Relocation

This is the house we currently live in.  I pretty much love everything about it and have since the day we moved in.  

There's a blue jay that sits in that tree in front of my bedroom window in the mornings, and a million squirrels and bunnies that play in the yard all day long.  

It took me months to figure out what to do with the space going up these stairs, and then when that collage wall finally came together, I mostly just wanted to walk in the front door as often as possible so I could admire it.  I love the entry into this house.  

This dining room has hosted Thanksgiving dinners, church activities, birthday parties, open houses, music recitals, game nights, and every Sunday dinner for the last four years.  The piano lives in there, and Megan's bass, and a handful of guitars and ukuleles. I made those curtains (with some help from a really good friend with a sewing machine.)  That screen on the wall belonged to my grandmother.  The two soup tureens belonged to Craig's grandmother.  

I probably spend 50% of my day in this kitchen.  Food = love and with 6 people in this house, there's a lot of both happening in this kitchen.  The kids eat breakfast at the island while I pack their lunches for the day.  Those two stools are like the revolving door after school where the kids take turns debriefing their days with me as they come home.  Hundreds of the world's problems have been solved (or at least discussed) at that little island.  

This table is where we read scriptures every morning, where Craig works on his lessons on Sundays, where we eat dinner during the week, and where the sun first appears in the morning.  

There's a lot to love about this house, and that doesn't even include the amazing neighbors we have, the incredible schools my kids go to, and the supportive, uplifting, inspiring church community we belong to.  There is nothing I would change about this place or the five years we've spent here.  

Moving to Birmingham has always sort of been in our long term plans because Craig's company's corporate office is located there and any kind of promotion, we knew, would also inevitably include a relocation.  I had hoped to be able to get a few more kids through high school before we actually had to think about that.  

Timing is a funny thing, though, and no matter how hard I try, I can never quite control it the way I'd like to.  

I dragged my feet for awhile about putting this house on the market mostly because I really like where I live and I wanted to stay here as long as possible.  I was reluctant to look for houses online, and I definitely wasn't interested in a house hunting trip to Alabama.  But...you can only drag your feet for so long on a thing like this...

Last month, I finally gave in and flew to Birmingham for one day to look at a few houses with Craig.

Of the hundreds I looked at online, and the 6 or 8 that we actually looked at in person, this was the only one I was interested in.  It was the only one that made me picture us actually living in Alabama.  It doesn't have a wall going up the stairs that I can put all of those pictures on.  It doesn't have any bunnies playing in the front yard.  It doesn't come with the same neighbors and friends we have here.  But it does have a lot of stuff I'm looking forward to and I'm sure a bunch of other great things I haven't even considered.   Someone I love recently reminded me that there are good things and good people to be found everywhere.  I'm totally hanging onto that hope as we gear up for yet another big move.

Our current house has now been on the market for 43 days, and it doesn't appear to be in a hurry to sell.  And guess what...I'm now feeling a little bit anxious to get on with this move already.  All of my reluctance and dragging of feet has been replaced with restlessness and impatience.  We've gone to dinner with all the people we really like...some of them multiple times.  We've seen and done all the things that were on our Dallas bucket list.  As of this Sunday, every member of our family will have spoken or sung in church, and also taught lessons in every class.  We've prepared a missionary, and next Wednesday she'll be on a plane headed for Europe for 18 months.  We have a beautiful house patiently waiting for us in Birmingham.  Craig loves his new position at work.  And we're all growing tired of his 600 mile commute every week.  

So...what is left for us to do here?   I have no idea.   

I'm sure there's some personal lesson in all of this about giving up control, and trusting in the Lord's timing, and of course patience...because apparently I always need opportunities to practice that.  For now, I'm working hard on enjoying the moments while we're still here, because there are a lot of them to enjoy.  Being impatient for the next adventure in our lives doesn't diminish the gratitude and love I have for the one we're wrapping up.  And it makes me think of all the previous chapters in our lives that have woven together to make a pretty amazing story.  I have loved pieces of every place we've ever lived, some more than others.  There are people and memories that are indelibly written on my heart, and our experience in Texas is no different.  Oh, how well we've been nurtured and taught here.  And how excited I am to see how Heavenly Father will use each of us in this next place we're headed to.  

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6