Tomorrow is time change but that's not the change I am talking about. This month begins the ninth year of Just Jules as well as my 7th year of NaBloPoMo. Each year, my thought process goes like this, ''Why do I do this blog challenge? There's no point, its really just for me to say I did it...again. I am not going to do it again.'' and then like a moth to the flame........here I am writing a blog.
So it begins, my 7th year of throwing my hat in the NaBloPoMo ring. Let's see how this goes writing a blog everyday. My friend Melanie gave me a journal for my one year anniversary at work this week and it has some great prompts. Definitely will be using some of those this month.
Now for the ch ch changes ( singing that song in my head)
After years of pondering it and mulling over the switch, this will be my last day ( hopefully...barring me playing computer geek gone awry) on Blogger. Last year, I was editing my blog to add something and messed up my code. This has prevented my readers from reading a large portion of my archives. Archives that hold our story as a family, stories that help others facing trials. I asked on the Google help site for help and it fell on deaf ears.
So I migrated my site to Wordpress, created a cute theme and re-directed my domain to that site....or so I thought. Apparently, I really did a doozy redirecting my domain. So right now you can still see Just Jules in its former glory. Hopefully tomorrow you will see it in its new fashion....I hope and pray. I backed up my site in two places, so I have my blogs but this change was scary enough before I decided to play computer tech.
''It's so easy" I thought to myself and the hosting site made it seem. I have done this for others before...right? WRONG.
So the first day of NaBloPoMo starts with a bang...let's see how this goes.
A modern day Pollyanna waxing poetic about her life.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Saturday, November 1, 2014
Friday, August 1, 2014
The End of the Endless Summer
It's August 1st, it has been a long hiatus from blogging as I have started my new career path here in Tennessee. My plans to write my book while on my break have been waylaid by life being overwhelmingly busy with the processes of starting again here in Tennessee. Traditionally August is about music, blogging and celebrating life so I decided time to write again about our life and the happenings here in Vol country.
Sometimes we hide what is going on instead of being honest with others outside our inner circle. I have found being truthfully honest as an open book works better. People come to you, they share with you willingly because you can understand life isn't easy all the time.
This summer I have put in over 200 hrs at work, this has been a huge blessing and really kind of exciting for me. For seven wonderful years, I was a stay at home mom whose husband worked 80 plus hours a week supporting me and the kids as he faced major health issues. There were times he barely made it to work, passing out and being rushed to the hospital with blood pressures over 200/100 while waiting for his transplant.
I was raised in a family of working women, I watched my grandma take her nap on the floor each day during One Life To Live, fix her hair and go off to work the swing shift. My aunts Maggie, Patty and Jeanette all went to work and worked hard for their families. My mom has worked since I was fairly young, first as a pre-school teacher and then in her current role for the last 27 years. My grandpa's worked, and my Dad is the hardest worker anyone knows even technically working on his days off to help others. I was raised to be a hard worker, I know no other way. I never dreamed about being a stay at home mom until I had two kids and they needed me. I always knew, it was for me to work.
Marty and I moved to Tennessee for many reasons, we felt called here and without a doubt it was for me to have the current job I have. It is the perfect fit for me, helping others who are in a role that I have spent years in myself. I am really good at what I do daily and this is the job for me.
Marty has a job where he is off for the summer with no pay. So my job this summer was to work as much overtime as possible to try to fill in the gap. Moving took our entire savings until he got a job and we have been slowly re-building this past year. Marty looked for a summer job but in the south, things don't move quickly and his summer job started this week.....he goes back to school on Monday!
Marty has a lot of faith in God's provision and it has been truly amazing for all of us to see God working it out. We have made it through and our bills have been paid, we have eaten and still lived fairly normally with a few small edits to the normal budget ie. no vacations or grand eating out adventures, no shopping for non necessities etc.
Why am I sharing what most people hide? because sometimes people need to hear the real truths in peoples lives. Sometimes they need to know they aren't alone in struggling. I had a wise young man tell me,'' when people see the ''perfect'' family they aren't seeing the whole picture.''
Summer was so fun, my mom, aunt, uncle came to visit. We went to Dollywood, traveled to see some of our Cherokee history and just enjoyed being a family together. It was so nice to see my aunt and uncle, who I hadn't seen in a few years. It was nice to have my mom here and see family.
We also traveled to my cousin Ben's wedding, he married a beautiful girl brought a new member into our big family. It was so nice to share in their day, it was very emotional, I cried numerous times. Ben and I danced together crying wishing our grandparents could be there too. I love my uncle's family and being with people who I look like is nice.
Then July, the Tour de France, my favorite event of the summer. It was tough because I worked and couldn't really watch the race. Thankfully my friend Dot drove seven hours to spend the weekend with me watching the finale of the race. Even though I missed a lot of racing, I think this tour will be memorable to me forever because of some really special reasons that have to do with the people of the cycling community in general.
Now August is coming, Marty is heading back to school and life is returning to normal. The kids will both be in high school this year and we have a lot of work to focus on with that. Conner has two jobs, Elizabeth is baking up a storm and making new friends.
One thing this summer, we have been grateful for those friends who have supported us in prayer as we trusted God. So many were there for us, lifting us up and making the effort. As we make new friends in Tennessee, Elizabeth and I have been learning to look forward instead of looking back. Sometimes we get disappointed things aren't the same with the friends we left but then we remember life is moving forward not back. We are thankful for those who make the effort to come visit, to check in and listen to us.
We have enjoyed the beautiful summer weather, lots of really good family time, laughter, happiness and joy. One of the things that happened was Debbie, our donor Jerry's mom sent us a video of Jerry's life and bracelets. I look at my wrist with Jerry's name on it every day, I realize how good our life is because of their gift and how Marty not getting paid is NOTHING compared to where we came from. We are blessed and grateful for our life now, we are really loving our new jobs and life in Tennessee.
As tradition, August is the month I do my ''Music that Takes Me Back'' series. Summer is always about the Beach Boys. So I will share something Marty has said to me all summer:
PSI have been working on memorizing Matthew 6 this summer:
Sometimes we hide what is going on instead of being honest with others outside our inner circle. I have found being truthfully honest as an open book works better. People come to you, they share with you willingly because you can understand life isn't easy all the time.
This summer I have put in over 200 hrs at work, this has been a huge blessing and really kind of exciting for me. For seven wonderful years, I was a stay at home mom whose husband worked 80 plus hours a week supporting me and the kids as he faced major health issues. There were times he barely made it to work, passing out and being rushed to the hospital with blood pressures over 200/100 while waiting for his transplant.
