We found a House!

As soon as we learned that we would be moving to Ft Worth, we had to decide which area we wanted to live in. I had heard from numerous people that Keller had fantastic schools and was a terrific area to raise a family. Not only is it a growing area with everything we could need as far as restaurants and shopping goes, but it is also close to Adam's office.

Upon arriving in Ft Worth, we started looking for a place. It was a bit overwhelming, especially given our time frame. Thankfully, a friend of mine from college is a Realtor and he volunteered to help us. He gave us a list of houses that met our criteria and once we chose the one's we were interested in seeing, he set up the appointments in one afternoon. It was extremely helpful, so that Adam didn't have to take a lot of time off of work.

We saw a total of six houses. Three were knocked off the list after the walk through, and the other three liked. It turned out that the first house we looked at was "the house." After waiting six days, we learned we got the house! It was a huge relief for both of us, and now we can look forward to Adam's vacation without the added stress of finding a place to live.

The house is located on a cul de sac, with a large backyard. Mason & Taylor actually took a lap or two around the backyard when we first looked at the house. It has 2667 sq ft, which is perfect for a growing family. Before people start asking questions, no our family hasn't grown yet, but we hope to in the near future.

It's 4 bedrooms with 2.5 bathrooms, with a study and a dining room (which will most likely be used as a playroom for the time being). We are also located within walking distance to a park and tennis courts. There are jogging trails throughout the neighborhood. We move in Dec. 30th. Plenty of room for visitors. I've included the pictures that were listed in the MLS listing.

Fern Lake Court

Kitchen and part of the Den

Den with the fireplace

Study

If you live in the DFW area and need a good Realtor, please be sure to give Kyle a call.

Road Trip

After driving across four states in three days, we finally made it! Since I haven't blogged all week, there is a lot to catch up on.


Monday the movers arrived to pack up everything. When we moved out to California, it only took about 3 hours. Now, we did live in apartment, but I promise we didn't accumulate that much stuff in the last three years. This time, the movers arrived at 8am and didn't leave until a little after 5pm. I tried to keep the kids out of the house and occupied, but you can only do so much. We ended up putting movies on our computers to keep them entertained and they did great.


Monday evening, we headed over to the Robert's house to watch some football and hang out with some friends from our Sunday School class. It was nice to see them one last time. Our class has meant so much to us over the years and we are blessed by all of their friendships.


We stayed in a hotel Monday & Tuesday night, which helped out on Tuesday while the movers loaded all the boxes and furniture. It was another all day process. I really shouldn't be too bothered by it, because if we had done it ourselves, it would have taken much longer. So for that, I'm thankful.


Tuesday evening, we had our last dinner with the Mooney's. Marissa made a delicious meal and the kids enjoyed playing together. It was hard not to get choked up at times, especially since they don't really understand the distance that will separate us.

Mason & Braden. They couldn't stop hugging each other goodbye.

Madison holding Taylor.

Mason wanted to take a picture of Marissa.

The goodbyes were hard. Tears flooded my eyes as I hugged my best friend and gave kisses to her children, who I love like my own.


Wednesday morning, began our trek to Texas.

The entire drive we saw a ton of Windmills. This was near the California and Arizona Border.

Beautiful California

Goodbye California, hello Arizona!

Beautiful sunset on the Mountains.

We stopped in Phoenix the first night and we were so happy to see a Whataburger! Oh how we missed it.

Thursday morning, we ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Mason loved this game. I used to have one when I was little.

Taylor was busy coloring and didn't feel like posing for pictures.

It's hard to see, but this was the University of Arizona symbol on the Mountain in Tucson. Adam's cousin Jeremy and his wife Caryle attended Zona.

Leaving Arizona and entering New Mexico.

This is by far my favorite picture. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when we saw the sign. Welcome to Texas! We ate a quick dinner in El Paso and drove onto Midland to cut down the driving time on Friday.

Friday morning we made the last trek of the drive to Fort Worth. We made great time and arrived at our temporary corporate apartment around 3pm. The kids did absolutely fabulous during the drive.

Our apartment is 2 bedrooms and has more space than a hotel. It will work perfectly for the next 30 days. We have already been looking for houses, and hope to find one before we leave for Katy for Christmas.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. They were felt and we are glad to be back in the Lone Star state.

