Toto I Dont Think I'm in Iowa Anymore!

Hello, I'm Chris, one of the new tenants here at Better Farm! I've recently moved to New York from Iowa. I would like to tell all you readers out there about my move and life up here in New York. But, I feel none of that will process correctly unless you get to know me more. So first off, I will tell you about my past.

Although I don't remember much about my life back then (I mean, who really does), I will fill you in on what I can. I was born in Dallas, Texas. I'm guessing we moved to Iowa not long after I was born. When I was around 2, my older brother, sister, and I were put into foster care due to my mom's drinking problem. I don't know much about what all happened, besides stories I've heard from some of my mom's friends. But from what I've heard, we weren't all that bad. Some kids these days are a lot worse off than we were; and no one does anything to save these kids. I guess my mom just had back luck. But the Brindle family--Beth, Gary, and their daughter Erin--welcomed us into their hearts and home. Even after we were able to come back to our mom, the Brindles stayed in touch and showed that we mattered. Although we didn't keep in touch every day or every month, they showed up to my high school graduation 15 years after we lived with them.

My siblings and I lived most of our lives in Iowa, but not all. We also lived in Arkansas for a while; in a salvation army, and with my mom's boyfriend in a trailer that had no door, running water, internal plumbing, or electricity (your typical redneck trailer). Dogs lived under the trailer, we used an outhouse, and bathed in a spring during the summers. It was in Arkansas that I developed a fear of spiders: I was bitten under the arm by a brown recluse. Came near close to dying, and been afraid of spiders since.

After Arkansas, we moved back to Iowa, where we lived the majoritity of my life. But enough about where I lived. How about I tell you about who I lived with. There is my awesome mother Janie, 45, who was born in Iowa City, Iowa:

My older brother Shawn, 29, my only sister Amanda, 26, and my younger brother Robert ,22, were all born in Marshalltown, Iowa. I've never known my father (although I'm working on that now). I've grown up thinking his name is Terry and that I just didn't matter enough to be part of his life. But I've come to find out my sister's father could also be my father; so I may end up trying to get a paternity test to find out.

From the age of 22, reality shifted for me and I felt something wasn't right with my life. I knew something was calling me and it wasn't in Iowa. So at the age of 24, a few months before my 25th birthday, I called my cousin in New York. She said I could move in with her until I found a job and place to live. So with much regret and drive to do better in my life, I moved to Great Bend, N.Y., and got a job at Stewart's. A few weeks later, my cousin informed me that she wanted to move to North Carolina by October. With a rush and fear in my heart that might have made a BIG mistake by moving up here, I started searching for a place to live. I ended up posting an ad on Craigslist saying I needed a place to live, and prayed each night for God to help me out. Not long after I posted it, God answered my prayers and I got an e-mail from Nicole saying that there was a place for me here at the Better Farm!