I was raised in a family of working women, I watched my grandma take her nap on the floor each day during One Life To Live, fix her hair and go off to work the swing shift. My aunts Maggie, Patty and Jeanette all went to work and worked hard for their families. My mom has worked since I was fairly young, first as a pre-school teacher and then in her current role for the last 27 years. My grandpa's worked, and my Dad is the hardest worker anyone knows even technically working on his days off to help others. I was raised to be a hard worker, I know no other way. I never dreamed about being a stay at home mom until I had two kids and they needed me. I always knew, it was for me to work.
Marty and I moved to Tennessee for many reasons, we felt called here and without a doubt it was for me to have the current job I have. It is the perfect fit for me, helping others who are in a role that I have spent years in myself. I am really good at what I do daily and this is the job for me.
Marty has a job where he is off for the summer with no pay. So my job this summer was to work as much overtime as possible to try to fill in the gap. Moving took our entire savings until he got a job and we have been slowly re-building this past year. Marty looked for a summer job but in the south, things don't move quickly and his summer job started this week.....he goes back to school on Monday!
Marty has a lot of faith in God's provision and it has been truly amazing for all of us to see God working it out. We have made it through and our bills have been paid, we have eaten and still lived fairly normally with a few small edits to the normal budget ie. no vacations or grand eating out adventures, no shopping for non necessities etc.
Why am I sharing what most people hide? because sometimes people need to hear the real truths in peoples lives. Sometimes they need to know they aren't alone in struggling. I had a wise young man tell me,'' when people see the ''perfect'' family they aren't seeing the whole picture.''
Summer was so fun, my mom, aunt, uncle came to visit. We went to Dollywood, traveled to see some of our Cherokee history and just enjoyed being a family together. It was so nice to see my aunt and uncle, who I hadn't seen in a few years. It was nice to have my mom here and see family.
We also traveled to my cousin Ben's wedding, he married a beautiful girl brought a new member into our big family. It was so nice to share in their day, it was very emotional, I cried numerous times. Ben and I danced together crying wishing our grandparents could be there too. I love my uncle's family and being with people who I look like is nice.
Then July, the Tour de France, my favorite event of the summer. It was tough because I worked and couldn't really watch the race. Thankfully my friend Dot drove seven hours to spend the weekend with me watching the finale of the race. Even though I missed a lot of racing, I think this tour will be memorable to me forever because of some really special reasons that have to do with the people of the cycling community in general.
Now August is coming, Marty is heading back to school and life is returning to normal. The kids will both be in high school this year and we have a lot of work to focus on with that. Conner has two jobs, Elizabeth is baking up a storm and making new friends.
One thing this summer, we have been grateful for those friends who have supported us in prayer as we trusted God. So many were there for us, lifting us up and making the effort. As we make new friends in Tennessee, Elizabeth and I have been learning to look forward instead of looking back. Sometimes we get disappointed things aren't the same with the friends we left but then we remember life is moving forward not back. We are thankful for those who make the effort to come visit, to check in and listen to us.
We have enjoyed the beautiful summer weather, lots of really good family time, laughter, happiness and joy. One of the things that happened was Debbie, our donor Jerry's mom sent us a video of Jerry's life and bracelets. I look at my wrist with Jerry's name on it every day, I realize how good our life is because of their gift and how Marty not getting paid is NOTHING compared to where we came from. We are blessed and grateful for our life now, we are really loving our new jobs and life in Tennessee.
As tradition, August is the month I do my ''Music that Takes Me Back'' series. Summer is always about the Beach Boys. So I will share something Marty has said to me all summer:
PSI have been working on memorizing Matthew 6 this summer:
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Unpacked and Finding Our Way
I have been so busy lately, there has been little time to be online,making phone calls or writing blogs other than birthday blogs. We are enjoying our new life in TN, everyday it becomes clear that we made the right choice to move. This is where we are supposed to be, there isn't a doubt about it.
Today that was all the more clear. We got up and drove twenty minutes in heavy rain to the University of Tennessee medical center. Normally we would've had to get up at four a.m. to drive 330 miles to Stanford for our 8 am appointment. We quickly arrived at the UT medical center and were blown away at the size of the campus. It is large with many buildings, we searched for parking and set out to find our destination.
Walking inside the hospital, we immediately were amazed. Very newly re-done and updated facilities, clean and bright. Stanford is large but very outdated and often dingy in places, so this was amazing to us. We got registered, labs done and then went to find the transplant clinic.
We were greeted by D whom I had spoken to last week on the phone. She was so friendly and personable, chatting our ear off immediately. She told us they are a family there and she knew it was hard for us to leave our Stanford family. They want us to feel welcome and like part of the family. WOW is all I can say to that, it was so comforting and nice.
We loved all the staff we met today. As you all know, we loved our surgeons at Stanford and were very fond of them. The surgeon we met today was very young, very friendly and personable. He listened to us,asked questions and told Marty " it was nice to meet you, I want you to go out and live your life."
To have quality care close to home is amazing to us. A couple of days ago, I met someone in the marketing department of the hospital at work. She wanted me to call her after our visit and wants to make sure we are happy there. I am sure she had a hand in our warm welcome today.
It took us twenty minutes to drive home. No more 660 miles round trip to see the doctor, no more worries if something happens we won't have top of the line care. We have a team of transplant physicians that can care for Marty full time now. It was one of the major factors that was behind our decision to move. When Marty was on the wait list for transplant, we would hear stories of people in the south waiting 2 weeks, 2 months, 6 weeks and so on. The average wait time in California is seven years, the average wait time here is under two years. It was hearing that during our wait time that helped us start looking to moving to the south.
We are living life finally. After Marty's transplant, we were able to live but had this huge decision weighing on us. Now we are free of those weights, we can fully live life and enjoy it. Settling in has gone fairly smoothly, we've had lots of help from friends, really just two more major items on the to-do list and we will be completely settled.
The kids have found a youth group on Wednesday evenings to meet with and are really enjoying it. We haven't been able to meet up with the homeschool support group yet. Hopefully soon we can meet some other homeschooled kids in our area.
I love my new job at Fig, it is nice helping my friends with their store. I am really enjoying the challenge and learning something new. I have also been busy in the evenings working on learning Wordpress for my first client for Julesmpg Social Media. It has really been a huge challenge that is pushing me beyond my comfort zone. That is a whole other blog in itself.
