In just 6 short days, we will be moving from Denver to Alexandria, VA. Honestly, if you had asked me even 6 months ago, or at any time in my life up to about this past May, if I ever saw myself moving back to my hometown, I would have definitely said no. Northern Virgina is not a place I ever saw myself moving to and I always kind of thought it was weird when people moved back, or didn't move away at all.
But, as of course it would go, Aaron has found a job teaching in a Lutheran School, and that school just happens to be in Alexandria. He will be teaching middle school math, science and PE at Immanuel Lutheran on Russell Road. And I have to admit, it is a huge blessing and I'm so excited to be going back, haha!
I guess I should back up to how this whole thing started! Even when we moved out to Denver, Aaron and I had always talked about the possibility of moving East when we had kids. He always knew the importance of a girl being near her mom when she became a mom and accepted that we would probably move that way. We just didn't know it was going to happen this soon! We often joke that Canon came 5 years too early, and once he was here, it was inevitable that the conversation would come up.
Since going off to Clemson, I was always happy being far away from my home town. Clemson was 8 hours, Winston was 5 and New Orleans was 17! I saw my family for holidays and big events, and my mom, sister and I had a good routine of visiting each other just for fun. Like I said, I didn't have a huge desire to be that close to home.
But, as many of you moms know, having a baby changes everything. All of a sudden, I was heartbroken that I was so far away! I remember Mother's Day 2012, 6 1/2 months pregnant, sobbing uncontrollably because my mom and sister were together and I wasn't there. I mean, I was a mess. A new desire to be near them rose that day and has since gotten stronger and stronger.
Then there was one day I was home alone with Canon, not that long ago, and had some sort of stomach flu. I was literally throwing up twice an hour. I tried calling some friends to come watch Canon, but everyone was busy. I eventually had to call Aaron out of school (which is different than just calling your husband out of the office since he had to frantically find a substitute as well). The whole time I just kept thinking, if we lived near my mom, she would have been there. To take care of Canon, and to take care of me.
This past spring, the conversation did finally come up. We evaluated our life here in Denver - our jobs, church, friends, community, etc and realized that moving to the East would be a smart decision. It would put us closer to family, it would give us a chance to start anew with jobs and church, and hopefully it would allow us to really get on our feet financially. After our road trip from GA - VA and Easter spent in Alexandria, we prayed about our decision, sought wise counsel and made the decision.
What started out as Aaron possibly working in a public school in Greensboro, NC, Richmond or even Charlottesville has now turned into him accepting an offer at one of the very few Lutheran schools in the state, in Alexandria. We'll be moving in with my mom for the time being, while I also look (and have been looking) for jobs.
Surprisingly, once the shock of "moving home" wore off, I've been so glad. I know God has provided this for us to be a blessing. We'll be able to live with my mom, which is a HUGE deal, so we don't have to rush to find a place, all the while paying off debt and saving up to find a place we really love. We don't have the stress of trying to secure a place from across the country either and I've had the luxury of taking my time to find a job. Canon gets to play with his cousins, we'll get to spend lots of time with my best friends from college and their babies!, go to Clemson football games and be there when my sister welcomes her 2nd!
There will certainly be things I miss here, like my jobs at K-Life and St. John's and the friends I've made there (annoyingly enough I've developed some great relationships since we decided to move!) and we'll certainly miss Alex & Ashley. But we're already planning holidays and vacations with Aaron's family and friends and I know we'll get to see them just as often as we always have.
We can't wait to start this new chapter - so invest in a church community that has families our age and children for Canon to play with, to hang out with friends I've now know for 7 years and their babies, and to share in the daily lives of our family in VA.
Canon and I fly out Tuesday July 30, and Aaron is driving the moving truck for us! That leaves just 6 days to get this place packed up...and by the looks of it, it's going to take as much time as we've got!
But, as of course it would go, Aaron has found a job teaching in a Lutheran School, and that school just happens to be in Alexandria. He will be teaching middle school math, science and PE at Immanuel Lutheran on Russell Road. And I have to admit, it is a huge blessing and I'm so excited to be going back, haha!
I guess I should back up to how this whole thing started! Even when we moved out to Denver, Aaron and I had always talked about the possibility of moving East when we had kids. He always knew the importance of a girl being near her mom when she became a mom and accepted that we would probably move that way. We just didn't know it was going to happen this soon! We often joke that Canon came 5 years too early, and once he was here, it was inevitable that the conversation would come up.
Since going off to Clemson, I was always happy being far away from my home town. Clemson was 8 hours, Winston was 5 and New Orleans was 17! I saw my family for holidays and big events, and my mom, sister and I had a good routine of visiting each other just for fun. Like I said, I didn't have a huge desire to be that close to home.
But, as many of you moms know, having a baby changes everything. All of a sudden, I was heartbroken that I was so far away! I remember Mother's Day 2012, 6 1/2 months pregnant, sobbing uncontrollably because my mom and sister were together and I wasn't there. I mean, I was a mess. A new desire to be near them rose that day and has since gotten stronger and stronger.
Then there was one day I was home alone with Canon, not that long ago, and had some sort of stomach flu. I was literally throwing up twice an hour. I tried calling some friends to come watch Canon, but everyone was busy. I eventually had to call Aaron out of school (which is different than just calling your husband out of the office since he had to frantically find a substitute as well). The whole time I just kept thinking, if we lived near my mom, she would have been there. To take care of Canon, and to take care of me.
This past spring, the conversation did finally come up. We evaluated our life here in Denver - our jobs, church, friends, community, etc and realized that moving to the East would be a smart decision. It would put us closer to family, it would give us a chance to start anew with jobs and church, and hopefully it would allow us to really get on our feet financially. After our road trip from GA - VA and Easter spent in Alexandria, we prayed about our decision, sought wise counsel and made the decision.
What started out as Aaron possibly working in a public school in Greensboro, NC, Richmond or even Charlottesville has now turned into him accepting an offer at one of the very few Lutheran schools in the state, in Alexandria. We'll be moving in with my mom for the time being, while I also look (and have been looking) for jobs.
Surprisingly, once the shock of "moving home" wore off, I've been so glad. I know God has provided this for us to be a blessing. We'll be able to live with my mom, which is a HUGE deal, so we don't have to rush to find a place, all the while paying off debt and saving up to find a place we really love. We don't have the stress of trying to secure a place from across the country either and I've had the luxury of taking my time to find a job. Canon gets to play with his cousins, we'll get to spend lots of time with my best friends from college and their babies!, go to Clemson football games and be there when my sister welcomes her 2nd!
There will certainly be things I miss here, like my jobs at K-Life and St. John's and the friends I've made there (annoyingly enough I've developed some great relationships since we decided to move!) and we'll certainly miss Alex & Ashley. But we're already planning holidays and vacations with Aaron's family and friends and I know we'll get to see them just as often as we always have.
We can't wait to start this new chapter - so invest in a church community that has families our age and children for Canon to play with, to hang out with friends I've now know for 7 years and their babies, and to share in the daily lives of our family in VA.
Canon and I fly out Tuesday July 30, and Aaron is driving the moving truck for us! That leaves just 6 days to get this place packed up...and by the looks of it, it's going to take as much time as we've got!
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