Our Year of Change

As of today, we have been in Cholula, Mexico for one full week.  We rented an Airbnb for two weeks so we would have a place to land and tour houses to rent with our realtor. When we vacation as a family we are usually only in one location for three or four days before moving on. Being in one town for a week is a pretty different experience from our previous vacation experiences. We have spent a lot of time driving around and finding the grocery stores, the local Walmart for supplies, pet stores, and tried out several restaurants. In all of this exploration we have found some really high end, vibrant, family friendly malls and the most incredible grocery store we have ever seen. The Chedraui Select grocery store is somewhat like a Target in that you can buy home goods, children's toys, clothing but it also has in store dining options including a revolving sushi bar, made-to-order pizza, premade sandwiches and a deli with hot items to eat there or take home. But the in-store dining i...

I have been completely in shock that we actually pulled it off! Dave and I will be talking or driving somewhere and it suddenly occurs to me that we are living in Mexico. It feels like waking up from a dream and finding out it is real and I'll spontaneously announce, "We did it! We are in Mexico!"  Our first night in Cholula! After 8 full days on the road with two dogs and three cats, we arrived in Cholula, Mexico in the state of Puebla, on Sunday October 18. We hired a company to help us get through the border and drive down with us all the way to Cholula. It went very smoothly at the border and we were grateful to have hired someone fluent in Spanish for that part! I confess I was a little anxious about having all the right paperwork for all the pets and ourselves and car, but we were fine! It was surprisingly easy! We have spent the week decompressing from the journey and gently exploring the town and surrounding areas as we look for where to buy the supplies that we n...

We are aiming to leave the US in mid October now. I still feel like there is 150% more that needs to be done regarding the house before that can happen, but maybe a miracle will happen! I have been donating household items, books, clothes and toys left and right. I still feel like there is an endless supply of "stuff" to sort and get rid of or pack. We might have found a rental property today. It was a house we came very close to buying a month or so ago but then didn't buy because we want to actually see it first. Today I found it listed as a rental, which was not an option a few months ago- so we are exploring that option with our realtor. Exciting! Most people we tell that we are moving to Mexico for the year respond very positively, they even sound like they long to make such a move themselves. But occasionally someone says to me something that is more of a reflection about them. They say things like, "You'll regret it." "You won't find nice peo...

 What can we do     but keep on breathing in and out,              modest and willing, and in our places?                           -Mary Oliver, "Stars" It is quiet on the farm.  There are still three goats here at Full of Hope Farm from the original herd of nine. These last three Goaties will move out in ten more days when their new family has had a chance to set up the fencing for them. The ducks and chickens were re-homed on July 31, and a few days later, six of the goats and our house bunny, "Dr. Bruce," moved to the same farm as the chickens and ducks. They moved to a beautiful farm with a big, loving family to adore them all. I haven't had a chance to sit and write anything about the experience because we have been so busy and I wasn't sure I was ready yet. We had a full week: overnight guests five nights in a row, dinner plans with friends and n...

​I have been trying to plod my way through the emotional journey of rehoming all of my farm animals before we make the move to Mexico. This post is not about living in Mexico but it absolutely is the thing that has to happen so that we can live in Mexico. So it seems fitting to share here how I am getting along in this endeavor. For those who might be following along and don’t know this about me, I have 9 pet Nigerian Dwarf goats and 5 chickens and 3 ducks at Full of Hope Farm. (We have a FB page and a website if you want to see pictures of everyone.) I love the goats dearly and this part of the adventure is going to be one of the trickiest hurdles for me.  My husband was away in France for work for the past 12 days and I had a lot of time to think and process (and cry) by myself about the end of my current farm. It felt really scary like an existential crisis sort of feeling, but one night while I was cleaning out the barn I talked to myself through my worries and I had the epiph...

The last several weeks have been a huge emotional rollercoaster for us. We were *moments* away from signing on a one year lease and sending our deposit when we had to back out of the commitment because we still did not have a plan for our three house kitties if we rented a house in Mexico that didn't allow cats. (They originally said they did allow cats and then they changed their minds and said just dogs.) We had come up with several plans including renting our house to someone who would keep the cats here and pay a reduced rent, talked with some friends about adopting our three cats and neither option worked out. When we said no to the rental we were both in complete shock for 6 days and we felt like our whole dream to move to Mexico had evaporated before our eyes. I immediately embraced the idea of staying here and forgot everything about why we wanted to move. I started gardening again and had plans to start a goat therapy farm and try to have the goats earn their keep. It felt...

We are starting to realize that we set this adventure year in motion and it is actually starting to take shape. We have been in talks with a realtor in Mexico since we got back from Cholula in February 2026. He found us a dog-friendly house with a large walled garden in the back yard for a one year rental, available in August! We took a virtual tour on Saturday and have been in talks with the owners and both realtors to work out all the details. There have been a few bumps but it’s starting to look like we are really going to live in Mexico this year!  I am continuing to sort through our belongings and decide what we are keeping, donating, storing (for picking up later) and what we will leave in the house to rent in our absence. This part of the transition is going to be a bit chaotic and messy. It is to be expected. When we moved to this house five years ago we hired movers who packed literally everything we owned and most of what they packed never should have even come here. I am...