Everyone keeps saying they can sense my peace, they can sense that I am lighter and happier. It is true, having overcome so many challenges in the last several years, I do peace. Knowing we are living our dream, following God and starting anew is a wonderful feeling. Like the doctor said, we are getting out and living life!
If I am quiet, don't worry, I am just a text,DM, phone call or email away. I haven't been able to be online much for myself since I am busy working online for others. Please don't hesitate to shoot me a message, I will always get back to you.
As Auntie Mame says, " Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death. Live! Live! Live!'' I am off to live!
PS the doctors are still pouring over Marty's records from Stanford which weren't faxed ahead of time like they ought to have been. URGH! But the bloodwork today looked good and they are still waiting on one lab to come back.
Today that was all the more clear. We got up and drove twenty minutes in heavy rain to the University of Tennessee medical center. Normally we would've had to get up at four a.m. to drive 330 miles to Stanford for our 8 am appointment. We quickly arrived at the UT medical center and were blown away at the size of the campus. It is large with many buildings, we searched for parking and set out to find our destination.
Walking inside the hospital, we immediately were amazed. Very newly re-done and updated facilities, clean and bright. Stanford is large but very outdated and often dingy in places, so this was amazing to us. We got registered, labs done and then went to find the transplant clinic.
We were greeted by D whom I had spoken to last week on the phone. She was so friendly and personable, chatting our ear off immediately. She told us they are a family there and she knew it was hard for us to leave our Stanford family. They want us to feel welcome and like part of the family. WOW is all I can say to that, it was so comforting and nice.
We loved all the staff we met today. As you all know, we loved our surgeons at Stanford and were very fond of them. The surgeon we met today was very young, very friendly and personable. He listened to us,asked questions and told Marty " it was nice to meet you, I want you to go out and live your life."
To have quality care close to home is amazing to us. A couple of days ago, I met someone in the marketing department of the hospital at work. She wanted me to call her after our visit and wants to make sure we are happy there. I am sure she had a hand in our warm welcome today.
It took us twenty minutes to drive home. No more 660 miles round trip to see the doctor, no more worries if something happens we won't have top of the line care. We have a team of transplant physicians that can care for Marty full time now. It was one of the major factors that was behind our decision to move. When Marty was on the wait list for transplant, we would hear stories of people in the south waiting 2 weeks, 2 months, 6 weeks and so on. The average wait time in California is seven years, the average wait time here is under two years. It was hearing that during our wait time that helped us start looking to moving to the south.
We are living life finally. After Marty's transplant, we were able to live but had this huge decision weighing on us. Now we are free of those weights, we can fully live life and enjoy it. Settling in has gone fairly smoothly, we've had lots of help from friends, really just two more major items on the to-do list and we will be completely settled.
The kids have found a youth group on Wednesday evenings to meet with and are really enjoying it. We haven't been able to meet up with the homeschool support group yet. Hopefully soon we can meet some other homeschooled kids in our area.
I love my new job at Fig, it is nice helping my friends with their store. I am really enjoying the challenge and learning something new. I have also been busy in the evenings working on learning Wordpress for my first client for Julesmpg Social Media. It has really been a huge challenge that is pushing me beyond my comfort zone. That is a whole other blog in itself.
Everyone keeps saying they can sense my peace, they can sense that I am lighter and happier. It is true, having overcome so many challenges in the last several years, I do peace. Knowing we are living our dream, following God and starting anew is a wonderful feeling. Like the doctor said, we are getting out and living life!
If I am quiet, don't worry, I am just a text,DM, phone call or email away. I haven't been able to be online much for myself since I am busy working online for others. Please don't hesitate to shoot me a message, I will always get back to you.
As Auntie Mame says, " Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death. Live! Live! Live!'' I am off to live!
PS the doctors are still pouring over Marty's records from Stanford which weren't faxed ahead of time like they ought to have been. URGH! But the bloodwork today looked good and they are still waiting on one lab to come back.
Friday, February 15, 2013
The Great Adventure 2013: The Final Leg of the Trip
Lovely readers, I hope you forgive me for going silent the last week, It has been completely overwhelming since Saturday. Hope this post isn't too long and fills you in on the adventure so far.
Saturday morning, we woke up in Memphis,TN and headed out to sight see before hitting the road. Conner begged to go to Sun Studios. Many of you may not know but Conner has been a Johnny Cash fan since he was five years old. He has longed to see the Sun studios for all of those years. We found it quite easily and decided to take the tour. Definitely well worth the twelve dollars,it is one of the places you walk into and feel the history around you. They take you into the actual studio and let you walk around, it is in original condition. Truly amazing to stand where Elvis sang for Sam Phillips, where Johnny Cash got his start and where Jerry Lee played the piano. Conner was giddy and grinning ear to ear.
After Sun Records we headed off to Graceland. I missed the ducks at the Peabody because we took the tour and so we decided to just see those another time. Graceland is quite the tourist trap and in my opinion over priced. We just went to the gift shop to find the tackiest souvenir we could find and found a place to eat bbq while we were there. The food was great and we found our tacky souvenir easily. We walked across the street to take a picture in front of the wall before hopping in the car to get on the rode.
We hopped in the car and headed to the Grand Old Opry to meet up with my cousins and their families. They drove down from their home in TN to see us and welcome us to the state. My kids loved seeing their cousins Anthony, Geoff, Peyton and Parker once again. It was our first time meeting baby Parker who is adorable. We visited for a little bit before getting in the truck to head to our final destination of Knoxville.
We plowed along through middle TN in the dark, trying to make it to our new home to park the moving truck. Thankfully it wasn't a long drive and we made it by 11:30 pm. We didn't know our new home is well off the beaten path on a tiny gravel road. The moving truck didn't fit so well on said road especially with low hanging power lines and trees. Needless to say,the pitch black,tiny road, trees and power lines made for a disaster and 26 feet of moving truck and 10 feet of car trailer ended up stuck in the mud in the farmer's field across from the house. We had to leave it there overnight and headed to a hotel to sleep.
It was so nice to sleep in our new home on Sunday night and start settling in on Monday morning. We went out to dinner on Sunday night with our friend Lee and met his wife Flavia for the first time along with his daughter Nora. So nice to finally meet them in person.
Saturday morning, we woke up in Memphis,TN and headed out to sight see before hitting the road. Conner begged to go to Sun Studios. Many of you may not know but Conner has been a Johnny Cash fan since he was five years old. He has longed to see the Sun studios for all of those years. We found it quite easily and decided to take the tour. Definitely well worth the twelve dollars,it is one of the places you walk into and feel the history around you. They take you into the actual studio and let you walk around, it is in original condition. Truly amazing to stand where Elvis sang for Sam Phillips, where Johnny Cash got his start and where Jerry Lee played the piano. Conner was giddy and grinning ear to ear.
