The Big Move

Ethan riding the elephant at Maw-Maw's house after our long trip


In 2004, Ben and I relocated for the "last" time, built a house for future children, and built a life for ourselves in Rockwall, Texas. We were blessed with a family of friends met through church and work, most of which were at the same life stage that we were. Fast forward a few years and we have stood by and watched most of our friends add little ones to their own family, us included as well. How wonderful it has been to stand by each others' sides and share these special life moments!

Although we missed having our family close to us, the family that we built through these relationships has been priceless. Fast forward once more to June 2010- Ben and I had just found out that we were adding another blessing to our family and began reminiscing about our own childhoods and how wonderful it was to have grown up close to our family. I most especially remember how close I have been to my grandparents and the countless hours and weekends spent with them.

It was during the course of that conversation that I felt a nudging. I didn't like the nudging. I didn't want to feel the nudging. I didn't want to acknowledge the nudging. After ignoring it for as long as I could, I brought it up to Ben. He had been homesick for quite some time so when I told him that I thought that he might have the right idea to move back home, he was thrilled! Ben put in his transfer request at work and once it was approved, we put the house on the market right away, knowing that it would take forever to sell in such a poor economy. Four months later, we had an offer on the house and closed right after the holidays. Since Atlanta did not have a place for Ben to office out of yet and Caden was 4 months from his due date, we rented a house in Rockwall until the time came to move. Although our move to Atlanta was pushed back several times, we finally got the green light at the end of September 2011. This was such a bittersweet time. We were excited to know that our boys were going to grow up having a relationship with their family and not just seeing them on holidays, but I was so sad to leave the family of friends that we had built over the years in Texas.

I knew that this was the right thing for our family and I knew that it was the right time to go, but that didn't make it any easier to leave the people that I have come to love and call family.

Three short weeks later, our fantastic Texas family threw us an amazing Going Away party. Then movers came and we packed our bags and spent our last couple of days in town with Aunt Leigh Ann. The Thursday before we left, Mom flew to Texas to help with the boys. We spent our last night in town saying goodbye some of the people we love and bright and early the next morning we were on the road, Me, Mom, and the boys in my car, and Ben and Lucy in his. Ethan and Caden were troopers! It was a long day, but they were fantastic and we made it to Maw-Maw's house in Alabama.

After spending the night at Maw-Maw's, we drove the last few hours to Atlanta on Sunday afternoon and got settled in at Ben's sister's house. Ben's sister, Wanda, has been so gracious and a true blessing to us. We have turned her house upside down and she is nothing but smiles. They spend countless hours loving on our boys and entertaining them. We love you both and will never be able to repay you for this time! Hopefully your house will still be standing when we leave :-)

Finally, 16 months later we are here and getting settled into a routine.