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Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Our Lives Are Totally Changing…

The past week was a great one for us……

We found out that Chris got the job he applied for and we will be moving to Connecticut!

This is long! :) And a semi-repeat from Facebook. 

Background: I am originally from CT – but after going to college in Ohio, then getting married and moving to WV for 9 months while Chris was in grad school, then to PA for 3 years, I haven’t lived full-time in Connecticut since I was 17. I have missed it SO much. Having lived in the Midwest, the upper South, and another state in the Northeast, I can attest to the fact that New England just has an indescribable feel to it! I love the small suburban towns, the rich history, and did I mention THE OCEAN?! Of course, my family lives there, too – and I am *SO* ready to be done with the tearful goodbyes each time we visit!

My DH has been working for his BIL for the last 3 years (and through college and in high school) as the manager of his landscaping company. Unfortunately, Chris had reached the “top” of the company. My BIL was paying him what he could, but we have been living extremely frugally and we have basically no wiggle room in the budget. As we think about our future and the possibility of more kids down the line (adopted or not), we were both concerned. Plus, I have to have private health insurance (which is horrible, with huge deductibles), and my DH is not insured at all. We are all about trusting God but there comes a point when you just need a Plan B! We both came to that decision simultaneously one day, and I made a phone-call to my dad, who has worked his way to fairly high up in the company he works for.  Chris interviewed last week for an opening and was hired on Friday for the job! It’s a great entry-level position with tons of room for growth and promotions. 

We both love the culture of Connecticut and think it’s a great place to raise kids (for privacy I will never mention what part we will live in – but it’s beautiful!). There are about a million reasons I could list why I’m so excited to start our lives there. I’m excited to have a sense of finality instead of always talking about “Should we move there? Should we stay here?”  Connecticut, God willing, is where we will raise our kids and see our grandkids grow up. I could just die with happiness!

Of course, we are sad to leave our family and friends here. My best friend lives here, as does all of Chris’s family. We have had a lot of really, really sad moments in the past week and a half as we told all of them personally what was happening. It’s not fun. We wish that our families could live near each other, but that will never be a reality for our marriage. I wish Lindsay could always live 10 minutes from my house.  Thankfully, though, we will be back to visit every other month, just like we’ve done now (except in reverse).

God has done soooo many cool things for us in this whole process – big things like a job opening up the day after we called to ask my Dad, and small things like my pediatrician randomly leaving the practice (Luke will just go to my old pediatricians office now!). It is absolutely terrifying and thrilling all at once! I can’t wait to have a brand-new house to decorate! :)

Our big focus now is get our house ready to sell. We bought a big-time fixer-upper 2 years ago that still needs quite a few repairs (we didn’t expect to leave PA for years, if at all  – we just refinanced our mortgage in January!). Chris will be working for about 2 more weeks, then he will be taking off about 3 weeks to concentrate solely on the house before we move to CT mid-August. (Our parents are letting us stay with them until our house sells and we can find another one. )

That means 3 weeks of no pay, which scares the heck out of me! We also have to sell our house in a recession. You know, while living out of state.

But every time I go into freak-out mode, I know that God’s got everything under control. If you are a praying person, would you pray for us? I would really appreciate it!

And who out there lives in New England?  I know I “met” some of you during the Ultimate Blog Party but I can’t remember now!  If you live in NE let me know! Maybe we can meet someday! :)

11 comments:

  1. WOW! Fun stuff for ya! My family is getting ready to move here soon as well! I dont mind the moving..the only parts I hate are saying goodbye to people, and the packing!
    XOXO

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  2. Being a Military wife for 17.5 years, I can say the goodbyes NEVER got any easier. ever. But the Lord always was/is one step ahead of us, and I now have lifetime friends in many States. It will be a blessing for you all to be here, and it is a blessing that Chris' family is not too far away. If your parents get tired of you, I hear the C. family has a revolving door :-D
    Praying for God's hand in all the details~B

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  3. good luck girl!!!! Whew!!! your post just stressed me out sister! My dh and I are getting ready to try to get a loan toooooooooo start my consignment shop!!!!!!! I have been having many sleepless nights! But we are broke and I'm not going back to work in the loan industry. I rather do what I Love!!! My prayers are with you!!!

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  4. praying for you....I can so relate...a bit. :-) we're moving along w/ 6 other families from PA to ME to help w/ a church plant...area there is depressed so jobs are being created for the most part...house here is under contract, and most likely we'll be renting there for the first while. Moving away from both families which are here :-( But God is in control, and amidst the uncertainties, we're resting in Him and His will! Blessings!

    ~eunice b
    rsmile2u @dejazzd .com

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  5. Sounds bitter-sweet, but so exciting at the same time! Hope all goes well! Keep trusting the Lord and I'm sure all will work out fine!

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  6. Wow! This is huge news! Sounds like everything is falling into place for you, how exciting. Best of luck in the next few weeks.

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  7. Yay!! I am so happy for you to be moving home, it will be so nice for you to be close to your family. I wish you all the best of luck!

    Thank you so much for the information and encouragement on my blog post the other day about CIO. We are doing the modified version as well and are on day three as of tonight. It is going pretty well, i have not given it and picked him up. Last night he only woke up once. It took about 50 minutes until he fell back to sleep but i have already noticed he is sleeping a bit longer then he used to. I know that in the long run this will be so much better for him because good quality sleep is so important. Plus it will be nice to know that if he does wake up in the middle of the night once he goes through the sleep training that it is because he isn't feeling well because right now he cries all the time and you really can't differentiate if he is just crying to cry or crying because he doesn't feel good.

    I do have a question though. If i go in after the alloted amount of time and he is standing do i lay him down?

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  8. Yay for CT!!! I grew up there and love it! I loved how close it was to beach, mountains, New York, and Boston! The perfect place...if it wasn't so expensive! We live in VT now, and I agree...New England is the best! I love the foliage, the small towns, and just about everything else!
    I'm so happy for you! What a great thing! My parents are still in CT...maybe we should meet some day. :)

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  9. Jessica, I am SO excited and happy for you! I am also pumped to be considered in the "upper south"! hahaha..I always knew WV was the cream of the crop! Even if we can't agree on how to pronounce "applachia," (since I live here, my way is the right way!) I'm glad that you are going to be heading back home to CT. I know what that is like having moved to Ohio & North Carolina, but ending up back here in good ol' WV. THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME! Be Blessed!

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  10. great for you!! I moved to CT 9 months ago and I couldnt be happier, I'm too a stay at home mom for 2 little princesses. I hope your move goes smoth and maybe we could see you for the peach festival!

    God bless

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  11. Welcome back to CT! was reading about the second hand finds from Southern Hospitality and stopped here. I am a pastors wife in CT. My husband's family is from here way back to the 1600's, but I was reared military (read: from all over). I always dreamed of living in the NE & after being here 10 years I can say it's everything I ever dreamed it would be! Glad you can come back here b/c it seems your heart is here. I will be praying the house sells quickly for you. ~Jen

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