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| Sun Studios, Memphis,TN |
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| Conner and Marty sitting in the recording studio at Sun Records |
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| the front office of Sun Studios |
After Sun Records we headed off to Graceland. I missed the ducks at the Peabody because we took the tour and so we decided to just see those another time. Graceland is quite the tourist trap and in my opinion over priced. We just went to the gift shop to find the tackiest souvenir we could find and found a place to eat bbq while we were there. The food was great and we found our tacky souvenir easily. We walked across the street to take a picture in front of the wall before hopping in the car to get on the rode.
We hit the rode to Nashville. Along the way one of my blog readers and friend Rebecca stopped us and gave us the most wonderful gift bag of ''welcome to Tennessee" goodies. It was so thoughtful and kind of her, it was amazing to my family.
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| Thanks Rebecca for the lovely welcome! |
We hopped in the car and headed to the Grand Old Opry to meet up with my cousins and their families. They drove down from their home in TN to see us and welcome us to the state. My kids loved seeing their cousins Anthony, Geoff, Peyton and Parker once again. It was our first time meeting baby Parker who is adorable. We visited for a little bit before getting in the truck to head to our final destination of Knoxville.
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| Conner and his cousin Anthony |
We plowed along through middle TN in the dark, trying to make it to our new home to park the moving truck. Thankfully it wasn't a long drive and we made it by 11:30 pm. We didn't know our new home is well off the beaten path on a tiny gravel road. The moving truck didn't fit so well on said road especially with low hanging power lines and trees. Needless to say,the pitch black,tiny road, trees and power lines made for a disaster and 26 feet of moving truck and 10 feet of car trailer ended up stuck in the mud in the farmer's field across from the house. We had to leave it there overnight and headed to a hotel to sleep.
We woke up the next morning,called Penske to come rescue our family once again, met up with our friend Lee and toured our new home. We got the moving truck into the driveway with the help of Lee's dad ( our new landlord) and Lee. Liviu Sr, the crazy Romanian helped us unpack the moving truck in less than one hour! It was a whirlwind of activity but well worth it. We were ready to be rid of the moving truck and the hassles of moving.
Good news, our little goldfish survived the long car ride in an ice cream container and earned themselves a new 5 gallon tank out of the ordeal. I must thank Shannon and Margaret for helping me move the fish across the country with their information.
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| the fishes moving container |
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| Happy fish in their new home |
It was so nice to sleep in our new home on Sunday night and start settling in on Monday morning. We went out to dinner on Sunday night with our friend Lee and met his wife Flavia for the first time along with his daughter Nora. So nice to finally meet them in person.
Monday afternoon, my dear tweep Anita stopped by with BBQ from her mother in law Jane. I loved meeting Anita for the first time. It was so wonderful to not have to cook dinner and eat amazing TN BBQ! I am so grateful to them for the lovely welcome to TN! Jane is an amazing cook and I cannot wait to meet her. This is truly an amazing family who have all been helpful in our move especially Anita's Dad Jeff. He kept us updated with weather and instructions along the way.
My mom was here to help me unpack and get organized until Wednesday afternoon. She helped me unpack boxes and find homes for everything. We didn't get completely unpacked but have made huge headway in a short time.
On Thursday morning, I started my new job at Fig and Company . Lee and I met when we were twelve years old, going to Jr high, high school and college together. It is truly surreal seeing him everyday once again, he hasn't changed that much over the years. I am truly enjoying getting to know his lovely wife Flavia as she trains me in store. We found out on the first day we are kindred spirits and very much alike in many ways. I am enjoying working with them and learning the ropes while giving them fresh perspective. They have built an amazing business in a short time.
We are starting to get settled. We are all loving the area, the dogs are happy in their new home, the kids are looking for ways to get involved and Marty is helping hold down the fort while I am working. We all are so glad we made the jump and took a leap of faith. We've been greatly blessed so far!
Thanks for all of the encouragement, messages, gifts and support. I am deeply touched by the support our family has received from everyone during this move. It was as if you carried us along the way on a wave of goodwill. We hope to be able to share that support and give it back someday.
Friday, February 8, 2013
The Great Adventure 2013: Oklahoma!
Recently I spent an evening watching Oklahoma! one of my all time favorite musicals, so as I drove into Oklahoma from Texas the theme song was playing in my head. We have made it halfway to our destination as of today and by tonight will be in Tennessee.
We started our day yesterday in the great state of Texas! It was fun seeing the sites though most of it reminded us of our central California roots. We all noticed that cow flatulence smells different in Texas! That's when you know we're agricultural experts!
Oscar on the other hand LOVES the car and has been so happy to go for the ride. He loves riding in the cab of the moving truck with Marty and Conner. He lays down and just watches the world pass him by.
We started our day yesterday in the great state of Texas! It was fun seeing the sites though most of it reminded us of our central California roots. We all noticed that cow flatulence smells different in Texas! That's when you know we're agricultural experts!
We stopped in this cute little cow town where the main store is the post office. It was a cute slice of Americana for sure.
Oklahoma is Cherokee nation. My mom and I spent a lot of time talking about our Cherokee roots. She has done quite a bit of research on our ancestry. She told me our family actually has roots in TN until the government forced the family to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears. I grew up knowing we were Cherokee but never knew our roots.
We had dinner at Cracker Barrell. Usually I eat there and like nothing but enjoyed having their ''fancy fixins'' pot roast dinner. I also found that I like fried okra.
Many are wondering about Max and Oscar on the journey. So far so good, Max has only tried to run away twice and didn't get very far. He had the walk of shame being carried back down the street by Elizabeth in Whittier at the start of our trip. He is very angry we have taken him for a long ride, he hates the car period.
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| ''I am not speaking to you'' |
Oscar on the other hand LOVES the car and has been so happy to go for the ride. He loves riding in the cab of the moving truck with Marty and Conner. He lays down and just watches the world pass him by.
We also have two fish in the car. My cousin Brianne *gives her the stink eye* gave the kids fish a few months ago and the kids wanted to bring them. So they are riding in a five gallon ice cream container and doing quite well. Two of my tweeps Shannon and Margaret helped me figure out the ins and outs of traveling with fish. So far the advice has worked quite well...meaning the fish are still alive.