Let the packing begin

As I sit here on the couch, the movers have arrived and started packing up our house. We have set aside our things that will be needed for the next 30 days, but everything else will be boxed. Tomorrow they load the boxes, all of our furniture and my car, and will begin the drive to Texas.

Bakersfield is a huge part of us and we will always love this city and the people. Mason was six months old when we first moved here. This is the home where he took his first steps and said his first words. This is the home we brought Taylor home to from the hospital. This is the home where she said her first words and took her first steps. So many memories were made and Bakersfield will always have a peace of my heart.

Tonight and tomorrow, we will be staying in a hotel here in Bakersfield and spending our evenings with friends. I fully anticipate tomorrow will be the hardest day emotionally for us. That will be the last of the goodbyes. Yesterday in Sunday School we said goodbye to our class and I already started to cry before evening saying a word.

Mason & Taylor are doing pretty well with the move so far. Mason even helped me pack his toys that would be delivered to us in Ft. Worth for the next 30 days. Occasionally he will get upset and I know it's due to the confusion of everything going on around him. Taylor is too young to understand. The real test will be the drive to Texas.

Over the next few days, please pray for our safety as we take the longest road trip of our lives. Pray for safe travel for the movers. Pray for our friends as we say our goodbyes. Pray that we are able to find a home quickly that meets our needs. Pray for Adam as he starts his new position. Pray for the children that they will adjust well. Pray for me as I deal with the little details. Thank you for all of your love and support.

Going Away Party

Little sleep was had on Black Friday. Not only did Marissa & I camp outside of Target at midnight waiting for the doors to open at 4am, but we only took a 2 hour nap that day. Yes, I'm one of those crazy people that will wake up in the wee hours of the night/morning to score some big deals. It has been a tradition that my mom & I started years ago. I look forward to it each year.

To say it was cold was an understatement. We layered our clothes, wore scarves, jackets, gloves and drank a ton of coffee. At one point it was 29 degrees outside and neither of us could feel our toes. Despite the cold, I wouldn't change it for the world. We made memories and had fun.

Our Sunday School class through us a going away party Friday evening. Thankfully, the kids favorite babysitter was available and we enjoyed an evening without kids and with some of our favorite people. Dinner was delicious and the fellowship was delightful. God has blessed us with so many wonderful friends over the last three years. We never could have imagined it would be this hard saying goodbye. We love all of you!

Tabaitha & Jamie

The Kaye's & The Mooney's

Tabaitha & Nicole

Luke & Nicole

Group shot

One Week

If you can't tell, I have taken a break from Chelsea's Ten on Tuesday questions. I will eventually get back to them, because they are fun questions and she does such a great job at coming up with new ones each week. If you want to participate, check it out. They are fun.

Yesterday, our relocation package was approved and we got word that the movers will begin packing everything next Monday and load everything next Tuesday. This is our last week in the house. I have to laugh that we were still waiting for final details up until a week before the move. Just a reminder that we aren't in control and for a planner like me, that was a hard lesson to learn.

After 20 months of Adam traveling, last night was his final night being away (aside from small business trips every once in awhile). Mason woke up this morning so excited that he would get to see his Daddy tonight. It has been a long journey for all of us.

This past weekend, Adam suggested I get out of town with the girls and go shopping. How could I pass on that? His only condition was that I buy something for myself. This is really hard for me. I'm constantly buying for everyone else and talking myself out of buying anything for me.

We started Saturday afternoon with lunch and pedicures. Our friend Sarah couldn't make the trip with us, so she joined us for the afternoon. It was nice to eat a meal in peace without having to worry about the kids.

After an afternoon of pampering, we drove down to Camarillo for the night. We laughed, ate, shopped, and stayed up late talking. The next day we hit the outlets and shopped the day away. I even managed to buy two things for myself. I found a really cute sweater at The Gap and my new favorite perfume, Sensuous by Estee Lauder. It was all around a terrific weekend.

Sarah & I at lunch

The girls after pedicures

Jayme & I on our way to dinner.

