edit that post to reflect the changes. That kept happening.

This post will be an attempt to "broad stroke" over the past three years since my last post. Yes, three years.  Hard to believe! 

Leaving California -- for real, this time

A little over 3 years ago...

We were wondering what our next step was.  It seemed like we were headed in one direction (Tennessee) and so we plotted.  Because we didn't actually know anyone there, except those we had met online, and our close friends were moving to Texas, we switched our plans to move with them. We figured we could still take day trips into Tennessee to slowly meet people there and look at properties there.  And, this way we wouldn't be alone.  It was a win/win.  Still, even that plan didn't feel 100% right to J.

Lots of little things happened. We met two young families at the RV park we were staying in Windsor, CA who had plans to move to Idaho in the summer.  It wasn't the first time we'd heard that. We have known and met so many people (friends and acquaintances) moving to Idaho, feeling "that God led them there", or stories that the "finger" /panhandle of Idaho would be a safe haven when times got tough.  It bred a curiosity in us, however, we had never seriously considered it for ourselves.  One of the families handed us a book called Strategic Relocation, which gives tons of info on each state, livability, economy, politics, freedom laws or a lack thereof, etc. Idaho, not surprisingly, was one of only two states that had the highest 5-star rating. 'Ok....that's nice', I thought...' but I still want to stick with our plans and move to Texas!'

Long story short, we both devoured the book.  Josh decided that we needed to take a trip there to see for ourselves.


I wasn't exactly thrilled with yet another curveball in our plans, but I realized at one point that I needed to trust my husband because his gut is usually right.  As the mama, my only requirements were: a place where we could see ourselves raising our family, friends to do life and fellowship with, a good midwife (I was pregnant with baby #6 at the time), and an affordable orthodontist for our oldest who needed braces.  Those were my immediate concerns at that time.

Answers to prayer

We got on the road in late February 2015, stopping a few times to stay with friends along the way. It was a rough ride...all seven of us crammed into a 6 seat dually, and me being pregnant. (We had sold our other vehicles before moving).

When we came into Idaho we stayed with our only Idaho contact at that time -- friends who live in a little town called Donnelly.  It was snowing there, and so beautiful.  We stayed there for a couple of weeks.  From there we went up north, wanting to see more of the state.  While we were sightseeing in Coeur d'Alene, I recalled a conversation I had had with a friend of ours in California, about a Sukkot they visited in Cocalalla, Idaho, in 2014.  I had completely forgotten that they had come to Idaho until that very moment.  I called her up and asked her for the fellowship's contact info.  Little did we know that this contact was going to be life-changing for us.  We met the M family at their house in Bonner County, and we immediately clicked with them.  They invited us to come and stay, and visit their fellowship on Shabbat...and the rest is history.  The group had all of the elements that we had been searching for.  We had missed lively worship and praise.  We missed the presence of the Holy Spirit.  It was like we had previously been dehydrated in a hot desert, and they showed us where The Well was.  Josh was especially touched, and his experience that Sabbath was a major confirming factor that this is where we needed to be as a family.  We were amazed that so many prayers seemed to be getting answered all at one time: lots of families for us to fellowship with/ instant friends, a place to stay/park, and most importantly, spiritual renewal, which is something we had both needed.  There were even little things that seemed to show that Abba handpicked this place for us.  We hadn't expected community.  It was something we wanted, something we have actually sought in the past...but this time, it just happened.  The two families that we met at the RV park in CA ended up coming and staying at the property, too.  An ex-Amish family of 13 moved into the pole barn on the property as well.  We had always wanted to learn about the Amish and the way they lived.  Abba even helped us find a nicely priced orthodontist; and eventually, a midwife for me, thousands cheaper than any we had found in California.

Knowing that this was where we were supposed to be helped, but it didn't make everything instantly easy.  It took awhile to get used to the switch, the location, the suddenness of it all.  I’ll admit that I had been looking forward to some “down-home” southern hospitality, Texas smiles, “darlin’s" and “y’alls”, so it was difficult to give up some of those nice notions and trade them for an Idaho winter (freezing!) and (not as friendly as Texans) Idahoans. 

seeing the Pend Oreille River for the first time. Breathtaking!