Today we head into Memphis for some BBQ, the ducks at the Peabody and Sun Records. We will see how today goes to decide our final TN destination for the night.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The Great Adventure 2013: The Long and Winding Road Meets the Long, Long Trailer
A long drive deserves a long blog title at least I think so. Yesterday morning we awoke in Kingman,AZ ate a nice breakfast and hit the road east. We drove through Flagstaff which was gorgeous with snow covering the ground on the side of the road. Truly my favorite part of the drive yesterday.
We stopped in Williams for a rest break and then headed on to Holbrook,AZ. I haven't mentioned but my mom came along for the ride to help drive and get us settled. She will fly back from TN next Tuesday, she wanted to share in the adventure. As a child she traveled this road many times to her family's hometown in Kansas. She really wanted to stop at the Wigwam motel where she had a picture of her,her sister and Dad standing outside a wigwam. So we stopped and she was thrilled to reminisce and see the place through adult eyes.
Then darkness fell upon the desert and the drive just droned on and on. We all were super tired and ready for it to be over. We wanted to make up for lost time and get to our originally planned stop for the night despite the hold ups on Monday and Tuesday.
We finally pulled into Amarillo around midnight. I think it was the tweets of encouragement that kept me going and awake. We got the dogs settled, changed and went to sleep. Now we are up and ready to head on out for the day.
We are hoping we can make it to the Arkansas border before dark tonight. We have found out, we don't want to drive at night. I think we can make it to Knoxville by Saturday or Sunday at the latest.
Thanks for reading, commenting on Facebook and tweeting. It feels like all of you are on the ride with us and cheering us on along the way. I thought about so many friends yesterday, prayed for so many as the road flew by. Thought a lot about life, the future and the craziness that is my life. I think knowing that everyone is going along makes this move a lot easier in many ways.
Off for more adventures. I will send updates from the road along the way. You can follow the hashtag created by my tweep Dot; #JulesGreatAdventure for lots of fun reading.
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| Conner and E were thrilled to be on Route 66 |
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| I was driving and let my mom take this pic. She doesn't know how to work a smartphone |
We stopped in Williams for a rest break and then headed on to Holbrook,AZ. I haven't mentioned but my mom came along for the ride to help drive and get us settled. She will fly back from TN next Tuesday, she wanted to share in the adventure. As a child she traveled this road many times to her family's hometown in Kansas. She really wanted to stop at the Wigwam motel where she had a picture of her,her sister and Dad standing outside a wigwam. So we stopped and she was thrilled to reminisce and see the place through adult eyes.
We had made reservations in Amarillo at a nice hotel to give ourselves incentive to make it that far. As we drove through New Mexico in the afternoon, the beauty of the painted desert captured our attention and made the drive fly by.
My mom offered to give me a driving break for the afternoon so that I could ride a bit with Marty. We had a nice time chatting while I snapped and messaged pictures.
We crested over the hill to Albuquerque at dusk, I had been hearing a lot about this city from my school friend Kelli and my friend Olga. As we came over the hill, the city lights glittered like flecks of gold reflecting the sun. It was gorgeous but the traffic with a long truck and trailer wasn't fun at all and we decided to press on toward Amarillo.
Driving the truck and trailer has been stressful for Marty. That is a lot of truck for an everyday person to drive even though he used to do that for a living many years ago. So we've had some interesting (code for frustrating) moments along the way needless to say.
Then darkness fell upon the desert and the drive just droned on and on. We all were super tired and ready for it to be over. We wanted to make up for lost time and get to our originally planned stop for the night despite the hold ups on Monday and Tuesday.
We finally pulled into Amarillo around midnight. I think it was the tweets of encouragement that kept me going and awake. We got the dogs settled, changed and went to sleep. Now we are up and ready to head on out for the day.
We are hoping we can make it to the Arkansas border before dark tonight. We have found out, we don't want to drive at night. I think we can make it to Knoxville by Saturday or Sunday at the latest.
Thanks for reading, commenting on Facebook and tweeting. It feels like all of you are on the ride with us and cheering us on along the way. I thought about so many friends yesterday, prayed for so many as the road flew by. Thought a lot about life, the future and the craziness that is my life. I think knowing that everyone is going along makes this move a lot easier in many ways.
Off for more adventures. I will send updates from the road along the way. You can follow the hashtag created by my tweep Dot; #JulesGreatAdventure for lots of fun reading.
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
The Great Adventure 2013: Days 1 and 2
This weekend, our move to Tennessee began in earnest when we packed up our belongings into a 26 ft Penske truck. We said many heart wrenching goodbyes to many dear friends in Visalia, our home of the last 14 years. We didn't plan a goodbye party so we had to try to fit as many people in as we could in a few days. Marty and I both worked until Friday, so that made it challenging.
Saturday morning we packed and loaded. Sunday we said goodbye to church, cleaned and watched the Superbowl. Monday morning, we waited for the realtor to come get our keys, went to the bank and finally hit the road around noon. We all decided our favorite memory in that house was when Marty got ''the call' and the many happy memories that followed.
Driving down the 99 for the last time was a strange feeling. It hit me many times that we had made the drive thousands of times in 14 years but this time we weren't headed back that way.
We stopped at our favorite rest stop before hitting the grapevine. We ate our last supper of In and Out while walking our dogs. Marty went to get back on the road in the moving truck and it wouldn't start!! We called Penske customer care and they promised to send a mechanic out. Marty told me to go on ahead to Los Angeles to see family. He knew it would be hard for me if I missed out on that.
We drove through the desert, the first time for the kids going through this part of California. We stopped at the Barstow station and pushed our way through to Kingman,Az. We are staying on Route 66 tonight and heading to Amarillo,TX tomorrow.
Saturday morning we packed and loaded. Sunday we said goodbye to church, cleaned and watched the Superbowl. Monday morning, we waited for the realtor to come get our keys, went to the bank and finally hit the road around noon. We all decided our favorite memory in that house was when Marty got ''the call' and the many happy memories that followed.
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| Four people, two trucks, one car and two dogs |
Driving down the 99 for the last time was a strange feeling. It hit me many times that we had made the drive thousands of times in 14 years but this time we weren't headed back that way.
We stopped at our favorite rest stop before hitting the grapevine. We ate our last supper of In and Out while walking our dogs. Marty went to get back on the road in the moving truck and it wouldn't start!! We called Penske customer care and they promised to send a mechanic out. Marty told me to go on ahead to Los Angeles to see family. He knew it would be hard for me if I missed out on that.
