I wrote this last night for the express purpose of posting. It is very lengthly, so you may want to grab a drink, or maybe a blanket if you want to camp out. ;) Enjoy!
-------------
Well, some of this has been rumored for a while now, and I wasn't exactly sure when this information was supposed to go "public", but when the paperwork is pretty much signed, sealed and delivered, I don't know how un-public it can be! ;) Let me start from the beginning.
When we moved to our current location seven and a half years ago, we knew that living out here was going to be difficult. We're about 1 hour from either of our two churches, one of which is in LA, the other which is in Palm Springs. My dad's work is also in the LA area and he's had to leave very early every morning in order to get to work at a decent time.
For awhile, everything seemed to be working okay. Then gas prices became astronomical, finances became tighter, and with such a large family and the distance we were at, it became very difficult to become a very active member in our church. We could could barely make it out on Sundays. It became a bit apparent that life could not continue this way for ever and ever and ever, amen.
I guess I've known for several years now that a move in the future was pretty likely. However, we never took an any active steps pursuing that option because it just wasn't the Lord's timing and we did not have any idea of what we wanted to do. At that point, I thought we'd relocate somewhere in California (but this was proven to be way too expensive) or into Oregon or Washington.
A couple of months ago, around Christmastime, Nathan brought up the idea of moving to Chicago to dad. He was pretty sold on the area and knew that dad would possibly be interested.
I was pretty repulsed at the idea; I mean, that had never been in my wildest dreams! Chicago!?!?! That's on the other side of the nation, for pities sake! I've been up there before, but that was about 12 years ago. I didn't (and still don't, really) know a soul up there, living or dead. :p
I had no idea that we might actually pursue this option seriously. I couldn't wrap my head around the idea at all, and I don't think anyone else could either. I mean, this is a HUGE decision here. We're talking about major, major, stuff; a cross-country move to a new place that entails leaving behind everything and everyone we've ever known. Scary, scary thought.
So, this spring, we began to plan a tentative vacation trip to the East Coast. It's been some time since we were up there, and mom wanted to see where Nathan was living and visit all the places up there, etc.
There was a double purpose, however. This would be the perfect opportunity to visit the Chicago area, scope out the place and maybe look at houses.
I can't really say when Chicago started becoming a serious reality for us. I know mom and dad would spend countless evenings talking; hashing out plans; just discussing various possibilities. I know my dad talked to many people about our potential plans to get their advice. My dad is a very careful and meticulous person; he never rushes into things. He wanted to make sure, really sure, that the Lord was in this endeavor.
Those were topsy-turvy months for me, I can tell you. I'm one of those people who like to plan out every detail of their lives (something I'm still working on), and to look at my calender so full, but to see things drop off around August (our potential time for a trip) and not being able to definitely say to the best of my ability whether I'd be around for future events in the coming year, was pretty hard for me, and a bit scary too. There's a level of excitement in the unknown, but there's also a fear, too.
Anyway, things progressed and the subject of Chicago came up more and more as a topic of conversation around our house. But there were still a lot of things up in the air; things contingent on whether my dad would get permission to take his job mobile or not. If he could, we could move pretty much anywhere we wanted to. If he couldn't, well, there wasn't much we could do.
My dad received affirmation from his boss that he could work out of home about two and a half weeks ago. Almost immediately, things started to fall into place and before I knew it, we had a potential house in Chicago that we were looking at, and we had an appointment with a realtor down here! I was shocked at how things had progressed so quickly. By then I'd been able to accept the fact that we'd probably be moved by the next summer, but to have things happen so fast and without much warning, was...interesting, to say the least!
But some things that happened only served to remind us that we can make plans, but only God can control our future. On June 8th, the very day we were scheduled to have a realtor look at our house, my Uncle James O. died. It was the ultimate shock to all of us, I think. He had been very ill with various physical and mental illnesses for some time (that was the reason why Ruth went up to Arkansas to help my aunt and their kids), but we had all thought he was getting better. But the Lord had other plans, and chose to take him Home, leaving behind his wife and two beautiful kids.
Obviously, this threw everything in limbo. Mom, dad and Joanna took a flight out to Arkansas two days later, leaving me at home with the six younger kids.
As weird as it may sound, that one week of reprise gave me the time i needed to regroup and just get myself used to the idea of a move. The night before the realtor had been supposed to come over, I'd been freaking out, so to speak. Everything was moving too fast, and I was getting caught in a whirlwind and frankly, it scared me. That week of just...getting to terms with the idea, was so needed, and I'm thankful I was able to have it.
Well, I hadn't intended this to be so long and I'd better close it out or we could be here all night. :p ;)
The short and skinny of it is, mom and dad were able to take a side-trip to Chicago on their way back from Arkansas this past weekend, and they found a house that we are currently in the process of buying. However, it's still being built, which has it's pros and cons, mainly that it is to some extend customizable but it won't be done till December or January. It really is an nice house, but I can't get myself all wrapped up in it emotionally, not yet. We have much bigger things on our mind at the moment, namely selling our current house.
The housing market is pretty dreadful right now and it looks like it's going to be tough to sell, even though we're pricing it at a lower price than we had originally hoped for. However, God has been VERY good to us an and has blessed us with a wonderful realtor. She has a very professional and capable attitude, and I'm very confidant that she will do her job to the best of her ability. :)
So yeah...this adventure ain't over yet. We now face the overwhelming task of making our house presentable for future buyers and cleaning out all our junk in preparation for a move, God willing. I do enjoy sorting and cleaning to some extend, but not in this scorching weather, and not with this...pile of junk. :p
Your thoughts and prayers during this most stressful, scary, yet exciting time are so appreciated! I've included a few of our main prayer requests below.
- That the Lord will continue to reveal his perfect plan for us
- That we will be able tog et our work done efficiently and quickly with minimal stress
- That the housing market will improve and that we will sell in the Lord's own timing for a great price
- And last but not least, that we will have favorable weather! :p
-------------
So, that's pretty much everything. I know this might seem as a shock to some of you and I hope that no one feels left out because you didn't know sooner, because really, there was no "sooner". This has all gone so fast. Our plan right now is to sell the house as quickly as possible and then rent a house in Chicago until our new home becomes habitable. This is shaping up to be the craziest year I've ever had, and part of me is looking forward to it, and part of me dreads it! :p I've only moved once before, and that was only relocating 60 miles east of our previous location. This is, obviously, much larger. :p
So, we are definitely going to be here in California at least two more months (basically two months from once the house sells, which could be a while) at the very least. I'm really looking forward to seeing a lot of you at Sacramento and other various events because I have no idea when we might come down here again.
And how do I feel about this whole thing? That's hard to say, lol. I really, really, really hate to leave California. If I had my druthers, I would stay here. It's funny...if this move had happened five years ago I could have cared less, but now I do care because between then and now, I've grown so attached to the area and the people here. I'm going to miss you guys so much I can't even explain it. It just goes to show you the craziness of life; when I didn't want to be here I stayed, but when I learn to appreciate the opportunities and advantages of living here, we leave! :p *lol*
So yeah...please, please, pray for us. This is such a weird and crazy time right now. A bit scary too...I guess I'm afraid to be come too emotionally attached to our new area. We've been in situations before when we were planning on moving; even had the house nearly sold, and then things fell though and we never ended up leaving at all. I guess I'm terrified that it will happen again. But, y'know...so far, the Lord has been in it, and if this turns out not to be the thing we're supposed to do, He'll let us know.
Love you guys!
