We Found Our Way to I-O-Way

Minus the 3 years inbetween blog posts...(if I didn't blog about it, did my LIFE happen?)

I'm just going to jump in with where I am right now. And as the camera zooms in on the globe and then in closer on the North American continent and just off of center of the contiguous United States, you'll find the high speeds of the camera passing through clouds to be quite unsettling as it suddenly zeros in on me - who is avoiding the arctic winds, but sitting in a slightly chilled hotel room in Coralville, Iowa. Bam. Here I am! Doesn't my red sweater look so nice?

Bill worked for a meat-processing company called West Liberty Foods in Tremonton, Utah and applied for a job within the company that would take him to the corporate offices in Iowa. WLF took him on in what seems like a drawn out heart beat. As soon as he was offered the System Administrator position, there was talk of trying to move back east within three weeks. Our world was flipped upside down and we tried to brace ourselves as the snow started to settle back down in our figurative snowglobe. Fortunately/Unfortunately it was quite a process finding Bill's replacement as the IT Specialist for the Tremonton plant, so we were scheduled to stay put in Utah until after Thanksgiving...and then until after Christmas and the New Year.

We rode the waves of momentum in trying to prepare our side of our duplex for future renters, but quickly lost steam with every push back of our moving date. If it weren't for the help of Bill's dad Greg, we would have been sunk (I'm still not sure how to convey how much we appreciate his help!). -- I'd also like to give a holla' to my best of friends Mallory, Taylor, and Jeremy for swooping in and helping me push things out on our last Saturday in Utah! --

There were also terrible waves of emotion with each family gathering, thinking it was our last time together for the next who-knows-how-long...only to find we were able to have dinner together the following weekend. Our Brigham City ward was so supportive of our move! But quickly became confused when we kept showing up to church each Sunday. Will the Kiefer's just move already? I assure you all - we felt the same way!

But rare is the opportunity to literally start the New Year completely new...New place. New home. New ward. New friends. New opportunities...there is no one around to remind you of who you were, if that's something you'd rather forget. This feels special. I have this thought in my head and feeling in my heart that I shouldn't mess this up - whatever "this" may be. Before I left, I asked my dad to give me a father's blessing and through it, I was told that I will be blessed to do all the things I need to do. As a very non-specific phrase, it felt very specific to me.

The company had professional movers pick up our LIFE and then plopped it into this extended-stay hotel and a 10x20 storage unit. I'm living with some bare essentials and have extreme amounts of free time to myself at the moment. Today, I only emerged from my hotel room to find some free continental breakfast (and found that I had already missed it for the day) and promptly went back to our room. I worked on figuring out Bill's insurance, looked at places we could potentially live, ate some lunch, organized my email, and started this long-anticipated blog post. I'm feeling really good about LIFE! Albeit lazy, but good. ;)

The sun feels like it sets earlier here...I don't know if that's true, but sunsets here are unlike anything I ever experienced in Utah. On Sunday night after church, we drove out to the town of West Liberty itself to find where Bill would start work on Monday. *I have to say, when everyone heard we were moving to Iowa, they all told us to be prepared for "flat." I don't know what part of Iowa they went through, but Iowa seems to be nothing but beautiful rolling hills (please note my very limited exploration). I was honestly afraid of experiencing wide open plains, I worried I would feel exposed - like I do when I look out across the ocean! But I do not feel that way at all here. I feel like I'm tucked away in rumpled sheets, which is a really cozy feeling to me..........anyway* West Liberty is rather out in the middle of nowhere and sits on top of those rolling hills. We found the WLF plant and decided to go a different way to get back onto the interstate. As we drove and drove, I literally saw the sun set along the horizon of chilled empty fields. Everything took on a strong burnt orange tone. It was surreal! And suddenly I understood why most people in Iowa would say they are grateful for sunsets. In that fleeting moment, I was grateful too...and I'm grateful that I get to keep experiencing it for the next little while.

What People Are Thankful For in Each State - mentalfloss.com and facebook

Our arrival here has not exactly been smooth sailing. I'm quite confident Bill would tell you the first few days have just sucked. That's the honest truth from his perspective. And I feel bad that that's the case. But if there is anything that I have learned in this LIFE, when everything goes wrong that could go wrong, you must be doing something exactly right - Satan is just trying to discourage you any way that he can. We just can't succumb to all the worry and junk he throws our way. I just hope we can survive the rest of this week.

Iowa - we're here to stay for a while. Do you mind if we make ourselves feel cozy amidst your rolling hills?