Elizabeth and I made our way to Whittier, got the dogs settled at mom's house and ran over to my Aunt Alison's to see our family. Marty and Conner sat at the Petro station for over four hours!! The mechanic came but the truck wasn't repairable. So a huge wrecker came and towed the truck over the grapevine to a Penske service station. I finally picked them up at around midnight after our break down at four p.m.
This morning, we headed over to the Penske yard where a crew came and unloaded the old truck onto a new truck.
Thank goodness that we went with Penske. They have excellent customer care and have been extremely accommodating and helpful. I highly recommend using them if you're moving across country. Our truck was re-loaded and my cousin Andy stopped by to say goodbye and have a heart to heart. Then we hit the road to my mom's house to pick up her,the kids and the dogs. Marty's mom called at the last minute wanting us to come say goodbye also. So we drove to her house before hitting the road finally around 1 pm. A much later start than we intended. The silver lining was we missed all of the bad traffic.
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| Taken by Conner on the I-40 east |
We drove through the desert, the first time for the kids going through this part of California. We stopped at the Barstow station and pushed our way through to Kingman,Az. We are staying on Route 66 tonight and heading to Amarillo,TX tomorrow.
As we crossed the border to AZ tonight; E said that she felt a weight lift off her chest and that she is really excited for the new adventures ahead. I must say, I felt the same exact way. We finally after 18 years of talk are following our dreams and making them happen.
We are hoping for a smooth trip the rest of the way. We have some long days ahead of us trying to keep our scheduled arrival date a reality. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts as we make our way across the US. The journey has only begun.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
" You Gotta Accentuate the Positive''
Yesterday I shared on Finding Purpose in the Pain about my struggles in the past with worry and negativity. Since Marty has been well, I have struggled less and less as time goes on. This move has brought some of that back to the forefront and I have been fighting the urge to worry about it all. This year my goal is to focus on the positive and eliminate the negative just as the song says.
I got a great response to the blog right away in the morning and went off to work. Then I came home and started packing some more. I really was on cloud nine and then the phone rang, I really am beginning to hate the phone. My friend and new boss Lee called to say his Dad didn't know we had dogs and didn't want to rent to us. We were pretty upset and scrambling to find a new rental with our move coming up in less than two weeks.
Lee felt awful and stayed up late to help direct me to rentals. I stayed up late searching online and trying to find something suitable. My first instinct was..........worry, after all my writing and promising I went back to worry.
I spent a lot of time in prayer and meditation last night. Thinking back on the past and how everything has always worked out for our family. I was pretty teary today as I worked, praying the whole day for peace and calm. Being in that place of worry that I had let go of wasn't a good feeling. It felt awful and I realize just how bad it is to worry. My faith was being tested and put to the test, was I willing to stand behind what I wrote and put it to the test? It is hard but the only thing to do. I cannot worry about tomorrow or the future.
Everything has always worked out and we've never had any reason to believe otherwise. Came home, got ready to focus in and make headway and the phone rang. Lee called with good news and bad news, I said give me the bad news first. Bad news our rent goes up, good news we get to rent the house!!
Relief with a capital R! I also got leads on other rentals in case anything else comes up or we find something better. I am so thankful to have that off our plate and have a place to go.
Now I am back to my learning not to worry. I surely don't want to feel the way I did today and remember why I don't like that place. Everything always works out in the end.
Focusing on the positive is so much better than worrying. Cutting out the negative makes such a difference and is worth the effort. Doing it is hard but worth it in the long run.
Today I've been singing this song in my head. Truly a favorite and my mantra for 2013
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
Dreaming Big in 2013
As you know for several years, all Marty and I have talked about is leaving California. We thought that Georgia would be our destination but plans changed and Tennessee is our new destination. As we start the New Year, we start with a plan. February 4th will be our last day in our current city of Visalia. February 5th or 6th we will leave California forever.
14 years ago this month, we packed up our one year old son Conner and moved to Visalia for a new life. We have loved living in this little town, we learned many life lessons, gained a daughter and many life experiences. We came here with nothing, no jobs, no friends, no careers and gained all of those things in spades. It isn't going to be easy to leave but we know it is the best choice for our family.
We know this decision isn't popular with some who are family or close friends. We have thought long and hard, planned fastidiously and researched our options. We aren't doing this rashly and have thought it out. We live four hours away as it is and it is only a four hour flight. To us and for us, nothing will change. We are saddened at the anger but understand it is your right to be angry. We have to live for ourselves and our kids, maybe someday you will see this was a good choice. If we fail, you can tell us "Told you so"
We are choosing to be positive, trust God and not worry about every little thing. Lee has been a good friend to this family. Starting with being Julie's friend, to supporting Marty and I since we were dating and being a pseudo crazy uncle to our children. We have been thinking on this verse;
John 15:13 " There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."
We are willing to go and help our friends in need. They need help and we are so excited to go help them while they help us realize our dreams also. We are honored they chose us and are helping me start my career. I am also starting my own social media consulting company : check it out here
It has long been one of our desires as a family for me to start my own career. We have planned this since before Marty was sick and then put it on hold. I plan on attending the University of TN to further my education at the same time.
Also, we will have great medical care for Marty at the University of TN. A transplant care center in our own city instead of driving 600 miles roundtrip for care. That is a huge burden lifted off our shoulders.
We have faith everything will work out. We are starting out in a much better place than when we moved here. We have so much more than we did back then. We have life experience and knowledge that things always, always work out.
We could chose to make others happy by living in this box we are in currently. Instead we are choosing to follow our dreams, live outside the box and put this second chance at life to use. So many die waiting for transplants or from complications. We know so many who would've loved a second chance. We got that second chance, we can use it or just squander it. We are choosing to use it and live big.
This is scary, exciting, nerve wracking but we have complete peace this is what we are supposed to do. We would appreciate support, prayers, encouragement and good wishes as we try to live our dreams.
We are choosing to dream, live the dream and take a chance. We happy and hope you can respect that. It is either do it or quit talking about it and live with regret. I was raised to live with no regrets.
We promise to help our loved one's and friends travel to see us. Usually this doesn't matter since I am always the one to head to So.Cal myself. We will still come to visit just as much as we do now.
14 years ago this month, we packed up our one year old son Conner and moved to Visalia for a new life. We have loved living in this little town, we learned many life lessons, gained a daughter and many life experiences. We came here with nothing, no jobs, no friends, no careers and gained all of those things in spades. It isn't going to be easy to leave but we know it is the best choice for our family.
