Bittersweet Symphony

First off, look how long I have made it without a political post! I also notice nobody has posted how badly they want another political rant by Jason. So the soapbox will continue to gather dust... at least a little bit longer.

We have news to share, and let me first state that we hoped to put the word out personally and earlier, but due to a lot of reasons: trepidation of it not working out, but mostly that we have had a whirlwind week (that is still happening as I type) with sick kids, family visit, and a really long trip (I just walked in the door an hour ago) it didn't happen.

After two years of attempting to sell our house, it became miserably obvious (market/economy) that the current route (with the current realtor) wasn't working, and the only way to "get rid" of our MI house would be under bad terms. We also didn't want to rent it out. So we tried to refinance and that was also a dead-end. At the end of Dec we decided to put out feelers with a simple ad to rent our house long-term. We also learned about a family that lost a home due to fire and we thought we could get them in turn key (bless them and us) for a few months. That offer was never taken up, but the calls from our one little "Craig's list" posting sure did!

Within 24hrs we had 3 serious calls and a couple of showings. Within the week we had spoken with 7 serious potential renters. We held very firm to our min quals and upfront requirements. Basically, we had a peace about staying, and toughing it out with the babies (mostly Lindsey flying solo) with me being gone with flying so much (and especially this upcoming summer.) While at peace with the situation, we also realized that one of these folks might just agree to our terms and that we really would be leaving. So we prayed for the right people.

So far, God seems to be bringing this together, because the first family to come back with agreement was definitely our favorite. They are our age with two girls, two years older than ours. They are local, family local, and will be great neighbors! They wanted the house ASAP, but my schedule was not working in that regard, all my days off were at the beginning of January. So Lindsey is packing as she can. Luckily this all went down during a visit from Lindsey's Mom "Mimi" whom was a tremendous help!

When the ink was drying on the rental contract, Tatum started getting sick. She had just been to the doc and gotten a clean bill of health and weigh in. She got progressively worse so I took her to the doctor before I started flying for 6 days straight. I just got home and she is still sick, and Lakyn is starting to cough. So we haven't put anything out about the move, but if we happened to talk to you amidst this chaos you heard the news.

Since marrying, this will be our third big move, we also had a couple little moves. In each of the three places we have put down routes we have always had some extended family in the area. In Denver (Aurora) we had family literally 3 miles away. We initially lived with my Aunt and Uncle whom lived about 6 miles away. It was awesome to be 5-10mins away from family, and we grew very close to them. Unfortunately, the townhouse we lived in ended up being a bad environment for Lindsey when I wasn't home, but we had family that could be there in a moments notice. We, together, never got plugged in to our church. I actually had a 6 month period without a Sunday off. Lindsey made friends, but it was tough. The class was very scattered around the Denver area, so the fellowship was limited to mostly on Sunday. However, the teaching and structure of the class was phenomenal! So we had much to miss when we left Colorado.

Michigan has been the chance in our marriage for more togetherness for us. We found churches to be very "slim pick-ens." (You can't drive a golf ball without hitting a church down south.)We located Crossroads Community Baptist Church of Ann Arbor on an internet church search. We only visited two churches, and we knew Crossroads was home. We loved the smaller church, so personal! Sunday school was a gathering of couples whom all had a tight connection from going to college together in the area. They had a special bond, and reminded us of our college years/friends. We began to foster friendships and spend more time together out of church. I of course was off and on with work, but we did really get a chance to grow in this church as a couple. Lindsey began serving in the preschool ministry. I can't even count the number great Christian friends we have made here! This is not something we are excited about leaving, and will miss the preaching/teaching, friends dearly. We also have extended family 35 minutes away, and a couple hours away here in MI. We have had many adventures with them, including camping and fishing outings. We wish we could have done more. We love our home and especially our great neighbors, Mike, Maria, and Tipper (Gidget's friend). There is so much we wish we could uproot and take with us! Tennessee anyone!? Lindsey also has some dear friends from her job here that she is sad to leave behind too. Of course this is where the first two Canada babies were born. We made a family here, with the support of many, in these walls.

Tennessee is the next stop, but probably not the final stop. All the grandparents will be nearby (at least within a few hours drive at the farthest.) We have friends we have stayed in contact with as well, that we look forward to spending time with! We feel good with having family nearby to take a load off on, and to provide some needed R&R. Plus the kids will get to spend more quality time regularly with all the grandparents.

So the journey continues. We left the majestic Rocky Mountains with heavy hearts. We will be rolling away from the fruit filled, snowy state of MI with great memories and friendships that will transcend the 600 miles. We are travelers and we will be back as we like to try and get back to all the places we have been.

Sorry we didn't get this out to you sooner. We missed the revival at our church, and the chance to fill you in personally about the move. We think the move will be around Feb 13th, but we have a lot to do! Moving stinks, I think it a bittersweet symphony.