Tomorrow my husband and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary…by packing up our house. It may not seem like the most romantic way to spend the day, but in a way it is—because it’s all another part of our adventure together. It’s an adventure that has seen us move 10 times now (yes, I realize that’s an average of a move every 2.1 years…and we’ve lived in our current house for six years, which means that there were several years where we moved every year). But you know what? I wouldn’t change a single one of the moves we’ve made because they’ve all become a part of our story—and God has used every one of them to stretch and grow us and bring us closer to him and to one another.
Our first move was into an apartment when we got married. Then, less than a year later, we moved into our first house. Three years after that, my husband decided to return to school to study for the public ministry. That brought us five moves in seven years (and three children along the way, each born in a different place). And then we moved to serve our first congregation (and another child came along…she’s important to this story too). And then we moved to our current home, which will no longer be our home as of next week as we head into our biggest move of all—from Wisconsin to Texas.
If you subscribe to my newsletter, you’ll know all the details of why and how this move came to be. But in case you don’t subscribe (you can sign up here if you’d like!), here’s the short version: Our youngest daughter has a mixed expressive/receptive language disorder. Although she’s received intensive speech and language therapy, we realized over the past year that in order for her to receive the educational opportunities she needs, we needed to find a specialized language school. (Can I just pause for a second to say how awesome the community of Christian readers is—it was through sharing my daughter’s challenges in my newsletter that we even learned such schools existed, as a reader reached out to tell me about her child’s experience in one.) Anyway, the long and short of it is that there are no such schools in our current neck of the woods, but we found an amazing school in Houston. Which brings us (after months of prayer and family discussions) to today: packing up to move to the Houston area.
The funny thing is, with our first move, you know what the majority of the boxes were filled with? Books. And even though we’ve made ourselves pare down our book collection with every single move we’ve made, guess what the majority of the boxes are filled with today? Yep—books! At last count, I think we had about 50 boxes of books. To be fair, there are six of us who love to read now, instead of only two. Plus, a good majority of the books are ones I’ve written—not only my Christian romances but also more than 300 children’s nonfiction books (two copies of each, all hardcover). And then there are the books we read with the kids when they were little and are holding onto for grandchildren (I know that’s a while off, but it never hurts to plan ahead!) and books the kids still read or will want to read as they grow up. And then there are the books my husband and I wanted to hold onto as well (honestly, I think this makes up the smallest pile since I do most of my reading on a Kindle these days).
Anyway, as I was thinking about moving, I realized that almost all of my books have at least one character who moves (I wonder where that came from, lol!). But truly, I think having a character move to a new town (or back to an old town) is so full of possibilities and new beginnings, which I love. And when I asked the other Inspy authors if they have any books about moving as well, I found out that I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. So as we spend the day packing up to move, I hope you’ll enjoy this selection of Inspy books that feature a move:
Someplace Familiar by Teresa Tysinger
Brokenhearted Livy Johnson moves to Laurel Cove, NC, to fix up her grandmother’s cottage. When she accepts help from the town’s most eligible bachelor, it seems she’ll find more than just a fresh start.
Suddenly Forever by Teresa Tysinger
Photojournalist Luke Bassett moves back to the cabin in the North Carolina mountains where his mother used to bring him every summer—the only place he’d ever really felt peace. But when the lake’s other resident is captive to her grief, is finding peace possible?
Someone Found by Teresa Tysinger
Quinn McAllister isn’t planning a move from her hometown of Maine. All she knows is that when she runs away to hike the Appalachian Trail in search of answers, the last thing she expects is to find a home—and love—in Laurel Cove, North Carolina.
Becoming Us by Jaycee Weaver
Shortly after Mason Hayes loses both parents, he meets a half-sister he never knew existed. In the midst of his grief, he ups and moves to New Mexico to start over and get to know her better.
A Heart Restored by Elizabeth Maddrey
Deidre McIntyre moves to Peacock Hill to refurbish a Golden Age mansion and start a new life.
A Heart Reclaimed by Elizabeth Maddrey
Deidre’s brother Duncan moves down to help her with rehabbing the gardens—only to find that his unrequited crush from college Anna has already moved down there for the same job.