We know this decision isn't popular with some who are family or close friends. We have thought long and hard, planned fastidiously and researched our options. We aren't doing this rashly and have thought it out. We live four hours away as it is and it is only a four hour flight. To us and for us, nothing will change. We are saddened at the anger but understand it is your right to be angry. We have to live for ourselves and our kids, maybe someday you will see this was a good choice. If we fail, you can tell us "Told you so"
We are choosing to be positive, trust God and not worry about every little thing. Lee has been a good friend to this family. Starting with being Julie's friend, to supporting Marty and I since we were dating and being a pseudo crazy uncle to our children. We have been thinking on this verse;
John 15:13 " There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends."
We are willing to go and help our friends in need. They need help and we are so excited to go help them while they help us realize our dreams also. We are honored they chose us and are helping me start my career. I am also starting my own social media consulting company : check it out here
It has long been one of our desires as a family for me to start my own career. We have planned this since before Marty was sick and then put it on hold. I plan on attending the University of TN to further my education at the same time.
Also, we will have great medical care for Marty at the University of TN. A transplant care center in our own city instead of driving 600 miles roundtrip for care. That is a huge burden lifted off our shoulders.
We have faith everything will work out. We are starting out in a much better place than when we moved here. We have so much more than we did back then. We have life experience and knowledge that things always, always work out.
We could chose to make others happy by living in this box we are in currently. Instead we are choosing to follow our dreams, live outside the box and put this second chance at life to use. So many die waiting for transplants or from complications. We know so many who would've loved a second chance. We got that second chance, we can use it or just squander it. We are choosing to use it and live big.
This is scary, exciting, nerve wracking but we have complete peace this is what we are supposed to do. We would appreciate support, prayers, encouragement and good wishes as we try to live our dreams.
We are choosing to dream, live the dream and take a chance. We happy and hope you can respect that. It is either do it or quit talking about it and live with regret. I was raised to live with no regrets.
We promise to help our loved one's and friends travel to see us. Usually this doesn't matter since I am always the one to head to So.Cal myself. We will still come to visit just as much as we do now.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Unexpected Perspective and Answered Prayers
Perspective is a beautiful thing especially when they come in the form of answered prayers. Today has been a big day in the world of Just Jules. It started out quite normal until I checked my Twitter then email before heading to my day job.
For the last few months I've been writing guest posts on Finding Purpose in the Pain for my good friend Stacy. Today my post; which I wrote last month was about our upcoming move and how I was scared about setting a date and making a jump. You can read my post here, since writing this post I've been working very hard on my thought process and realizing it will all be okay.
Some of you don't know but I have slowly been starting my own business on the side. I've been asked many times to help friends start blogs, make Facebook pages and for Twitter advice. I've done this as kindness for others until now. Before I was offered the job in Knoxville doing the same thing, I was wondering how I could turn this into a job? Along with running the social media for Fig and Company in Knoxville; I am starting my own social media consulting company. Here is my new website for my business: http://julesmpgsocialmedia.blogspot.com/
Today, I awoke to a email saying that one of my blogs was featured on the Daily Buzz Mom's website. I wrote a post a long time ago about our Christmas stocking exchange and they featured it today in their top nine. You can read that post here.
I was going to share most of this later but since all three go together so well, I decided today was the day to share the news. For 2013, the goals have been set high, I am dreaming big and taking a leap of faith. Fear, worry, scare tactics of others and naysaying won't stop me. Either I will fall or I will soar, all signs point to soaring. The journey will be well chronicled and you can follow along as I take the steps into the future. I have all the faith in the world that I will succeed.
For the last few months I've been writing guest posts on Finding Purpose in the Pain for my good friend Stacy. Today my post; which I wrote last month was about our upcoming move and how I was scared about setting a date and making a jump. You can read my post here, since writing this post I've been working very hard on my thought process and realizing it will all be okay.
Some of you don't know but I have slowly been starting my own business on the side. I've been asked many times to help friends start blogs, make Facebook pages and for Twitter advice. I've done this as kindness for others until now. Before I was offered the job in Knoxville doing the same thing, I was wondering how I could turn this into a job? Along with running the social media for Fig and Company in Knoxville; I am starting my own social media consulting company. Here is my new website for my business: http://julesmpgsocialmedia.blogspot.com/
Today, I awoke to a email saying that one of my blogs was featured on the Daily Buzz Mom's website. I wrote a post a long time ago about our Christmas stocking exchange and they featured it today in their top nine. You can read that post here.
I was going to share most of this later but since all three go together so well, I decided today was the day to share the news. For 2013, the goals have been set high, I am dreaming big and taking a leap of faith. Fear, worry, scare tactics of others and naysaying won't stop me. Either I will fall or I will soar, all signs point to soaring. The journey will be well chronicled and you can follow along as I take the steps into the future. I have all the faith in the world that I will succeed.
Friday, November 9, 2012
"When Are You Moving?"
This is something we hear almost everyday. We usually hear it most on Sunday's at church along with " Oh, we thought you just moved and didn't say goodbye" because I've been busy working lately. Like I would ever do that.
The answer is "We hope by January, but we aren't sure" the hold out is Marty needs a job for us to move. He is actively searching and looking for a job in his career field while I pack the house up. Our house is full of boxes and I try to pack something up every week. A new pastor at our church moved from Colorado into our neighborhood and his wife generously gave me all of their boxes. That is another funny story in itself, a blog for next week.
Yesterday we got a bit of good news that might allow for a plan B for the move. We are praying this might pan out and work towards our goal of getting to Tennessee by January. We are praying about it and trusting God's leading for us.
Once again, we are in the waiting room. Waiting for change but still in life here which is winding down. It's been so clear our time here is over yet we don't want to leave the people here. People here don't want us to leave.
One thing I do ask is can we stop with the negative comments or trying to talk us out of moving? It makes things harder and is truly upsetting. I would support any of you moving even if I didn't like it. I have done this with many friends before and would appreciate the same support. We have to go and try this, we have to live with no regrets and we would regret never trying. We may fail and want to come back. Life is too short to not try.
We still have a lot of people to see and spend time with before we go.I am trying to do that while working nearly full time. I went back to work at my husband's request to help fund our move.
It has been very helpful for me to work but everyone hates it. Of course, I will still be working in Knoxville and the future. Part of this move is for me to build my career and I will share more about that later.