2 Weeks

In less than two weeks, we will officially be Texas residents again. It's a day that we have been praying for so long, and yet knowing that it's quickly approaching makes me wish it would slow down. When people ask if we are excited, I always say yes, but it's bittersweet. That is the best way to describe this experience.

Mason was just five days shy of turning six months when we moved out here in January of 2008. Not only was a new mom, we didn't know anyone before moving out here. We knew the best way to make new friends would be to find a church we both liked. Thankfully, it happened quickly. For most people, that isn't always the case. Our friends have become our second family.

This weekend, Adam is treating me to a girls weekend with some of my best girl friends. We will be spending the weekend getting pedicures, eating out, slumber parties in a hotel, and shopping in Camarillo. It's much needed and we also get to celebrate Marissa's birthday a little early. It will definitely be a weekend that I will cherish.

Take that back

Not even an hour after I wrote the post on Monday, we received word that now they are trying to push for the Dec. 1st move after all. Not that I mind, I just would like something to be final. I guess that isn't what God has in store and we are just along for the ride.


Taylor started coughing last night and woke up this morning sneezing and with a runny nose. I'm guessing it's just allergies. I gave her medicine this morning and she hasn't sneezed since. She is also getting four of her incisors. Yes, that is right, she as all four molars and the rest of her teeth, but her incisors decided to come in last. All of that added together makes for a semi cranky little girl. Hopefully everyone else in the house will remain healthy.


Mason is starting to ask questions about the move. This morning he asked if Ray, Marissa, Madison, Braden and Luke were moving to Texas too. Trying to explain that to him DID NOT go well. He has such a big heart. I broke down in tears for the first time. We really have been blessed by ALL of our friends in Bakersfield.

Counting down til the Move

Sorry for the lack of updates, but up until Friday afternoon, we didn't know anything new. Fortunately, we didn't have to wait all weekend long to get some answers to some of our questions. We still don't have all the answers, but I feel much better having a timeline.

It looks like we probably will be in Bakersfield until mid December. Thankfully, the owner of our house is willing to negotiate and give us as much time as we need, which alleviates a ton of stress. It also gives us a little more time with our friends.

Adam learned more about his new position and where his office will be located. Before learning this, we started researching suburbs of Fort Worth and where we would be interested in living. Keller was at the top of our list. I have a couple of friends that live in the area and they have highly recommended it. Turns out that Adam's office is only about 10 to 15 minutes from Keller. We will continue to look for houses, but really can't do much until we visit and or move into the hotel for a month.

Even though the movers will do all of our packing, we still have a lot to get done over the next four weeks. If you don't count the week of Thanksgiving, really just three weeks. Thank you for all of your prayers and support. It's going to be a busy next couple of months, but we are excited to see what the Lord has in store.

Journey Part 2

If you haven't read Part 1 of the story, you can read it here.

Since learning the news of Adam's transfer, I have been in a season of waiting. While I would like to think that I'm a patient woman, I'm really not. Having to wait on others or being late really bothers me. However, during this season of waiting, God has really opened my eyes to this and honestly, I didn't see it until recently.

Having kids teaches you a whole new level of patience. However, when it comes to major decisions that affect your life, I'm a planner and I want to know the timeline and an answer now. It was not that simple in our situation.

God was preparing me.

I figured since I had been praying about it for almost a year, that my season of waiting was over. I felt entitled to know an answer. That entitlement was just part of my problem. In the past couple of months, we have dealt with some trials that I would have rather not dealt with.

God was preparing me.

At the beginning of September, we learned that the owner of our house was planning on moving back into his house Dec. 1st, when our lease was up. Still not knowing when or where on the move, we decided we would relay the information to his work. Fortunately, they were willing to accommodate the timeline and would get back with us with more details.

During that month of waiting, we faced another trial in our lives. I couldn't take much more. My mind was telling me to have faith, but my heart was having faith is what God does and not in who God is. I was exhausted physically and mentally.

It wasn't until recently that I awakened to that. Thankfully, I keep a journal of my studies and felt like I really needed to flip back on what God has been teaching me this last year. I write down anything that is noteworthy in my biblestudies.

* In times when life is hard, we discover we have based our faith on who God is or on what God does.

* Sometimes we stand to learn the most about God from the situations we understand the least.


Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. I needed to hear those words again. It was worth going back and reading them.

Adam & I have had many conversations on what we have learned during this process and what God has shown us. Our relationship is much stronger and so is our walk with the Lord. I'm so thankful to have him to walk through this journey with him.

After 6 months of waiting, we finally received some direction and recently learned Adam's new position this week. We will be in the Fort Worth area. There are still a lot of unknown details, but hopefully in the coming week we will know more.

We are excited about this opportunity and being much closer to our family and friends back home. Adam & I both have family in the Plano/Frisco area, so it will be nice having them close by. I think our parents were pleasantly surprised to learn the location, especially since we thought there could be a good chance we would be in West Texas. This will be a much shorter drive and a central location. If you have any advice on good locations to live in the Fort Worth area, please let me know. Our main criteria will be based on the better school districts.

On a final note, when we told Mason the news that we would be moving back to Texas, he ran in his room and grabbed his tub of cars. When he walked back in the living room, he asked if he could bring his cars with us to Texas. We told him of course, we will be bringing all our things with us to Texas. He yelled "yay" and started jumping up and down with excitement.

Journey Part 1

(This was written in May 2010 and I'm just now able to share it with you. This is a very long post, so bare with me.)

God is amazing with his timing and faithful to hear the cries of our heart. Every time I have sat down to write this post, I have paused and walked away, knowing it wasn't the right time to bear my heart on what God has been doing in our lives. I don't want it to just be my words, but I want this to be a testimony of God's unfailing love.

The week after Taylor was born, Adam received news that he would be overseeing the L.A. accounts for his company. The goal was to bring growth to the region. In order to do this, he would need to be available to his existing clients and to call on potential clients. That meant a lot of traveling. Bakersfield is about an hour and half northeast of L.A. and most of his clients were down south near Anaheim, putting on an extra 30 minutes or so without traffic into his drive. The time he would spend in his truck would increase dramatically.

With much prayer, we knew this was exactly where God wanted him to be and we had a peace about it. But just because we had a peace about it, didn't make the transition easy. He left Mondays and didn't return until late Friday afternoon. With a toddler and a newborn baby and on top of having no family around to help, that made for one exhausted Mommy.

People would ask me "How do you it?" My answer to them was always the same, you just do what you have to do. Taylor didn't sleep through the night until she was four months old, so there were many days that I was functioning on coffee and the three hours of sleep I had gotten the night before. There were times when the jealousy would seep in. Here I was exhausted and stretched to my limits, while Adam was staying in a nice hotel, eating out, and getting a full nights rest. He even had time to himself, and all I wanted was to take a shower in peace. It was hard for me not to focus on that at times.

While the "new normal" wasn't ideal, it allowed us to grow stronger as a family. We cherished the time we had together as a family of four. Mason had the hardest time understanding that Daddy wasn't coming home each night. There were many nights when all of us were in tears and trying to consul one another. It broke my heart seeing him cry for his Daddy or knowing that Adam might miss one of Taylor's first moments. But we had to focus on the positive, otherwise it would drive us crazy.

Over the last year and a half, we have grown to be accustomed to the "new normal," especially Mason. When Adam gathers his bags on Monday morning, Mason asks him where he is going and we explain to him that Daddy has to go to work and will be back for the weekend. Now he just says "okay" instead of crying and throwing a fit. It doesn't make it any easier saying goodbye each time, but again we focus on the positive.

In January, Adam was asked to help with a really big project. Several people would be working on it together for six weeks. For the most part, he was able to be in Bakersfield. It was nice having him home. However, there were a few weeks when he was out of town. Unfortunately, he had to be gone the week of our Anniversary.

It was in January that I had started back up on Beth Moore's biblestudy "It's Tough Being A Woman." I figured it was fitting given the circumstances I was in. Actually, I had started this study with a group of my girlfriends exactly a year before that, but we never finished due to Taylor's birth and Adam's new schedule. I had bought the CD's, and thought it was time for me to get back into this study.

