A new life.

8 days ago we moved from our comfortable life in Southern CA to one that we've dreamed of for years in Arizona. Well actually that's not true. There was a brief period in August 2012 when Tom and I spent a few days in Scottsdale and decided that there was no way this hotter-than-the-sun area could ever be home to us. But apparently we have selective memories because it wasn't too long before we were once again longing to make our home out here. 

It all happened so quickly and it's amazing to see firsthand how God put all the pieces together. He had to- there was no other way we could have gotten my husband across that border otherwise. 

In March we took our first non-baseball family trip to Arizona and fell in love even more. We hiked, swam, went to church and visited friends that we had made last October through baseball. Having someone that we knew here and a church we liked was key in Tom feeling more passionate about moving- I think he needed to see that we truly could make a life here, and that we would be happy. We vowed that, God willing, we would do all we could to move to Arizona by the end of the year. Putting a time frame on it was scary and a little overwhelming. We were really going to do this.

Well, things have been hard financially for a while. I think people believe that when you own a business, you have endless supplies of money and that you're living the high life. That is SO far from the truth- at least for us, and for most small business owners we have ever seen. It has been very stressful and while I wouldn't change it for the world and I love seeing my husband live his dream of owning a business, there are times I would have loved to see a regular paycheck and a husband that is capable of leaving his work day where it belongs- at work. 

Anyway, for several months Tom has been feeling like he needed another job. He didn't feel led to give up his business, but he needed a way for his business to not have the expense of paying him, and of course the only way to do that was to bring in another income. There was a time when it looked like he was going to get a job down in San Diego and it hit me that this dream of Arizona may not be in God's will, at least for now. It was really hard for me. I felt like I had wanted this for so long and prayed and prayed, and that we were so close to it finally happening! And then this. Then Tom didn't get the job but things were still really tough so moving out of state was the last thing we could even think about. I stopped letting myself think about it and really believed that it would never happen.

We were at a crossroads and we didn't know what God wanted from us. We prayed a ton and seeked counsel from our pastor, who was an enormous help in supporting Tom, and helping him to see the realistic side of things. We knew that one way or the other, God was going to move. And He did. Tom's business had a great week (one of the best in a while, and specifically what Tom and our pastor had been praying for) and we hoped that things would really turn around. But as great as that week was, it wasn't enough to catch us up from the long time things had been bad, so we were back again at the crossroads. We started to wonder if maybe it wasn't time for a change.

So Tom found out that someone in Arizona was needing a new manager for his shop (Tom's shop is an auto repair, part of a huge chain) and connected with him. 

Sooooo. In an attempt to cut down this ridiculously long post and maybe wake you up a bit, God came through. Big time. In the span of just a few days during our annual October trip to Arizona, Tom got a new job and we signed a lease on a house.  As in, we would be returning home from our vacation on November 2nd and would be moving out on November 16th. {We ended up signing the lease for a house we had found before even leaving on vacation that had a huge yard and when we saw it in person, was so much more beautiful than the photos could convey. And the landlord is awesome.} So basically what that means is I would spend the remainder of our 2 week vacation stalking Pinterest for packing tips (we have moved a gazillion times but never more than 30 minutes away) and making list after list of the dozens of things I'd need to do once we stepped foot back in CA. And I'll tell you, nothing is more fun than planning a move from 350 miles and 10 days away.

So here we are. New residents of the state we have grown to love so very much, and feeling so incredibly lucky to call this beautiful place home. I spent the two weeks between vacation and moving packing like a madwoman, and had my kitchen (clearly the most difficult room) and most of our house packed within a week. We had a garage sale and I sold a lot of things that we didn't need (or didn't have room for in our 1,000 square foot smaller home) on Facebook, and it slowly sank in that this was really happening. At 6:09pm on November 16th, we pulled away from the home that had housed so many happy memories for 3 years and drove on to the unexpected. I won't lie. I cried. I had wanted this for so long and now that it was happening, I was scared. 

That night as we drove, I was separated from Tom for a good while. The moving truck we had rented leaked gas so I had to stop twice to clean my windshield while he drove on. Well the second time I lost him for a good 45 minutes. When I FINALLY caught up to him, it was at the exact moment that we crossed the Arizona border. It was so significant and I couldn't help but tear up and just knew at that moment that this was where God wanted us. And then we were separated again for the rest of the drive. God is so awesome. 

So I finally need to close this because while I want to document all the ways God has worked in this story, it is mighty long and probably more than a little boring to anyone not living it. I foresee more blog posts in my future now that I'm separated from every person we know. ;)