I hope this clears up some of the questions. As soon as we know something, you know that I will share it. We just really don't know much right now except that we are indeed moving.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Trapped in a Box
I heard a great sermon years ago from our friend Jason. It was about living your faith outside of the box and living your life standing on top of that box. So often, we live in a box that we or others create for ourselves. Marty's renal failure and subsequent journey trapped us in a box that we didn't create for ourselves. It was a God ordained journey for us and we needed to live through it.
During that time, we felt doors were closing here in California for us. I wrote about it quite extensively in this blog here about our desire to move to Georgia. I think that I need to backtrack a bit and give some little known history. When Marty asked me to marry him, he told me that he didn't want to live in California forever and that if I couldn't handle moving then I was free to say no. I told him that was something I could do and forgot all about it. Over the years he has talked on and off about moving to Minnesota ( see the other blog) and I have not been okay with that.
When he came home and said Georgia, I knew. I knew this was it because it was somewhere we could both agree on. I have many friends there and wouldn't be going without built in support. Something I did when I moved to Visalia. I only knew my sister and aunt, I left my support system behind and that was tough.
The decision was made before transplant. Fast forward two years, we know this is meant to be. Slowly but surely doors in our life here have been closing. The more information we have gleaned about our move, the more we know this is where God is calling us to go. The list of pro's is numerous and the list of cons is about four things.
Two of the major reasons are fear and the box. We are scared, its a huge move with a lot of unknowns. We moved here with less of a plan and opportunities though. We can't stay here because we are scared. We have face bigger challenges in life than this. I came across this scripture recently Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:16
We can't lived trapped in a box of fear and expectations. The second reason is we are disappointing a lot of people. My family and our friends don't want us to go, they will miss us and it hurts that we are leaving. This has been the hardest challenge, I hate hurting and disappointing people. I am a people pleaser, so it goes against my very nature to do this.
It comes down to, we can't live our life for others. We have to live them for ourselves and for God. It's hard and it will be hard. We have to do this and see what happens. What's the worst? We fail and have to come back home? When Marty was sick, we looked back and regretted not doing a lot of things. Now we have the chance to change things and live free. We are busting out of the box and standing on top of it!
All we can do it ask for everyone's support during this time. It's going to be hard for everyone. We as a family are excited and looking foward to new adventures. Our plan is in full motion now. After May is when we will start the process of job hunting seriously. We are hoping to be there before September, so we can start school in Georgia.
A/N I sang the No Doubt song "Trapped in a Box" the entire time I wrote this blog!
During that time, we felt doors were closing here in California for us. I wrote about it quite extensively in this blog here about our desire to move to Georgia. I think that I need to backtrack a bit and give some little known history. When Marty asked me to marry him, he told me that he didn't want to live in California forever and that if I couldn't handle moving then I was free to say no. I told him that was something I could do and forgot all about it. Over the years he has talked on and off about moving to Minnesota ( see the other blog) and I have not been okay with that.
When he came home and said Georgia, I knew. I knew this was it because it was somewhere we could both agree on. I have many friends there and wouldn't be going without built in support. Something I did when I moved to Visalia. I only knew my sister and aunt, I left my support system behind and that was tough.
The decision was made before transplant. Fast forward two years, we know this is meant to be. Slowly but surely doors in our life here have been closing. The more information we have gleaned about our move, the more we know this is where God is calling us to go. The list of pro's is numerous and the list of cons is about four things.
Two of the major reasons are fear and the box. We are scared, its a huge move with a lot of unknowns. We moved here with less of a plan and opportunities though. We can't stay here because we are scared. We have face bigger challenges in life than this. I came across this scripture recently Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:16
We can't lived trapped in a box of fear and expectations. The second reason is we are disappointing a lot of people. My family and our friends don't want us to go, they will miss us and it hurts that we are leaving. This has been the hardest challenge, I hate hurting and disappointing people. I am a people pleaser, so it goes against my very nature to do this.
It comes down to, we can't live our life for others. We have to live them for ourselves and for God. It's hard and it will be hard. We have to do this and see what happens. What's the worst? We fail and have to come back home? When Marty was sick, we looked back and regretted not doing a lot of things. Now we have the chance to change things and live free. We are busting out of the box and standing on top of it!
All we can do it ask for everyone's support during this time. It's going to be hard for everyone. We as a family are excited and looking foward to new adventures. Our plan is in full motion now. After May is when we will start the process of job hunting seriously. We are hoping to be there before September, so we can start school in Georgia.
A/N I sang the No Doubt song "Trapped in a Box" the entire time I wrote this blog!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
10 yrs ago
This past month we celebrated our 10th anniversary of moving to Visalia. It is hard to believe that we have been here that long. In October of 1998 I came to visit my sister here in Visalia. We had always come to visit since our dear aunt Pat lived here. Kim had moved here a few years before me and made a life for herself. I longed to be a stay at home mom and be able to afford to live, since So. Cal is quite expensive. On that trip I fell in love with her church and decided I wanted to make the move. I brought Marty back in December to test the waters and we decided to move within the next month.
I am telling you, we were nuts! I know it was God moving us because no rational person would have done what we did. We left our jobs, drained our savings and packed everything in my brother in law's tractor trailer and made the move. Conner was 14 months old, just a little guy and we bid a teary farewell to our family and friends. Marty had been struggling to come to terms with his dad's death and needed to move on, so we did.
I cried the first year straight and called my grandma's and mom everyday. I hated my new job at the department store and Marty worked temporary work. It was really a mess at first but slowly we started to re-build our lives. I can tell you it took years but finally we got to the place we wanted to be in life.
Now this is home and we miss it when we are away. We are so thankful to have built our own lives, all by ourselves. We are blessed to have many wonderful families that we are friends with and support us like family. Marty has a great job and I am home where I always wanted to be. It's nice to look back and see where we came from and how far that journey has brought us.
I am telling you, we were nuts! I know it was God moving us because no rational person would have done what we did. We left our jobs, drained our savings and packed everything in my brother in law's tractor trailer and made the move. Conner was 14 months old, just a little guy and we bid a teary farewell to our family and friends. Marty had been struggling to come to terms with his dad's death and needed to move on, so we did.
I cried the first year straight and called my grandma's and mom everyday. I hated my new job at the department store and Marty worked temporary work. It was really a mess at first but slowly we started to re-build our lives. I can tell you it took years but finally we got to the place we wanted to be in life.
Now this is home and we miss it when we are away. We are so thankful to have built our own lives, all by ourselves. We are blessed to have many wonderful families that we are friends with and support us like family. Marty has a great job and I am home where I always wanted to be. It's nice to look back and see where we came from and how far that journey has brought us.
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