A couple months ago, we called up Taylor’s mom and filled her in over what had happened over a week and a half:

– Taylor got a neck sprain!
– Chaun had a rogue tooth that needed booting right away!
– Taylor took the GRE!- We’re taking a 2 week vacation in Canada!
– I received a full ride scholarship to a school in Virginia so byyyeee!
– The baby started to crawl!

She said she felt like we’d filled in about two months worth of news in a single phone call. 
Well, that’s what she gets when she abandons her adult children to go on pioneer trek with her husband and still-at-home children. Even as adults, we children are still uprise panicking when any of our parents leave home for a short period of time.

I can honestly say that it must be God who’s carrying us through right now because that is a lot and our breaking point should have snapped much sooner. But we’re doing surprisingly okay.

Moving to Virginia is really what I need to get out of my system though. Mostly about how strange it is that the future of a family can change with just a few phone calls.

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I’ve been thinking about timelines a lot lately. Trying to match up my graduation dates with Taylor’s while planning what stage our kids will be in (Arrow will be starting a homeschool pre-school this fall. Taylor & I haven’t given much thought to the planning quite yet as we figured out how to move cross country without any furniture.)

Part of me has wondered if this was really worth the work and the upheaval of my family’s roots  to move. There are so many unpractical reasons that we’re going. I already have a degree, a great job I love, and Taylor doesn’t need to be in grad school for another year. Our home is stable and we love our neighborhood. We may drift away from relationships with friends that we’ve spent a long time cultivating. Finding a job in Taylor’s field all the way out in a tiny town in Virginia has been fruitless, so far.

But then there are all the reasons why we’re here anyway. 🙂

Taylor reminds me that if we’re going to be down there anyway, we might as well knock out some of those finals semesters on my degree. I’ve felt strongly for years that there are some career specific dreams I need to complete in this life, and one of those is to graduate with a 4 year degree. Plus, if it’s all paid for in scholarships, then really why not?

Then there’s the need to be completely independent and all the growing that comes from that. Sure, we could have easily done that in Utah, but it can happen in Virginia, too.

This whole experience has reminded me of this principle: The Spirit makes the difference.

There are so many decisions to constantly make. So many seemingly GOOD choices. So many HARD choices. Logic, practicality, and trying to figure out God’s will all play a huge part in making those decisions.

But what really makes the difference is feeling the Spirit and going where the following peace goes.

I’ve been trying to hold onto that peaceful feeling when trying to find a home to rent or when I was cleaning out the Christmas decorations. Did I cry? Never you mind!

So here we are. Moving forward. Mildly panicking, mostly feeling excited. There is so much more I need to write, and once I figure out what this “desktop” thing is, I’ll be back.