On Our Way

This post is coming to you one day early because tomorrow (Wednesday) we begin our journey south! 

At church on Saturday night, our Pastor spoke about the power of the phrase, "we're in this together".  What struck me the most was the idea that even the hardest things we have to face are easier when we do them together.  It applied directly to Shawn and I and our little family of 3, but I know that many of you are standing together with us as well.  Thank you for being in this with us.  I am humbled each time I think about you journeying with us through love, support, encouragement and prayer.    We are thankful for you!

It's only Tuesday and this has already been a huge week!  On Sunday Shawn's Aunt Karen and Uncle Terry packed and loaded our entire house in one day.  They are professional movers for Beltmann northAmerican relocation group and are the best in the business.  As I sit here to write about it I am still overwhelmed by how thankful I am for them.  They showed up at our house on Sunday morning with all of the packing materials we needed, a skilled crew to keep us on schedule and the expertise to make it all happen.  They told me that it would be "red carpet service" and that I should be prepared to be mystified and amazed.  They weren't joking about the red carpet service and I was totally amazed.  Having professional movers pack up all of my belongings in a single day is one of the best gifts I have ever been given.

Karen and Terry Hocking with Nicole in front of their truck. 

There have been many barriers that I have had to work through in order to make this move to Texas. Most of them have been emotional or spiritual, but some have been logistical.  We moved into our Minnesota house the second week of September in 2015.  A brand new school year was back in full swing and since we were expecting our first baby to be arriving in early November, I had a lot on my plate to get things ready for my maternity leave.  My teaching responsibilities along with that ever-present end of pregnancy fatigue prevented me from settling into my new home in a timely manner.

When Shawn and I made the decision to accept the job with Time to Revive on October 31, I still had boxes to unpack in every room of my house.  We had moved from a condo less than 2 miles away which meant that my boxes had been packed to survive a short car ride, not 944 miles! Since I knew my belongings would never survive the journey to Texas, leaving them boxed up wasn't an option.  I cried thinking about finding the time to unpack everything, only to turn around and pack it all back up again.

Our first day owning our home in Minnesota.  We were excited to get settled in before we welcomed our daughter Nicole into the world in November of 2015. 

When Karen and Terry called us to say that they were going to move us, all of the stress surrounding the logistics of this move were wiped away.  Instead of having to pick away at re-packing all of our belongings, I was able to settle into my Minnesota house and make it feel like home for the 7 months I lived there.  I was able to focus my energy into learning how to be a new mom.  I didn't have to strategize about which of my household items I could box up and live without for the time being because I knew that it was all going to be taken care of later on.  I didn't have to research the cost of moving vans or figure out how we were going to drive a van, two cars and a baby to Texas.  Karen and Terry said, "let us do what we do best" and because I had the total peace of mind that they are the best in the business, I didn't loose a single night of sleep piecing together the details in my mind.  What a profound blessing.

Sunday was pack and load day, today we close on our Minnesota house and tomorrow we close on our Texas house.  As soon as we wrap up at our last closing we will begin our drive to Texas.

As we look ahead to what this week holds we are believing that God has prepared our way.   We invite you to pray with us that we will have quick closings on both properties and that we would have a safe drive to Texas together.

And we're off!