Life as we know it...

As many of you now know, Grant interviewed for a job in Dallas last month. We knew before Barrett was born that this change in jobs was a possibility, but as I told Grant more than once, "Let me have a baby first please". There were so many things to consider with a move. We had only bought our home in Pflugerville a year ago, Grant really loved the people he worked with in Austin, that whole having-a-baby-thing, and the great friends that we had made during our three years in the capital city made it hard to want to leave. On the other hand, moving back to the Dallas-Fort Worth area meant living in the same place as family and more great friends. This in an area that both Grant and I grew up in and the idea of raising Barrett in such a familiar, wonderful place was totally appealing. We were quickly learning how drastically your priorities can change when your family expands with a little one. The job offered to Grant was also a pretty amazing career move and would provide growth in both pay and experience. This was something Grant had been asking God to bring since we found out Barrett was coming and that I'd be leaving my job to stay home.

After lots of prayer and trips to Sonic to discuss the pros and cons over root beer floats, we made the decision to jump into the unknown and take the Dallas job. There were many questions that we couldn't answer, but we knew two things. One: God was going to take care of our family and provide for us even if we weren't sure how. Two: We were COMPLETELY excited to take on this new adventure. It was difficult to tell the people we loved in Austin that we were leaving. It was equally as fun to tell our family and old friends in DFW that we were "coming home". With those announcements, the adventure began.

Grant put in his two-week notice at work a couple of weeks ago. We immediately called our realtor to get our house on the market for sale or lease. We called movers and began searching the area where we'd grown up for rental homes. In a matter of days, Grant was let go from his job due to the fact that he was going to work for a competitor, we found a rental home two streets over from my parents, Grant went to work in Dallas and I stayed in Pflugerville to pack up the house while caring for Barrett. Talk about a whirlwind!

A week ago, my mom and sister drove down to finish packing and helped me drive up with Barrett and our two dogs. My truck-bed was full of luggage, baby items, and various house stuff. My sister's car was also full of random items that we either didn't want movers to handle or that we thought we desperately needed before the movers would arrive. Grant had already been living at my parents' house for several days while he started his new job. With me entering the picture, we had one very full guest room.

It was almost comical to see our temporary 10x14 "home" filled with a baby swing, pack 'n play, rocker, suitcases, dog bed, etc. And yes, there are four dogs in that picture. With our two and my parents' two, it was a full house. And Patch, my mom's dog, is sporting the cone of shame for a few days due to a hot-spot on his tail. A dog in a cone who is bumping into your legs and doorways counts as two dogs! Since I had to get up with Barrett at night, Grant was forced to crawl over the foot of the bed at night to get some shut-eye. It was the most ridiculous set-up and yet in all of that chaos, it still felt right to be here. I spent this past week visiting with some of my best friends from college and their babies, going out to lunch and spending the night with my sister, and going to Barrett's first music class that we are lucky enough to have my mom teaching. Grant really likes his new job and co-workers. He has a lot of work to do, but loves that he is being given so much responsibility and support. Everything about us being here indicates that God knew what He was doing when he planted that first seed about the move back in the spring.

Today the movers are coming to deliver our boxed-up life to our new rental house! My mom is currently there giving the house a true mother's scrub-down while Barrett sleeps peacefully in his rocker. We are still waiting to hear whether some potential renters are going to put an application in on our home. While there are still loose ends in our adventure, we are enjoying the ride and thanking God for what He's already done and for the surprises He still has hiding up His sleeve.