BIG News!

No, we're not pregnant.  Let me just start there.  And for many of you this isn't big news because you already know what's going on  But I was thinking this morning that some of you have no idea the adventure we're on right now.  

2 1/2 weeks ago Brad quit his job of 13 years at Farmer's Insurance because he accepted a job with Nationwide Insurance as an Auto Claims Manager for Northern California.  Yep, that's right.  So, starting 2 1/2 weeks ago we started on logistics.  We met with our realtor in SLC, got our house ready to list, said goodbye to our friends and then last Thursday we packed up the van and headed to my friend's house to stay our last night in SLC.  The house was spotless and it looked really good!  No wonder we bought it 3 1/2 years ago!  :)  We were actually pretty proud of ourselves that we could get it all done with 3 under 4 but we did resort to a Boz the Bear video for the girls and William on my back as we loaded the van and did the last floor cleaning.

Last Friday our house went on the market and we drove to Gunnison, CO.  Praise God, our house sold that day for full price!  Whew!  And, the drive to CO went well.  Brad spent the weekend with us in CO and then flew Sunday night to Sacramento to start his new job.

So this is the plan:  the kids and I will be living at my parents' house until we close on a house in California and Brad is living in a hotel until then.  :(  We have some back and forth trips planned (for house hunting, Thanksgiving and maybe Christmas) but until further notice, we're doing family time over Skype and speaker phone.  Our house in SLC closes in a few weeks so Brad will head back there to meet the packers/movers to empty our house.

Brad is enjoying his new job so far and he can't believe how beautiful his new territory is!  His area stretches from San Francisco to the Oregon border as far East as Sacramento.  Yeah, talk about spoiled.

So the plan is to find a house somewhere just North of San Francisco in the next few months.  At least, that's our plan.  God has orchestrated the details of this adventure so far so we'll see what He has in store for us.

Our mail is being forwarded to my parents' and I probably won't send out Christmas cards until after we move into our new house but send yours our way!  My cell phone (303) still works but Brad's has changed.  Email us if you want that.

The kids are doing really well so far with the transition but time is going SO SLOWLY!  I can't believe it's only been 3 days since Brad left.  William is sitting up now and has both bottom teeth and one top one has poked through (the other is just below the gum).  He has a passionate love for food and he loves to be read to.  He laughs a lot but that boy has a serious mad cry.  He screams like nothing I've ever heard before when he's upset about something.  It literally makes me crazy.  So, he's getting held a lot these days to avoid screaming.  :)

Addy and Elsie are loving spending time with Grammy B (Ba B is hunting in Western Colorado this week) and while they miss their daddy, I think the distraction of being here is helping ease the fall out of him being gone.

We attended the Gunnison MOPS group this morning and it was nice for the kids to get to do something 'normal' for them.  I enjoyed interacting with other young moms and getting a break from the intensity of 3 under 4.

So that's it for now.  We're on to our next adventure.  It was so hard to leave SLC as we've made amazing friends and love our church there.  I cried most of the 2 weeks between when we decided we were leaving and when we actually left.  I could hardly tell our friends we were going without crying.  But I know that God will provide a community and great friends for us in CA like He did in SLC.  I'm just having to remind myself that. . . a lot!

So we'd appreciate your prayers for a house, for peace in the transition and for the kids as they are missing their Daddy.

Thank you!  We'll be in touch!