In spite of my bad attitude, the kids immediately fell in love with Idaho, due to it’s beauty, snow to play in, and fun things to do (the Croc Center in Coeur d’Alene and amazing playgrounds were an instant hit). 

Our first TWO years in Idaho - in a nutshell

Here are some things that happened...

We lived communally with six families on five acres.  We had a baby.  We homeschooled our children.  The kids made many friends and spent lots of time playing in the woods.  We went through two partial Idaho winters in a 5th wheel.  We survived financial hardship.  We received miraculous provision.  Our 5th wheel blew up electrically and we didn't have electricity for awhile.  J started a handyman business.  We lived off-grid in a remote cabin for 10 months.  Our pipes froze in the winter. We learned what NOT to do.  We played, fought, prayed, surrendered, hoped, dreamed.  We moved twice.  We made new, lifetime friendships.  We worked in and visited California twice.  We celebrated two Sukkots, two Passovers, two Unleavened Bread weeks, two Yom Kippurs, two of every other feast, and 96 Sabbaths.  We grew in our spiritual giftings.  We "forged faith in the furnace of affliction".

Our third year - to the present 

It became evident that we needed to move our 5th wheel (again).  Winter was approaching, and we did not relish the idea of our pipes freezing again in Northern Idaho.  We had made some friends in Southern Idaho, who had invited us to stay on their property for a time.  And, as everyone around here knows, southern winters are much milder than in the north. (*sarcastic chuckle) We moved to a little town called Sweet, which is about an hour from Boise. It ended up being one of the harshest winters that Southern ID has had in many years; go figure!  Despite that, it was definitely a "sweet" season for our family.  We stayed on their property for about 6 months, from October to April 2017, and made close friends with neighbors two doors down from us.

During this time I felt like I was starting to lose my mind a little, from the lack of space and the snow.  I decided to do the unthinkable and enrolled two of my children in a nearby public school.  I hadn't allowed myself this option before, because of our strong belief in homeschooling.  It ended up being a great decision.  The school is tiny - grades K-5th, with only 40 students in total.  All of the teachers were likeminded in matters of faith and answered my concerns as an ex-Californian who has experienced the public school system.  This school seemed to be a rare jewel in the middle of farm country.

(I wish I could insert a pic here of their drinking fountain at school. It says "No fluoride".)

I still desperately longed for a house. We had looked at land to build on but decided that what we really needed was an already-built house. We prayed for this expectantly, and that December we found what looked like an answer to our prayer:  a large rental house in Sweet, on 60 acres.  The owner was going to give us a fantastic deal.  We were ready to move into it, but the basement in that house flooded right before we were about to move in.  It was a very hard blow.  I felt confused and wondered about this dangling carrot.

A lot of soul searching went on during this time.  I think both J & I were at the end of our rope, emotionally and mentally, to be honest.  Sweet is a town that is far from everything, and during one of my solitary rides into town,  as I was gazing at the scenery going by, I spilled my guts to God.  I had done that many times before, but this time was different because I was finally ready to see what He wanted to show me.  Instead of begging him for what I wanted and thought we deserved, I found myself thanking him for the trials, and told him that my life was His and not my own.  I surrendered.  From that surrender came a realization that I had not been open-handed to Him in other areas, and was still holding on and trying to control things.  I wept and then prayed like I hadn't prayed in a long time.

The very next day, I was sitting on the grass with my family, watching my 13-year-old play soccer.  A friend approached me and asked J and I if we were still looking for a place.  You have to understand that we had been searching, non-stop, for months.  Rentals in our price range, and accepting of our family size, were very scarce.  But nothing is impossible with Yah.  My friend said that one of their rental homes had become newly available, and asked if we wanted to take a look.  This house was everything we had asked for in prayer.  It had 4 bedrooms, with an additional loft for guests/play, and was literally half the price of similar rentals in the area.  It was also within walking distance of the high school and technical school that I had been looking at for S.

We were beside ourselves with excitement and gratitude! What a relief to finally move into a larger space, after a long 3.5 years of living in 350 sq. ft.  This brings us to now...

We are still living in this spacious house after 13 months, and I still count our blessings every day.  In the next post, I hope to share what good things we learned from traveling/living in our 5th wheel.

~ Shalom ~<3 p="">