Mixed Emotions

Today was the nicest weather a gal could ask for – the sun shining yet still a little crisp.  The kids and I went for a walk.  While on the walk I was thinking that this is what I’m going to miss A LOT about being here. 

I’m going to miss that it is just me and the kids, no neighbors, no one driving on the road.  I love the quiet.  Sage pushed Charly in the stroller and Jack road his bike backwards the entire time.  We walked in the middle of the road.  One car and one tractor passed us.  (We bring the kids and dogs in close and sit on the side of the road until a car passes.  Well, we ask the dogs to sit and so the kids do it too.  Whenever we go visit my mom in Salt Lake it is so funny to watch the kids because every time a car passes they stop and sit down – confusion ensues with parked cars.  It makes for very long walks up and down her block.)  We watched a calf watch us.  Everyone was happy today.  It was so peaceful.  I started to think that I’m going to miss this…

…but then I started thinking about our Christmas tree.  :)  And I remember one reason why it will be good to go.  I didn’t share about our tree, did I?  It makes me chuckle.  Joel and I were talking before Christmas during all of his job interviews whether we just wanted to stay.  There are many many many things that we LOVE about being here, and how it is good for our kids.  Perhaps we were given an opportunity to choose being here.  We were having this discussion while driving to our little town to buy a Christmas tree.  The local fruit stand was selling trees.  We got out and were accosted by the man and woman.  They had obviously just doped up on something and were scaring us and the children.  They were bouncing around, in our personal space, saying HO HO HO every 5 seconds.  I just can’t describe it right.  But Jack picked out a tree and Joel asked how much and the man said $40.  Joel and I were silent.  He asked, “Is that too much?”  Joel and I an unison said “Yes”.  “Okay, $15.”  Sold!  We got in the car and I looked at Joel and said, “Forget everything that I just said about staying.  Get us out of here!”  Our little life right now is absolutely heaven.  Perfect.  I really love absolutely everything about it.  But Jack is starting school soon, and we are going to have to start interacting with the rest of the world.  There are some absolutely wonderful people here who I love and adore, but no one we know has kids our age and lives in Irrigon.  It was just a timely conversation that we had, and not to say there aren’t people like that in other places, but hopefully there will be more of a peer group for the kids.

And then I remember that this doesn’t have to be the end of going on walk with the kids!  I am still going to thoroughly enjoy being with my kids and we are still going to have peaceful happy days together.  So I think perhaps the day to day things might change, but we will still have a many days like these to come.

Winds of Change

 

The kids and I made this Fall centerpiece a few months back and I just think it is so lovely.  For some inexplicable reason, it takes my breath away.  I’ve been wanting to post a picture of it for a while but had a hard time how to fit in. 

I’ve been wanting to blog for a while now but have only had one thing that I’ve been wanting to write about…and it has been a few months, my thoughts have even kept me from writing a Christmas letter this year – isn’t that terrible?  But now change is coming and I’m able to divulge:

WE’RE MOVING!!!

I was in shock the first couple of days, then I got to really excited, and now I’m starting to feel a little stressed!  We are going to be gone in at most 3 weeks.  The company is going to help relocate, so we’ll find out all the details tomorrow.  But Joel got a job in Fresno area with Foster Farms – finally a feed mill of his own.  We really love it here but Joel has been biting at the bit for some time now for the next step in his career.  And now that Jack is almost old enough to go to school and interact with the world outside our extremely sheltered home, we wanted better schools.  And that is exactly what we got.

I’ve had the feeling for a while that change was coming.  I know that Heavenly Father was looking out for us and allowing us to say goodbye through the holidays – Thanksgiving with Bill and Katherine and my very good friend who I love dearly and her family; Christmas with Bill and Katherine and the surprise visit from my folks, as well as the famous Sanchez’s. 

Joel has experienced some very real moments with prayer and revelation throughout this process.  It has been so crazy – he sent out 5 resumes, got 4 face to face interviews all in the same weeks (he has been driving and flying from coast to coast at least one trip a week for a LONG time now), and 3 job offers.  It is humbling to know that the Lord not only blesses us with our needs met but also blesses us with many of our wants.  Joel is going to do so great.  He is smart and extremely capable.  I’m so proud of him.

  I’ve gone from a nomadic diplomatic life to a country bumpkin and now to a city girl – I guess I’ll always feel like a fish out of water.  Seeing as this is the first post for this year, Happy New Year!  It is going to be a brand new crazy chapter in our life.