While I was at home eating leftovers, Adam was out on our Anniversary at a nice dinner, only with his coworkers. Some of the guys that came in town to work on the project were from West Texas. Adam is a very sociable person and quickly built friendships with a lot of them. That night, he was eating dinner when one of the managers from West Texas asked Adam if he ever wanted to come back to Texas. Of course Adam said yes, and then the manager asked when. Adam thought he was saying it jokingly, and he probably was, but it didn't leave his mind all night.

We started talking about it that weekend. While we weren't sure if there was anything behind the statement, we immediately began to pray about it. When we first moved out to Bakersfield, we knew we would be here temporarily. Long term, we wanted to be back in Texas, but in this business, you have to pay your dues and put in time, before you can request different areas for work. The plan was to be out here for anywhere from three to five years, and maybe even a little longer, but we wanted to be back in Texas before Mason started school.

After a TON of prayer and lots of talking, we felt like God was opening up the doors to bring us back home. We just didn't know when or where. The only people that were aware of this were our parents. The last thing we wanted was to get everyones hopes up and then not have any answers or have it fall through.

Adam was extremely busy with work, had a new project starting up and had an out of town yearly meeting. His review would be coming up somewhere in between all of that, and that was when we felt would be the right time to discuss our future with his boss.

For two and a half months, we waited and prayed. I had been doing my biblestudy and had the most eye-opening, drop your mouth moments, during this study. I honestly believe that God orchestrated his timing for all of this. Had I completed this study the year before, I wouldn't have been able to see how God would bring me through this journey. He showed me so much through this biblestudy and I am forever a changed person because of it.

On April 28th, I had one of the mouth dropping moments I had mentioned earlier. That day I had been doing my biblestudy and it was regarding God's direction in our lives. Several things really stood out to me:

"Have you ever noticed that the colors of God's faithfulness appear brighter when the backdrop of our lives looks bleak and gray?" - Beth Moore "A Heart Like Yours."

"God reconfirmed His directions to David. In the same way, you, or I might ask God to reconfirm His direction, not because we doubt God's word, but because we question our understanding." - Beth Moore "A Heart Like Yours."

"No matter how long we wait for direction, we are wise to ask before we advance." - Beth Moore "A Heart Like Yours."

"God can entrust a vision or an idea to us that may be ours to pray about and prepare for, but never to participate in directly." - Beth Moore "A Heart Like Yours."

The timing of this study couldn't have been better. That day I was really struggling with knowing if we were on the right path. Both Adam and I felt the Lord was leading us in the right direction, but what if it was more something we wanted and we misread the signs.

That night after I put Mason to bed, I remember going in our room and getting on my knees in prayer. I wanted nothing more but to be in God's will and asked God to confirm his direction in our lives. About thirty minutes later, I crawled in bed and turned on the TV to see what was on. I enjoy watching the show House Hunters on HGTV. When I went to the guide to see if it was a new one, it didn't have anything in the description, so I just went ahead and turned it on. The couple was searching for a house in Lubbock, TX. My mouth dropped and tears flooded my eyes. Immediately, I called Adam.

God hears your prayers people. You might not always get an answer like that, or the answer you want, but He is listening.

Two days later, Adam got a call from his boss and it was time for his review. This was the moment we had been praying and waiting for. Both of us had such a peace that morning, that I can't even explain it but to say it was from God. He covered us and led the way the entire meeting. When Adam's boss asked where he saw himself in the future, it opened the door for Adam to share our thoughts with him. The best part occurred when his boss explained that was great news because he wanted to bring up that option to us to see if we would be interested.

Going forward, we knew that this would be a long process. We would need to wait for the right opportunity to open up for Adam in Texas and that could take up to a year. Fortunately, everyone was on board.

It was so exciting sharing the news with our family, however it was much harder telling our friends in Bakersfield. They have become our second family and have taken us into their homes and hearts. It has meant the world to us. We have made life long friendships and I feel so blessed.

Moving out here wasn't an easy decision, but we knew it was the right one and the right time. Living over 1600 miles away from your family and everything you have ever known is quite an adjustment. Our marriage is so much stronger and both of us have grown in our faith. For that, we are thankful for this opportunity.

Again, sorry for the long post, but when you haven't been able to blog about it for almost a year, there is a lot of information to share and since this blog was started to capture the memories in our lives, this is something we never want to forget.