Redmond Washington

There is no school today here in the Biggest Little City.

It's not a SNOW day... it's a Rain Day!?%$*&?

It got me thinking about life in Washington and how different it is here now in Reno.

It is a funny thing that even though you would think this dry desert land would soak up the moisture like a marathon runner on a hot day, instead it does the opposite. 

It causes flooding because the soil here is just not prepared for this kind of moisture. 

It can only go so deep is what I've been told.

There are SO many metaphors in this natural occurrence....

It got me thinking about some things I've been re-reading in Broken Open.

Now almost 4 years later since we transported our clan from a wet rainy Redmond WA. to a normally very dry Reno NV I'm once again reminded of that journey to the woods. 

Travel back in time with me beloved reader for a little reflection on this rainy day here in Reno.

We headed into the woods of Redmond Washington having no idea what would come out on the other end.  The big move was inspired after losing our third owned home through a forced foreclosure and the Bank of America scandal.  We were tired and weary of the way things were and what the cards of life had dealt us, so we embarked on one of the greatest adventures of our lives.  A small cabin in the woods of Redmond Washington was our destination, but little did we know we would arrive in Dante's famous Dark Woods. "In the middle of the journey of our life I found myself within a dark woods Where the straight way was lost. "
The woods were indeed dark, and the cabin was indeed ever so small but what came out of those 4 years is still something that all of us still talk about.  Something beyond what I can describe happened when the MoNoSco clan of 6 set out to live in an 800 square foot cabin with only 1 bathroom, no dishwasher or central heat and not a penny to our names after we spent all what little we had left to make that shit hole livable again.  I remember the early days there when I kept turning the corner at the end of our driveway too closely and damaging the tires on Beasty Boy, (Our 8 passenger Ford Expedition).  We had NO money to buy new tires or even really to fix the one I kept busting, yet somehow Moses, the magic man that he is, made them last until we could finally buy new/used ones off of Craigslist.  They were dark times, and at the same time filled with SO much light because we still had each other.   We learned that having a huge house, money in the bank, and brand new designer clothes like ALL of our neighbors(and I do mean ALL of our neighbors had) was not where true life is found. The time in our cabin forever changed us all.   We became among those who The Philosopher William James describes as being Twice Born.  In Elizabeth Lessers book Broken Open she describes in detail what William James means when he writes about being Twice Born. 
"The Philosopher William James wrote that there are two kinds of people in this world-  The Once Born and the Twice Born. Once Born people do not stray from the familiar territory of who they think they are and what they think is expected of them. If fate pushes them to the edge of Dante's famous dark woods- where the straight way is lost- they turn back. "
We didn't turn back even when all roads were popping our tires, and telling us to just go home we remained in those dark woods.  They were literally dark because we were surrounded by trees, but inside when we could get the wet logs lit there was a bright light going on that the rest of the world, except for the 6 of us will never truly understand.   I'm grateful beyond measure for the time that we had there and to my husband who despite a deep seasonal depression going on stuck out those almost 4 years for the sake of our happiness.   "They don't want to learn something new from life's darker lessons.   They stay with what seems safe, and what is acceptable to their family and society. They stick to what they already know but don't necessarily want. Once-Born people may go through life and never even know what lies beyond the woods- or that there are woods at all. "
No one would argue that the choice that we made in the mid stream of our families life to move into this tiny cabin in the woods was a safe choice.  It certainly wasn't acceptable, but somehow that doesn't seem to be the way of this Clan.  I can never really put into words what happened there but it was magic.  Pure magic. I'm still confounded by the fact that now that we are back here in Reno Nevada, living in the largest house we've ever had( an almost 3000 square foot home), my children all say that they would go back to Redmond WA in a heartbeat. (Insert wide eyed emoticon here) A few nights ago during a family dinner I sat back and listened to my kids reminisce about those years and it made me a tad bit weepy, and a whole lot grateful.  Our time there was short but it impacted all of our lives in such a way that we will never forget.  We became "A Twice Born" people group and we didn't even realize it was happening.   "A Twice Born person pays attention when the soul pokes its head through the clouds of of a half-lived life. Whether through choice or calamity, the Twice Born person goes into the woods, loses the straight way, makes mistakes, suffers loss, and confronts that which needs to change within himself in order to live more genuine and radiant life."
My hope is that now that we are almost 4 years out of the woods that we were in for only almost 4 years we all would remember how and why we became Twice Born.  I pray we never forget what really made that time in that space so very special.  It had nothing to do with the close courters that we found ourselves in or that we tried to eventually share those courters with 6 more people (insert wide eyed emoticon here... TWICE!!) I'm not completely sure why that time forever changed us, but I think it has something to do with the fact that despite the fact that we were the Hippy VW bus driving house on the Hill we had love in our hearts. We treasured the time we had together. We enjoyed every acre of that property.  We laughed at the rain and met each new day with creativity and adventure in our hearts.  And when the next adventure arose to move back to Reno Nevada to help open another Tattoo place, we once again embarked on the journey of being re-born again...again. I pray that the soil of our hearts never becomes one so dry that we can't contain the overflowing goodness of what a life looks like that can be re-born again and again. Here's to a beautiful life where we get to be twice born...or thrice born,  and  Here's to all of YOU who despite the dark woods you may have entered you refuse to turn back! Happy Rainy Day!

