The year was 1994. My husband Gary, and our three children moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico for Gary’s last duty station in the United States Navy. He took a billet at Kirtland Air Force base as the Liaison Officer between the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. He loved his new job but three years later we knew the time had come to retire. Our oldest son was going into his teen years, followed by our other two kiddos, and we felt it best. He retired September 1, 1997. The job search began and Gary was soon hired on with the Intel Corporation. After 22 years with the Navy and the comfort and familiarity of Military/Navy life, this took place with great trepidation I might add…(It’s scary out there in the Civilian World)!
We found three church families, the last church of which we helped birth with two of our best friends. Little did we know we were going to need their support. We made a few life long friends in New Mexico whom to this day we are still grateful for. The impending string of BIG trials were just beginning.
In 1997 my Mother, Gary’s Mother-in-law and our kid’s Grandmother took her life. Following that we were faced with a 15 year stint of our youngest son’s drug and alcohol addiction, family separation and judgments from many. After all, We must have done something wrong as parents for this to happen, don’t ya know?!!!
Because I don’t want to belabor that too much…I will stop and save those subjects for separate blog posts when the time is right.
After the horrendous trials we’d suffered, we longed for a NEW BEGINNING. Gary and I began praying for guidance. We had wanted to move back to our old stomping grounds in San Diego and began looking at properties in the Temecula area. As we prayed, we felt God dissuading us from the the Golden State. At the time, we didn’t have clarity but we have learned to trust God’s lead, as quite honestly: He’s NEVER wrong. He swiftly began leading us to a second place we’d traveled with our kids and loved as they were growing up—Arizona, the Grand Canyon State.
We just couldn’t get over Arizona’s profuse plush landscaping! Absolutely unmatched are the beautiful Queen Ann Palms, Pineapple & Pigmy Palms, the Citrus Trees—Orange, Lemon & Lime, Banana Trees, Bougainvillea’s, Bird of Paradise and so many other flowering trees and bushes. The man made lakes throughout much of Arizona, and the water features on every other corner w/ mass flower plantings in the fall, it’s a sight to behold!
And the Majestic Palms…Oh my gosh, THE PALM TREES! I’ve been mesmerized by THEM ever since the first days of our marriage when we moved out to San Diego. One day in my quiet time with the Lord, He spoke to me saying, “Carole, you are like the Palm. I want you to look up Palm Trees and study about them. When I got out my Bible Dictionary and a couple of other study aids I found out a Palm Tree bears fruit in its twenty-ninth year. I gave my heart to Christ and was saved at 29-years-old! Coincidence? I think not!
The Lord had been speaking to us that He was sending us to our “Land filled w/ milk and honey.” Chandler, AZ became our new home in April of 2017. We immediately rented an Apartment on a large lake with a fountain. My husbands dream was to live on a Golf Course so it was in our tiny apartment where we came into full agreement! After the profuse enjoyment of watching the multiple water fowl on the lake, we’d look for a home on a lake and forgo Golf Course living.
As we’d prayed we knew God had revealed he had A JOB for Gary that he was going to love. As I think back, when he applied for the job he has now, he said, “If I had to write my own job description, this job would be it.” And THAT is the very job Gary got. We also knew by the Spirit of God, when we found our home we would KNOW it when we walked into it.
We knew lake front properties go almost as soon as they’re placed on the market, so we had to act quickly. We’d already secured a Realtor through Facebook. When we found our home they hadn’t even put the for sale sign up, so no one else could look at it. (It was as if God held it just for us)! We walked in and it was just as our Father said…. WE KNEW! I still remember looking down from the Master Bedroom Balcony and Gary looking up at me with this childlike grin a mile long, “Honey, this is it. This is our home,” he uttered with excitement. It’s actually hard to believe we’ve been in our home for almost 7 wonderful years! Time flies when you’re having fun…
Here’s a short list of confirmations that I believe the Lord has given us regarding our move here… First and foremost, our address numbers are “710.” Biblically, the number “7” means perfection and the number “10”– completion. (This is our last home, unless the Lord has a different plan). 7/10 is also our youngest son’s Birthday Month and Day. In addition, it is the very day I birthed Carole Dianne Designs. (And quite honestly, I didn’t put two and two together regarding that. I didn’t plan it)!