Hope Ranch series by Elizabeth Maddrey
All the grandchildren find their way to Hope Ranch to meet their previously estranged grandparents, and they all find more than they thought they needed.
A Song to Call Ours by Merrilee Whren
The heroine is moving from Boston to Nashville to try her hand at becoming a singer/songwriter, but her car breaks down in the fictional town of Pineydale, Tennessee.
Memories of Mist by Valerie Comer
Myles Sheridan not only switches jobs because of how uncomfortable a co-worker makes him, he switches apartments! He’s astonished to find his new neighbors pitch in to help with the move.
Saving Grace by Amy Anguish
Michelle moves back home from the city to take her dream job.
Faith and Hope by Amy Anguish
Hope moves to Texas temporarily to live with her sister.
Writing Home by Amy Anguish
Chris contemplates moving from what she considered her dream town to where her penpal lives.
Finding Faith by Melanie Snitker
Single mom Serenity Chandler knows moving away from her hometown so that her son can attend a special needs school is the right thing to do. It also means leaving behind her family and support system while having faith that God has something else in store for her.
Here are just a few of the moves in my books as well:
Not Until Forever
Sophie thought she had left Hope Springs for good—until she returns to say goodbye to her grandmother and finds everything she ever wanted, including her first love, is right there.
Not Until This Day
Isabel had never heard of Hope Springs until she Googled “where to find hope” and an ad for the tiny town came up. After years of running from an abusive relationship, has she finally found true hope?
Not Until Now
When lawyer Cam flies to Hope Springs to take care of the niece he never knew he had, his only goal is to get back home to California as soon as possible. He never expects Hope Springs to become home.
How about you? Have you moved a lot? If you had to pack up all your books, how many boxes do you think they would fill (I bet you’d be surprised at the number if you tried!)?
Valerie M. Bodden has three great loves: Jesus, her family, and books. And chocolate (okay, four great loves). She writes emotion-filled Christian fiction that weaves real-life problems, real-life people, and real-life faith. Her characters may (okay, will) experience some heartache along the way, but true to her tendencies as a hopeless romantic, she will always give them a happy ending. Valerie is living out her happily ever after in Wisconsin with her high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband and their four children. Visit her at www.valeriembodden.com to get a free story.
We moved around a lot when I was a child. I can remember helping to pack up the books. So many books and boxes and we took them all.
We have moved very little but we did move a bunch of stuff (including many boxes of books) to a storage unit for a while. I guess we have on the order of 1500 books (real paper, not ebooks) but I suspect that that is an underestimate. How many boxes? Well, I guess that depends on the size of your box, now, doesn’t it. The real problem is that books are HEAVY, yeah? So a smaller box is wiser and it ups the box count considerably! Truth be told, I tremble in fear at the prospect of having to move all our books. But, then again, keeping them nearby is part of having books in the first place, isn’t it? :-)
Hi Valerie! Happy Anniversary! This retiree and avid reader can relate. In my life I have moved 20 times and several times I have moved twice in one year. As a pastor’s wife and teacher, we moved many many boxes of books, both personal and for our jobs. In 1989 we moved from Chicago to Michigan on our 16th anniversary. Twice we moved on Valentine’s Day. We moved right after Christmas once. January 1979 we moved from Michigan to Chicago during a blizzard. We made it fine to Chicago, but the return trip to pick up our sons from my parents took over 5 hours and stretches of the freeway were closed. Oh the memories. Oh the memories. Best wishes on your anniversary and a safe move.
Happy anniversary! I’ll be praying for you as you up sticks once again, and that your daughter blossoms in her new school.
I can totally relate to moving. My mother was a diplomat, so throughout my childhood we moved not just homes but countries every 2-3 years. As a young adult, I moved often to study, then I also had several international relocations because of my job and my marriage. Like you, we lived in a different town at the time each of our four children was born.
My husband, by contrast, only began relocating after we got married, ha ha!
Happy anniversary! I have lived in eleven states in the US. Each time we moved I gave away a lot of books, and I also packed a lot of books.