2 Year Anniversary

This pass week marks our 2 year anniversary of when we moved a million miles away(Ok not a million miles, but it might as well have been). I thought on this relaxing Saturday morning, when my hubby is out at Sea what better time to reminisce than here with you all.



This is a picture of the cabin right after we had squeezed all of our lives into the 800sq ft space. 2 whole years ago. 2 years might not seem like a long time to some of you but to us, it may as well have been 20.



This is a picture of what it looked like before we moved here. While we were still living in NV Moses came up on a scouting trip to see what kind of shape the current rentor/pot dealer had left the cabin in. This is what he found.
Moses, Dennis, Joel, Shawn, Greg, and Papa Russ, thank you for changing this



into this;






I cannot even begin to tell you all how much baggage we came to Washington with. Literally and of course Emotionally.



We couldn't even move in our living room for the first couple of weeks because there was no place to store all our stuff. The hard work that was put into this little place still astounds me.
Even now looking back on these pictures I am amazed at the transformation.

Thanksgiving 2010, this was THE table Mo built, Uncle Jeremy, Emma and Bella in the back there.

MoNoSco 2009

When I think about the fact that we really did this I have to laugh. There was a time though when we first moved here that we did a lot more crying than laughing. I mean, from the picture below you can get a good idea why one might want to cry!



It has now officially been 2 whole years since we embarked on this big move 700 miles up north, and what a roller coaster ride it has been. There have been many, many moments when we have thought "What the hell were we thinking?"

And then there have been many, many moments when we have sat outside, heard the sound of running water from the creek outside and thought "This is truly our safe haven, thank you God for this."



There have been many adjustments along the way, and as much as I tried to prepare myself for this major life change there really was no way to be fully prepared.



The first year here we were under siege. I say "we" loosely because truly it was Moses who was bombarded with countless things that needed to be fixed, chopped, built, moved, rebuilt, and then fixed again.
THE MAN, MY MAN IS A STUD!!



2 years later this place looks so different now.
I no longer need Gloria Paige Smith (aka GPS) to guide me.
I have a storage shed that is NOT my living room anymore, or the front and back porches.
We have figured out how to stay warm in the winter without central heat.
I have adjusted to not having a dishwasher or garbage disposal(my hands have never been so appreciative for a good bottle of Palmolive)
I now have a compost.
Even living on a septic tank has become my new norm.



Life is Good.


2 years later and we are still here.

1 year later

I had a total melt-down moment tonight.
It has been a start to finish beyond busy Monday.
The kind where you don't have time to really eat, pee, or even breathe!
From 6:30 this morning until almost 8p tonight I didn't have one single moment alone.
Then while waiting in the car for Sol to come out of Cub Scouts, all alone at approximately 7:55p, it hit me.
We have been living here in Washington for a year now.
I felt at that moment in the car alone with no one but me and my Creator a deep sigh of grief.
I breathed in and out, 3 long breaths and the floodgates opened up.

It's hard to believe that one year ago, I was arriving here in Washington with my family of 6 to live in a tiny little cabin in the woods. The Pacific Northwest still doesn't feel like home, but at least I don't feel like we are on just a really long vacation anymore :) Whether that is a good or a bad thing I don't know.
What I do know is that putting down roots in a new home takes some time. Time is something we mark with birthdays, holidays, and other such traditions. So this time of year especially always reminds me of a few things that are just not the same anymore.

Tonight I realized this time of year will never be the same anymore.
For a moment I had it really great.
Now I will just have to redefine great.
All of my immediate family living in one state as grown-up adults that was great.
Now great has to be at least that we all live here in the States again :) and also that none of us have passed away.
I can still call anytime I want to hear a voice on the other end and that is something great that I took for granted before, something really great is being able to hug my family whenever I want to. I just now have to buy a plane ticket to do it.

A good friend reminded me recently of the importance of grieving and so I guess that's what I am doing tonight.
I feel like I have been grieving for while now, and not just about moving away from all my family and friends, but about a lot of pain and sorrow that I have seen all around me.

I realize that this post is one that might get deleted because I don't usually like to grieve publicly.
I guess I have always been a private crier and therefore a kind of a private griever.
I think it mostly comes from not liking to be too vulnerable, but also because chances are after a good night sleep it will all feel so different in the morning.

Tonight though it feels good to cry.
I am crying over being too far away from friends and family.
I am crying over the struggles in marriages around me.
I am crying over the failing health of loved ones.
Over loneliness, brokenness, and despair that I see on the faces all around me.
And then over my own selfishness and humanity.
It feels selfish to cry when I have a roof over my head, my health, food in my belly, and the love of my amazing family, but still here I sit with tears and it really also feels SO good.

More Pics of Redmond

More Pics of Redmond for you Non-Facebookers