A friend of mine in Albuquerque was inquiring about the type of home we were looking for in Chandler. I found a “random home” that I was mesmerized with that was for sale with a bunch of pictures and sent them to her. You will not believe this! THAT HOME ended up being just three houses down from our current home on the same street. God knew. We had no clue where our home would be other than a few neighborhoods we were drawn to…but GOD—The King of the Universe—KNEW!
One of the most poignant stories I have ever read that impacted my life probably more than any other is a story about Sandpipers. (You’ll find this tear jerker in one of my blog posts—Have a Kleenex handy)! We live in none other than Sandpiper Shores and one of the main thorough fares in our neighborhood is “Sandpiper Drive.”
As I drive down another main thoroughfare towards our home, right before turning onto Sandpiper Drive is “Nebraska” street where my husband Gary and I grew up in the Midwest. As we drive out of our neighborhood and onto the same thoroughfare, just a few cross streets down is “Hemlock Street” which was a main street near our very first apartment in Imperial Beach, California, (a suburb of San Diego), when we were newly married.
Four years ago, we took our son to a meeting place on land that was near a farm that housed Giraffes and Zebras from Michael Jackson’s Mansion. It was literally just 20 minutes from us. There on the cross street as we pulled into the house, was Black Hills Road, the very same street we lived on twenty-three years in New Mexico.
You. Just. Can’t. Make. This. Stuff. Up!
When God said He was sending us to our “Land filled with milk and honey” He meant it! Not only are we only 4 1/2 hours from the Beach in San Diego and our old stomping grounds, the community we live in—Ocotillo—is the NUMBER ONE Community in all of Arizona. Lots of Green Belts, a Golf Course across the street from us, Water Features and Fountains on every other corner.
We are five minutes away from many restaurants, grocery stores and shopping. We have a Hallmark Store on Steroids! NO JOKE… (If you ever come this way, ya just have to check it out)! When we first moved here I developed such a wonderful rapport in our Steinmart, Tuesday Morning and Sprouts, I literally got multiple hugs from two of the clerks, and one day they were consecutive hugs from two ladies named GRACE & FAITH. (Again, you can’t make this stuff up). I remember the first time I went through the drive through at McDonalds and the gal that waited on me complimented my hat and was so, so sweet. I wanted to pinch her and tell her “YOU DO KNOW THIS IS MCDONALD’S, DON’T YOU???” But honestly, everyone here as a general rule is super sweet, upbeat and respectful in retail stores, restaurants, etc…It literally blows my mind when I think about it! Ya’ll we lived in the same place 23 years, and there’s a big difference in the economic scales. No one will ever tell me that doesn’t make a difference in people and their demeanors.
And then there’s our neighbor that’s had a yearly Christmas party for 36 years in the previous place they lived and here in our neighborhood with over 20 desserts the week before Christmas. What a sense of community! And I knew more neighbors here in our first two years we lived here than in the 23 years in NM., and it wasn’t because I didn’t reach out. People were sadly, just not as receptive.
So what about the HEAT??? Here’s the deal. Hubby and I will never again live any where it snows. After all, we grew up in Nebraska with 5 mos. of winter, risking our lives on the roads, scooping snow, getting snowed in, etc… And we’ve lived in HIGH HUMIDITY in Jacksonville, Fl. and Charleston, SC. with 100 degrees and 100% humidity. It not only takes your breath away, those three showers a day got old. Quick. And if you haven’t lived in both high humidity and dry heat, you probably don’t know the difference. Most of the homes there have swamp coolers that circulate the outside air into the homes. So we have learned to live with the DRY HEAT for 3 1/2-4 mos. My husband is a die hard pool guy and swims almost daily. (Yes, he uses sunscreen)… When it cools off, he fishes daily on our lake.
THIS my friends, is our land filled with milk and honey.
Delightfully so…Delightfully so!