I have only moved a couple of times but I have helped family members move a couple of times in the last couple of years. While I love to read, I am not a re-reader and primarily read books from the library so I would only have a few boxes of books to move. I hope everything goes smoothly for you and your family as you make this transition!
I’ve never moved, though I have helped friends pack to move! I have no idea how many boxes it would take for my books! I’m like Lincoln, it would depend on the size of the boxes! I don’t even know for sure how many books I do have! My paperbacks and a few hardcovers are in every room in the house, besides all of the books on my Kindle. Happy Anniversary, and prayers for your move!!
Happy Anniversary again Val! Even though I have moved over a dozen times I have always stayed within a 20 mile radius, 10 to the east and 10 to the west of where I grew up. I have never wanted to be far from the area I know, I guess. I have always had many books to take with me along the way, I don’t seem to part with them much easier than home. I have one move that will always stand out in my memory. My husband & I were taking truckloads ourselves and in one specific day we had hot, bright sunshine, rain, sleet and snow…….yup, typical Michigan weather!
I had a feeling readers here would be able to relate! :) Books are just too precious to leave behind.
Lol, good point about the size of the boxes! But yes, smaller is generally better with boxes of books if you don’t want to hurt your back! I bet we’d all be surprised if we actually counted how many books we had on our shelves (maybe I’ll count as we unbox!).
Thank you, Renate! And oh my–sounds like you have had some moving adventures too! Thankfully, we’ve never moved in a blizzard…though moving in the middle of a Texas summer should be its own kind of excitement, lol.
Thank you for your prayers, Milla! Moving across the country is nerve wracking enough for me–I can’t even imagine moving to a new country every 2-3 years! But I’m sure you’ve seen and experienced some amazing things.
Thank you, Merrillee! Eleven states–that’s a lot of moving! I know what you mean about giving away books–I feel like we donated boxes and boxes full, so I’m not sure how we still have so many, lol!
Library books are great! And you can’t take them with you, so you don’t have to worry about packing them up. (Although I am currently hunting for a couple of missing library books my kids checked out…hoping they didn’t accidentally get packed, lol!)
Thank you, Trudy! I know what you mean–we had books in every room of the house too. Wouldn’t it be interesting to count how many you have–although it might blow you over to know the actual number! :)
Thank you, Deb! A couple of our moves have been shorter ones as well, like from one house to another in the same town–but even then, I know that hauling books is still a lot of work! But I’m like you–they’re hard to part with (even though I did make myself get rid of a lot of them). Thankfully, we’ve never had to move in rain, sleet, or snow. What an experience that must have been!
I decided to start counting, and gave up when I hit 120!! That doesn’t include the 43 I have of the Tales of the Grace Chapel Inn! And there’s still 5 shelves of books to count! I think I’ll just stop there!
We’ve moved quite a bit as well. I hate to hink of packing everything up now but we’d probably have 50 boxes of books as well just because the whole family reads so much.
I haven’t moved a lot or so I thought until I started counting – eight times – one of them-across the ocean :)
Books – yeah – too many boxes!
Can’t complain about having a family of readers, right! :)
Oh wow! I’m feeling better and better about our cross-country move, knowing there are people who have moved across the ocean!
Lol! It’s probably best not to know the total. That way you can always tell yourself you need more books! :)
I have not moved very often , when we were growing up at home we lived in the same house since I was about 4 yrs old and all through HS and even about 2 yrs after I graduated . I moved 3 times after I got married and we have been living in our same house for about 30 yrs. So I have a big accumulation of books, I really have no idea how many boxes we would need for our books. :) Have a great rest of the week and stay safe.
We haven’t moved a tremendous amount….with our longest yet was from the Oregon coast (where we live) to Illinois (where I grew up) and back again. In two years time, crazy huh?
I’m not a fan of moving at all! When we moved back from Illinois, we rented a house for about seven years & then bought our house four years ago. That wasn’t so bad because it was only about 10 minutes away so we could take our time moving things. I probably had 10-20(?) boxes of books, and never realized I had that many! I’d be apt to give them all away if we ever move again :-)
I have only moved 3 times in my life first was at 2 years old don’t remember that one, then at 8 I know all the boxes they didn’t know where to put till opened were put in my room. and then 12 years ago. As I just moved probably 5 mins from my old place. I had the books in material reusable shopping bags from the supermarket. I had at least 20. Someone moved the book cases early for me and another friend helped me move all the bags of books. So they were out of the way and in the book cases before we moved the other things. (had a couple friends help me move a few of the other smaller items. I have actually pared them down a lot since that move with many now in the Church libary.
We have not moved in about 8-10 years. I still have some books in storage since we moved in with my Mom. There was not really room for us when we moved in. The house only has six rooms. Mom had all six rooms full. I would say there would be at least 50-75 boxes. I have bookcases as well as piles of books on a counter. I am waiting for bookshelves so hopefully, they will be places for them soon. You all are in my thoughts and prayers as you pack and say your goodbyes. Have a safe drive next week.
It’s so funny because until I got married, I hadn’t moved even once either. I guess I’m making up for lost time, lol! It’s amazing how many books you can collect over the years, isn’t it? :)
Oh wow, that must have been an adventure making that trip twice in two years! A couple of our moves have been within the same town, and I agree that that’s not so bad–there’s no rush to get everything moved at once. I did contemplate giving all our books away–but I just couldn’t go through with it, lol!
Moving the book cases and books first sounds like a great idea–otherwise they can really take up a lot of room (plus, then they’re out and ready to be read right away!). Great idea to donate books to the church library!
Thank you, Debra! Sounds like you love your books as well! Your pile of books on the counter made me smile–it always amazes me all the places books end up at our house, lol. Somehow there are never enough bookshelves!
As an adult, I’ve moved four times, two apartments and two homes. I have a lot of books, and some are in boxes. I could pare down, if I needed to–I have two working kindles.
Happy Anniversary!
Once I moved on my own with my husband in my teens we moved a good amount of times & it was to the point I had a special big box for my books. I had ones just for special series by special authors like Teen Love Books & Teen Mom Books & Chicken Soup Books & then all the rest were in a box together. Once we found our special home I put them in special shelving.
Thank you! I have a feeling some of our books are going to end up staying in boxes for a while too…at least until we find places for all of them. :) I supposed that theoretically, I should be able to pare down more too…but it’s so hard, lol!
I love that you had a special box for different books–and that you found a special shelf for them!
We’ve moved twice. That was enough for me. I never realized we had so much stuff until I had to pack it. Our last move was over 30 years ago. And now we have even more stuff.
I know what you mean! Even though we’ve moved often, somehow stuff seems to accumulate over the years!
I am a little late to this post, but wanted to comment. I’m getting close to 50 years old and Just counted up in my mind how many houses I’ve lived in. I’m pretty sure the number is 8, so that’s only a move every 6 years or so.
Before I got married I lived on my own for about 10 years. After getting married we moved from that house about a year later… I got rid of a bunch of books at that time, probably 150-200 books. But still moved quite a few boxes of books! And in the five or so years we have lived in this house, I’ve probably replaced all those books I got rid of with new ones!
That’s the thing–even when you get rid of books, there are more books out there, so your shelves won’t stay empty long! Which I don’t think is a bad problem to have at all. :)
Hi Valerie,
All the best for the move, we have just moved from the North Island to the South Island in New Zealand its about 17 hours drive apart (incl a 3.5 hour sea crossing) so I feel your pain.
I think I had about 10 boxes of just my books and I gave away 2 boxes as well.
Gosh now that I count I have moved about 24 times and I’m only 40! Thats less than every 2 years and we were in our last house for 5 years. Finally bought our own house so hopefully we will be here for 5-10 years, I can’t face another move.
God bless you and your family.
Hi Carolyn! Sorry for the delayed response–moving has kept things a little crazy! I can’t even imagine including a sea crossing as part of a move. Blessings to you in your new home!
Thanks Valerie, look forward to hearing more about Texas in your newsletters :).
Love learning about other Authors who’ve written about moving! Interesting, for sure. And it was great to hear your story again. I was so happy to see your name among the authors for this giveaway. Take care.
Thank you! I always enjoy reading about characters who move–it’s one of those big life events that I think can lead to some great, often dramatic, moments. :)